It has been my lot to have lived through the greater part of one of the
most eventful centuries of England's history, and I have been thrown
amongst most of the remarkable men of my day; whether soldiers,
statesman, men of letters, theatrical people, or those whose birth and
fortune--rather, perhaps, than their virtues or talents--have caused
them to be conspicuous in society at home or abroad. Nature having
endowed me with a strong memory, I can recall with all their original
vividness scenes that took place fifty years ago, and distinctly
recollect the face, walk, and voice, as well as the dress and general
manner, of everyone whom I have known. I have frequently repeated to my
friends what I have seen and heard since the year that I joined the
Guards (1813), and have been urged to commit to paper my anecdotes and
reminiscences.
Unfortunately, I have not the power of efficiently describing in words
the pictures that are hung up in the long gallery of my memory: a man
may see very distinctly the landscape before him, yet he may be unable
to delineate that which he gazes upon and is intimately acquainted
with. A viva voce narrative of an incident told to a friend in
conversation may pass muster, and one is able to fill up any gaps in an
imperfect description; but it always occurred to me that I had no right
to task a reader's time and patience unless I could put before him what
I had to say in a lucid and complete form; I therefore refrained from
committing myself to print. I have at length, however, yielded to the
suggestion of friends, and written down some anecdotes in the best way
I could. Soldiers are not generally famous for literary excellence, and
when I was young, the military man was, perhaps, much less a scholar
than he is at the present day; but I hope that the interest of the
matter will make up for any deficiency of style.
In going over more than half a century, and treating of men, women and
events, it was necessary to leave out many anecdotes which would,
perhaps, have been more interesting than most of those that I have
given; for I would not willingly offend, or hurt the feelings of any
one, and I wish to respect the memory of the dead, as well as to take
into consideration the sensitiveness of the living. My Reminiscences,
it will be seen, are nothing more than miniature illustrations of
contemporary history; and though the reader may find here and there
scraps of biographical matter, I confine myself to facts and
characteristics which were familiar to the circle in which I moved, and
perhaps are as much public property as the painted portraits of
celebrities.
Should this work meet with the approbation of the public, I hope at a
future time to publish an additional one, as my memory still serves me
with sufficient materials for another volume of a similar kind.
R. H. Gronow.