Excerpt from Literary Life of James K. Paulding, Vol. 1 of 1 Any one who should collate the forthcoming with previous editions of Mr. Paulding's works would find sundry changes of expression, and corrections of various kinds. For some of these I am respon sible, and it is proper for me to explain why I have taken such liberties. Some years before my father's death, I had a conversation with him about his published works. They were at the time mainly beyond his control, but I urged him to put them in what he would like to be their permanent shape. He replied, that he was too old to undergo the labor, and that he meant to bequeath to me the care of his reputation, if worth caring for - or in words to that effect. In accordance, as I under stood it, with this arrangement, he left to me all his literary property, to the exclusion of his other children. I have felt therefore that I was entitled to more than the ordinary latitude of an editor, and have seized upon that privilege of revision which the pre-occupation, or the indifference, of the author, allowed to escape himself. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.