CONTENTS.

	PAGE
TO THE SEA	1
THE DESERTED VALLEY	7
THE ESCAPE OF MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS Mary Stuart (1542–1587), who famously escaped imprisonment at Lochleven in 1568. FROM LOCHLEVEN CASTLE A fortress situated on an island in Loch Leven, where Mary was held before her flight to England.	12
TO THE RUINS OF CROOKSTON CASTLE A medieval castle near Glasgow, historically associated with Mary Queen of Scots and her husband, Lord Darnley.	16
THE STORY OF LIFE	20
“SHE TOLD NOT HER SORROW”	23
THE IMPROVIDENT A term for someone who is wasteful or fails to plan for the future, often used as a moral lesson.	25
TO A HOUSE FLY	27
A DREAM OF LOST JOY	30
THE MOURNER’S SONG	34
STANZAS Stanzas: a group of lines forming the basic recurring metrical unit in a poem; a verse.—“HOW SHOULD I MURMUR AT THE HOUR”	36
LINES—“AWAKE ONCE MORE, THOU SIMPLE LYRE” Lyre: a stringed instrument of the harp family used in ancient Greece; in poetry, it symbolizes the poet’s own creative voice.	38
THE TEAR-DROP OF JOY	40
FIRST LOVE	41
TO THE FALSE	43
LUGANO A city and lake in southern Switzerland, likely included here as a reflection on European travel or scenic beauty.	45