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The Poems of Winthrop Mackworth Praed

With a Memoir by the Rev. Derwent Coleridge. Fourth Edition. In Two Volumes

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392

VERSES WRITTEN IN THE FIRST LEAF OF A CHILD'S BOOK, GIVEN BY ------ TO HER GODSON, AGED FOUR.

My little Freddy, when you look
Into this nice new story-book
Which is my Christmas present,
You'll find it full of verse and prose,
And pictures too, which I suppose
Will make them both more pleasant.
Stories are here of girls and boys,
Of all their tasks, and all their toys,
Their sorrows and their pleasures;
Stories of cuckoos, dogs, and bees,
Of fragrant flowers and beauteous trees,
In short, a hoard of treasures.
When you have spelled the volume through,
One tale will yet remain for you,—
(I hope you'll read it clearly;)
'Tis of a Godmamma, who proves
By such slight token, that she loves
Her God-child very dearly.
December 25, 1837