Preface.
This little story of a few years residence and travel in the East has been written at the solicitation of the author's friends. It makes no claim to great literary distinction, nor does it aspire to rank among the chef d'œuvres of the world of books. It is the plain, unvarnished story of the experiences of a Yankee in the Orient, who presents the illustrations and the printed matter from memory, after a lapse of twenty-seven years, which he trusts is a sufficient apology for all errors.
