The instruction was given by means of the then well-nigh universal text-book, "Locke on the Understanding," and was mechanical; but his mind was roused, and when, in the junior year, "Edwards on the Will" fell into his hands he read it with avidity. Like Jacob at Luz, he was awakened to the significance of life, and thereafter, however profound were his studies of the great systems, and he was familiar with them all, he ever avowed his indebtedness to that great treatise and the unbroken fascination of its logic and metaphysics. Every favor that the intellectual aristocracy of Boston could bestow was showered on the boy; but, while he was appreciative and grateful, his path deviated from the beginning and led him into other and larger rooms of mental and spiritual work. He was devoted by his parents to the ministry. Edward Everett, then in Germany, wrote home advising that a choice young man be selected to study at some great university in that land with a view to enlarging and strengthening the teaching at Harvard. Bancroft was second in his class, and everything pointed to him as the proper person. His parents consented, and he entered upon the decisive years of his life.

In the second decade of the nineteenth century Germany was still a distant land. Already it was the Mecca of intellectual pilgrims, and a journey thither was sure to quicken the imaginative powers to uncommon activity. At the outset he devoted himself to the thorough study of the language and literature. A number of fine translations are still extant and attest his scholarship and appreciation. His teachers at Göttingen were Dissen, the Platonist, in philosophy; Eichhorn in New Testament Greek; and Blumenbach in what was then called natural history. He also acquired some knowledge of Arabic, Syriac, and Persian. But these were his avocations, his chief interest lay in the study of history under Heeren, the greatest historical critic of that day and one of the most scientific of all historians, the father of the modern historical method. Two things the young student felt that he carried away from the famous university, the lesson that moderation and a contempt for worry were the marks of a great scholar, and, second, the impulse to historical study. The latter was due in part to Heeren's infectious zeal, in part to the belief, which sprang from his philosophical studies, that the only scientific basis for the study of ethics must be found in an examination of the movement of the human race. From Göttingen Bancroft went to Berlin, where he was at once received into the charmed circle gathered from all Germany to awaken patriotism in Prussian youth, and lay the foundation for German unity. His patrons were most distinguished: W. von Humboldt, Savigny, F. A. Wolf, Voss, Schleiermacher, and Hegel. The latter's philosophy repelled him as displaying too plainly an apologetic bias. Schleiermacher denied the originality of Hegel, and fascinated Bancroft. With all he was on intimate terms, but he carried away from the capital no influence that can now be traced in his work. On leaving Berlin he went to Heidelberg and studied history for a time with Von Schlosser, a painstaking investigator without either spontaneity or originality.

The autumn and winter of 1821-'22 were spent in an extended European tour. Switzerland, Italy, and France, through their great men and historical associations, yielded up to the traveler rich stores of experience. The laborious sightseeing that he did in the three months of his stay in Rome displays the character of the man. Rising at dawn," says a biographer, "he breakfasted by candle-light and hurried forth in the early morning-churches, galleries, ruins, antiquities, he devoured everything with his eyes, stopping only for a frugal luncheon of a few cakes or a little fruit, and dining at night-fall as his means would allow. Then hurrying to his room he read, till the small hours, history and the masterpieces of Italian letters, but in particular Dante." But the sight-seeing was the least of his remarkable experience. During a Göttingen vacation, four years after the Battle of Waterloo, he had met Goethe, then in his seventieth year, for the first time at Jena, and he had had a second interview at Weimar in 1821, conversing at length about politics, art, and literature, the German poet taking pains to explain, what was probably uppermost in his mind, that he thought Byron's "Manfred" founded on his own "Faust." At Paris Bancroft met and associated with Cousin, Constant, and Alexander von Humboldt. In Milan he knew Manzoni, and in Rome he was intimate with both Niebuhr and Bunsen. At Leghorn he met Byron twice, once on the flagship of the American fleet then at anchor in the harbor, and once in the villa at Monte Nero, where he also saw the Countess Guiccioli. The interest of all these famous men in the young American was real and appreciative.

In 1822 Bancroft was again in America. Yielding to his father's desires, he tried to preach, but his heart was not in the ministry, and he felt the few sermons which he wrote to be rather in the nature of literary exercises than gospel messages. The place of tutor in Greek at Harvard was offered to him and accepted. To one fresh from larger fields, the intellectual life of Harvard was uncongenial. Moreover, he had thus far been dependent on an uncle and a brother. During 1823, therefore, a plan was formed for founding the Round Hill School at Northampton. In the following autumn, in partnership with J. G. Cogswell, who had been arranging and cataloguing the Harvard library, he made the venture. The school made a great name, but while Bancroft was enabled to pay his debts and earn a fair living, there was no outlook for such pecuniary reward as would bring independence. The plan was admirable: a fine estate to make popular as much outdoor life as possible; good, trained teachers to stimulate rather than drill; close companionship between masters and boys; no direct emulation, no corporal punishment. In this attempt to elevate secondary education to the high plane on which it belongs the boys were happy-witness the paper of the late T. G. Appleton-but the masters were not; there was friction in the business management, and one of the masters, writing steadily for the "North American" and Walsh's "American Quarterly," was longing for literary and political activity. He also made during that time a translation of Heeren's great work, "The Politics of Ancient Greece," which was favorably

