s that may impair the permanence of his
fame, but I suspect that his is the only work in American history that
cannot and will not be written over again. The reason of it is that he
had a unique life which has permeated his narrative, giving it the stamp
of originality. No man whose training had been gained wholly in the best
schools of Germany, France, or England could have written those books. A
training racy of the soil was needed. "A practical knowledge," wrote
Niebuhr, "must support historical jurisprudence, and if any one has got
that he can easily master all scholastic speculations." A man's
knowledge of everyday life in some way fits him for a certain field of
historical study--in that field lies success. In seeking a period, no
American need confine himself to his own country. "European history for
Americans," said Motley, "has to be almost entirely rewritten."

I shall touch upon only two of the headings of historical originality
which I have mentioned. The first that I shall speak of is the
employment of some sources of information open to everybody, but not
before used. A significant case of this in American history is the use
which Doctor von Holst made of newspaper material. _Niles's Register_, a
lot of newspaper cuttings, as well as speeches and state papers in a
compact form, had, of course, been referred to by many writers who dealt
with the period they covered, but in the part of his history covering
the ten years from 1850 to 1860 von Holst made an extensive and varied
employment of newspapers by studying the newspaper files themselves. As
the aim of history is truth, and as newspapers fail sadly in accuracy,
it is not surprising that many historical students believe that the
examination of newspapers for any given period will not pay for the
labor and drudgery involved; but the fact that a trained German
historical scholar and teacher at a German university should have found
some truth in our newspaper files when he came to write the history of
our own country, gives to their use for that period the seal of
scientific approval. Doctor von Holst used this material with pertinence
and effect; his touch was nice. I used to wonder at his knowledge of the
newspaper world, of the men who made and wrote our journals, until he
told me that when he first came to this country one of his methods in
gaining a knowledge of English was to read the advertisements in the
newspapers. Reflection will show one what a pi