e limited horizon of a homestead, or the
absence of all irritation or attrition, ever make one people of the
emigrants from every clime.

And, when this nation shall have become thoroughly homogeneous--when the
world shall recognise _the race_, and, above this, _the power_ of the
race--will there be no interest in tracing through the mists of many
generations, the outlines of that foundation on which is built the
mighty fabric? Even the infirmities and vices of the men who piled the
first stones of great empires, are chronicled in history as facts
deserving record. The portrait of an ancient hero is a treasure beyond
value, even though the features be but conjectural. How much more
precious would be a faithful portrait of _his character_, in which the
features should be his salient traits--the expression, outline, and
complexion of his nature!

To furnish a series of such portraits--embracing a few of the earlier
characters, whose "mark" is traceable in the growing civilization of the
West and South--is the design of the present work. The reader will
observe that its logic is not the selection of actual, but of ideal,
individuals, each representing a class; and that, although it is
arranged chronologically, the periods are not historical, but
characteristic. The design, then, is double; _first_, to select a
_class_, which indicates a certain stage of social or political
advancement; and, _second_, to present a picture of an imaginary
individual, who combines the prominent traits, belonging to the class
thus chosen.

The series halts, beyond the Rubicon of contemporaneous portraiture, for
very obvious reasons; but there are still in existence abundant means of
verifying, or correcting, every sketch. I have endeavored to give the
consciousness of this fact its full weight--to resist the temptation
(which, I must admit, was sometimes strong) to touch the borders of
satire; and, in conclusion, I can only hope that these wishes, with an
earnest effort at fidelity, have enabled me to present truthful
pictures.

FOOTNOTES:

[1] "Were it a clear stream, it would soon scoop itself out a channel
from bluff to bluff."--_Flint's Geography_, p. 103.

I.

THE INDIAN.

"In the same beaten channel still have run
The blessed streams of human sympathy;
And, though I know this ever hath been done,
The why and wherefore, I could never see!"

PHEBE CAREY.

In a work which professes to trac