PREFACE. 
NEARLY 
the 
whole 
of 
this 
work 
WES 
printed 
during the last illness of Mr. West. The 
manuscript had long previously been read to 
him. My custom was, to note down those 
points which seemed, in our conversations, to 
bear on his biography, and, from time to time, 
to submit an entire chapter to his perusal; 
afterwards, when the whole narrative was 
formed, it was again carefully read over to him. 
Still, however, I am apprehensive that some 
mistakes in the orthography of names may have 
been committed; for although the same custom 
was strictly observed in preparing the manu- 
script of the first part of his Memoirs for the 
press, yet, in perusing the proofs, he found 
several errors of that kind. It was intended 
that he should have read. the proofs of this part 
also, but the progress of his disease unfor- 
tunately rendered it impracticable.  
J5 G. 
SOUL lVIarclz, 
1820.