Excerpt from Hesper: An American Drama Which has been as yet but rarely trodden by American poets, - the field, that is, of experience almost contemporary. The Master of American fic tion has told us how much more easily he moved among scenes long past, and the romantic haunts of Italy, than among the glaring, obtrusive realities of his own age and country. Tme and distance doubtless shed a pleasing glamour around persons and events; familiarity too often breeds contempt: yet, certainly, the poet should discern and strive to express whatsoever is beautiful or heroic or tragic in the present. The moral qualities of our human nature, its emotions and passions, be they good or evil, vary little in substance from epoch to epoch, although the acts by Which they are made manifest may differ as Widely as fashions in garments differ. Incidents are inferior in importance to character. To find ourselves at conflict With our surroundings. 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.