Note.—In the foregoing Autobiography the original spelling is retained. In the following poems the spelling is modernized. The use of the acute accent (´) to indicate the former pronunciation of the final ed as a separate syllable will be obvious; in other exceptional cases the old apostrophe is retained. In a few instances the termination tion is divided by a hyphen, to indicate its pronunciation as two syllables (she-on). The modern double commas are also used to mark quotations.
W. H. B.
TO THE CHRISTIAN READER.
Reader, I am a fool,
And have adventuréd
To play the fool this once for Christ,
The more his fame to spread.
If this my foolishness
Help thee to be more wise,