Upon this plan I have endeavoured
to form the “Trials of the Human
Heart.” My Heroine, though not
wholly free from error, (for where
&longs;hall we find the human being that is
&longs;o?) I tru&longs;t is not altogether unworthy
imitation. Through various trying
&longs;ituations, as daughter, wife, and mother;
I have &longs;trove to conduct her with
propriety, tempering the weakne&longs;s of
humanity with the patience and fortitude
of a Chri&longs;tian, and that dignified
pride, which will ever ari&longs;e from a ju&longs;t
&longs;en&longs;e of the moral virtues.

It is with reluctance I find my&longs;elf
obliged to remark, that the literary
world is infe&longs;ted with a kind of loathsome
reptile, of the cla&longs;s of non-de&longs;cripts,
for it cannot be ranked with propriety
among&longs;t either authors or critics, not
po&longs;&longs;e&longs;&longs;ing the qualifications nece&longs;&longs;ary
to form either, and being in it&longs;elf remarkable
for nothing but its noxious
qualities: its only aim is to prevent the
&longs;ucce&longs;s of any work of genius; and
&longs;welling with envy, &longs;hould the &longs;malle&longs;t
part of public favour, be conferred on

[figure description] Page xiv.[end figure description]

another, &longs;pits out its malignant poi&longs;on,
in &longs;currility and detraction. One of
the&longs;e noi&longs;ome reptiles, has lately crawled
over the volumes, which I have had
the temerity to &longs;ubmit to the public
eye. I &longs;ay crawled over them, becau&longs;e
I am certain it has never penetrated
beyond the title-page of any.

Perhaps it would be as well, did I
&longs;uffer this circum&longs;tance to pa&longs;s unnoticed;
the arguments u&longs;ed, I mu&longs;t confess,
are unan&longs;werable, being in &longs;ome
parts incomprehen&longs;ible, and in others
of &longs;uch a nature, that no woman can
glance her eye over them, without feeling
the blu&longs;h of offended delicacy crimson
her cheek. Yet, as I have been
accu&longs;ed of writing in an improper &longs;tyle in
my Novel of the “Fille de Chambre,”
and of expre&longs;&longs;ing &longs;entiments foreign to
my heart, in my Comedy of “Slaves in
Algiers,” I think it nece&longs;&longs;ary to a&longs;&longs;ure
the candid and impartial public, that
both the&longs;e a&longs;&longs;ertions are equally fal&longs;e
and &longs;candalous.

[figure description] Page xv.[end figure description]

Though many a lei&longs;ure hour has been
amu&longs;ed, and many a &longs;orrowful one beguiled,
whil&longs;t giving Fancy the reins,
I have applied my&longs;elf to my pen, it has
ever been my pride, that I never yet
wrote a line that might tend to mi&longs;lead
the untutored judgment, or corrupt the
inexperienced heart; and heaven forbid
I &longs;hould &longs;uffer ought to e&longs;cape my
pen, that might call a blu&longs;h to the
cheek of innocence, or de&longs;erve a glance
of di&longs;plea&longs;ure from the eye of the mo&longs;t
rigid morali&longs;t.

As to my opinion of the political
concerns of America, or my wi&longs;hes in
regard to her welfare, I cannot better
explain them, than by giving a &longs;light
&longs;ketch of my private hi&longs;tory, with
which, I rather imagine, the creature
alluded to, is entirely unacquainted.

It was my fate, at a period when
memory can &longs;carcely retain the smallest
trace of the occurrence, to accompany
my father, (Mr. William Ha&longs;well,
who is a lieutenant in the Briti&longs;h navy)
to Bo&longs;ton in New England, where he

[figure description] Page xvi.[end figure description]

had married a &longs;econd wife, my mother
having lo&longs;t her life in giving me existence.
Ble&longs;t with a genteel competency,
and placed by his rank and education
in that &longs;phere of life, where the
polite and friendly attentions of the
mo&longs;t re&longs;pectable characters courted our
acceptance, and enjoying a con&longs;tant
intercour&longs;e with the families of the officers
of the Briti&longs;h army and navy,
then &longs;tationary there, eight years of
my life glided almo&longs;t imperceptibly
away.

At that time the di&longs;&longs;entions between
England and America encrea&longs;ed to an
alarming degree: my father bore the
king's commi&longs;&longs;ion, he had taken the
oath of allegiance; certain I am that
no one who con&longs;iders the nature of an
oath, voluntarily taken, no one who reflects,
that previous to this period, he
had &longs;erved thirty years under the British
government, will blame him for a
&longs;trict adherence to principles which
were interwoven as it were with his existance.
He did adhere to them, the
attendant con&longs;equence may readily

[figure description] Page xvii.[end figure description]

be &longs;uppo&longs;ed; his per&longs;on was confined,
his property confi&longs;cated.

