Whoever may attentively peruse this little volume will perceive that it was impossible for me to enter into an explanation of my transactions with Messrs. Overend, Gurney, and Co. without first giving some account of the formation of the Greek and Oriental Steam Navigation Company, and its existence for three years previously to the period at which I entered into relations with the great Lombard Street capitalists. Such account was indispensable to the clear understanding of the after-narrative.<br><br>With regard to the conversations recorded in this volume, the accuracy of which may be questioned by the sceptical, I ought, perhaps, to offer some explanation. In the first place, I have, during many years, been in the habit of taking notes and keeping a diary of all important transactions in which I have been engaged.