reviewed in the "Edinburgh," and by Edward Everett in the "North American." It was pirated in England, without even a mention of the translator's name. During these years Bancroft cut loose in politics from the traditions of the Harvard circle, and became the foremost man in the councils of the Democratic party in Massachusetts. But he had steadily refused office. The first volume of his "History of the United States" appeared in 1834 and the second in 1837, while he was Collector of the Port of Boston, to which office President Van Buren appointed him. His adherence to the Democratic party was based on philosophical and theoretical considerations, but, unlike many men of similar constitution, he was not too nice to enter the field of practical politics.

He was the first of that line of scholar-politicians who have graced public life in America, and of whom Massachusetts has furnished the largest number. His political career in outline was this: In 1830 he was elected to the Legislature, but without his own knowledge or consent. Out of deference to the strong Whig sympathies of Mrs. Bancroft and her family he declined to serve. Again in 1831 he was requested to accept the nomination for Secretary of State in Massachusetts, but he declined. Mention has already been made of his service as collector in Boston. In 1844 he was nominated for Governor on the Democratic ticket, but, although he received more votes than had hitherto been cast for any Democrat, he was defeated. In 1845 he became Secretary of the Navy under President Polk, and from 1846 to 1849 he was minister to Great Britain. In 1866 he was selected by Congress to deliver the eulogy on President Lincoln, and in 1867 he was sent first as minister to Prussia, being successively accredited to the North German Confederation, to the Free Cities, and to Bavaria, and finally to the German Empire. He voluntarily retired from public life in 1874. From that time until his death, in 1891, he spent the summers in Newport and the winters in Washington. In the latter place he was continuously active as an adviser in many important questions of public policy.

While head of the custom-house in Boston he appointed to office two of the finest spirits in the history of American thought and letters, Nathaniel Hawthorne and Orestes Brownson. They were excellent officials, the former being eminent in the punctilious performance of his duties. He served for something over two years, and resigned against the wishes of the collector. Bancroft was an earnest advocate for the an

nexation of Texas, pleading in the newspapers for the extension of the "area of freedom." Although he was roundly abused at the time by men of both parties, events have justified his opinion. Texas, as an independent State, could have imported slaves. Her autonomy would have made impossible the acquisition of California, and might have seriously impaired the efforts of the country to suppress the rebellion. When his name came before the Senate for confirmation to Polk's Cabinet, Archer, of Virginia, secured a post ponement, and Bancroft was called to account for his published articles on slavery. Allen, of Ohio, examined them all and made a vehement speech in support of their doctrines. The vote for

confirmation was unanimous. Hitherto the newly appointed midshipmen had had some theoretical instruction at sea in addition to their practical training. The new Secretary wished to found a school for naval officers like that which already existed for the education of army officers at West Point. An appropriation seemed hopeless. He, therefore, with the approval of the President and his colleagues, ordered the instruction hitherto given at sea to be given for the time being at Annapolis, and, acting under his powers, sent thither an officer to superintend, the more capable of the existing teachers to be professors, and the young officers to attend as pupils. Examinations were ordered both for admission and promotion. When, therefore, Congress met, the school was actually in existence. Application was made for money to repair the building that the War Department had assigned to the Navy for the purpose. Congress passed the bill, and the Naval School was founded.

Although her independence had already been recognized by both Great Britain and France, Texas was still claimed by Mexico. California, nominally under Mexican rule, could be safely governed only by Americans, so great were the disorders of Mexican administration. It was believed that Mexico would declare war on account of the annexation of Texas. In June, 1845, therefore, Bancroft gave the orders that led to the occupation of California. In 1846 he was also for a month acting Secretary of War, and through him were sent the orders to Zachary Taylor for the invasion of the territory in dispute between Texas and Mexico which brought on the Mexican War. The same year his mission to England began. The Northwestern boundary question had been settled while he was still in the Cabinet, and he had ample time for historical studies and social life. His reputation as a man of letters being already established, the historical treasures of the great houses were put at his disposal, and the years of his London life were a part rather of his literary than of his political career.

From 1849 to 1867 Bancroft lived in New York, and was absorbed in authorship. His earlier political life had fallen in the days when the Democratic party was but in part subservient to the slave-holding oligarchy of the South. He escaped the evil days of its entire devotion by his retirement from public life. But at the outbreak of the war he no longer held his peace, and was an ardent, patriotic War Democrat. Twice during the contest he delivered public addresses, one at the invitation of the city that was his home, in which he destroyed the flimsy constitutional pleas for slavery; and in his eulogy on Lincoln he but repeated views concerning its fatal influence which he had urged on members of Congress before its formal abolition. "The path of wisdom, of patriotism, of peace, of future success," he wrote to Samuel S. Cox in January, 1865, "leads now through the abolition of slavery by an amendment of the Constitution." On the accession of Johnson he vigorously supported the President's reconstruction policy, and in 1867 was sent as the United States envoy to Berlin.

