JAMES THOMASON
CHAPTER I
Introduction
Of this memoir the early portion will be written from authentic records, mostly public but partly private, compared also with the recollections of some who are still surviving. The latter portion will be written largely from my own knowledge, observation and evidence, verified too by some of those who are informed as well as, or even better than, myself. The subject of the memoir was, when I first saw him during 1848, in the plenitude of fame, influence and authority. He showed to me, a very young man just entering upon life, the utmost kindness in that year and in subsequent years. His manner was at first sedate, as if he wished to penetrate the disposition of those he met before proceeding further with their acquaintance. As time went on he relaxed, and his conversation would flow in a stream of instruction, until I seemed to know his inner mind
