olumbus to the adoption of the Constitution in
1789, Bancroft, month after month, settled the plan more definitely
in his mind; and when the time came for him to begin the work he only
looked forward eagerly to the task of writing the records of three
hundred years of the world's progress during the most absorbing period
known to history. It is doubtful if at this time there was any other
man living better qualified for this task than Bancroft. He had been
a student of history and politics since boyhood. He had traced the
stream of history from its sources in the East through the rise of
the great modern nations. He had mastered the politics of the ancient
world, whose language, literature, and art were also familiar to him,
and civilized Europe had been his field of study during the years
which leave the most profound impressions upon the mind.

To him the rise and establishment of the United States as a great
nation presented itself as one of the most brilliant passages of the
world's history, and no labor seemed tiresome which should fittingly
chronicle that event.

Besides his literary requirements Bancroft possessed eminent qualities
for practical life. He was successively Governor of Massachusetts,
Secretary of the Navy, and for a time Acting-Secretary of war; he
served his country as Minister to Great Britain. He was made Minister
to Prussia and afterward Minister to Germany when that country took
its place as a united nation. Some of the most important treaties
between the United States and foreign powers were made during
Bancroft's diplomatic career, and in every act of his political life
showed a talent for practical affairs. While he was Secretary of the
Navy he founded the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis. Previous
to this there was no good system by which the boys who desired to
enter the navy could receive instruction in any other branch than
that of practical seamanship. In the old navy the middies were taught,
while afloat, by the chaplains, who gave them lessons in odd hours in
writing, arithmetic, and navigation; if the pupils were idle they were
reported to the captain, whose discipline was far from gentle. A boy
eager to learn could pick up a great deal by asking questions and
noticing what was going on about him, and sometimes the officers would
volunteer their help in a difficult subject. Later each ship had
one regular school-master, who made the voyage with the ship, twenty
middies bein