TO THE READER. 



The materials for the Biography of JOHX 

 BACHMAN, D. D., were collected with great 

 labor and pains by his grandson, the late 

 Rev. John Bachman Haskell, the appointed 

 biographer, who wrote. 1 "/ think that the 

 Biography, well done, would be worth my poor 

 life" The accomplishment of this labor of 

 love was frustrated by the protracted illness 

 that preceded his death. 



In compliance with his injunctions, the 

 attempt has been made to weave the materials 

 collected according to his plan " Let him 

 speak for himself, whenever it is possible" 



A biography written by a near relative 

 has its merits and its disadvantages. On the 

 one hand, the pen of a stranger could not 



