which shall lift her up where she can see and summon all the nations.[E]

FOOTNOTES:

[E] In addition to the obligations elsewhere recognised, an
acknowledgment is due to the well-known archaeologist and statistician of
New York,--Mr. Valentine,--who furnished for the purpose of this article
the latest edition of his Manual, in advance of its general publication,
and to the great convenience of the writer.

NEEDLE AND GARDEN.

THE STORY OF A SEAMSTRESS WHO LAID DOWN HER NEEDLE AND BECAME A
STRAWBERRY-GIRL.

WRITTEN BY HERSELF.

INTRODUCTION.

I am very sure that nothing was ever farther from my thoughts than the
writing of a book. The pages which follow were never intended for
publication, but were written as an amusement, sometimes in long winter
evenings, when it was pleasanter to be indoors, and sometimes in summer
days, when most of the circumstances mentioned in them occurred. I was a
long time in writing them, as they were done little by little. There was
a point in them at which I stopped entirely. Then I lent the manuscript
to several of my acquaintances to read. Some of these kept it only a few
days, and I feel quite sure soon tired of it, as it afterwards appeared
that they had read very little of it: they must have thought it
extremely dull. But these probably borrowed it only out of compliment,
and so I was neither surprised nor mortified. The only surprise was,
that now and then there was one who did have patience to go over it all,
as it was written in a common copy-book, not in a very nice hand, and
with a great many erasures and alterations. But when one has a favorite,
it is grateful to find even a single admirer for it. So it was with me.
I wrote from love of the subject; and when any one was kind enough to
give his approval, I felt exceedingly pleased, not because I had a high
opinion of the matter myself, but only because I had written it. Then it
must be acknowledged that my small circle of acquaintances comprised
more workers than readers. Those who had a taste for reading found their
time so occupied by the labor necessary to their support that but little
was left to them for indulging in books; and the few who had leisure
were probably such indifferent readers as to make the task of going over
a blotted manuscript too great for their patience, unless it were more
interesting than mine.

At last, after a very long time, and a great many strange experiences,
the manuscript fell in