16633 Entered according to Act of Parliament of Canada, in the کو 1 ΤΟ ALFRED TENNYSON, Poet Laureate, FIRST BARON TENNYSON D'EYNCOURT, THIS ESSAY IS DEDICATED IN GRATITUDE FOR THE BENEFIT DERIVED DURING MANY HAPPY HOURS SPENT IN THE STUDY OF HIS WORKS. ハシ PREFACE. Ir fell to the lot of the writer, as a member of a small semi-social, semi-literary society, to prepare a paper on The Princess, as a sequel to discussions which had previously taken place upon The Idylls of the King and In Memoriam. In studying the poem for this purpose, many passages were found in which the allusions seemed very recondite, and others in which the meaning did not lie upon the surface. Other passages were considered worthy of note on account of some peculiarity of diction or of versification. The paper as read and the notes subsequently prepared were published in the autumn of the year 1882. The little volume attracted much more notice than was anticipated, and it soon became evident that an entire change of feeling with regard to The Princess had been, for years, quietly going on. From the letters and reviews received by the writer he discovered that the epithet of "amiable enthusiast," applied to him by a courteous, though dissident, critic, was applicable to a great many people besides himself. One letter, however, more than repaid the writer for his labour. It was from Mr. Tennyson, and, inasmuch as it contains very little personal to the essayist, and throws light upon some important literary questions regarding the manner and method of the poet's working, it seemed selfish to keep it from the large number of Tennysonians in America. Enthusiasts in sufficient number having been found, amiable enough to buy up the first edition. of this "Study," the writer, in preparing a new edition, availed himself of the opportunity to correct two errors pointed out by Mr. Tennyson. also sought and obtained permission to publish the letter, not so much for the purpose of adding importance to his monograph, as for the deep interest with which the Laureate's own views upon He |