Favorite Poems of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Standing at the very town of Concord, Massachusetts I read the poem by Longfellow of The MIdnight Ride of Paul Revere.  I had taken the book to photograph it in Concord and then onto Lexington Green.


I couldn't help but notice how the words jumped off the page. I love American History and living here just has to be shared.


I photographed the book late one afternoon at a bridge in Concord, and then caught the last of the afternoon light in Lexington Green. 

This is the very place that Longfellow wrote about in his moving poem.


This poem along with a host of others is inside this lovely old volume. My American History teacher would have loved this book. 

Favorite Poems of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, published in 1947 by Doubleday. Illustrated by Edward A. Wilson First.

A Beautiful book with a lovely green hardcover. 395 Pages With Introduction by Henry Seidel Canby.

Illustrated with full page color and black and white plates by Edward A. Wilson The illustrations are lovely.

The introduction by Henry Seidel Cany to this version of Longfellow's poems described this collection " a collection of the finest work of one of America's outstanding poets, who work is known and loved by all who read.”

Among the poems included are: Courtship of Miles Standish, Paul Revere's Ride, The Hymn to the Night, The Reaper 

and The Flowers, My Lost Youth, The Song of Hiawatha, The Phantom Ship, Evangeline, The Village Blacksmith, The Wreck of the Hesperus, The Old Clock on the Stairs and many more.

A Fine Heirloom Copy of a Lovely Collection of Longfellow's Poems.

I just placed this book in my etsy shop For The Love of Old Books the other day, but just photographed the other pages yesterday.  


I hope you enjoyed listening to one of the poems in this wonderful treasure of The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere.

Every year in April on Patriot's Day,
there is a battle performed in the middle of Lexington Green.  This was a drive-by photo taken by me.  You can tell these gents were not too thrilled at my request for a smile.  

The Makers of Venice

I guess what caught my eye at first glance when I spotted this book was the beautiful binding, and that the gold leafing is on all corners of the pages.



A lovely scroll design in gold and an illustration are on the front of the book, and the binding. I love the way gold looks against the deep navy blue cover.

"Venice has long borne in the imagination of the world a distinctive position, something of the character of a great enchantress, a magician of the seas.  Her growth between the water and the sky; her great palaces, solid and splendid, built, so to speak, on nothing; the wonderful glory of light and reflection about her; the glimmer of incessant brightness and movement; the absence of all these harsh, artificial sounds which vex the air in other towns, but which in her are replace by harmonies of human voices, and by the liquid tinkle of the waves...all these unusual characteristics combine to make her a wonder and a prodigy."

This book was written by Mrs. Oliphant. Mrs. Oliphant first published The Makers of Venice in 1887. Margaret Oliphant (née Wilson) was born in Wallyford, near Edinburgh, on April 4, 1828.



I love to visualize where an author might have written a book. I found a wonderful site that shows where she lived and gives photographs of her homes.



Mrs. Oliphant was quite an interesting person, and has quite an impressive body of work.  A list of her non-fictional works and fictional novels, as well as her journalism can be found on her web site.



Published in New York  by A.L. Burt Publisher. Written by Mrs.Oliphant
and illustrated by R. R. Holmes 1900




Table of Contents

I. The Doges.
II. By sea and land.
III. The painters.
IV. Men of letters.



The book contains 382 pages, filled with gorgeous black and white illustration plates. Edition: Reprint
Book condition is very good.



A dark blue hard cover with gold gilt lettering and design.



There is a photograph of Leonardo Loredango at the front of the book.  Leonardo Loredan (or Loredano) (November 16, 1436 – June 21, 1521) was the doge of the Republic of Venice from 1501 until his death, in the course of the War of the League of Cambrai.



The book is in my etsy shop, For The Love of Old Books.

Take Home A Smile

I love old books and my shelves are full of old treasures that house lovely words and thoughts. One of my favorite writers and poets is Edgar A. Guest, he wrote a little volume called A Heap o' Livin', which was first published in 1916, and renewed in 1944.



Hard to believe that we could read words written in a different chapter of history and have them soothe our souls in a new day such as this.



I was feeling like I was carrying around the weight of the world on my shoulders the other day. So, I did what any Long Island girl would do...I went to the beach.



I brought Edgar Guest's words with me to remind me that my chapter is not much different than many people who have come before me and many people who will come long after I am gone.



I let the sound of the waves hitting the shore remove my worries and the sound of the seagulls cries still my soul. I read Edgar's words in this poem called Take Home A Smile, and let the verses holding words of comfort replace my scattered ones.



The words in Edgar Guest's poem comforted me just the way my Grandmother's words would often do over a cup of tea. Words can make me feel so safe when the world is spinning out of control.



Take Home A Smile

"Take home a smile; forget the petty cares,
The dull, grim grind of all the day's affairs;
The day is done, come be by yourself awhile:
Tonight, to those who wait, take home a smile.



Take home a smile; don't scatter grief and gloom
Where laughter and light hearts should always bloom;
While though you've traveled many a dusty mile,
Footsore and weary, still take home a smile.



Take home a smile - it is not much to do,
But much it means to them who wait for you;
You can be brave for such a little while;
The day of doubt is done, take home a smile.



Courage isn't a brilliant dash,
A daring deed in a moment's flash;
It isn't an instantaneous thing
Born of despair with a sudden spring.



It isn't a creature of flickered hope
Or the final tug at a slipping rope;
But it's something deep in the soul
That is working always to serve some plan.



Courage isn't the last resort
In the work of life or the game of sport;
It isn't a thing that a man can call
At some future time when he's apt to fall;



If he hasn't it now, he will have it not,
When the strain is great and the pace is hot.
For who would strive for a distant goal
Must always have courage within his soul.



Courage isn't a dazzling light
That flashes and passes away from sight;
It's a slow, unwavering, ingrained trait
With the patience to work and the strength to wait,



It's part of a man when his skies are blue,
It's part of him when he has work to do.
The brave man never is freed of it.
He has it when there is no need of it.



Courage was never designed for show;
It isn't a thing that can come and go;
It's written in victory and defeat
Ane every trial a man may meet.



It's part of his hours, his days and his years,
Back of his smiles and behind his tears.
Courage is more than daring deed:
It's the breath of life and a strong man's creed."



Sometimes we carry the weight of cares that are borrowed, and we wear a long face to prove it's heaviness. We forget that it takes a little courage to know when to retreat to a place all alone.



To return to our day and our lot in life and remember to have the courage to bring home a smile. To give yourself time to sort out our your feelings and make sense of the day. To bring our burdens to the Lord and have the faith to leave them there.



The beach is always a wonderful place to leave your troubles and cleanse your mind. So, just in case one is not nearby use this post as a place to renew your spirit and cast your cares to the Lord, build a bit of courage to run the race again...and when you leave remember to take home a smile.