Strange!twopowerfulandwealthyfamilies，thatinwhichshewasborn，andthatintowhichshehadmarried，haveceasedtobe——theyareutterlyextinct。
TothosewhoknowanythingofthehistoryofIrishfamilies，astheywerelessthanacenturyago，thefactswhichimmediatelyfollowwillatoncesuggestTHENAMESoftheprincipalactors；andtootherstheirpublicationwouldbeuseless——
tous，possibly，ifnotprobably，injurious。
Ihave，therefore，alteredsuchofthenamesasmight，ifstated，getusintodifficulty；others，belongingtominorcharactersinthestrangestory，Ihaveleftuntouched。
Mydearfriend，——Youhaveaskedmetofurnishyouwithadetailofthestrangeeventswhichmarkedmyearlyhistory，andIhave，withouthesitation，appliedmyselftothetask，knowingthat，whileI