Front matter
Reading edition
E-text prepared by Roberta Staehlin, TIA, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net) from page images generously made available by Internet Archive/American Libraries (http://www.archive.org/details/americana)
Note: Images of the original pages are available through Internet Archive/American Libraries. See http://www.archive.org/details/goldbrick00stepiala
THE GOLD BRICK. BY MRS. ANN S. STEPHENS. AUTHOR OF "FASHION AND FAMINE," "MARY DERWENT," "THE OLD HOMESTEAD," "THE REJECTED WIFE," "THE HEIRESS," "THE WIFE'S SECRET," "SILENT STRUGGLES," ETC.
His was the deepest sorrow, for it grew Out from his crime, a night-shade of the soul. There, fed on poison—bathed with bitter dew, She found the evil thing. Her sweet control Unearthed the root, and softly planted there A tiny germ, all white and pure as snow, And then with tears, and smiles, and silent prayer, Through grief and darkness, watched the lone plant grow A stately tree, rooted so deep in Love, That its best fruitage must be found above.
Philadelphia: T. B. PETERSON AND BROTHERS; 306 CHESTNUT STREET.
Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1866, by MRS. ANN S. STEPHENS, In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States, in and for the Southern District of New York.
TO MY DEAR FRIEND, MRS. BENJAMIN F. LOAN OF ST. JOSEPH, MISSOURI, THIS VOLUME IS AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED.
ANN S. STEPHENS.
New York, March, 1866.