Preface.


Young friends--stop a moment. We have set up a sort of turnpike gate
here, as you see, between the title-page and the first story in our
book, in the shape of a preface, or introduction. "What! do you mean to
take toll of us, then?" Why, no--not exactly. But we want to say half a
dozen words to you, as you pass along, and to tell you a little about
these WREATHS which we have been twining for our friends. So you need
not be in quite so great a hurry. Wait a minute.

You have no doubt noticed that it is a very common thing for an author
to take up several of the first pages of his book with apologies to his
readers. First, perhaps, he apologizes for writing at all; and secondly,
for writing so poorly--just as if it was a crime to make a book, for
which crime the author must get down on his knees, and humbly beg the
public's pardon. We think we shall not take this course, on the whole,
for this reason, if for no other--that we do not feel very guilty about
what we have done. But as the plan of our book is somewhat new, we have
been thinking it would be well enough, in introducing it to you, at
least to tell how we came to make it.

We have both of us published a good deal, in one way and another, for
young people; and we got a notion--a very pleasant one, certainly, and
rather natural, withal, whether well founded or not--that among that
class of the public composed of boys and girls, we had a pretty
respectable number of friends. Under this impression, we put our heads
together, one day, and made up our minds to invite these friends of
ours, every one of them, to a kind of festival, and that we would share