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This poem appears in a number of versions from 1851 onwards. For further details, see The Poems of Charles Harpur in Manuscript in the Mitchell Library and in Publication in the Nineteenth Century: An Analytical Finding List by Elizabeth Holt and Elizabeth Perkins (Canberra: Australian Scholarly Editions Centre, 2002).
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Notes:
This version has 27 lines
Notes:
In the Empire (15 February 1858): 4, the following notice is published:
Erratum.- In the poem headed 'A Summer Night Scene,' published in the Empire of January 28, for 'tear of figured gold,' read 'A tiar or crest, etc.'
First line of verse:"Let us go forth: for beautiful is the night!"
Notes:
This version has 18 lines.
Appears in:
yThe Poetical Works of Charles HarpurCharles Harpur,
Elizabeth Perkins
(editor),
Sydney:Angus and Robertson,1984Z4595551984selected work poetry satire 'This collection represents one version of almost every poem written by Charles Harpur, with the omission of some translations and paraphrases. The verse drama, "Stalwart the Bushranger", and the fragments of the dramatic poem "King Saul" are not included. ... The collection is edited from Harpur's manuscript poems held in the Mitchell Library, Sydney, and from printed copies in colonial newspapers when no manuscript version existed.' (Preface)Sydney:Angus and Robertson,1984