Forget Me Not

I adore old books, especially old poetry or children's books. I found this little one sitting on a table at an antique store for just $4.00. The color of the cover is burgundy with gold and it has the gold gilding on the outside pages. The dove at the top is holding a sign that reads, "From a Friend". Inside on the last page written in pencil(so light I can just barely read it) are the words:
"To Esther Y. Pike by her brother Samuel Pike. January 1st, 1845. There may be a few more words, but I can't make them out..they've faded so with age. The back cover is just like the front cover...same beautiful design. There are black and white illustrations of women mostly with curls and long gowns. I collect old Chinahead dolls and they remind me so much of their endearing faces. Not really smiling, but not frowning either...just thinking faces...that make you wonder and stare at them longer. There are short stories and poems. I can't say I feel inspired to read the stories, but I do like the poems. Here's the first verse of one titled;

THE BLUE BELL
'I would not be a floweret hung
On high in mountain snows:
Nor o'er a castle wall be flung
All stately though it rose:
I'd breathe no sighs
For cloudless skies,
Nor perfumed eastern gale,
So I might be
A blue-bell free,
In some low verdant vale.

I started collecting Forget-Me-Not postcards soon after I found this book....there are lots of them. I guess it was a popular sentiment years ago. Plus, the tiny blue flowers are so dainty and sweet.
I planted one last spring and it did well. I so hope to see it again this spring. They like shade and we have so much of that here.
Anyhow, I love to sit in my living room now and then...it's the one clean and tidy room in the house most of the time...and look at this dear little book that survived so many years and found it's way into my home.