“The Lonely Crossing” and Other Poems [by Louisa Lawson, 1905]

Editor’s notes:
The poems in the Contents are listed in their order of appearance in the book; however, an error was made, with two poem titles being transposed: “The Hill of Death” is listed as being on page 13 (it is on p. 14) and “The Reformers” is listed as being on page 14 (it is on p. 13). This error has been corrected, with “The Reformers” now listed prior to “The Hill of Death”.

The Contents includes a poem listed as “A Night in a Bush Inn”, although the poem is actually entitled “Lines Written During a Night Spent in a Bush Inn” (p. 27); therefore a notation, in square brackets, giving the actual title, has been added below the name of that poem in the Contents list.

The book includes several poems which have the same name; however, on the original Contents page, the first few words of those poems are given in brackets, thus distinguishing them from each other:

A Dream (“Last night as I lay”) [p. 55]
A Dream (“Just as the grey dawning”) [p. 69]

In Memoriam (“The white convolvulus”) [p. 72]
In Memoriam (“One little blossom”) [p. 82]
In Memoriam (“White and all”) [p. 84]

Lines (“A boy in pain”) [p. 49]
Lines (“Oh, there is a being”) [p. 67]
Lines (“There is no time”) [p. 94]

A Reverie (“Stern duty calls”) [p. 63]
A Reverie (“I am sitting by the”) [p. 93]

To a Bird (“I’m listening, father,”) [p. 89]
To a Bird (“Bright little warbler”) [p. 91]

The Preface was not included in the book’s list of contents, but has been included here, so as to enable ease of access. Likewise, at the end of the book there was an advertisement, consisting of reviews for another book by Louisa Lawson (Dert and Do); this advertisement has also been included in the list of contents.

Esq. = an abbreviation of “Esquire” (a formal but unofficial title of respect, usually abbreviated as “Esq.” and placed after a man’s surname); a squire (a landed proprietor); a member of the English gentry who ranks below a knight

K.C. = King’s Counsel: a senior or eminent barrister whose abilities, achievements, and standing have been recognised by the Crown and the Courts in the conferring of that title (during the reign of a Queen, the title used is “Queen’s Counsel”, with the initialism being “Q.C.”); in some states the title of Senior Counsel (S.C.) has been used in modern times, so as to remove monarchical connotations; as KCs wear silk gowns of a particular style, they are also referred to as “silks”

M.H.R. = Member of the House of Representatives (someone elected to the lower house of federal parliament)