[Leaf 1 recto]

last revise

To limn the stately and the

Had I the choice to tally greatest bards

To limn the ^their _^^portraits stately, and the beautiful—_^^{—the power} to

emulate at will

[at least several words cut away]

Homer with all his wars and loftiest

Or Shakspere's woe‐envelop'd ^entangled Hamlet,

Lear, Othello—Tennyson's fair

ladies;

Metre, or wit the best, or choice con-

ceit _^^{to wield,} or fin perfect rhyme, triumph ^delight

of singers

Had I _^^indeed the choice ^{These, these}, O sea, ^{all these} of living winds.

all, all ^theose I'd gladly barter

Could ^Would you the undulation of your ^{one wave,} its trick to me transfer

WCould _Could you but breathe one ^one breath upon

my ^this verse,

And leave its odor there.

Date: This manuscript was likely written in 1885 shortly before the poem's publication.

Editorial note

"Had I the Choice" was first published in the "Fancies at Navesink" sequence in the August 1885 issue of Nineteenth Century.

The verso of the manuscript leaf is blank.

Notes written on manuscript

In left margin, 6

Location: Had I the Choice | Yale Collection of American Literature, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library.