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THE

DISTRICT SCHOOL AS IT WAS,

SCENERY-SHOWING,

AND OTHER WRITINGS.

BY WARREN BURTON.

BOSTON :

[graphic]

PRESS OF T. R: MARVIN, 42 CONGRESS STREET. 1852.

Entered according to an Act of Congress, in the year 1852, by WARREN BURTON, in the District Court of the District of Massachusetts.

LENOX LIBRARY

NEW YORK

PREFACE.

THIS Volume contains such productions only as have already appeared in print. Two of them,-those named in the title page, have been published as books by themselves, and in this form are still for sale. The publishers have kindly permitted them to be included in this collection, which is to be disposed of to subscribers, for the benefit of the Author.

'THE DISTRICT SCHOOL AS IT WAS,' is thus presented to the public by the publishers of the last edition, in an advertisement prefixed to the work.

"The following work was first published in Boston in 1833, and was received with unqualified favor. A second and larger edition was issued in New York, with equal success. Several hundred of this edition were purchased by a distinguished friend of education, in a neighboring State, (Henry Barnard, Esq., of Conn.) and distributed for the purpose of suggesting ideas of reform.

"It was republished in London a few years ago, as giving a faithful description of one of the Institutions of New England.

"It is hoped that it will be deemed particularly appropriate to School Libraries, and not unsuited to others; that it will be sought as an agreeable gift-book from Teachers to Pupils; and lastly, that it will ever be of historical use to rising generations, educated under better auspices, as exhibiting a true and graphic picture of 'The District School as it Was.'

'SCENERY-SHOWING' was published in Boston in 1844, under the title of the Scenery-Shower, the last word being

derived from the verb to show. As, however, it is liable to be mispronounced, so as to bear an entirely different meaning, or rather in this connection, no meaning at all, a new but similar title has been adopted. In respect to the object of the work, the reader is referred to its introductory matter in the proper place.

The other pieces, with one exception, have appeared in periodicals. Some of the titles have been slightly changed. The narrative and descriptive portions are more likely to attract readers, while the more solid matter may be neglected; for this reason, attention is especially asked to the article headed, 'The Divine Agency in Nature.' In this, some views are presented respecting God's presence and immediate action in the material universe, which are not entertained at all by some minds, and which, though believed, are not clearly apprehended by others.

The closing effusion was the first production of the author that ever appeared in print. It was sent to a religious periodical in 1824, in such a way as to leave the writer unknown. It has been sought and found among the things gone by, as peradventure, by revision, it might make an appropriate conclusion. It was, however, committed to the press, word for word, as it was originally penned by the inexperienced and diffident writer, nearly twenty-eight years ago.

Finally, it is hoped that in this volume will be found not only entertainment but instruction, and that it will be considered a desirable addition to the FAMILY LIBRARY.

BOSTON, May 7, 1852.

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