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SYNOPSES  OF  NOTED  BOOKS


It  had  been  the  dream  of  the  author's
youth,  and  the  inspiration  of  his  genius,
to  spend  himself  effectually  in.  recovering
the  almost  lost  history  of  New  France  in
America;  to  found  upon  original  docu-
ments a  continuous  narrative  of  French
efforts  to  occupy  and  control  the  conti-
nent: and  at  the  date  of  his  last  preface,
March  26th,  1892,  he  was  able  to  refer  to
a  collection  of  manuscript  materials  be-
gim  forty-five  years  before,  and  carried
to  completion  in  seventy  voltunes.
Part  First  of  the  great  work,  dating
from  January  ist,  1865,  was  a  story  of
« France  in  the  New  World;  the  attempt
of  Feudalism,  Monarchy,  and  Rome  to
master  a  continent;  a  memorable  but
half-forgotten  chapter  in  the  book  of
human  life.>^  It  included  an  account
of  <The  Huguenots  in  Florida,  >  and  of
^Champlain  and  his  Associates,^  to  the
death  of  Champlain,  December  25th,
1635.  Part  Second  was  occupied  with
<The  Jesuits  in  North  America  in  the
seventeenth  centiiry>;  « their  efforts  to
convert  the  Indians. »  Its  date  was
March  ist,  1867.  Part  Third,  <The  Dis-
covery of  the  Great  West,*  the  valleys
of  the  Mississippi  and  the  Lakes,  <<a
series  of  daring  enterprises  very  little
known, »  came  out  dated  September  i6th,
1869.  Part  Fourth,  dated  July  ist,  1874,
gave  the  story  of  <The  Old  R6g^me  in
Canada';  «the  political  and  social  ma-
chine set  up  by  Louis  XIV. »  Part  Fifth,
January  ist,  1877,  was  <  Count  Frontenac
and  New  France  under  Louis  XIV.,>  the
story  of  the  battle  for  the  continent.
