VI AUTHOR'S PREFACE. 



Other assistance is acknowledged in the text, and if 

 among so many helpers any have failed of mention, it 

 is not for lack of appreciation, but because the book 

 is now in press and cannot be consulted. Finally, the 

 author wishes to express his gratitude to the publish- 

 ers for their hearty interest and most kind and cour- 

 teous consideration. 



PITTSFIELD, Mass., Jan. 14, 1888. 





