"A wreath of song, and old romantic lay,
And pleasant tale, wherewith to cheer the hearth
Around the winter's cheerful blaze, when day
Dies in the west, and evening with its mirth
And social interchange of love has birth."
"The authoress of this work has long been designated as the American Hemans; and if feminine sweetness and delicacy of thought, and the tenderest sympathy with all the most sacred affections of the heart, merit such a title, it could have been nowhere more appropriately applied. As a prose writer, however, Mrs. Sigourney lays claim to even a higher standing than the gifted authoress of the 'Records of Woman,' as the following pages will bear ample testimony.
"In presenting these beauties of American literature nearly all hitherto unknown to the English reader, the editor feels assured that the refined taste and beauty of thought which they display, combined with the high moral principles they are designed to inculcate, will unite to render this Coronal one of the most acceptable and permanent additions to this class of English literature.
"London, November 1st, 1848."
Though this date defines the time of its first publication in England, yet, as I received no announcement, or copies of it, until the editions of 1850, I have placed it under that year in this present catalogue.
