Friendly Craft

Excerpt from The Friendly Craft: A Collection of American Letters This collection represents the gleanings of several years in some of the pleasant by-paths of American literature. Personal considerations have so frequently determined the selection that no defence can be offered against criticism. The reflection of a bit of bygone life, an odd or whimsical view of a situation, a swift and unconscious revelation of character, often merely the happy or individual turn of a phrase, - these and causes as slight have governed choice; while for no graver reasons other far weightier and perhaps worthier material has been rejected. Yet personal choice alone did not control; many letters that I wished to include are not here because of the impossibility of securing the copyright privilege. To many librarians in many places I am grateful for patient and cheerful attention, and I am glad of this opportunity to express my appreciation of services without which the student's task would indeed be overwhelming. In particular, I would record the indebtedness of many years to the librarians of the Smith College Library and of the Forbes Library of Northampton, Mass. One more debt - and that the largest - must be acknowledged. From the first suggestion of this collection until the reading of the last page of proof, I have been aided constantly by my mother; and had my wish prevailed, her name would have stood on the title-page. To the editors and publishers who have courteously granted the use of material from their publications, I offer my sincere thanks. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.