PREFACE
The discovery of an unpublished essay by Thoreau on Sir Walter Ralegh is an event of great interest in the world of letters, as being the earliest contribution to literature, of decided scholarly value, of its distinguished author. The original manuscript was purchased by Mr. William K. Bixby, of St. Louis, from Mr. Edward H. Russell, of Worcester, Massachusetts, to whom nearly all of the MSS. and Journals of Thoreau came by inheritance; and it is to the generosity of its present owner (Mr. Bixby) that the members of The Bibliophile Society are indebted for the privilege of possessing such an exceedingly rare item of Americana.
When mere fragments of hitherto unpublished compositions of our foremost American writers are so eagerly sought, it seems strange that a well-rounded work of perhaps
xi
