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NAT GOODWIN'S BOOK
NAT GOODWIN'S
BOOK
BY
NAT C. GOODWIN
ILLUSTRATED
BOSTON
RICHARD G. BADGER
THE GORHAM PRESS
TORONTO: COPP CLARK COMPANY LIMITED
By Nat C. Goodwin and Richard G. Badger
All rights reserved
The Gorham Press, Boston, U.S.A.
PREFACE
In penning memoirs or autobiographing it is extremely difficult toavoid writing impersonally, yet I shall strive to avoid it as much aspossible, not so much from a sense of duty as from a standpoint ofmercy.
I have never enjoyed reading about myself and I am firmly convincedthat there are few who have. Perhaps, if I am tempted during thisreview to give myself an opinion of myself, it may be received withfavor even by those critics who have never agreed with any of mycharacterizations.
I started this little work with some degree of terror. I had such apoor background to frame my somewhat checkered career upon. I fullyrealized that a man must be a very great person, or at least imaginehimself to be, to write an autobiography. But finally after listeningto the advice of friends I approached myself, albeit surprised at mytemerity. After having read many autobiographies I discovered thatmost nearly-great persons who indulge in the dissipation of giving tothe world their opinions of themselves were either born in dilapidatedgarrets or on unproductive farms.
As there were no trees in my garden of youth nor a candle placed inan empty bottle to shed its effulgence upon my future life I wonderedhow I could diversify and be truthful, yet entertaining. A feeling ofapprehension akin to that which always follows the first night of oneof my productions took hold of me. I[vi] wondered how this little effort