Then it was that the benevolence and
philanthropy, which &longs;o eminently distinguish
the &longs;ons and daughters of Columbia
made an indeliable impre&longs;&longs;ion
on my heart, an impre&longs;&longs;ion which neither
time or chance can obliterate, for
while their political principles obliged
them to afflict, the humanity, the Christian
like benevolence of their &longs;ouls, incited
them to wipe the tears of sorrow
from the eyes of my parents, to
mitigate their &longs;ufferings, and render
tho&longs;e afflictions in &longs;ome mea&longs;ure supportable.
Would to Heaven it was in
my power to render their memories as
immortal, as my gratitude is unbounded.

Having been detained as a pri&longs;oner
two years and an half, part of which
was &longs;pent in Hingham, and part in Abington;
an exchange of pri&longs;oners taking
place between the Briti&longs;h and Americans,
my father and his family were
&longs;ent by cartel to Halifax, from whence

[figure description] Page xviii.[end figure description]

we embarked for England. I will not
pretend to de&longs;cribe the &longs;orrow I experienced,
in being thus &longs;eparated from the
companions of my early years: every
wi&longs;h of my heart was for the welfare
and pro&longs;perity of a country, which contained
&longs;uch dear, &longs;uch valuable friends,
and the only comfort of which my
mind was capable, was indulging in the
delightful hope, of being at &longs;ome future
period permitted again to revi&longs;it a land
&longs;o beloved, companions &longs;o regretted.

Too young at that time, to have formed
any political principles of my own,
I may naturally be &longs;uppo&longs;ed to have
adopted tho&longs;e of my father, but the
truth is, that equally attached to either
country, the unhappy di&longs;&longs;entions affected
me in the &longs;ame manner as a
per&longs;on may be imagined to feel, who
having a tender lover, and an affectionate
brother who are equally dear to her
heart, and by whom &longs;he is equally beloved,
&longs;ees them engaged in a quarrel
with, and fighting again&longs;t each other,
when, let which&longs;oever party conquer,

[figure description] Page xix.[end figure description]

&longs;he cannot be &longs;uppo&longs;ed in&longs;en&longs;ible to the
fate of the vanqui&longs;hed.

During a period of twelve years a
variety of painful circum&longs;tances unnecessary
here to recount, contributed to
deprive me of a decent independence
inherited from my paternal grandfather,
and at length to bring me back to
America, in a very different &longs;ituation,
I mu&longs;t confe&longs;s, from that in which I
left it; but with a heart, &longs;till glowing
with the &longs;ame affectionate &longs;en&longs;ations,
and exulting in its evident improvement:
the arts are encouraged, manufactures
increa&longs;e, and this happy land
bids fair to be in the cour&longs;e of a few
years the mo&longs;t flouri&longs;hing nation in the
univer&longs;e.

Is it then wonderful, that accu&longs;tomed
from the days of childhood, to think of
America and its inhabitants with affection,
linked to them by many near
connections, and &longs;incerely attached to
them, from principles of gratitude, that
I &longs;hould offer the mo&longs;t ardent prayers
for a continuation of their pro&longs;perity,

[figure description] Page xx.[end figure description]

or that feeling the benign influence of
the ble&longs;&longs;ings of peace and liberty, here
&longs;o eminently enjoyed, I &longs;hould wi&longs;h
that influence extended throughout every
nation under heaven.

Before I conclude, I beg leave to &longs;ay
a few words more, concerning my present
publication. I am willing to flatter
my&longs;elf, that in offering this novel to
the public, I am not preparing for my
future life, either &longs;hame or repentance.
That it is throughout the whole, happily
imagined or highly poli&longs;hed, I have
not &longs;ufficient confidence in my own abilities
to warrant; but whatever may be my
final &longs;entence from the world in general,
I have at lea&longs;t endeavoured to de&longs;erve
their kindne&longs;s, nor &longs;hall I envy the honours
which wit and learning obtain in
any other cau&longs;e, if I may be &longs;o happy
as to awaken in the bo&longs;oms of my youthful
readers, a thorough dete&longs;tation of
vice, and a &longs;pririted emulation, to embrace
and follow the precepts of Piety,
Truth and Virtue.