Page:Scenes in my Native Land.pdf/323

Rh looked, we may still discover an unplucked flower, or an ungathered sunbeam, to cheer and to uplift the heart.

I have frequently used, in this little book, the language of others; sometimes, because I considered it better than my own; and sometimes, because I remembered the saying, that there is no greater compliment to an author than to quote from his works.

You will not, I hope, count it a deception, that while its title announces a description of scenes, its page so often presents those who have peopled them. I felt that a landscape was improved by figures, and that it was a solace made stronger by advancing years, thus to deepen the heart's memorial of the good and the lovely, who are no longer among the living.

So now, reader and friend, unknown, perchance, but still a friend, Farewell. If it is morning with you, may the day be blessed and happy; and if it is evening,

Hartford, Conn. Dec. 4, 1844.