·ROSE OF SHARON: RELIGIOUS SOUVENIR, FOR 1841. EDITED BY MISS SARAH C. EDGARTON. BOSTON: A. TOMPKINS AND B. B. MUSSEY. Entered according to act of Congress, in the year 1840, BY ABEL TOMPKINS, in the clerk's office of the District Court of Massachusetts. PRESS OF WILLIAM A. HALL & CO. 21 Devonshire Street. PREFACE. THE flowers of summer are faded, the rose of May and the fragrant wilding of June are gone to the decay which so early awaited them, and upon the yellow fields are now withering the last frail blossoms of the year. We trust that at this season our "ROSE" will not be an unregarded offering. We dare hope, also, that it will in some degree fulfil the expectations of those who kindly encouraged our first attempt to secure for it a permanent place among the chosen flowers of Literature. We are aware that the indulgence which was claimed for our first effort cannot so well be solicited for the volume which we now offer; yet we trust our readers will remember that the experience of one trial cannot teach perfection; that improvement is continuous and unending; and that every effort teaches its lesson equally by rewards and corrections. There is always a little embarrassment felt in introducing a work to the favor of the public, — particularly a work made up alike of the rich offerings of others, whose value we know, and the humble efforts of ourselves, of whose worth we may well be in doubt. Faultless, we are aware, the "ROSE " is not; but we console ourselves with the oft-quoted and ever-true couplet of the poet, "Whoever thinks a faultless work to see, Thinks what ne'er was, nor is, nor e'er shall be!" In the arrangement of a miscellaneous work, particularly one of a religious nature, there are many tastes to be consulted, at the same time that the general character of the work is sustained. Some will choose the humorous vein, and some the solemn; some the chastely plain, and some the richly poetic; others, again, will say, "give us variety." To this last request we answer, where the general tone is designedly religious, the variety must be chiefly found in style and theme; and a collection from the writings of various contributors cannot well, in this respect, be deficient. The religion embodied in this volume has no restrictions of creed. It goes abroad to all that is beautiful in nature, all that is sweet and holy in the human affections. We do not believe piety is made up of technical phrases, nor that every thing which is religious is conveyed in solemn and saddening words. The heart finds sanctity in a tale of suffering love, and in a narrative of high and heroic purpose; it finds a chastening sweetness in the songs of innocent affection no less, perhaps, than in mournful, elegiac melodies; and it is even more richly blessed by the beautiful and eloquent lessons brought forth from the mountains and from the sea, from the quiet stream and the solemn woodland, from the face of holy childhood and the gentle countenance of Christian hope, than by erudite and logical demonstrations of doc |
