are glad now to lean upon their arms. But I shall speak of a time
when the love of a mother was the only love I knew, and if you seek
for something more, then it is not for you that I write. But if you
would come out with me into that forgotten world; if you would know
Boy Jim and Champion Harrison; if you would meet my father, one of
Nelson's own men; if you would catch a glimpse of that great seaman
himself, and of George, afterwards the unworthy King of England; if,
above all, you would see my famous uncle, Sir Charles Tregellis, the
King of the Bucks, and the great fighting men whose names are still
household words amongst you, then give me your hand and let us
start.

But I must warn you also that, if you think you will find much that
is of interest in your guide, you are destined to disappointment.
When I look over my bookshelves, I can see that it is only the wise
and witty and valiant who have ventured to write down their
experiences. For my own part, if I were only assured that I was as
clever and brave as the average man about me, I should be well
satisfied. Men of their hands have thought well of my brains, and
men of brains of my hands, and that is the best that I can say of
myself. Save in the one matter of having an inborn readiness for
music, so that the mastery of any instrument comes very easily and
naturally to me, I cannot recall any single advantage which I can
boast over my fellows. In all things I have been a half-way man,
for I am of middle height, my eyes are neither blue nor grey, and my
hair, before Nature dusted it with her powder, was betwixt flaxen
and brown. I may, perhaps, claim this: that through life I have
never felt a touch of jealousy as I have admired a better man than
myself, and that I have always seen all things as they are, myself
included, which should count in my favour now that I sit down in my