rom his work; of that loss nothing can be said by those who do not
suffer it, and less still by those who do. And his experiences in life
and death were so much greater even than my experiences of him, that a
double incapacity makes me dumb. A portrait is impossible; as a friend
he is too near me, and as a hero too far away.

G. K. CHESTERTON.

AUTHOR'S PREFACE

I have taken advantage of a very brief respite from other, and in my
judgment more valuable, employment, to produce this short sketch of the
story of a great people, now our Ally. My motive has been mainly that I
do not think that any such sketch, concentrated enough to be readable by
the average layman who has other things to do (especially in these days)
than to study more elaborate and authoritative histories, at present
exists, and I have thought that in writing it I might perhaps be
discharging some little part of the heavy debt of gratitude which I owe
to America for the hospitality I received from her when I visited her
shores during the early months of the War.

This book is in another sense the product of that visit. What I then saw
and heard of contemporary America so fascinated me that--believing as I
do that the key to every people is in its past--I could not rest until I
had mastered all that I could of the history of my delightful hosts.
This I sought as much as possible from the original sources, reading
voraciously, and at the time merely for my pleasure, such records as I
could get of old debates and of the speech and correspondence of the
dead. The two existing histories, which I also read, and upon which I
have drawn most freely, are that of the present President of the United
States and that of Professor Rhodes, dealing with the period from 1850
to 1876. With the conclusions of the latter authority it will be obvious
that I am in many respects by no means at one; but I think it the more
necessary to say that without a careful study of his book I could
neither have formed my own conclusions nor ventured to challenge his.
The reading that I did at the time of which I speak is the foundation of
what I have now written. It will be well understood that a Private in
the British Army, even when invalided home for a season, has not very
great opportunities for research. I think it very likely that errors of
detail may be discovered in these pages; I am quite sure t