hat his work, left unfinished by himself, can never be completed by
another. It is a work which will admit no broken link from its
commencement to its conclusion.

Mr. Buckle was born in London, in the early part of the year 1824, and
was consequently about thirty-eight years of age at the time of his
death. His father was a wealthy gentleman of the metropolis, and
thoroughly educated, and the historian was an only son. Devoted to
literature himself, it is not surprising that the parent spared neither
money nor labor to educate his child. He did not, however, follow the
usual course; did not hamper the youthful mind by the narrow routine of
the English academy, nor did he make him a Master of Arts at Oxford or
Cambridge.

His early education was superintended by his father directly, but
afterward private teachers were employed. But Mr. Buckle was by nature a
close student, and much that he possessed he acquired without a tutor,
as his energetic, self-reliant nature rendered him incapable of ever
seeing insurmountable difficulties before him. By this means he became
what the students of Oxford rarely are, both learned and liberal. As he
mingled freely with the people, during his youth, a democratic sympathy
entwined itself with his education, and is manifested in every page of
his writings.

Mr. Buckle never married. After he had commenced his great work, he
found no time to enjoy society, no hours of leisure and repose. His
whole soul was engaged in the accomplishment of one great purpose, and
nothing which failed to contribute directly to the object nearest his
heart, received a moment's consideration. He collected around him a
library of twenty-two thousand volumes, all choice standard works, in
Greek, Latin, Spanish, French, German, Italian, and English, with all of
which languages he was familiar. It was the best private collection of
books, said some one, in England. It was from this that the historian
drew that inexhaustible array of facts, and procured the countless
illustrations, with which the two volumes of his History of Civilization
abound.

At what age he first conceived the project of writing his history, is
not yet publicly known. He never figured in the literary world previous
to the publication of his first volume. He appears to have early grasped
at more than a mere temporary fame, and determined to stake all upon a
single production. His reading was always systematic, and exceedingly
thorough; an