Henry James

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To Professor Irène SIMON in recognition of her sympathy and encouragement. Conformément au règlement de la « Bibliothèque de la Faculté de Philosophie et Lettres », le présent ouvrage a été examiné par une commission technique composée de M. A. BAIWIR, professeur à l'Université Libre de Bruxelles, M l l e I. SIMON, M. J. HORRENT et M. A. NIVELLE, professeurs à l'Université de Liège. M1 1 " SIMON en a assuré la révision et a surveillé la correction des épreuves. L'auteur leur exprime ici toute sa gratitude. The vision of France, . . . so close and so clear at propitious hours, was to grow happily illustrational for us as nothing else in any like relation to us could possibly have become. Other families have a way, on good opportunity, of interesting us more than our own, and here was this immense acquaintance extraordinarily mattering for us and at the same time not irritating us by a single claim of cousinship or a single liberty taken on any such score. Any liberties taken were much rather liberties, I think, of ours— always abounding as we did in quite free, and perhaps slightly rough, and on the whole rather superficial, movement beyond our island circle and toward whatever lay in our path. France lay very much in our path, our path to almost everything that could beckon us forth from our base—and there were very few things in the world or places on the globe that didn't so beckon us ; according to which she helped us along on our expansive course a good deal more, doubtless, than either she or we always knew. (Henry JAMES, Within the Rim and Other Essays.)