In a literary point of view this book claims nothing:This is the manufacturer's assertion.In a literary point of view this book amounts to nothing.This will be the reader's conclusion.And if any skeptical person insists upon investigating the matter for himself, he will eventually be compelled to acknowledge the verity of this remark; and will, at the same time, bear a strong testimony to the sagacity of the publisher, who has put his trust in nothing—for he will have bought the book.This work simply professes to be sketches of various persons, places, and events—some of which have been published, and some hav'n't; some are bad, and some are worse; but all have a claim to originality in treatment, although the same things may have been better said by better people.