THIS
LITTLE COLLECTION
IS DEDICATED TO
JAMES FITZMAURICE-KELLY, ESQ.
BY THE SELECTOR
AS A SLIGHT MARK OF A
DEEP ADMIRATION




PREFATORY NOTE.


Let me frankly admit, to begin with, that the attractiveness and
probable selling qualities of the title of this little book, "The
Hundred Best English Poems," proved, when it had been once thought of,
too powerful arguments for it to be abandoned. I am fully conscious of
the presumption such a title implies in an unknown selector, but at
the same time I submit that only a plebiscite of duly qualified lovers
of poetry could make a selection that could claim to deserve this
title beyond all question, and such a plebiscite is of course
impossible. I can claim no more than that my attempt to realize this
title is an honest one, and I can assert, without fear of
contradiction, that every one of the poems I have included is a "gem
of purest ray serene"; that none can be too often read or too often
repeated to one's self; that every one of them should be known by
heart by every lover of good literature, so that each may become, as
it were, a part of his inner being.