PREFACE. The following humorous and pathetic tales and stories require no recommendation to those who relish innocent and amusing reading. Though all are attributed to the late lamented Zozimus, who once made the streets of Dublin vocal with his epigrams and impromptu ballads, it is but candid to say that many of them cannot be traced directly to his authorship, and several of the best, we are aware, were written in the first instance for a weekly journal. However, they are all, without exception, true pictures of Irish life, as it once appeared, nothing being extenuated or set down in malice, and as such we ask for them the kind consideration of the reader. |