Spine darkened and rather defective at head and foot, and boards a little worn at the edges. Ernest was husband (having met in that romantic hotbed, the British Museum Library Reading Room) to the interesting New Woman author Dollie Radford, and the two were in Karl Marx’s circle in the 1880s and were close friends with Amy Levy, William Morris and Eleanor Marx. From 1892 Ernest experienced bouts of mental illness, which resulted in Dollie caring for him in their later years. The book includes poems in tribute to Morris, to the British Museum, and the moving title poem, which suggests that his mind was already somewhat irregulated
The heart hath chambers twain,
Wherein
Dwell Joy and Pain.
Joy in his chamber stirs,
While
Pain Sleeps on in hers.
Oh, Joy, refrain, refrain!
Speak low ;
You may awaken Pain.
