A Footnote to History

PREFACE

AN affair which might be deemed worthy of a note of a few lines in
any general history has been here expanded to the size of a volume
or large pamphlet. The smallness of the scale, and the singularity
of the manners and events and many of the characters, considered,
it is hoped that, in spite of its outlandish subject, the sketch
may find readers. It has been a task of difficulty. Speed was
essential, or it might come too late to be of any service to a
distracted country. Truth, in the midst of conflicting rumours and
in the dearth of printed material, was often hard to ascertain, and
since most of those engaged were of my personal acquaintance, it
was often more than delicate to express. I must certainly have
erred often and much; it is not for want of trouble taken nor of an
impartial temper. And if my plain speaking shall cost me any of
the friends that I still count, I shall be sorry, but I need not be
ashamed.