Non-Fiction > Books > London, 1878 - Inland voyage

VI Preface,
run over it and inserted what was good. But
for my part I have not yet learned the trick
to that perfection ; I am not yet able to dis-
semble the warmth of my sentiments towards
a reader ; and if I meet him on the threshold,
it is to invite him in with country cordiality.
To say truth, I had no sooner finished read-
ing this little book in proof, than I was seized
upon by a distressing apprehension. It oc-
curred to me that I might not only be the
first to read these pages, but the last as well ;
that I might have pioneered this very smiling
tract of country all in vain, and find not a
soul to follow in my steps. The more I
thought, the more I disliked the notion ; until
the distaste grew into a sort of panic terror,
and I rushed into this Preface, which is no
more than an advertisement for readers.