[Pg 5] PUBLISHERS' ANNOUNCEMENT. If, as Lord Bacon says, "reading makes a full man," then it behooves every one who has any aspirations to read. The negro is just passing, as it were, through the gateway that enters upon life's great work, and the publishers of this little volume are anxious to see our "brother in black" develop, both from an intellectual and a moral standpoint, and are ready to do what they can to stimulate the race on to still greater achievements than they have ever before accomplished. In launching "Sparkling Gems" we are simply putting forth to the world what we hope may, in some measure, instruct and encourage the colored people. We have compressed a vast amount of valuable race information into a small compass. The style of the work is good, and its moral tone is excellent. It can scarcely fail to profit every member of the race who will read it, hence it should be in every family, in every office, and in every library. It has been the earnest aim of the compiler to embody in these pages the latest conclusions of some of the most prominent Afro-American scholars on several of the mooted subjects pertaining to the race. We owe a debt of lasting gratitude to many of our friends who have so generously furnished us valuable assistance in the collection of data for this volume, among whom we may mention W. B. Rust and T. B. Mears as among the most enthusiastic. Believing that there is a genuine need for such a work as we have produced, we offer it to our colored friends and their white friends, praying God's blessing upon it. The Publishers. [Pg 6] [Pg 6] AS IT NOW IS—HOME OF A FREEMAN. Residence of R. R. Church, Memphis, Tenn., the wealthiest colored man in the state; estimated at $250,000. AS IT NOW IS—HOME OF A FREEMAN. Residence of R. R. Church, Memphis, Tenn., the wealthiest colored man in the state; estimated at $250,000. [Pg 7] [Pg 7] CONTENTS.
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