The Elbert County tribune., 1904-02-11

her quill pen and In dainty characters
wrote the dedication on the fly leaf
OF Friendships Offering" In spite of
her bad grammar a glance at the fad
ed and delicate writing with its quaint
fiourishes and aristocratic angles is
enough to prove that Emily was a
fine young lady and that she really
meant at least a little more than she
said.
Poor Emily, Her lilies and roses
are long withered. along with the
other flowers which bloomed in the
reign of King George ", to whose
Most Excellent Majesty" the little
morocco bound volume is dedicated.
And "one who she regards" has
gone also with the rest. Were they
married one day-Emily and zone
who she regards? Or did Emily die
early of n broken heart, perhaps?
Her handwriting looks as IL she
might have easily fallen a victim to
some such old fashioned malady. And
did ''one who she regards" leave Emily
behind and come to the States to seek
his fortune? Certainly in some way
the book which Emily gave him as
valentine in 1926 found its way to
this country and. passing from hand
TO hand, finally turned up on the stalls
of little secondhand book shop in
the French quarter of old New Or
leans.
The little book is spotted with
brown and yellow now; its morocco
covor is badly marked and torn. But
for the sake of the unknown but dear
and dainty Emily-as well as for its
own-it shall be cherished hereafter
and given such care as Emily herself
might wish for the little trlne" which
perhaps told a tender secret to the
unnamed man who was its original
owner.
Friendships Offering" is fat and
sturdy little book OF nearly 400 pages.
1t was handsomely and well bound. as
is proven by the fact that even to-day
it makes gay show with the gold
rosebuds and scrolls stamped on its
back. 1t was one of that great crop
OF annuals which people of good con-
dition were wont to send to their
friends on the recurrence of New
Years and st Valentines days.
We do such things differently now.
Instead of a volume of 400 pages
stuffed with stilted verses and tragic
tales written by as many lords and
I.adies-nothing less than Esquires
being admitted under any circum-
stances-we send to our friends gay
card stamped out of colored paper by
machine. And we pick up this old
volume of Friendships Offering" and
laugh as we look over the table of
contents.
But poor Emily's long forgotten
love affair is not the only ancient
memory revived by a glance at the
little book. Buried in its table of con-
tents are the names of twenty peo-
pie who in their day were famous as
literary lights, but who have long
since nickered out into oblivion.
Who remembers Mona. Eliza. Caro-
line and the rest, whose Legendary
Stanzas." Romantic Tales" and
Lines to Wreath of Dead Flowers"
moved Emily and her sisters of the
ls20s to tears? Who remembers Ber-
nard Barton. the Quaker poet and
friend of Lamb? Least of all. what
modern reader would follow him as
for half a dozen pages or more he
"Treads with slow and mournful steps
the loved and lonely shore?" Lord
Byron died less than two years before
this volume of Friendships Offer
ing" was printed. and it is pretty full
of newly found verses by his Lord
ship. Mr. Washington Irving sends
some verses by his late Lordship.
extracted by that gentleman from the
album of Captain Medwin." and 1t
only needs a glance at the first, line
''Be 1t so-we part forever''-to recog-
nize the true Byronic flavor.
Lady Caroline Lamb. who had been
separated from her husband the year
before. ana whose intrigues with Lord
Ilyron were still familiar, extracted
from her album another set of verses
by his late Lordship. the perusal of
which at this date is likely to provoke
smile of amusement-they are so
typical of the strained and grandilo-
quent poet.
In all the emphasis and extrava-
gance of italics and capital letters,
Lord Byron implores Lady Caroline to
let him go and, Lady Caroline appar-
entity takes a malicious pleasure in
printing the verses by way of showing
that the poet was much in love with
her.
Since stIli the vuiture tears my heart
Lex me this agony endure.
Not thee-Oi dearest as thou crtl
In mercy. Clara, let us partl
Who is writing poetry Of this kind
now? And If such poetry were writ
-. x..t,. mould road
There is one paper in friendships
Offering" which might well furnish
text for some one VINO is anxious to
accuse DR.. Conan Doyle of plagiarism
in the creation of Sherlock Holmes.