PKEFACE, 



THE present work is not in any sense a history, even 

 on the most limited scale. It may perhaps be termed 

 an appreciation of the century of what it has done, 

 and what it has left undone. The attempt has been 

 made to give short, descriptive sketches of those great 

 material and intellectual achievements which especially 

 distinguish the nineteenth century from any and all of 

 its predecessors, and to "show how fundamental is the 

 change they have effected in our life and civilization. 

 A comparative estimate of the number and importance 

 of these achievements leads to the conclusion that not 

 only is our century superior to any .that have gone be- 

 fore it, but that it may be best compared with the whole 

 preceding historical period. It must therefore be held 

 to constitute the beginning of a new era of human 

 progress. 



But this is only one side of the shield. Along with 

 these marvellous Successes perhaps in consequence of 

 them there have been equally striking Failures, some 

 intellectual, but for the most part moral and social. No 

 impartial appreciation of the century can omit a refer- 

 ence to them; and it is not improbable that, to the his- 

 torian of the future, they will be considered to be its 

 most striking characteristic. I have therefore given 

 them due prominence. No doubt it will be objected 

 that I have devoted far too much space to them more 



vltt 



