Excerpt from GleaningsThese few "Gleanings" of many years, simple and unpretentious, and containing many errors and imperfections (without which they would doubtless be too unlike the author) written in varied moods, and for varied purposes and occasions, are here gathered together more as a souvenir for loving and appreciative friends, than with the expectation of meeting with favor from a public already surfeited with books of poetry on every hand. But we venture to hope that friends or strangers may find in it a "touch of nature" however imperfectly presented, which may find a response in their own hearts, and help them for a moment at least to see the sunshine of life, forgetting the clouds and the storms.About the PublisherForgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.comThis book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully, any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.