Dear James,--You, once upon a time, dedicated to me a tale of deep and thrilling interest Let me now inscribe to you this volume on the plea of that classic authority who, in the interchange of armour, “gave Brass for Gold.” It is, however, far less to repay the obligation of a debt by giving you a “Roland”--not for your “Oliver,” but your “Stepmother”--than for the pleasure of recording one “Fact” in a bulky tome of Fiction, that I now write your name at the head of this page,--that fact being, the warm memory I cherish of all our pleasant hours of intercourse, and the sincere value I place upon the honor of your friendship.…
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