L’EN VO I. 
T HE author cannot take leave of his readers 
without expressing the earnest hope that 
some pleasure and some profit may have been 
derived by those who have closely followed him 
through his “ Fern Paradise.” To him, at least, 
the work of writing these pages has been truly 
a labour of love : for it has called up vividly 
before his mind’s eye delightful scenes which he 
has with, he fears, but imperfect success attempted 
to describe. But had not the task been light and 
pleasant in itself, it would have been lightened 
and rendered enjoyable by a consciousness of 
the great importance of the object for which it 
was undertaken. 
For surely to aim at giving pleasure to others 
is an object of the highest importance ; and 
there can be no purer enjoyment than that 
