Page:A Selection of Original Songs, Scraps, Etc., by Ned Farmer (1st ed.).djvu/7



some slight excuse for the heterogeneous matter of which the accompanying trifle is composed, it is necessary to observe, that it is purely and essentially what its title purports—it is my Scrap Book.

To escape the more serious imputation of daring to imagine, that it was at all likely to be tolerated by the general community for any merit it might possess, it is due to myself to explain the simple origin of the design.

I have, or fancy I have, many friends, (and it is a delusion I should very reluctantly part with, even if I am wrong in that supposition,) I am certain of possessing an almost unlimited circle of acquaintance, and I deemed it reasonable to imagine, that among the multitude, enough of purchasers might be found to render it a profitable speculation, and I have been long wedded to the belief, that any honest means by which the most money can be gotten in the least time, has the least of folly attached to it: beyond this, I had neither hope nor expectancy.