ΤΟ WILLIAM LYTTON BULWER, Esq., OF HEYDON HALL, NORFOLK, I DEDICATE to you that work, completed and published, some part of which, when in manuscript, and but rudely sketched, you flattered me by approving. In it there are many faults, which I myself lament; there are many others which, in escaping my observation, will meet your own: but the Eastern proverb tells us that a bad cause is safer than a good; for in the latter we trust to justice, in the former we bribe the judge: and, in presenting to you these volumes, I know well that Criticism, however austere, is but a corrupt arbiter when tempted by Affection. Of all writings, perhaps, a dedication is the dullest: let me, in some measure, redeem the dulness of this by the sanctity of good wishes. An ancient name, and an inheritance that places you amidst that great landed aristocracy which exerts over the interests of this country so influential a sway, offer to your ambition a ready opening and an honorable career. May it not be long before the hostages you have given us in private life shall be redeemed in public; and the talents |