by the watermark (1818) of the Monckton Milnes copy, with which it coincides in arrangement.
'The Order in which the Songs of Innocence & of Experience ought to be paged & placed.
'Page I. General Title. 2. Frontispiece of Piper. 3. Title page to Songs of Imiocence. 4. Introduction — Piping down the Valleys, &c. 5. Ecchoing Green. 6. Ditto. 7. The Lamb. 8. The Shepherd. 9. Infant Joy. 10. Little Black Boy. 11. Ditto. 12. Laughing Song. 13. Spring. 14. Ditto. 15. Cradle Song. 16. Ditto. 17. Nurse's Song. 18. Holy Thursday. 19. The Blossom. 20. The Chimney Sweeper. 21. The Divine Image. 22. Night. 23. Ditto. [2nd leaf of index begins] page 24. A dream. 25. On Another's Sorrow. 26. The Little Boy Lost. 27. The Little Boy Found.
'End of Songs of Innocence: then Begins Songs of Experience. [page] 28. Frontispiece of Child on the Shepherd's head. 29. Title Page of Songs of Experience. 30. Introduction — Hear the voice of the Bard, &c. 31. Earth's Answer. 32. Nurse's Song. 33. The Fly. 34. The Tyger. 35. Little Girl Lost. 36. Ditto. 37. Ditto. 38. The Clod & Pebble. 39. The Little Vagabond. 40. Holy Thursday. 41. A Poison Tree. 42. The Angel. 43. The Sick Rose. 44. To Tirzah. 45. The Voice of the Ancient Bard. 46. My pretty Rose Tree. 47. The Garden of Love. 48. A Little Boy Lost. 49. Infant Sorrow. 50. The School Boy. 51. London. 52. A Little Girl Lost. 53. The Chimney Sweeper. A little Black thing, &c. 54. The Human Abstract.'
This arrangement, as the only one in which Blake is known to have laid down explicit instructions regarding the order of the songs, is followed in the present edition. Later issues, however, show an entirely different order, five copies (N, 0,P,Q,R) placing the plates in identical sequence, and others approximating closely to the same standard. This later arrangement of the Songs is as follows: —
I. General Title. 2. Frontispiece. 3. Title-page to Songs of Innocence. 4. Introduction. 5. The Shepherd. 6, 7. The Ecchoing Green. 8. The Lamb. 9, 10. The Little Black Boy. II. The Blossom. 12. The Chimney Sweeper. 13. The Little Boy Lost. 14. The Little Boy Found. 15. Laughing Song. 16, 17. Cradle Song. 18. The Divine Image. 19. Holy Thursday. 20, 21. Night. 22, 23. Spring. 24. Nurse's Song. 25. Infant Joy. 26. A Dream. 27. On
