occurrences that tend, in some measure, to interfere with that calm which
is most desirable, and best accords with the feelings of one who holds
life by such slender ties. Yet through the goodness of the Almighty,
being at the present moment exempt from many of the common infirmities of
age, I am willing, as a last act, to make some sacrifice to obtain the
good which I hope this recurrence to the past is calculated to produce.

With respect to Mr. Coleridge, it would be easy and pleasant to sail with
the stream; to admire his eloquence; to extol his genius; and to forget
his failings; but where is the utility, arising out of this homage paid
to naked talent? If the attention of posterity rested here, where were
the lessons of wisdom to be learnt from his example? His path through the
world was marked by strong outlines, and instruction is to be derived
from every feature of his mind, and every portion of his eventful and
chequered life. In all the aspects of his character, he was probably the
most singular man that has appeared in this country during the preceding
century, and the leading incidents of whose life ought to stand fairly on
record. The facts which I have stated are undeniable, the most important
being substantiated by his own letters; but higher objects were intended
by this narrative than merely to elucidate a character, (however
remarkable), in all its vicissitudes and eccentricities. Rising above
idle curiosity, or the desire of furnishing aliment for the
sentimental;--excitement the object, and the moral tendency disregarded,
these pages take a wider range, and are designed for the good of many,
where if there be much to pain the reader, he should moderate his
regrets, by looking through the intermediate to the end.

There is scarcely an individual, whose life, if justly delineated, would
not present much whence others might derive instruction. If this be
applicable to the multitude, how much more essentially true is it, in