'"The biographical part of literature," said Dr. Johnson, "is what I
love the best"; and his remark is echoed daily in the hearts, if not
in the words, of hundreds of readers: * * * and though for the last
half-century pure fiction has been in the ascendant, the popularity of
biography, if not relatively, yet absolutely, seems to be continually
increasing.'
_Quarterly Review_, No. 313, _January, 1884_.
[Illustration: (end of chapter vignette.)]
[Illustration: (beginning of chapter vignette.)]