TO GOLDEN DAYS 

Tonight at "Blakeford," I set down this dedication of the third edition
of this book which has proved to be the pleasant companion of two
visitations--one at "Wakefield Manor," Rappahannock County, Virginia, in
1891, the other at my old home "Blakeford," Queen Anne's County,
Maryland, in 1915.  The memories that entwine it there, and here mingle
in perfect keeping and have made of a dry study something that stirs
anew within me as I consider the work accomplished, my love and
remembrance of the old days, and my love and unforgettingness of these
other golden days under whose spell I have brought the book up to the
present year. 

DECOURCY W.  THOM. 

"BLAKEFORD," 

October 10, 1915.