INTRODUCTORY NOTE. 



Mrs. Traill's book was already in the press when 

 I was requested by the publisher to write a short 

 -biographical sketch of the author's life as an intro- 

 duction. 



Both time and space were limited, and I undertook 

 the task with much anxiety, knowing that with such 

 and other limitations I could scarcely expect to do the 

 subject justice. 



I have endeavored to use Mrs. Traill's own notes and 

 extracts from her letters, wherever available, hoping 

 thus to draw a life-like picture rather than enumerate 

 the incidents of her life or put the records of the past 

 into " cold type." 



I have dwelt particularly on the circumstances of Mrs. 

 Traill's childhood and youth, which I believe went far 

 to influence her later life and direct her literary labors, 

 and because they are also likely to be of greater interest 

 to the public and the readers of her books than a mere 

 detailed record of her life. 



