Dedication
TO
MY MOTHER
THAT GENTLE LITTLE MENTOR OF MINE WHO HAS
GROWN MORE DEAR WITH ADVANCING YEARS,
WHOSE UNSHAKEN FAITH AND UNSWERVING
AFFECTION HAVE BEEN MY INSPIRATION
THIS BOOK IS
AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED
Foreword
A word with you, who lift me from my place among the Books,
Before you take or leave me, pleased or displeased with my looks;
If you are seeking knowledge of a scientific kind,
If you would delve in pages full of wisdom for the mind,
Although I stand a Slave Girl upon the Public Mart,
Leave me! Leave me! Oh, my Masters! I can never reach your heart!
But, if you love the glamour of the Palace of the King,
And find your pulses quicken when intrigue is on the wing;
If you would see the Lover and the Maiden he would wed,
The flight, the fight upon the stair, the rich blood running red,
The last despair, the rescue, hero acting well his part—
Take me! Take me! Oh, my Masters! I can ever reach your heart!
EDGAR M. DILLEY