The following pages were written
more than twenty years since,
and were then published periodically
in Household Words.
In the original form of publication
the Rogue was very favorably
received. Year after year, I
delayed the republication, proposing,
at the suggestion of my old friend,
Mr. Charles Reade, to enlarge
the present sketch of the hero's
adventures in Australia. But
the opportunity of carrying out
this project has proved to be
one of the lost opportunities
of my life. I republish the story
with its original conclusion
unaltered, but with such occasional
additions and improvements as
will, I hope, render it more
worthy of attention at the present
time.
The critical
reader may possibly notice
a tone of almost boisterous
gayety in certain parts of these
imaginary Confessions. I can
only plead, in defense, that
the story offers the faithful
reflection of a very happy time
in my past life. It was written
at Paris, when I had Charles
Dickens for a near neighbor and
a daily companion, and when my
leisure hours were joyously passed
with many other friends, all
associated with literature and
art, of whom the admirable comedian,
Regnier, is now the only survivor.
The revising of these pages has
been to me a melancholy task.
I can only hope that they may
cheer the sad moments of others.
The Rogue may surely claim two
merits, at least, in the eyes
of the new generation--he is
never serious for two moments
together; and he "doesn't take
long to read." W. C.
GLOUCESTER PLACE, LONDON, March 6th,
1879. |