Dedication:
To Emily Clairellen. (Aged 10 months.)
My Dear Daughter,
In placing your name upon the dedicatory page of this little work, I am actuated simply by a feeling of gratitude for the appreciative criticism you bestowed upon my last Christmas book. At an age when utterly incapable of flattery, even in its mildest form, you were discovered after the temporary absence of your nurse, with the remains of a volume of Head over Heels upon your lap. You had literally "devoured the contents," and has only stopped short at an advertisement upon the cover, containing statements which you very naturally refused to take in. I leave On the Cards, in your hands, in the earnest hope that you will not find in its pages anything at all likely to disagree with you.
Your affectionate Author,
G. W.
Melbourne, 6th December, 1875.
