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This commonplace book contains 21 poems, 1 pressed flower, and 4 pages of manuscript music. Items originally laid in the volume, a map of United States Army encampments near Corpus Christi, Texas, and a drawing of a Spanish house in St. Augustine, Florida, are housed separately. Many of the poems relate to romance, and 3 are attributed to Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.

This commonplace book contains 21 poems, 1 pressed flower, and 4 pages of manuscript music. Most poems are 1-2 pages in length, and the longest is 4.5 pages. Five poems are accompanied by epigraphs, including one in Greek from Aeschylus's Oresteia, one from a Latin elegy by Sextus Propertius, and one from Chaucer's Anelida and Arcite. The book is divided into three sections, with 56 blank pages separating the first two sections, and 1 page separating the final two sections.

The first section (24 pages) contains 12 poems, three of which were inspired by the poetry of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832). Subjects include nature, knights of "A hundred Years ago," and love. The second section (22 pages), entitled "Poems under various dynasties," has 9 poems about a man's love, grief, loss, and longing for his beloved. The third section (4 pages) consists of manuscript sheet music for 3 songs

The book came with two illustrated items. Two manuscript maps were drawn on the same page by Ann Maine Wells: a view of the "Camp of the Army of Occupation, Texas," near Corpus Christi, Texas; and a portion of the Texas Gulf Coast shoreline from the Rio Grande to Corpus Christi. The second item is an ink drawing by W. H. B. of an "Old house at St. Augustine" built of coquina stone and plaster (1857).

• First section
  • "Little Mosses, Golden Mosses"
  • "Daiduchus" (with German epigraph from Goethe’s poem "An den Mond")
  • "At the Ford"
  • "A Hundred Years Ago"
  • Untitled ("O foolish flowers!...")
  • Untitled ("It is over; let me rest...")
  • "From Goethe"
  • "Evening" (with note: "On Lake Horicon")
  • Untitled ("Yesterday is dead!...")
  • Untitled ("I drew it to its full soft length...")
  • "From Goethe"
  • "From Goethe (Book of Zuleikha)" (with Greek epigraph from Aeschylus's Prometheus Bound)
• Second section: Poems Under Various Dynasties
  • Untitled ("Ours is a simple tale of love...")
  • Untitled ("Thou art my morning and my evening star...")
  • Untitled ("Evening shades are falling...")
  • Untitled ("Winter's in love with the springtime...")
  • Untitled ("I have a little darling, a winsome little pet...")
  • Untitled ("Oh gentle, uncomplaining face...") (with Greek epigraph from Aeschylus's Libation Bearers)
  • Untitled ("Dear, forgive me if I weep...") (with Latin epigraph from Propertius's Elegiarum)
  • Untitled ("Without a word, without a sign...") (with penciled epigraph from Chaucer's Anelida and Arcite)
  • Untitled ("Ah, the fearless little heart...")
• Third section
  • "Melody" (with lyrics)
  • "Nevermore" (without lyrics)
  • "Would thou wert here!" (without lyrics)