| Edmund Clarence Stedman, ed. (1833–1908). An American Anthology, 1787–1900. 1900. |
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| 209. My Books |
| | | By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow |
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| SADLY as some old mediæval knight | |
| Gazed at the arms he could no longer wield, | |
| The sword two-handed and the shining shield | |
| Suspended in the hall, and full in sight, | |
| While secret longings for the lost delight | 5 |
| Of tourney or adventure in the field | |
| Came over him, and tears but half concealed | |
| Trembled and fell upon his beard of white, | |
| So I behold these books upon their shelf, | |
| My ornaments and arms of other days; | 10 |
| Not wholly useless, though no longer used, | |
| For they remind me of my other self, | |
| Younger and stronger, and the pleasant ways | |
| In which I walked, now clouded and confused. | |
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