PREFACE
IN the autumn of 1878, the desire to comfort an amuse one of my kindest friends during hours o wearing pain and sickness induced me to begin wril ing down some of the reminiscences of my life. A almost all those who shared my earlier interests am affections had passed away, I fancied at first that i would be impossible to rescue anything like a cor nected story from "the great shipwreck of Time: But solitude helps remembrance; and as I went 01 opening old letters and journals with the view of re tracing my past life, it seemed to unfold itself t< memory, and I found a wonderful interest in follow ing once more the old track, with its almost forgottei pleasures and sorrows, though often reminded of tb story of the old man who, when he heard for the firs time the well-known adage, " Hell is paved with gooc intentions," added promptly, "Yes, and roofed witl lost opportunities."
Many will think mine has been a sad life. But, ai A. EL Mackonochie said, " No doubt our walk througl this little world is through much fog and darknesi and many alarms, but it is wonderful, when one looki back, to see how little the evils of life have beei