Preface: '"A good action brings its own reward;" therefore, having invested Half-a-Crown in the purchase of this little Book, the proceeds of which are to be given to help the Widows and Fatherless, you must console yourself that though the Book may be scarce worth your reading, the good action was worth doing; in the conviction, you will have the worth of your money, and the Book into the bargain. So begin it with a disposition to be pleased, and the Author thinks you will have no inclination to complain at its conclusion. If, however, you are one of that class of Readers who are never so well pleased as when they have something to grumble at, to a certainty you will be gratified to find the Author (poor fellow) has here and there blundered and floundered horribly. Thus, the two classes of Readers are pretty sure to be pleased. By the kindness of the public nearly the whole edition is ordered before publication; and, in the success of my First Book, none can be more pleased than, Gentle Reader, Yours respectfully, George Wright.'
Mentioned briefly in a review in My Note Books, 10 October 1857, p. 337.
