"The first publication of this work was inscribed to a British hero,
'a land commander and a tar,' whose noble nature well deserved the
title bestowed upon it by his venerable sovereign, George III.,
('Coeur-de-Lion.') He, a brother in spirit, fully appreciated the
character of Thaddeus Kosciusko, and the writer of this devoted
tribute feels that she deepens the tints of honor on each name by
thus associating them together. But may the tomb of the British hero
be long in finding its place! That of the Polish patriot has already
received its sacred deposit, and with the sincere oblation of a not
quite stranger's heart, this poor offering is laid on the grave of
him who fought for 'his country's freedom, laws, and native king;'
who, when riches and a crown were proffered to himself by the then
dictator of almost all Europe, declined both, because no price could
buy the independence of an honest man.
"Such was General Kosciusko; such was the model of disinterestedness,
of tempered valor, and of public virtue which his annalist sought to
set forth in the foregoing pages; such was the man who honored their
narrator with his approval and esteem! and in that last word she
feels a privilege, but with due humility, to thus link some little
memorial of herself to after times, by so uniting to the name of
Thaddeus Kosciusko that of his humble but sincere aspirer to such
themes,
"JANE PORTER.
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