CONSTANCE,

OR

THE MERCHANT'S DAUGHTER

A TALE OF OUR TIMES.

"Spirits are not finely touched

But to fine issues."

SECOND EDITION, REVISED.

NEW YORK:

PUBLISHED BY DAYTON AND SAXTON,
Successors to Gould, Newman & Saxton,

CORNER OF FULTON AND, NASSAU STREETS.

1841.
FB20

Entered according to the act of Congress, in the year 1840, by

GOULD, NEWMAN, AND SAXTON,

in the Clerk's office of the District Court of the United States, for the Southeru District of New York.

S. W. BENEDICT, PRINT.

"I saw her upon nearer view,
A spirit, yet a woman too!
Her household motions light and free,
And steps of virgin liberty;

A countenance in which did meet
Sweet records, promises as sweet,
A creature not too bright or good
For human nature's daily food,
For transient sorrows, simple wiles,
Praise, blame, love kisses, tears, and smiles.

And now I see with eye serene,
The very pulse of the machine;
A being breathing thoughtful breath,
A traveler betwixt life and death;
The reason firm, the temperate will,
Endurance, foresight, strength and skill,
A perfect woman, nobly planned
To warn, to comfort and command,
And yet a spirit still, and bright,
With something of an angel light."

WORDSWORTH.

TO THE SECOND EDITION.

The call for a second edition of this little work, while it is gratifying to the author, has induced him to give it a careful revision. A few points, left with too little qualification, in the ardor of a hasty composition, have given occasion to certain criticisms from the religious press, of the justice of which he is sensible, and for the courteous tone of which he is sincerely grateful. While his own judgment on some minor points, thus noticed, remains unaltered, on others he has been solicitous, in the revision, to guard against any possible perversion of the sentiments advanced or of the language in which they are clothed. Some parts have been rewritten, others have been modified or altogether omitted. Thus revised, and, as he trusts, improved, he again commits it to the press, in the hope that with the blessing of God it may be more widely useful in promoting the blessed cause to which his own life and efforts are devoted.

ASTORIA INSTITUTE, April 9, 1841.

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