CHAPTER I.
I am a native of _____, in the United States of America. My
ancestors migrated from England in the reign of Charles II.; and my
grandfather was not undistinguished in the War of Independence. My
family, therefore, enjoyed a somewhat high social position in right of birth;
and being also opulent, they were considered disqualified for the public
service. My father once ran for Congress, but was signally defeated by
his tailor. After that event he interfered little in politics, and lived much in
his library. I was the eldest of three sons, and sent at the age of sixteen to
the old country, partly to complete my literary education, partly to
commence my commercial training in a mercantile firm at Liverpool.
My father died shortly after I was twenty-one; and being left well off, and
having a taste for travel and adventure, I resigned, for a time, all pursuit of
the almighty dollar, and became a desultory wanderer over the face of the
earth.