Some of these things are, in a certain sense, of small account. Yet in a society so largely conventional as all diplomatic society is, and of necessity must be, it is much that an American should, by common consent, stand at the head, even in matters of ceremonial. It reveals a quickness and versatility of mind which is not common. A certain native, spontaneous grace, both of words and manner, characterized all Mr. Lowell’s utterances; and it was so truly genuine that it could not fail to charm, when the mere external imitation was sure to repel. The record which this little book gives of his unstudied speeches and letters in England shows how thoroughly imbued he was with the American idea. It also shows how strenuously he used every occasion to try to bring about a higher and truer friendship between the two great countries whose mission it seems to be to uphold and extend regulated liberty throughout the world. Some of these speeches were made while he was still accredited Minister to Great Britain: others, after he had ceased to hold the title, though he remained in reality the true American representative to that people. There is, perhaps, no other instance of a citizen of the United States holding such position, with ever increasing regard, for years after he had ceased to be titular representative. The honors bestowed on him by the Universities were more than out-done by the honor in which he was held by the people. The one was a tribute to scholarship and attainments:--the other, a recognition of manhood and integrity. In the heroic years which made up so large a part of the experience of all men in the United States from 1861 to 1865, Mr. Lowell’s part was as efficient as that of many a general on the battle field. When the era of peace and reconciliation came, he maintained the same lofty principles which had prompted all his former actions and words. The spirit which dictated “The Present Crisis” so long ago as 1845, also dictated the “Fourth of July Ode” in 1876. But how different the tone of these two impassioned lyrics! The one a vigorous, manly, resistless protest against the “Sons of brutish Force and Darkness Who have drenched the earth with blood,” The other, a sublime thanksgiving for the salvation of “The Land to Human Nature dear.” It is in the light of these strenuous outbursts of the unconquered spirit of independence that his words spoken in lighter vein are to be read and considered. Everywhere is the same faith and hope:--only, in these later speeches, they find expression in words fitted for social pleasantry and genial intercourse.