PREFACE. 



A COUNTRY that has no history is said to be a happy one. 

 A woman " with a past " does not consider it a subject of 

 congratulation. Lucky man is, however, more fortunate, 

 and may consider that a compliment lies hid in the request 

 that he should write a history of his past life, since the 

 scenes in which he has played his part may be supposed 

 to contain sufficient interest to bear description for the 

 amusement of others. 



There is another side of the question, however, which 

 is scarcely so flattering, for such a request also implies that 

 the active part of a man's life may be deemed to lie behind 

 him, and that for the future he must be content to read 

 of the achievements of younger men, instead of sharing in 

 them as in the days of yore. 



There is one merit that I can claim for the anec- 

 dotes related in this book ; this is that they are 

 absolutely true, and care has been taken to check the 

 incidents by referring to diaries and old letters, where 

 memory might have unintentionally proved inaccurate. 

 It is a record of life, as I have known it, for nearly 

 fifty years. 



