This first collected edition of my poems contains all the verses I
care to retain except the translations from the German, published in
1895 under the title of _The White Snake_, and some of the poems in
_Nature-Notes and Impressions_, published in 1906.
Several of the poems which I probably would have omitted I have retained
at the solicitation of friends, who have based their argument for their
retention upon the generally admitted fact that a poet seldom knows his
best work.
The new arrangement under new titles I found was necessary for the sake
of convenience; and the poems in a manner grouped themselves in certain
classes. In eliminating the old titles--some eighteen in number--I have
disregarded entirely, except in the case of the first volume, the date of
the appearance of each poem, placing every one, according to its subject
matter, in its proper group under its corresponding title.
Most of the poems, especially the earlier ones, have been revised; many
of them almost entirely rewritten and, I think, improved.