History Books

District Clerk's Office. (L. S.)Be it remembered, that on the sixth day of March, A. D. 1816, and in the fortieth year of the Independence of the United States of America, Rowe & Hooper, of the said District have deposited in this Office, the title of a book, the right whereof they claim as Proprietors, in the words following, to wit: "A Journal of a Young Man of Massachusetts, late a... more...

2d March 1863.—I left England in the royal mail steamer Atrato, and arrived at St Thomas on the 17th. 22d March.—Anchored at Havana at 6.15 a.m., where I fell in with my old friend, H.M.'s frigate Immortalité. Captain Hancock not only volunteered to take me as his guest to Matamoros, but also to take a Texan merchant, whose acquaintance I had made in the Atrato. This gentleman's name is... more...

PERSONALITY OF THE KAISER AND SOMETHING OF THE KING BUSINESS To the American mind the Kaiser is the personification of Germany. He is the arch enemy upon whom the world places the responsibility for this most terrible of all wars. I have sat face to face with him in the palace at Berlin where, as the personal representative and envoy of the President of the United States, I had the honor of expressing... more...

PREFACE In republishing these essays in collected form, it has seemed best to issue them as they were originally printed, with the exception of a few slight corrections of slips in the text and with the omission of occasional duplication of language in the different essays. A considerable part of whatever value they may possess arises from the fact that they are commentaries in different periods on the... more...

CHAPTER I. EARLY RECOLLECTIONS—"COMING OVER" FROM IRELAND. I owe both the title of this book and the existence of the book itself to the suggestion of friends. I suppose a man of 76 may be called "old," although I have by no means given up the idea that I can still be of use to my country. And a Rebel? Yes! Anything of the nature of injustice or oppression has always stirred me to... more...

The same in English. Thomas Chaloner was by birth a Londiner, by studie a Cantabrigian, by education a Courtier, by religion a deuout and true Christian. Therefore after he had confirmed his youth and minde in the studies of good learning, when Sir Henry Kneuet was sent ambassadour from the mighty Prince Henry the 8. to the Emperour Charles the fift, he went with him as his familiar friend, or as one... more...

"The dismissal of M. Necker irritated the people beyond description. They looked upon themselves as insulted in their favourite. Mob succeeded mob, each more mischievous and daring than the former. The Duc d'Orleans continued busy in his work of secret destruction. In one of the popular risings, a sabre struck his bust, and its head fell, severed from its body. Many of the rioters (for the... more...

Chapter I [Medina’s narrative opens with the expedition of Legazpi, and the part played therein by the Augustinian Andrés de Urdaneta and his companions. Felipe II, having determined upon an expedition to the western islands, “entrusted the matter to the viceroy of Nueva España, at that time Don Luis de Velasco, a man of so great worth in all matters, that he has never received adequate praise.... more...

Chapter I. A.D. 870-912The Norman Conquest.Claim of William to the throne.The right of the strongest.One of those great events in English history, which occur at distant intervals, and form, respectively, a sort of bound or landmark, to which all other events, preceding or following them for centuries, are referred, is what is called the Norman Conquest. The Norman Conquest was, in fact, the accession... more...

Fellow-Citizens of the Senate and House of Representatives: At no period of our political existence had we so much cause to felicitate ourselves at the prosperous and happy condition of our country. The abundant fruits of the earth have filled it with plenty. An extensive and profitable commerce has greatly augmented our revenue. The public credit has attained an extraordinary elevation. Our... more...