Page:The Writings of John Green Whittier (v.1).pdf/15



A Edition of Mr. Whittier's writings both in poetry and prose was published in 1866, and has since done service by receiving from time to time additions as new volumes of his poems have appeared. The present edition is intended to supersede the former, and the opportunity is taken to rearrange and thoroughly to revise the entire collection, as explained in Mr. Whittier's Introduction, so as to render it a definitive edition. Inasmuch as publication almost invariable followed close upon composition, the dates of original appearance have been taken as determining the time of writing. In a few instances, where Mr. Whittier's memory failed to fix the exact date, and no record remained of the place where it was first printed, a poem has been assigned to the group with which it appeared when reprinted in a volume.

At the request of the Publishers, Mr. Whittier has allowed his early poems, discarded from previous collections, to be placed, in the general order of their appearance, in an appendix to the final volume of poems. By this means the present edition is made so complete and retrospective that students of the poet's career will always find the most abundant material for their purpose. The Publishers' congratulate themselves and the Public