WAR DEPARTMENT, Paymaster General's Office, Washington, August 1, 1872.
I take pleasure in commending to the reading public the
author of this work, Mr. Islay Walden, now of this city. Of
the worth of his writings I leave careful readers to judge; of
his own worth—his perseverance, integrity and Christian
character—I can speak in terms of praise, after years of careful
observation. From the time of his coming to Washington, in
the winter of 1867–'68, up to the present date, I have watched
with interest and pride his steady growth in grace, his rapid
mental development, his unceasing devotion to principle, and
his earnest labors in behalf of the poor of his race, who surely
will, in days to come, remember and bless him for his counsels.
His work in organizing Sabbath Schools among the poor
colored children of this city, as well as his labors among
those who could not thus be reached, by reason of their infirmities,
we know and cannot too highly approve. And all
this persevering study, this devotion to duty, is the more to
be commended, as we remember his affliction, a defective
vision—at times almost blindness—which alone would have
served to keep a less devoted servant in the background.
I trust this his first venture will meet with the success it
deserves; that his quaint rhymes may please and profit all
who read them; that, whatever may be the faults of metre,
critics will not lose sight of the eloquence, originality and
real beauty of thought that are found in his work.
J. L. H. WINFIELD.
