Page:History of Bengali Literature in the Nineteenth Century.djvu/22

 XX PREFACE of a work like this and it is his. generous encouragement which has made possible its publication. I am fully aware that this essay is not free from errors and defects. In a field where workers are few and en- couragement, until quite recently, very little, one has to work under considerable difficulties and disadvantages and nothing would be more weleome than sympathy and co-operation. With the progress of investigation in the field, new facts are bound to come to light every day ; and even of the facts that have already been known we can never pretend that he has taken them all into con- sideration. All suggestions for improvement and correction therefore would be thankfully received. There are a few obvious misprints and mistakes which, in spite of my best efforts, the necessity of quick publication could not avoid and for which I crave the indulgence of the generous reader. The exceedingly short time within which the book had to be rushed through the press did not allow me in all cases to verify the references given in the footnotes and in some cases the books, though easily procurable at the time of writing this essay, had now become difficult of access and for these I had to depend entirely upon the notes I had previously made. These shortcomings, how- ever, let me trust, are not material. In conclusion I can only hope that the volume contains enough to justify its publication in the present form. SENATE House: SUSHIL KUMAR DE. Caicutta, July 17, 1919.