A Reverie ["Those hearts of ours -- how strange! how strange!"] ---- Their Story Runneth Thus Night After the Picnic Lines ["The death of men is not the death"] Death of the Prince Imperial In Memoriam (Father Keeler) Mobile Mystic Societies Rest Follow Me The Poet's Child Mother's Way Feast of the Presentation of Mary in the Temple St. Bridget New Year Zeila (A Story from a Star) Better than Gold Sea Dreamings Sea Rest Sea Reverie The Immaculate Conception Fifty Years at the Altar Song of the Deathless Voice To Mr. and Mrs. A. M. T. To Virginia (on Her Birthday) Epilogue Posthumous Poems In Remembrance A Reverie [`"O Songs!" I said:'] Only a Dream The Poet The Child of the Poet The Poet Priest Wilt Pray for Me? Memoir of Father Ryan By John Moran It is regretted that the materials at hand at this writing are not sufficient to warrant as extended a notice as the publishers of the present enlarged volume of Father Ryan's poems would wish, and as the many friends and admirers of the dead priest and poet desire. So distinguished a character and so brilliant a man cannot be passed over lightly, or dealt with sparingly, if the demand of his friends and the public generally would be satisfied even in a moderate degree; for Father Ryan's fame is the inheritance of a great and enlightened nation, and his writings have passed into history to emblazon its pages and enrich the literature of the present and succeeding ages, since it is confidently believed that, with the lapse of time, his fame and his merits will grow brighter and more enduring. With this appreciation of his merits, and a realizing sense of what is due to his memory, and with an equal consciousness of his own want of ability to do justice to the subject, the writer bespeaks the indulgent criticism of those who may read the following remarks -- admittedly far short of what are due to the illustrious dead. The exact date and place of Father Ryan's birth are not yet definitely settled. Some assert that he was born at Norfolk, Va.; others claim Hagerstown, Md., as the place of his birth; whilst there is some ground to believe that in Limerick, Ireland, he first saw the light. The same uncertainty exists as to time. Some claim to know that he was born in 1834, whilst others fix with equal certainty, the year 1836 as the time. In the midst of these conflicting statements, the writer prefers to leave the questions at issue for future determination, when it is hoped that final and conclusive proof will be obtained to place them outside the realms of dispute. Meanwhile, he will present what may be regarded as of primary importance in forming a correct estimate of the character of the deceased, and the value of his life-work, which, after all, are the chief ends sought to be accomplished.