The Project Gutenberg eBook, Memoirs, by Charles Godfrey Leland

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Title: Memoirs

Author: Charles Godfrey Leland

Release Date: July 9, 2007 [eBook #22030]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII)

***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MEMOIRS***

Transcribed from the 1894 London William Heinemann edition by David
Price, email ccx074@pglaf.org

{Charles G. Leland: p0.jpg}

MEMOIRS

BY
CHARLES GODFREY LELAND
(HANS BREITMANN)

_WITH PORTRAIT_

Second Edition

LONDON
WILLIAM HEINEMANN
1894
[_All rights reserved_]

_FIRST EDITION_ (_2 Volumes_), _October_ 1893.

PREFACE.

It happened once in Boston, in the year 1861 or 1862, that I was at a
dinner of the Atlantic Club, such as was held every Saturday, when the
question was raised as to whether any man had ever written a complete and
candid autobiography. Emerson, who was seated by me at the right,
suggested the "Confessions" of Rousseau. I objected that it was full of
untruths, and that for plain candour it was surpassed by the "Life of
Casanova." Of this work (regarding which Carlyle has said, "Whosoever
has looked therein, let him wash his hands and be unclean until even")
neither Emerson nor Lowell, nor Palfrey nor Agassiz, nor any of the
others present seemed to have any knowledge, until Dr. Holmes, who was
more adventurous, admitted he knew somewhat thereof. Now, as I had read
it thrice through, I knew it pretty well. I reflected on this, but came
to the conclusion that perhaps the great reason why the world has so few
and frank autobiographies is really because the world exacts too much. It
is no more necessary to describe everything cynically than it is to set
forth all our petty diseases in detail. There are many influences which,
independent of passion or shame, do far more to form character.

Acting from this reflection, I wrote this book with no intention that it
should be published; I had, indeed, some idea that a certain friend might
use it after my death as a source whence to form a Life. Therefore I
wrote, as fully and honestly as I could, _everything_ which I could
remember which had made me what I am. It occ