Two remarkable diplomatic achievements give distinction to the last period of his public lifethe naturalization treaties and the successful conduct of the San Juan arbitration. The former

marks an epoch in the history of political theories. Hitherto Prussia, like England, had held and practiced the doctrine, once a citizen always a citizen. Now she was called on to admit the right of expatriation, the renunciation of old allegiance, and the acquisition of a new and exclusive citizenship. Such a course was also contrary to the policy of the War Department, as it gave ample opportunity for young men capable of military duty to emigrate. But the young men emigrated whether or no, and for some years the practice of seizing those who ventured to return, and forcing them into the ranks, had proved burdensome and exasperating. Bismarck was therefore disposed to listen to the suggestions of a larger policy. He desired to be on good terms with the United States, and as nearly every family in Germany had members in America he was anxious that those who remained might not be disaffected by the harsh treatment of their relatives, who might return from time to time to renew the ties of affection which bound them to parents and brethren. So he yielded on condition that citizenship in the United States should be bona fide, and be proved to be so by residence there and continuous domicile elsewhere than under the German flag. The principle of expatriation once established, England renounced her claim to indefeasible allegiance, and the new principle is now prevalent throughout civilized lands. In the treaty concerning the Northwestern boundary, negotiated by Polk, there was an ambiguity concerning a portion of the line. This enabled interested persons to reopen the question. After some negotiations it was agreed that this should be one of the questions submitted to arbitration. But the terms accepted were unfavorable to the United States, consenting, as they did, that if there was uncertainty as to the true line, the arbiter himself might establish a boundary of compromise. Bancroft took the initiative against this course. The Department of State at length determined that the method of arbitration should be for each side to formulate its claim, that these should be submitted to the arbiter for a decision as to which was right, and that the Emperor of Germany should be the referee. To Bancroft alone was left the whole matter of the preparation of the American argument. The first presentation of the case and the reply to the British were every word his own, and the completeness of the plea was due to his early knowledge of the whole affair As is well known, the decision of the Emperor of Germany was unreservedly in our favor

The public life thus delineated in outline would in itself have been a career for most men. Its successful achievements would entitle any American to the admiration and respect of his countrymen, securing for him a place in the country's history. But in the case of Bancroft it was all incidental and disciplinary rather than essential. His true renown is not that of a maker, but of a writer of history. The statesman and diplomatist in him were ever ancillary to the historian. In September, 1823, appeared from the University Press of Cambridge a small volume of his poems, written partly in Europe, partly after his return. It was not remarkable except for its biographical suggestions, showing the ardor of both his ambition and his patriotism. In later years the

author obtained and destroyed many copies of the edition, so that the little volume is now very rare. One stanza is the key to Bancroft's whole life:

The weary pilgrim to his home returns ; For Freedom's air, for Western climes he burns. Where dwell the brave, the generous, the free, Oh! there is Rome! No other Rome for me. His motive power was an abiding faith in the democracy of the United States as the destined carrier of a great focal civilization following those of the Orient, of Greece, of Rome, and of Europe. Without this key no one can understand either his personal character or his work, which is as much the expression of a prophecy as the record of a fulfillment.

The earlier articles that Bancroft wrote for the reviews were also literary-on subjects connected with the classics of Greece and Rome or of Germany. But in January, 1831, he published in the "North American Review" a discussion of the Bank of the United States, and in 1835 an essay on the "Documentary History of the Revolution." The first volume of his "History of the United States" had appeared the previous year. These two facts show how earlier training and purpose had culminated in work. Through the study of philosophy he was led to the belief that there was a collective human will, in which personal doubt, passion, and sentiment had been canceled. The unfolding of this must give the only scientific basis for the study of morals. But he believed also, as he repeatedly said to the writer, that if there be the same conservation of energy in the moral as in the physical world, there must also be a universal and eternal power, that this eternal reason shorn of human imperfections is the infinite, perfect, enduring Logos. The incarnation was the philosophical justification of Christianity, because in it the finite knows the infinite. Bancroft in philosophy was akin to Kant and believed that the Königsberg philosopher had met the skeptics on their own ground and proved the existence of a priori truth and of a priori synthetic judgments. History, therefore, was to him the most important discipline of philosophy. He viewed it, long before the men who now claim the merit of the discovery, as a unit; he believed its forces to be constant, and looked on their manifestation as parts of an organic whole. The background is the history of the race, but against it the individual moves and acts with perfect completeness and liberty.

He believed also in the great importance of original authorities. In this he was the pupil of Heeren. He has been criticised for the strong emphasis laid on documentary material, but only by sciolists unfamiliar with the fundamental rules of his critical apparatus. These were twocarefully distinguish between original authority and historical memorials or aids; represent every man from his own standpoint, judge him from your own. Hence the test of the historian is threefold-when, where, by whom. An original authority concerning a fact either acted in it or saw it or heard from another who performed or beheld. An historical aid or memorial is, for instance, a decision of the Supreme Court concerning the interpretation of the Constitution.

Unlike later historians, however, he did not