LEAVES,
FOR A
CHRISTMAS BOUGH.

Love, Truth, and Hope.

BOSTON:
WM. CROSBY & H. P. NICHOLS, 111 Washington Street.
NEW YORK: CHARLES B. NORTON, 71 CHAMBERS STREET.,
1849.

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1849, by
WILLIAM CROSBY & H. P. NICHOLS,
in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts.

COOLIDGE AND WILEY, PRINTERS, 12 WATER ST., BOSTON.

PREFACE.

Recollections of the many pleasant hours passed with a certain juvenile circle, not fifty miles from Boston, and associations connected with this joyous season, have induced the feeble effort of collecting a few stray leaves for its amusement. Hoping that their many defects, arising from a hasty preparation amid various cares and occupations, may be kindly pardoned, they are presented as a trifling Gift for the Holidays.

To that group, bound together by a mutual sympathy in each other's joys and fleeting sorrows, it may not be uninteresting to recall the days of "Auld Lang Syne." The scene will be a chequered one, for amid the frolic and sunshine, some tears will have been shed; while with hours of hard and thoughtful study, the bitterness of failure will sometimes appear.

But the bright and beautiful so far prevail over the rest, that such only need be recalled; and while enjoying those sweet remembrances, let us be merry and glad together. With truth and goodness as our constant aim, let us strive to make daily progress in the school of life, and though we may be separated on Earth, we may hope for a blissful reunion in Heaven.

CONTENTS.