Excerpt from Wyoming and Indian Melodies, and Other Poems The question may be asked - and very properly, too - why the author has been induced to submit for publication many of the poems contained in this volume. The answer is this: Not that the compositions just alluded to are of marked literary excellence, nor that they possess any singularly valuable historic merit, but simply because, owing to the topical characteristic of the subject-matter involved, their embodiment in this work was strenuously requested by friends in Wyoming Valley. This, however, is not said with a view to escape censure; far from it. Such a measure were, indeed, worse than idle; for harsh criticism follows everything new just as inevitably as night follows the day. The purpose of the statement is to disarm the critic, if possible, of any preconceived notion he may entertain as to a definite degree of excellency to which every work of art must necessarily attain, irrespective of its subject-matter, its character, its motive, or the principle inculcated. Sufficient fairness may be frequently rendered by criticizing objectively rather than subjectively. Inferences should be drawn from what is actually in the book, not from what ought to be in it; not from a creation of something entirely new, having shape merely in the mind of the reader. 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.