viii
PREFACE.
erature is the only one, which has not, before, appeared in print. It is a very imperfect sketch; the theme was great and difficult, the time to be spared for its consideration was brief. It is, however, written with sincere and earnest feelings, and from a mind that cares for nothing but what is permanent and essential. It should, then, have some merit, if only in the power of suggestion. A year or two hence, I hope to have more to say upon this topic, or the interests it represents, and to speak with more ripeness both as to the matter and the form.
S. M. F.
New York, July, 1846.
