THE NEW YORK
PUBLIC LIBRARY

209470

ASTOR, LENOX AND
TILDEN FOUNDATIONS.
R 1901 L.

Entered according to act of Congress, in the year 1839,

in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of Massachusetts.

WM. A. HALL & CO. PRINTERS.

1

PREFACE.

IN presenting the "ROSE OF SHARON" to the
friends of Floral Literature, we deem any expla-
nation of its character or design scarcely requisite.
The very name has, through long ages, been
emblematic of all that is holy, pure, and sweet;
and associated with our modest offering, we be-
lieve it will continue "a word of magic" to all
who love moral and religious literature, imbodied
in a form of elegance and beauty.

While we most gratefully acknowledge the
kindness of those who have assisted us in our
cares, unfolding leaf after leaf of our holy flower,
till its consummation, we believe, is beautiful and
without moral blemish, we also crave for it the
sunshine of public favor, the approbation of the
good, the pious, and the wise.

-

To our Christian friends, we confidently look

for patronage. Very proud are we, that we can offer them such a precious store of sweetness and moral purity; and we assure them, that upon their generosity depends the present and future prosperity, ay, even the very existence, of our "ROSE," whether it be merely an annual, blossoming once in delicate loveliness, then dying of neglect, and becoming extinct ere half its latent sweets are unfolded, or whether it flourish in continuous and increasing beauty, a perennial, whose leaves have a spirit of holy virtue, welcome alike to the young and the aged, to the happy and the afflicted, to the confirmed and the doubting, to the faithful and the penitent.

Having thus introduced our work to the reading religious community, we take a respectful leave, earnestly hoping to meet our patrons in coming years, bringing to them an annual Souvenir more beautiful and precious each succeeding season; thus expressing, in the most convincing manner, our gratitude for their favor, and our active desire for their happiness and moral improvement.