sufficiently formidable only by the strenuous hand in which it was
placed.

The history of my first publications is sufficiently well known. Nor
did I relinquish the purpose of concluding these "Tales of my
Landlord," which had been so remarkably fortunate; but Death, which
steals upon us all with an inaudible foot, cut short the ingenious
young man to whose memory I composed that inscription, and erected, at
my own charge, that monument which protects his remains, by the side of
the river Gander, which he has contributed so much to render immortal,
and in a place of his own selection, not very distant from the school
under my care. [Footnote: See Vol. II. of the present Edition, for some
circumstances attending this erection.] In a word, the ingenious Mr.
Pattison was removed from his place.

Nor did I confine my care to his posthumous fame alone, but carefully
inventoried and preserved the effects which he left behind him, namely,
the contents of his small wardrobe, and a number of printed books of
somewhat more consequence, together with certain, wofully blurred
manuscripts, discovered in his repository. On looking these over, I
found them to contain two Tales called "Count Robert of Paris," and
"Castle Dangerous;" but was seriously disappointed to perceive that
they were by no means in that state of correctness, which would induce
an experienced person to pronounce any writing, in the technical
language of bookcraft, "prepared for press." There were not only
_hiatus valde deflendi_, but even grievous inconsistencies, and
other mistakes, which the penman's leisurely revision, had he been
spared to bestow it, would doubtless have cleared away. After a
considerate perusal, I no question flattered myself that these
manuscripts, with all their faults, contained here and there passages,