FOREWORD. 



Before I begin I must have a Foreword and 

 herewith I shall take the reader into my confi- 

 dence, and I am sure it will be a trust well re- 

 posed. Our Home came to us through inheri- 

 tance from one of the oldest families in town. 

 I had rendered an important service in an 

 emergent need, for which I was amply paid 

 and never dreamed of further compensation; 

 but extra gratitude prompted the gift, and 

 there being no heirs, it was simply a case of 

 transference. Royal people had lived here for 

 about four generations, and it was known as 

 the "Pelham mansion." The first Mr. Pel- 

 ham to own the place was a literary man, 

 writer and speaker of real merit, generally 

 known throughout the state and popular as a 

 political and social orator. There was no finer 

 evening entertainment than his speeches. His 

 son was a doctor of very wide practice and of 

 state repute ; his grandson was also a physician, 

 a most genial and delightful man, loved and 

 courted by all who knew him, and he was the 

 father of my friend the donor. The three 

 preceding generations had made the mansion 



