  We call our little book "The Hawthorn." We chose the name of a blossom for our young readers, in preference to that of a gem, because the cold glittering beauty of the latter has little in common with the affectionateness, and beaming freshness of the young, to whom the nature of flowers seems more analogous. When the young man came to the blessed Saviour to inquire as to eternal life, he bade him keep the commandments, and being told "all these things have I observed;" it is then recorded that, "Jesus beholding him, loved him." We know too, that he "loved little children," for he "took them in his arms," in token of tenderness; we infer that he loved the flowers likewise, for he said, "consider the lilies of the field;" and we find the most beautiful illustrations of the Divine precepts of Jesus borrowed from the kingdom of flowers. What wonder then that we should love these delicate "They tremble on the Alpine height, The fissur'd rock they press, The desert wild with heat and sand Shares too, their blessedness; And wheresoe'er the weary heart Turns in its dim despair, The meek eyed blossom upward looks Inviting it to prayer." Thus it is, my dear friends, that we present you, not a Bouquett, which, however tasteful, and however beautiful, might still confuse you with its many significations; we present you not a Gem, to remind you of the brilliancy of mind, that may yet be unsympathizing, and bewildering, but a simple flower, one, from a paradise of freshness and beauty. |
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