lao, the seaport of Lima, as dull a coast town as one
could dread to see. Lima being but an hour distant, we frequently
spent a day there; the English Club extending to us its hospitality.
In its library was Mommsen's _History of Rome_, which I gave myself to
reading, especially the Hannibalic episode. It suddenly struck me,
whether by some chance phrase of the author I do not know, how
different things might have been could Hannibal have invaded Italy by
sea, as the Romans often had Africa, instead of by the long land
route; or could he, after arrival, have been in free communication
with Carthage by water. This clew, once laid hold of, I followed up in
the particular instance. It and the general theory already conceived
threw on each other reciprocal illustration; and between the two my
plan was formed by the time I reached home, in September, 1885. I
would investigate coincidently the general history and naval history
of the past two centuries, with a view to demonstrating the influence
of the events of the one upon the other. Original research was not
within my scope, nor was it necessary to the scheme thus outlined.

Perhaps it is only a subtle form of egotism, but as a condition of my
life experience I could wish to convey to others an appreciation of my
profound ignorance of both classes of history when I began, being then
forty-five; not that I mean to imply that now, or at any time since, I
have deluded myself with the imagination that I have become an
historian after the high modern pattern. I tackled my job much as I
presume an immigrant begins a clearing in the wilderness, not
troubling greatly which tree he takes first. I laid my hands on
whatever came along, reading with the profound attention of one who is
looking for something; and the something was kind enough to
acknowledge my devotion by shining forth in unexpected ways and
places. Any line of investigation, however unsystematic in method,
branches out in many directions, suggests continually new sources of
information, to one interested in his work; and I have felt constantly
the force of Johnson's dictum as to the superior profit from time
spent in reading what is congenial over the drudgery of constrained
application. Every faculty I possessed was alive and jumping.
Incidentally, I took up the study of land warfare, using Jomini and
Hamley. For naval history the first book upon which I chanced--the
word is exact--was just what I needed at that stag