DEDICATORY EPISTLE 



TO 



THOMAS SERGEANT PERRY, 



PEOPESSOB OF ENGLISH LITERATURE IN THE KEIO GIJOKU, AT TOKYO. 



DEAR TOM, It has long been my wish to make 

 you the patron saint or tutelar divinity of some 

 book of mine, and it has lately occurred to me that 

 it ought to be a book of the desultory and chatty 

 sort that would remind you, in your present exile 

 at the world s eastern rim, of the many quiet even 

 ings of old, when, over a tankard of mellow Octo 

 ber and pipe of fragrant Virginia, while Yule logs 

 crackled blithely and the music of pattering sleet 

 was upon the window-pane, we used to roam in 

 fancy through the universe and give free utterance 

 to such thoughts, sedate or frivolous, as seemed to 

 us good. I dare say the present volume may serve 

 as an epitome of many such old-time sessions of 

 sweet discourse, which I trust we shall by and by 

 repeat and renew. 



But there is one link of association which in my 

 mind especially connects you with the present occa- 



