原文 (英语)

[Updater's note: this book has two chapters titled "Chapter XII"] THE DOCTOR'S DAUGHTER. BY "VERA." AUTHOR OF "HONOR EDGEWORTH" "O Tempora! O Mores!" PREFACE. Charles Dickens observes with much truth, that "though seldom read, prefaces are continually written." It may be asked and even wondered, why? I cannot say that I know the exact reason, but it seems to me that they may carry the same weight, in the literary world, that certain sotto voce explanations