PREFACE.
It is with unfeigned reluctance that the author commits
this production to the public. It was hastily prepared, on
very brief notice, and written rather for delivery than for
publication. Besides, a genuine Poem should spring up
spontaneously in the subjective atmosphere of the writer's
mind, and not be extorted from him by the artificial forcing-process
of a public occasion. It is therefore only in compliance
with the urgent request of friends in this vicinity,
and the expectation of numerous others at a distance, that,
after having more than once abandoned the thought, the
author has at length determined on giving it publicity.
Should the critic then deem his lines lacking in inspiration,
he will appreciate the fact, that it is hard to play the
orator and poet on the same stage.
