finished work is herewith dedicated
He who would tell a tale must look toward three ideals: to tell it well, to tell it beautifully,
and to tell the truth.
The first is the Gift of God, the second is the Vision of Genius, but the third is the
Reward of Honesty.
In The Quest of the Silver Fleece there is little, I ween, divine or ingenious; but, at least, I
have been honest. In no fact or picture have I consciously set down aught the counterpart
of which I have not seen or known; and whatever the finished picture may lack of
completeness, this lack is due now to the story-teller, now to the artist, but never to the
herald of the Truth.


