Pickwick Abroad: or, The Tour in France — page 18: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

PREKRKACKE. . Vil Mr. 8 , a retired British officer, who courteously addressed me upon the subject a few days since. Mr.S *s address is at your disposal, should you be desirous of proving the veracity of this assertion. It is also necessary to remark, that when I first penned the aaecdote, I was of course unaware of the discrepancies just detailed.” \ ~The Preface to a work is, in the opinion of most authors, the least pleasant of all literary tasks. It is a lucubration in which the writer finds it dificult not to play the part of an egotist,— it is the stage on which one individual stands, with the painful conviction that he alone has to engage the attention of a vast audience. If it be objected to this remark, that the same si. tuation is filled by the author in his book as well as in his Preface—a decided negative is the rejoinder; inasmuch as the audience look only to the characters, that. come and go one after another in the book; whereas in the Preface, the author is unassisted by any of those interesting creations of his fancy. Prompted by these considerations, I shall no longer intrude upon the notice of the public inthe shape of a Preface; but shall wind up these few, but necessary observations with the hope that the contents of the ensuing pages will help to clear away from the minds of my untravelled fellow-countrymen, a few of those prejudices, in reference to the French, which are still so tenaciously adhered to, and place the character of our great and gallant neighbours—and, thank God! present and sure allies— in a new and better light than they have ever yet been viewed in. From my own personal experience, resulting from nearly a ten years’ residence amongst the French, I can answer for their hos- pitality, their kindness to foreigners, and the advantages which an Englishman may enjoy from procuring from the govern- ment authorised letters of domiciliation in the country: and I venture to assert, without fear of contradiction, that there is no nation in the universe where a citizen or a foreigner enjoys more real liberty than in France, provided political -pursuits be not allowed to form a portion of his avocations. The English have generally formed their opinions of the French after a very su- EORMIClIOOKS im