02534cam a22003613u 4500 77707 UtSlPG 20260610134812.0 m cr n 260607r20261904utu|||||o|||||||||||||| d UtSlPG en iso639-1 PR Chapman, Elizabeth Rachel, 1850-1902 A little child's wreath Salt Lake City, UT : Project Gutenberg, 2026 1 online resource : multiple file formats text txt rdacontent computer c rdamedia online resource cr rdacarrier Flowers of Parnassus, XXI Release date is 2026-01-16 Richard Tonsing and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive) A little child's wreath by Elizabeth Rachel Chapman is a collection of elegiac sonnets written in the late 19th century (Victorian era). The book mourns a beloved child and seeks consolation in Christian faith, tender memory, and the quiet consolations of nature. The speaker moves from raw, daily ache—city streets and spring paths emptied by the child’s absence—through memories of his gentleness, trust, and love of flowers, toward visions that place him safely among angels and Dante’s mystic rose. Art and music cannot soothe as a child’s hymn can, yet prayer steadies grief; dreams briefly return the boy, or picture him sailing calmly heavenward. Portrait-like sonnets recall his innocent beauty and compassion, while meditations weigh what life he will not live—manly vigor, creative power, changing seasons, and the world’s moral awakenings. Turning to Christ’s blessing of children and the mercy of saints such as Francis of Assisi, the poems rebuke violence and cherish pity for all creatures. The sequence gradually yields from yearning to trust, ending in quiet acceptance: the child rests, and the mourner lays grief at God’s feet in a spirit of thankful peace. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Originally published: London: J. Lane, 1904 English poetry -- 19th century Meynell, Alice, 1847-1922 Robertson, W. Graham (Walford Graham), 1866-1948 Flowers of Parnassus, XXI https://archive.org/details/littlechildswrea00chapiala https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/77707 118427 118427