(Say 1 vol., octavo, about 128 pages, wanting very much a publisher.)
To Death.
Welcome, sad Death, creed of the glazèd eye,
Our last true friend, the fickle hand of maid,
The faith of dame replacing, unafraid
Who clasp they own and with one latest breath
Bid, “Lead me to some palace of the night
That all must know, deprived of mortal sight,
Of earthly comfort, health, and human aid”;
Welcome, thrice welcome, final hope, sweet Death!
Perhaps in that long vision signs decree
Of aspirations and unclaimed desires
That fitly rose to feed immortal fires
The consummation that came not to me
Within this weary width of land and sea,
Of parents, pavements acres, homes, and spires.
From: My Soundspeed Discovery, by George Winslow Pierce. Boston: Published by the Author, 1895.
My Soundspeed Discovery is one of those volumes that you’re not quite sure what to make of. Is it a proof developed by a crack-pot? Is it Art? Is it a cipher or some other sort of puzzle? This poem is on one of the few pages that can easily be transcribed to text + HTML, so don’t expect it to show up at DP anytime soon.
4 comments ↓
WorldCat lists a number of other strange titles by Mr. Pierce. He appears to be a Harvard man, class of 1864 http://oasis.lib.harvard.edu/oasis/deliver/~hua30004 Scroll down to his name, date of death An enterprising person could ask a Harvard archivist to scan the two pages of this year book devoted to Pierce, and/or look for an obituary based on his death date.
One of Pierce’s classmates at Harvard was Robert Todd Lincoln, son of the President!
strange titles by Mr. Pierce
Yes, Mr. Pierce is quite an interesting character. I haven’t yet scanned Soundspeed, but it is on the “short” pile to do.
By the way, good luck with your blog! If you go to my book blog (Bookp(h)ile) you might find some suitable candidates. Check especially the “Books in a Box” for some unusual titles, such as: Golden, George Fuller, My Lady Vaudeville and her White Rats, New York: The Board of Directors of the White Rats of America, 1909. Only microfilm in WorldCat.
Leave a Comment