Excerpt from Memoir of the Rev. John Jenkins, Late a Wesleyan Missionary in the Island of Jamaica: Including Characteristic Notices of West Indian Slavery, &C., &C

Many were led to expect a Memoir of Mr. Jenkins, about twelve months ago, from the pen of the Rev. Mr. Beal a gentleman whose name excited such ex pectations as place his present biographer in very un favourable circumstances. The question, Why, at this late period, is it sent into the world by one whose name is scarcely known appears to be so natural, and so reasonable, that it deserves a serious reply. This is found in the facts that, twelve months after the death of Mr. Jenkins, Mr. Beal was obliged to return the papers from which materials were to be collected, his other engagements rendering it impos sible for him to redeem his pledge; and, owing to a short acquaintance having existed between the present writer and Mr. Jenkins, his amiable Widow pressed him to engage in the undertaking with an importunity which he found it impossible to resist. It was urged that about 600 subscribers had given in their names for copies of a Memoir of Mr. Jenkins; and that, in general, this was from pure affection to him, and not from any regard to the known ability of his supposed biographer. These friends Mrs. Jenkins felt desirous to gratify; and, as she was pleased to place some confidence in the person whose name appears on the title-page of this Memoir, though he had no prospect of paying either immediate or uninterrupted attention to it, and consequently must compose it under great disadvan tages, yet, rather than Mrs. Jenkins and the friends of her deceased husband should be entirely disappointed, he very reluctantly consented to engage in the under taking. He knows that his work will meet the eyes even of the subscribers under every disadvantage.

About the Publisher

Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com

This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.