Burton, Warren. The District School As It Was, Scenery-Showing, and other writings. Boston: T. R. Marvin, 1852. [6260]
Black blindstamped cloth, light edge-wear with small chip to backstrip top of spine, 7 1/2 x 5 inches, 1897 library bookplate stamped "withdrawn," one woodcut engraving, 364 clean pp., tight. Good. Hardcover.
The title The District School As It Was, first published 1833; that of Scenery-Showing in 1844, under the title Scenery Shower, which the author laments was pronounced like the rainfall and not as one who shows. Other essays included here are A Supplication to the People of the United States (a witty piece on the correct pronunciation of words); A Traveler's Story, for the Perusal of Parents; The Mountain Town and the Magnanimous Boy; The Lighthouse of Lighthouses; The Dark of Autumn and the Bright of Winter in New-England; The Divine Agency in Nature; The Devout African; Emulation, as a Motive to Study; A Prayer.
Rev. Warren Burton (1800-1866), b. Wilton, NH; d. Salem, MA. Burton was educated at a district school and through self-study prepared for admission to Harvard University, graduating in 1821; "studied theology, and was ordained in 1828, but, while serving occasionally as minister at large, and as chaplain to the Massachusetts legislature, held no regular position, devoting himself chiefly to the promotion of educational reforms." - Allibone.
The District School as It Was describes his experience at one during the years 1804 to 1817. He also wrote on White Slavery, Phrenology, Education, and Religion.