Lonely Hours. A Collection of Miscellaneous Songs and Poems

This book of poetry and song was compiled by an unknown author in Wilmington, Delaware, in 1848. Pages 69 to 165 of the volume comprise a two-part epic poem entitled "Evanore: A Tale of the Brandywine."

The front cover of the book features a notation stating that the volume was given to Frank J.H. Evix on October 19, 1877, by D.C. Evix. After the title, there is a two-line passage attributed to "Clintonia" and the words "Wilmington 1848." The second page of the book contains a table of contents listing the title and page number for every poem and song. Most poems and songs in the book are no more than 3 pages long and date from 1846 or 1847.

The book's preface, attributed only to "The Author," states that the poems were written by a schoolboy to pass the time between study sessions. It says that many of the poems were written in periods of melancholy and were never meant for to be published or read by more than a few friends. The author went on to say that "Evanore: A Tale of the Brandywine" is a "plain, unvarnished" poem and far from a great work, but he hopes it captures the experience of walking along the shores of the Brandywine River. Following "Evanore," there are several pages of notes in which the author discussed about the setting of the poem (before and during the Battle of the Brandywine) and the principles upon which the poem was written.

The volume is a homemade folio and tied together with ribbons.