Excerpt from English Meditative Lyrics N the treatise before us we shall purposely confine ourselves to the domain of British or English lyrics, as distinct from American, these latter hav ing already been studied by us in a volume which may be best regarded as a companion of the one now presented.* So broad and rich is, this lyric area, even within the specific province of the medi tative, that we cannot hope to compass the en tire list of representative names, but must content ourselves with a limited portion of it. We must, moreover, be satisfied with brief citations and sug gestions, making no attempt whatever at elaborate discussion. Few topics within the sphere of literary study impress us as more inviting and recompen sing, especially so to those of contemplative habit, and who feel at home in that quiet and still air of delightful studies of which the meditative Mil ton speaks. This volume will have accomplished its object if by it the reader is enriched and quick enedin spirit, and led to seek for further treasure in this open mine of lyric wealth. T. W. H. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.