Hymns on The Works of Nature, for the Use of Children

Boston: Hilliard, Gray, Little, and Wilkins, 1827. 1st Edition. Soft cover. Fair. First edition. ''Now First Published'' stated on front cover. Saddle-stitched in wrapper. Covers firmly attached, but lacking any material over the spine. Pages show damp staining around top gutter area. vi, 35 p. 7 x 4.25 inches. The first American edition (November 1827) preceded the English edition, which was published in London by John Mardon in 1833. The foreword here states that ''The following hymns were written expressly for the use of Mrs. Heman's own children. She has consented to their publication, in the hope that they may be useful to others [...] To the Hymns are added two beautiful little poems before published, addressed by Mrs. Hemans to her children.'' Contents: Introductory Verses; The Rainbow; The Sun; The Rivers; The Stars; The Ocean; The Thunder Storm; The Birds; The Sky-Lark; The Nightingale; The Northern Spring; Paraphrase of Psalm CXLVIII; To One of the Author's Children on his birth day, 27 August, 1825 [this was George Willoughby Hemans, her oldest, who went on to become a notable bridge and railway architect and engineer]; To a Younger Child on a similar occasion, 17 September, 1825. Felicia Dorothea (Browne) Hemans (1793-1835) was a prominent female English poet, renowned for her refined feminine and domestic sensibilities.