TWICE in my life I have attempted to keep a diary. In each case the diary was neglected after a few months of diligent care. The months during which the diaries continued were times of political excitement,-years apart. All my life I have kept notes of interesting conversations with more or less notable persons; that is, of conversations which interested me. I have a fairly retentive memory. I have had more than fifty years' experience of newspaper work. These are my equipments for the production of this book. It is a plain writing down of recollections, of experiences, of conversations. leaves much untold. Some things in it may have been extenuated; nothing has been set down in malice.