The reader will see at once that the following very random recollections are much as they are named on the title page. I make no pretence at writing history, or of being a literary man, but I hope some of my anecdotes and statements are interesting. And I certainly hope the matter will give the reader as much pleasure to read as it has given me to write. I take blame for all errors in the work. At the same time, I must thank my daughter, Lily Tinsley, who has done her best to correct some of my numerous faults in diction.