Excerpt from A Gem Book of British Poetry: With Biological Sketches There is no lack of gems in the boundless mine of British poetry. English literature, beyond all others ancient or modern, abounds in ennobling thoughts. These glorious inspirations, from the great masters of song, are a part of the rich patrimony of all who speak the English tongue. They are heir-looms, which have come down to us from former generations, and which we delight to hold among our most treasured household goods. In the present Volume, we have woven, as well for use as ornament, a garland of those gems of perennial beauty, consisting of the choicest extracts from the British poets, beginning with Milton, and coming down to the present day. In making these extracts, variety has been. 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.