The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Elm Tree Tales, by F. Irene Burge Smith

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Title: The Elm Tree Tales

Author: F. Irene Burge Smith

Release Date: May 30, 2009 [EBook #29008]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

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THE

ELM TREE TALES.

BY

F. IRENE BURGE SMITH.

Little know they who dwell 'mid rural shades,
Of life's great struggles. Poverty and want
In direst forms, are never seen, where bloom
And verdure revel, but within the dark
And loathesome cellars of the crowded town,
They hide their tattered forms.

NEW YORK:

MASON BROTHERS.

1856.

Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1855, by
MASON BROTHERS,
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court, for the
Southern District of New York

STEREOTYPED BY
Thomas B. Smith,
82 & 84 Beekman Street

PRINTED BY
John A. Gray,
97 Cliff St.

PREFACE.

"There is a wisdom in calling a thing fitly. Names should note
particulars."--PROVERBIAL PHILOSOPHY.

To make the title of this book significant to you, I must transport you
to a sylvan nook, far from the city's boundaries, where an old stone
cottage peeps forth from the thick foliage. Down through the maple
avenue you will take your pleasant route, past the willow and alder
clumps, and the ancient mill, that hangs its idle arms listlessly by its
sides--on and on, over the little style, and the rustic bridge, which
spans the rivulet, until you reach the giant elm that spreads its broad
branches far and wide. Books and work are scattered about on the verdant
turf, bright flowers peep forth from amid the green, and many a fair
face greets you with its frank and cordial welcome. The sky is very blue
and clear, and the summer's breath comes refreshingly to you through
the leafy screen, as you seat yourself upon a mossy stone and join in
the merriments of the happy circle gathered there. But you are