bia" in 1865, gives his emphatic testimony to clear Wade Hampton from the charge of burning that city. T. J. Watson offers his recollections of the killing of Gen. J. E. B. Stuart. W. F. Randolph, captain of Stonewall Jackson's body guard, rehearses from memory his evidence that Jackson was shot by his own men and not by the enemy. William Le Roy Broun, a very prominent educator in the South, adds material of value to the mass already accumulated on the history of the war, in a paper describing the work of the Confederate Ordnance Department of which he was a very active official having charge of the arsenal at Richmond for a considerable time. It is one of the most important contributions for the future historian to work over that have been made of late by this periodical.

THE LOST CAUSE, Sept., Oct., Nov. 1903, Vol. X, Nos. 2, 3, 4, pp. 17-64, yearly $1.00, singly 10 cents Louisville, Ky. These three issues are filled largely with very interesting reprints such as "Personne's Letters" from Charleston in 1861; extracts from various sources on the history of the confederate flag and an article from Dr. S. E. Lewis on the humane step taken by the confederates, largely at his instance, for practically treating surgeons as non-combatants.

NOTES AND NEWS.

THE NEW ORLEANS MEETING OF THE AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION.-From accounts in the daily press the gathering at New Orleans, Dec. 29-31, last, was very enjoyable. A train load of historians and economists from the northern section of the country went down on a special excursion for this purpose. The hospitality was unstinted. Besides social entertainments the members were given the opportunity to inspect a large sugar refinery near the city. A Political Science Association was formed to cover the whole United States. There has been a feeling for some time that this branch of study was not adequately treated either in the historical or economic Associations. Prof. W. W. Willoughby, Baltimore, Md., was chosen Secretary, with the general organization for such bodies. It is intended to cover such topics as International Law and Diplomacy, Comparative Legislation, Historical and Comparative Jurisprudence, Constitutional Law, Administration, Politics, and Political Theory. A publication of some sort is to be maintained if sufficient support can be secured. Annual meetings are to be held along with the two sister societies if possible.

ONE MAN'S INFLUENCE.-It is possible that the effects of Mr. Thos. M. Owen's splendid work as director of the Alabama Department of History will eventuate in the establishment of a duplicate in the State of South Carolina. At least the matter is being urged upon the present Legislature. In his endorsement of the move in South Carolina, Mr. Owen takes undoubtedly the wisest position in such matters when he urges that public supported organizations of the kind should not attempt to publish any material except original

sources such as documents, diaries, or mere compilations of facts and events. If government publications attempt to go beyond this safeguard they soon flounder in a miry mush of platitudes and essays which are a deplorable waste of valuable space. Several States are beautiful examples of how degenerate editing becomes at times, when the manager has to accept everything from an author with a pull, and reject everything that is likely to wound any tender sensibility.

THOROUGHNESS OF HISTORICAL METHODS TO-DAY.Modern historiography is becoming more and more relentless every year. The foremost workers in the field are raising the standard higher so that for scientific history almost unquenchable demands are made upon a man's time and labor. Prof. Justin H. Smith, of Dartmouth College, is an illustration of this in his energetic expediture of time, and effort in the preparation of this book on Arnold's March (reviewed in these Publications, pp. 467, Vol. 7). Not only did he employ the services of trained copyists, but he hired several guides in following Arnold's course from New England to Quebec. He, himself, went over the entire distance at least once and some of the stages as much as seven times. He also went down the Chaudiere river in a canoe at the imminent risk of his life in passing over the dangerous rapids. When the book was in type he took the infinite pains of reading proof by the original manuscripts with the aid of an expert decipherer. These toilsome efforts resulted in a clean sweep of the entire field both as to the material and as to the proper editing of it—no higher praise can be given to any historical volume designed for specialists. The general reader might find what he considers faults but as the book was not intended for him, his criticisms would really not count against it. Prof. Smith is

now working on the history of the Mexican War and he is applying the same thorough, comprehensive, exhaustive methods in his search for the truth.

PEABODY FUND.-At the January meeting of the Trustees of this educational foundation no successor was chosen to Dr. J. L. M. Curry as general agent. Dr. S. A. Green was continued temporarily in charge. There was a discussion as to permanently disposing of the fund for the establishment of a Normal Institution at some point in the South but final determination of these important questions was left for the next meeting of the Trustees to be held in October.

During the early months of 1861 society was at its brightest and best. For several years social life had been characterized by a vague feeling of unrest. Political questions became social questions, society and politics went hand in hand, and the social leaders were the political leaders. The women were well informed on all questions of the day and especially on the burning sectional issues that affected them so closely. After the John Brown episode at Harper's Ferry, the women felt that for them there could be no safety until the question was settled. They were strongly in favor of secession after that event if not before; they were even more unanimous than the men, feeling that they were more directly concerned in questions of interference with social institutions in the South. There was to them a great danger in social changes made, as all expected, by John Brown methods.1

1Colonel Higginson seems to understand the influence of the women, but not the reason for their interest in public questions. He says: "But for the women of the seceding States, the war of the Re