PREFACE ix 



I was always entranced by the strange half-lights, the 

 shifting ideas, and the obedience to natural law, which 

 the scene displayed. 



Down to 1757 my materials were chiefly gathered 

 from the Record Office and the Manuscript Depart- 

 ment of the British Museum, to whose officials I am 

 indebted for their courtesy; after 1757 the Record 

 Office was obliged by its regulations to close its doors 

 to me, and I was thrown back on contemporary writers, 

 on Blue books, and on those second-hand authors, who 

 have had access to first-hand authorities which I have 

 not had. When I differ from what I have called second- 

 hand authors, it must not be supposed that I have not 

 considered or do not respect because I do not mention 

 their opinions. I have neither room nor taste for 

 discussion. History from my point of view has only 

 to do with the movement of events. If I differ from 

 any official point of view in any current or recent 

 controversy, the same thing must be borne in mind, 

 and it must be also remembered that I have not seen 

 a single unprinted document between 1757 and the 

 present day, that I do not know for instance what was 

 argued at the Hague, and that I write as a pure im- 

 pressionist. 



