TABLE OF CONTENTS xvii 



PART VII MISCELLANEOUS RECOLLECTIONS 



CHAPTEK LVI. THE CAKDIFF GIANT: A CHAPTER IN THE 

 HISTORY OF HUMAN FOLLY 1869-1870 



Twofold characteristics of the central route from New York to Niagara. The 

 lake country of western New York. The Onondaga Valley ; characteristics 

 of its people ; their agitation in the autumn of 1869. Discovery of the &quot; petri 

 fied giant.&quot; My visit to it ; my skepticism ; its causes. Evolution of myth 

 and legend. General joy in believing in the marvelous origin of the statue. 

 Gradual growth of a skeptical view. Confirmation of suspicions. Desperate 

 efforts to resist skepticism. Clear proofs of a swindle. Attempted revival of 

 belief in it. Alexander McWhorter ; he declares the statue a Phenician idol, 

 and detects a Phenician inscription upon it. View of Dr. Schlottmann, In 

 structor in Hebrew at Leipsic. My answer to his inquiry. He persists in 

 his belief. Final acknowledgment and explanation of the whole thing as a 

 swindle. Sundry later efforts to imitate it 465 



CHAPTER LVII. PLANS AND PROJECTS, EXECUTED AND 

 UNEXECUTED 1838-1905 



My early reverence for authors. Youthful tendency toward literary studies. 

 Change in this respect during my stay at Yale. Difference between the Yale 

 and Harvard spirit. Senator Wolcott s speech on this. Special influence of 

 Parker and Carlyle upon my view of literature. My purpose in various writ 

 ings. Preparations for lectures upon the French Revolution and for a book 

 upon its causes ; probabilities of this book at present. &quot; Paper Money Infla 

 tion in France,&quot; etc. Course of lectures upon the history of Germany. Re 

 sultant plan of a book ; form to be given it ; reasons for this form ; its present 

 prospects. My discussion of sundry practical questions. Report as Commis 

 sioner at the Paris Exposition of 1878 ; resultant address on &quot; The Provision 

 for Higher Instruction in Subjects Bearing Directly on Public Affairs.&quot; 

 Happy progress of our universities in this respect. Civil-service reform ; 

 speeches; article in the North American Review.&quot; Address at Yale on 

 &quot;The Message of the Nineteenth Century to the Twentieth.&quot; Some points *- 

 in the evolution of my &quot;History of the Warfare of Science with Theology.&quot; 

 Projects formed during sundry vacation journeys in Europe. Lectures on the 

 evolution of humanity in criminal law; growth of torture in penalty and 

 procedure ; collection of material on the subject. Project of a small book 

 to be called &quot;The Warfare of Humanity with Unreason.&quot; Vague project 

 during sundry stays at Florence of a history of that city ; attractive points in 

 such a history. Project of a Life of Father Paul Sarpi formed at Venice ; its 

 relinquishment ; importance of such a biography. Plan for a study on the 

 Life of St. Francis Xavier ; beauty of his life ; lesson taught by it regarding 

 the evolution of myth and legend. Project of a brief biography of Thomas 

 Jefferson ; partly carried out ; how formed and why discarded. Bibliograph 

 ical introduction to O Connor Morris s short history of the French Revolu 

 tion. Project of a longer general bibliography of modern history transferred 

 to President Charles Kendall Adams. Project of book, &quot; How Can Wealthy 

 Americans Best Use Their Money &quot; ; need of such a book in the United States. 

 Lectures given and articles projected on &quot; The Problem of High Crime in the 

 United States &quot; ; reasons for taking up this subject. Two projects of which 

 I have dreamed : A brief History of the Middle Ages as an introduction to 



