In the following pages I make no pretentions to, neither do I claim any recognition of, literary merit either from my readers or the Press. All I claim and I do so with every confidence—is that what I narrate of Wanganui Old Settlers is reliable, and in the main correct. There may be trifling errors here and there (I have been compelled to rely almost entirely upon my memory, not having kept a diary or journal in bye-gone days) and I am probably not always correct in my dates; but I vouch for the accuracy of my facts, statements, and anecdotes generally. One word more. From the first to the last of the Old Settlers of Wanganui dealt with in my little book, I have ever kept steadily in mind the grand old Roman maxim—"De mortuis nil nisi bonum"—"Of the dead (speak) nothing but what is good." To conclude; in submitting my "sketches" to public approval, I only ask, as regards my efforts as a writer, and the quality of what I have written—composition, style, and treatment of my subject generally—that they will be—

"To my faults a little blind,
"To my virtues ever kind."