Printed in March 1862 (about the time it would take to get such a letter written in January), this poem was one of the last things ever written by Fitz-James O'Brien. It's full of Victorian sentiment, but it also uses that in a rather clever way. It also tells a pretty good story.
O'Brien was wounded in a skirmish on February 26, 1862, and died of complications from his wounds on April 6, 1862.
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