Dream Life: A Fable of the Seasons

—— We are such stuff As dreams are made of; and our little life Is rounded with a sleep
Tempest.
NEW YORK SCRIBNER, ARMSTRONG, AND COMPANY 1876.
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1883, by Charles Scribner & Co., In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern District of New York
RIVERSIDE, CAMBRIDGE: STEREOTYPED AND PRINTED BY H.O. HOUGHTON AND COMPANY
Twelve years ago, this autumn, when I had finished the concluding chapters of this little book, I wrote a letter of Dedication to Washington Irving, and, forwarding it by mail to Sunnyside, begged his permission to print it. I think I shall gratify a rational curiosity of my readers (however much they may condemn my vanity) if I give his reply in full.
My dear Sir,—
Though I have a great disinclination in general to be the object of literary oblations and compliments, yet in the present instance I have enjoyed your writings with such peculiar relish, and been so drawn toward the author by the qualities of head and heart evinced in them, that I confess I feel gratified by a dedication, over-flattering as I may deem it, which may serve as an outward sign that we are cordially linked together in sympathies and friendship.
I would only suggest that in your dedication you would omit the LL.D., a learned dignity urged upon me very much 'against the stomach of my sense,' and to which I have never laid claim.
Ever, my dear sir,
Yours, very truly,
Washington Irving