PREFACE. THE quotations contained in the following pages are principally taken from Longfellow's Poetical Works; but a few have been selected from his Prose Writings, chiefly from his beautiful romance "Hyperion," which may justly be termed a prose-poem-sparkling, as it does, in each chapter with gems of fine ideas and noble sentiments. Anniversaries-such as Christmas Day, and the Birthdays of several Royal and other Distinguished Personages-have been especially noticed, and all allusions to the different Months, and lines descriptive of the phenomena and characteristics of the Seasons, have been arranged in their appropriate places. Among the various publications of this class, we find England has been represented by a Shakespeare Birthday Book; Scotland, by a Burns; and Ireland, by a Moore; but, until now, no similar representative of America has been submitted to the public, and it is hoped that the extensive popularity which Longfellow, through his writings, has obtained in all English speaking countries, may secure a favourable reception for "THE LONGFELLOW BIRTHDAY BOOK." CECILIA M. DIXON. JANUARY. Chill airs and wintry winds! my ear I listen, and it cheers me long. Woods in Winter. And Winter stood at the gate wagging his white and shaggy beard, like an old old rhyme. "How cold it is! harper, chanting an How cold it is!" Hyperion-Book 1, chap. 7. Go, breathe it in the ear And say to them, "Be of good cheer!" L'Envoi. Ne'er shall the sun arise on such another! Ballad-Skeleton in armour. January 2. And the night shall be filled with music, And as silently steal away. The beautiful youth, The day is done. The heart of honour, the tongue of truth. January 3. Killed at the Ford. By the fireside there are youthful dreamers, Building castles fair, with stately stairways; Asking blindly Of the Future what it cannot give them. The Golden milestone. The first, a youth with soul of fire, The Singers. |