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Ditchingham House, Norfolk, May, 1917.

My dear Roosevelt,--You are, I know, a lover of old Allan Quatermain, one who understands and appreciates the views of life and the aspirations that underlie and inform his manifold adventures.

Therefore, since such is your kind wish, in memory of certain hours wherein both of us found true refreshment and companionship amidst the terrible anxieties of the World's journey along that bloodstained road by which alone, so it is decreed, the pure Peak of Freedom must be scaled, I dedicate to you this tale telling of the events and experiences of my youth.

Your sincere friend, H. RIDER HAGGARD.

To COLONEL THEODORE ROOSEVELT, Sagamore Hill, U.S.A.