Page:Precaution; a novel by Cooper, James Fenimore.djvu/12

vi scarcely be said that the work was commenced with any view to publication; and when it was finally put into a publisher's hands, with "all its imperfections on its head," the last thought of the writer was any expectation that it would be followed by a series of similar tales from the same pen.

More than this the public will feel no interest in knowing, and less than this the author could not consent to say, on presenting to the world a reprint of a book with so few claims to notice.