The legacy of an octogenarian

Preface

IT is with considerable hesitancy that the writer puts forth this volume. And perhaps the reader, after perusal, will conclude that it would have been well had the hesitancy been prolonged indefinitely. But be that as it may : Here is the book.

It would be fairly reckoned a barren life if, after so many years of activity and varied experience, the career of the "Octogenarian" could present no passage or incident that would furnish at least a useful hint. Let him hope, then, that this late labor may not prove entirely in vain.

It certainly has been a grateful and refreshing occupation, in his declining years, to recall, with pen in hand, some of the loved associates of earlier days, in scenes whose charms have not yet faded from the mind. And may the reader, when he too is far along on life's sunset slope, enjoy the vivifying sunshine of the past !

As readers usually desire to know the name of the author whose work they have in hand, and as the withholding of the name might lead to embarrassing misconceptions, the "Octogenarian," with becoming diffidence, subscribes accordingly.

JAMES R. NEWHALL.

LYNN, MASS., 1893.