Harper's Round Table, November 3, 1896

Copyright, 1896, by Harper & Brothers. All Rights Reserved.

ONE PORTRAIT BEFORE WHICH MY MOTHER USED TO STAND AND WEEP.
Memories of John Hurdiss, of Stonington, Connecticut, written by himself, in order to ease his mind and, incidentally, to interest any one who might enjoy an unembellished narrative, told by a pen untried but truthful. It represents the labor of spare moments taken from a busy life, and is dedicated to those who may bear the writer's name. He therefore craves a kind indulgence.—J. H.
Editor's Note.—The manuscript from which the following auto-biographical story is printed was found in an old desk that had been hidden away in the garret of a shipping-office in the town of Stonington, Connecticut. It narrowly escaped being destroyed at the time of discovery. Parts of it required a great deal of care in the putting together, as the mice had unfortunately commenced their work of destruction. However, it has been deciphered without loss of a paragraph, and, it is to be hoped, contains sufficient that will interest the reader. John Hurdiss is well remembered by one or two of Stonington's oldest inhabitants, although he moved from that town to the West some time in the forties. His grandchildren (for whom he probably wrote the story) are now given a chance to read of the strange adventures of their ancestor under three flags. The mystery which is referred to, and which has little to do with the story itself, perhaps, we leave for their unravelling. Thus, without further preamble, it is presented as it came from his pen and in his words. The main title is taken from one of Captain Hurdiss's own expressions; the titles to some of the chapters had to be supplied, as the original author left them in blank.
In sitting down to write a tale in which I myself am the central figure and most prominent actor, I cannot help at first feeling a fear that any one who perchance shall read all that is to follow (if I ever succeed in the finishing of it) will judge me a person whose opinion of himself is high in the extreme.