CHAPTERS I-XIX 

PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION 

While the novelist has absolute freedom to follow his artistic
instinct and intelligence, the biographer is fettered by the
subject-matter with which he proposes to deal.  The former may
hopefully pursue an ideal, the latter must rest satisfied with a
compromise between the desirable and the necessary.  No doubt, it
is possible to thoroughly digest all the requisite material, and
then present it in a perfect, beautiful form.  But this can only
be done at a terrible loss, at a sacrifice of truth and
trustworthiness.  My guiding principle has been to place before
the reader the facts collected by me as well as the conclusions
at which I arrived.  This will enable him to see the subject in
all its bearings, with all its pros and cons, and to draw his own
conclusions, should mine not obtain his approval.  Unless an
author proceeds in this way, the reader never knows how far he
may trust him, how far the evidence justifies his judgment.  For--
not to speak of cheats and fools--the best informed are apt to