The Project Gutenberg EBook of Burl, by Morrison Heady

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Title: Burl

Author: Morrison Heady

Release Date: November 29, 2008 [EBook #27363]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

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BURL.

BY MORRISON HEADY.

NASHVILLE, TENN.:

SOUTHERN METHODIST PUBLISHING HOUSE.

1886.

Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1884,

BY THE BOOK AGENTS OF THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, SOUTH,

in the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.

PREFACE.

Some one has said that inasmuch as the Preface to a book is the last
thing that is written, it ought to be the last that is read. I suppose
that some readers prefer to omit the Preface until they have read the
book, for many writers, Lord Lytton among the number, really destroy the
illusion of a work of fiction by specifying the conditions under which
it was written. A certain amount of faith in the reality of the things
recorded is, to many minds, essential to true enjoyment of the story.

However the case may be, I prefer that the reader of this volume should
read these lines of mine before he proceeds farther. The author of this
little book is both _blind_ and _deaf_! For many years he has been
absolutely blind. He has utterly lost the sense of hearing also; and
whilst he speaks with singular clearness, and with some modulation of
voice, he can receive no communication from his fellow-creatures except
through an alphabet which he carries upon his hand! Every word must be
spelled letter by letter.

Thus deprived of two of his senses, it is a marvel that he is able to
write at all. That he has written a book of more than ordinary interest
I am sure the reader will decide when he has read it. There are passages
of true poetry scattered here and there, and some descriptive scenes
that will not suffer by comparison with those of the best of living
authors. Under other circumstances, I would exercise my e