196 A Century of Science 



Marathon and Chalons, of the barons at Runny- 

 mede or Luther at Wittenberg ; and scarcely a 

 hill or a meadow in the Koman's Europe but 

 blooms for us with flowers of romance. Litera- 

 ture and philosophy, art and song, have expended 

 their richest treasures in adding to the witchery 

 of Old World spots and Old World themes. 



But as we learn to broaden our horizon, the 

 perspective becomes somewhat shifted. It begins 

 to dawn upon us that in New World events, also, 

 there is a rare and potent fascination. Not only 

 is there the interest of their present importance, 

 which nobody would be likely to deny, but there 

 is the charm of a historic past as full of romance 

 as any chapter whatever in the annals of mankind. 

 The Alleghanies as well as the Apennines have 

 looked down upon great causes lost and won, and 

 the Mohawk Valley is classic ground no less than 

 the banks of the Rhine. To appreciate these 

 things thirty years ago required the vision of a 

 master in the field of history ; and when I carried 

 home and read the " Pioneers of France," I saw 

 at once that in Francis Parkman we had found 

 such a master. The reading of the book was for 

 me, as doubtless for many others, a pioneer expe- 

 rience in this New World. It was a delightful 

 experience, repeated and prolonged for many a 



