America and the Americans (Classic Reprint)

Excerpt from America and the Americans<br><br>During my services as an officer in a regiment of Lancers in the Belgian army, of which Prince Achille Murat was Colonel, he presented me with a copy of some valuable Notes, which he had written for the amusement and information of his esteemed and talented friend, the Count Thibeaudau.<br><br>The Prince left our regiment and the army, much to the regret of King Leopold, in consequence of the absurd jealousy of the Northern Powers, he being a member of "the Bonaparte family"! What a change has now come "o'er the spirit of their dream"! With the consent of these very powers (more from compulsion than free will) the nephew of the Emperor is President of the Republic of France! while other branches of the "proscribed" family are holding high official appointments. Thus much for the march of Liberty! and well hath Byron said:<br><br>"Freedom's blood's the growth of Freedom's tree."<br><br>The Colonel was not only much esteemed and beloved by his corps, but from his amiable, chivalrous and frank manners, became the intimate personal friend of the King; and his society was moreover much valued in the agreeable and enlightened circles of Brussels.<br><br>I arrived in the United States with the hope of renewing my acquaintance with him, when to my heartfelt regret I learnt that he was no more.<br><br>I now present the Notes to the public: they bear the impress of a reflective and inquiring mind, and have afforded no small gratification and useful information to many of my literary acquaintance in Europe.<br><br>About the Publisher<br><br>Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com<br><br>This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.