THE COMET OF A SEASON BY JUSTIN MCCARTHY AUTHOR OF MISS MISANTHROPE,' DEAR LADY DISDAIN,' 'DONNA QUIXOTE,' ETC. TO THE HON. MRS. F. H. JEUNE. DEAR MRS. JEUNE, I have in memory some graceful words in which George Sand dedicates one of her stories to a Spanish lady, her friend. 'The seamen of the Adriatic,' she says, 'when they launch a new boat, never fail to decorate it with the image of some saintly patroness' and in such spirit she asks 'that your name written on this page, O ma belle et bonne amie, may be like the effigy which protects a frail skiff among capricious winds.' May I borrow this pretty conceit and use it now for my own purpose, when I ask for your permission to write your name on this front page of my book and to dedicate the story to you? Faithfully yours, JUSTIN MCCARTHY. |