ader for the first time; and that the other stories
have appeared in the columns of _Household Words_. My best thanks are
due to Mr. Charles Dickens for his kindness in allowing me to set them
in their present frame-work.

I must also gratefully acknowledge an obligation of another kind to the
accomplished artist, Mr. W. S. Herrick, to whom I am indebted for
the curious and interesting facts on which the tales of "The Terribly
Strange Bed" and "The Yellow Mask" are founded.

Although the statement may appear somewhat superfluous to those who know
me, it may not be out of place to add, in conclusion, that these stories
are entirely of my own imagining, constructing, and writing. The fact
that the events of some of my tales occur on foreign ground, and are
acted out by foreign personages, appears to have suggested in some
quarters the inference that the stories themselves might be of foreign
origin. Let me, once for all, assure any readers who may honor me with
their attention, that in this, and in all other cases, they may depend
on the genuineness of my literary offspring. The little children of my
brain may be weakly enough, and may be sadly in want of a helping hand
to aid them in their first attempts at walking on the stage of this
great world; but, at any rate, they are not borrowed children. The
members of my own literary family are indeed increasing so fast as to
render the very idea of borrowing quite out of the question, and to
suggest serious apprehension that I may not have done adding to the
large book-population, on my own sole responsibility, even yet.

AFTER DARK.

LEAVES FROM LEAH'S DIARY.

26th February, 1827.--The doctor has just called for the third time to
examine my husband's eyes. Thank God, there is no fear at present of my
poor William losing his sight, provided he can be prevailed on to
attend rigidly to the medical instructions for preserving it. These
instructions, which forbid him to exercise his profession for the next
six months at least, are, in our case, very hard to follow. They will
but too probably sentence us to poverty, perhaps to actual want; but
they must be borne resignedly, and even thankfully, seeing that my
husband's forced cessation from work will save him from the dreadful
affliction of loss of sight. I think I can answer for my own
cheerfulness and endurance, now that we know the worst. Can I answer for
our children also? Surely I can, when there are only two o