Wreaths of Friendship: A Gift for the Young

In Short

Wreaths of Friendship: A Gift for the Young is an instructional nineteenth-century anthology of short moral tales, reflective essays, fables, and gentle verse designed for children. Through home domestic scenes, schoolyard dilemmas, natural history vignettes, and direct pastoral address, the collection illustrates the values of truthfulness, kindness, and self-control. It follows various young protagonists as they learn that internal disposition dictates outward happiness. The book remains an authentic historical window into antebellum American children's literature, preserving the earnest, educational ethos of mid-nineteenth-century domestic gift books.

The Story

The volume moves through a series of independent narratives and thematic reflections, beginning in the home with domestic lessons on emotional temper. Young Angeline complains to her mother that external troubles ruin her mood, prompting her mother to compare the human mind to a clock whose internal gears must remain in order regardless of the weather outside. This principle of self-governance establishes the foundation for the stories that follow.

Attention shifts to the interactions of children at play and at school, where mild choices lead to clear moral outcomes. When Henry Green disrupts a lawn game, William Baker learns from his mother that gentle persuasion subdues misbehavior far more effectively than angry demands. In contrast, Charles Murray faces the temptation to skip school for chestnut-gathering with Archy Benton, while Richard White succumbs to truancy and abandons his books in the forest. Richard’s single day of folly leads to an early departure from school for manual trade, while his studious peer William Brown continues his education, eventually becoming the proprietor of a large manufactory where Richard ends up as a simple laborer.

Narratives of childhood dishonesty illustrate the immediate and long-term costs of deceit. A young narrator lies about a headache to escape farm labor, only to be sent home by his father to swallow a bitter dose of rhubarb, effectively curing his indolence. Another boy, Selden Mason, acquires a relentless habit of exaggeration that earns him the nickname "Exclamation Point" and threatens his future business reputation. In a darker tale narrated from the perspective of a stolen gold pen, a young man named John Smith traces his descent into theft back to early orchard robberies, ultimately confronting his guilt in a church pew upon hearing a sermon on the hard path of transgressors.

Interspersed throughout the prose are reflections on nature, animal companions, and mortality. A injured robin named Willy is nursed back to health by young Julia, while Farmer Jones's horse, Old Ned, displays an eccentric intelligence reserved only for his kind master. In a quiet forest scene, three sisters sit under a tree listening to their younger sibling, Sue, speak thoughtfully of heaven and wild flowers shortly before her early death. The volume concludes with moral fables, natural history lessons on honey-bees and spiders, historical sketches of British fairy lore, and explicit guidance on conscience, urging young readers to ground their daily conduct in truth and reverent kindness.

How It Unfolds

The clock of the mind Angeline learns from her mother that internal self-control, rather than external circumstances, determines personal happiness and peace of mind.

Kindness on the lawn Mrs. Baker instructs her son William to use gentle words to subdue a rude playmate who interrupts their yard games.

The truant's trajectory Richard White hides his school satchel in the woods to shirk his studies, setting off a trajectory that leads to a lifetime of manual labor under a former classmate.

The bitter cure A boy feigns an illness to escape working in the field, only to receive a large, bitter dose of rhubarb from his mother that cures both his laziness and dishonesty.

The stole gold pen A stolen pen describes its owner's growing anxiety and regret as he remembers his early days of stealing fruit and faces the weight of a solemn sermon.

Sue's heavenly flowers Three sisters rest in the woods while the youngest, little Sue, speaks gravely about the beauty of heaven and her departed mother before passing away young.

The People

• Angeline: A young girl struggling with a quick temper who learns from her mother that her happiness depends on her internal disposition rather than external events.
• William Baker: A well-meaning boy who learns to replace harsh directives with kind, gentle speech when dealing with troublesome playmates.
• Richard White: A schoolboy who yields to the temptation of truancy, leaving his books in the woods and ultimately growing up to be an uneducated laborer.
• William Brown: Richard's diligent classmate who stays dedicated to his studies, eventually becoming the successful owner of a large manufacturing enterprise.
• John Smith: A troubled young man whose early habit of stealing fruit from neighboring orchards escalates into severe theft, leaving him burdened with guilt and fear.
• Little Sue: A thoughtful, serious child who loves nature and talks peacefully of heaven shortly before her early death, leaving a lasting impression on her older sisters.

In Its Own Voice

"The mind is its own place, and of itself / Can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven."

Angeline's mother quotes John Milton to explain how internal disposition governs external happiness.

"To flowers are assigned a high and important use, and exquisite beauty of form and color is at the same time given to them..."

Cousin Mary explains to Agnes that natural beauty in the world always serves a higher, functional purpose.

"I myself have heard of many a highway robber, who began his career in the orchard of his neighbor."

The narrator reflects on the dangerous progression from minor childhood disobedience to serious adult crime.

What It's Really About

At its core, the collection argues that small moral choices in youth shape the permanent trajectory of adult character. The stories insist that external circumstances do not dictate human behavior; rather, an ordered inner life enables individuals to withstand frustration, temptation, and sorrow. Through contrast between diligent and foolish children, the text asserts that integrity, truthfulness, and gentle speech yield tangible practical and spiritual rewards, whereas petty dishonesty and laziness lead inevitably to regret and constraint.

Why Read It Today

This volume appeals primarily to readers interested in nineteenth-century social history, domestic literature, and the evolution of children's books. Reading it offers an unvarnished look at antebellum moral pedagogy, illustrating how mid-nineteenth-century authors used direct address, fables, and domestic realism to instill Protestant work ethics and civic virtue in young minds.

The prose is straightforward, though modern readers will notice period characteristics such as overt didacticism, heavy-handed moralizing, and explicit religious references. The stories deal casually with strict parenting strategies—such as punitive medicine—and contain romanticized depictions of childhood mortality that were common in Victorian literature. Despite its formal tone and archaic structure, the text stays with the reader as a remarkably clear cultural artifact, documenting an era when literature for the young was designed explicitly as a moral guide for life.