ADDRESS

TO THE YOUTH OF MY COUNTRY.


In preparing the following pages, my aim has been, to produce a book
alike entertaining and instructive;--one which, in the reading, should
afford an amusement to the mind, pleasant as the spring-blossoms on the
tree; and, in its influences on the heart in after life, be like the
good fruits that succeed and ripen, to refresh and nourish us, when the
vernal season is over and gone, and the voices of the singing-birds are
lost in the distance.

Choosing an appropriate title for such a presentation, I have borrowed
my idea from the words of the wise king of Israel:--"Hear the
instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother; for
they shall be an ornament of grace unto thy head," &c., and other
Scripture passages of similar figurative meaning; for, though often
given in a sportive way, it is my design that no moral shall be
conveyed in the volume, but such as a good and judicious parent would
wish a child to imbibe.

Accept, then, my young Friends, this new CORONAL of the little flowers
of poesy which I have woven for you. When you shall have examined and
scented it, and found no thorn to pierce--no juice or odor to poison you
in its whole circle, wear it for the giver's sake; and enjoy it and
profit by its healthful influences, for your own.