Entered according to the Act of Congress, in the year 1842, by H. F. GOULD, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of

Wm. A. Hall & Co., Printers, 12 Water street.

PREFACE.

THE many tokens of favor and affection, which I have long been receiving from the juvenile readers of my poems, have often inspired me with a wish to make some return for the kind regards of my friends of that class, by preparing a book designed expressly for their perusal; in the hope that it might contribute alike to their pleasure and profit.

Such a work I now have the satisfaction to present, with my best wishes.

THE AUTHOR.

INTRODUCTION.

BEFORE you all, my

dear young friends, I place My new-formed offering of a GOLDEN VASE

Filled with fresh flowers, which I from far and

near

Sought out and plucked; then culled, to set them

here.

They have, at least, the worth of being rare;
And may you find them fragrant, bright and fair.
They come from meadow, hill, and woody wild;
But on them, when you each with joy have smiled,
That will be sunshine, fresher bloom to give,
Wherewith perennial they thrive and live.
Among them, from my own small garden-spot,
I place one little, sweet FORGET-ME-NOT.

H. F. G.