Rosebud County news. [volume] (Forsyth, Mont.) 1901-1906, 1904-02-04

seventy-five years ago Emily took up
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 it's quaint
nourishes and aristocratic angles is
enough to prove that Emily was a
line young lady and that she really
meant at least 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 w., to whose
Most Excellent Majesty" the little
morocco bound volume is dedicated.
And lone 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 broken heart. perhaps?
Her handwriting looks as If 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 it's way to
this country and, passing from hand
to hand, finally turned up on the stalls
OF a little secondhand book shop in
the French quarter of old New Or.
leans.
Tho little book is spotted with
brown and yellow now: it's morocco
cover is badly marked and torn. But
for the sake of the unknown but dear
and dainty Emily-as we'll as for its
oWn-it shall be cherished hereafter
and given such care as Emily herself
might wish for "the little trihe" which
perhaps told a tender secret to the
unnamed man who was it's original
owner.
Friendships Offering" is fat and
sturdy little book of nearly 400 pages.
1t was handsomely and we'll bound. as
is proven by the fact that even today
1t makes say show with the gold
rosebuds and scrolls stamped on it's
back. 1t was one of that great crop
OF ANNALS which people of good con.
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
Ladies-nothing less than Esuuires
being admitted under any circum
stances-we send to our friends a CAV
card stamped out of colored paper by
a machine And we pick up this old
volume of Friendships Offering" and
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 it's table of con.
tents are the names of twenty PEG.
pie who in their day were famous as
literary lights, but who have long
since f1ickered 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 !
1S20s 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 dozen pages or more he |
Threads 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 it
only needs a glance at the first line
BE it so-we part forever"-to recoc-
nize the true Byronic flavor.
Lady Caroline Lamb, who had been
separated from her husband the year
before, and whose intrigues with Lord
Byron 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
a smile of amusement-they are so
typical of the strained and grandilo-
auent 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.
emily takes a malicious pleasure in
the verses by way of showing
that the poet was much in love with
her
Since still the vulture tears my heart