The Project Gutenberg EBook of Choice Specimens of American Literature,
And Literary Reader, by Benj. N. Martin

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Title: Choice Specimens of American Literature, And Literary Reader
Being Selections from the Chief American Writers

Author: Benj. N. Martin

Release Date: February 17, 2004 [EBook #11122]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

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CHOICE SPECIMENS

OF

AMERICAN LITERATURE,

AND

LITERARY READER,

BEING SELECTIONS FROM THE CHIEF AMERICAN WRITERS,

BY

PROF. BENJ. N. MARTIN, D.D., L.H.D., PROFESSOR OF THE UNIVERSITY OF THE
CITY OF NEW YORK. 1874

PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION.

The former edition of this work was prepared simply as a supplement to
Shaw's "Choice Specimens of English Literature." Though it extended to
a larger size than had been anticipated, and was therefore issued in a
separate volume, it still proved so straitened in point of space as to
be in some important respects defective and inadequate. The decision of
the publishers to reprint it in an enlarged form furnishes to the editor
a welcome opportunity to correct its deficiencies, and to make several
important emendations.

When the work of collecting suitable extracts from the great body of our
literature was fairly entered upon, it soon became apparent that little
aid could be had from the earlier manuals. Besides being in great
measure obsolete, they were from the beginning disproportionate, and
geographically too local in subject and spirit; both of which may be
deemed grave defects.

The last twenty years have made great changes in American authorship.
Many new names must now be added to the older lists, and many formerly
familiar ones must be dropped from them. Hence these extracts have for
the most part been derived, with assiduous care, directly from the
collected works of our standard authors. This part of my labor has been
greatly facilitated by the courtesy of the gentlemen connected with the
Society, the Mercantile, and the Astor, Library, whose constant kindness
I