WRITING A BOOK is one of the last things I ever contemplated; and it was not until nearly a year after our return from Europe that I even thought of penning, for weekly publication, this running account of our pleasant trip. Otherwise I should have taken much fuller notes and have had to depend less upon my memory and books of reference. In all essential particulars, what I have taken from other writers is indicated by quotation marks. I have never set up any claim to literary merit. I make no such claim now. I have not strained after originality, but have only sought to give a plain, unpretending sketch of our travels. It takes now the form of a book on the advice and expressed desire of many friends. I hope it may prove fortunate.