TO
HER IMPERIAL MAJESTY
ALEXANDRA FEODEROWNA,
EMPRESS OF ALL THE RUSSIAS.
----------
Madam,
I should have confined myself to expressing, in terms of unfeignedadmiration and respect, my gratitude for the interest which YourImperial Majesty is pleased to take in the literature of my country,and in the efforts of so humble an individual as myself, had I notfelt that the work which you have permitted me to inscribe to yourname is in every way unworthy of being presented to one, alikeillustrious by talents and virtues, and by rank.
At the time that Your Imperial Majesty's gracious message wascommunicated to me, the following pages were not only written, but inthe press; and my strong desire to obey your commands without anydelay, induces me to dedicate this work to you, although it is in somedegree connected with a former production, already, I believe, in YourMajesty's possession.
Under other circumstances, I might have laboured, though I certainlyshould have laboured in vain, to produce a work worthy of youracceptance; but I must then have delayed long what I was eager toperform promptly; and, most assuredly, nothing that I could havewritten would have worthily testified the admiration and pleasure withwhich I have marked, from afar, the immense efforts of yourself andyour Imperial Consort to encourage literature and science in yourdominions, and to improve the moral and social condition of yoursubjects.
That those efforts may be crowned with the most brilliant success, andrepay you, to the last of your days, with the noblest recompence thatmonarchs can receive,--the blessings of a happy and enlightenedpeople,--is the sincere prayer of
Your Imperial Majesty's
most humble
and most obedient Servant,
George Payne Rainsford James.
THE
LITTLE BALL O' FIRE
OR,
JOHN MARSTON HALL.
The Little Ball O' Fire; or, the Life and Adventures of John Marston Hall Page 4
