Excerpt from Politics and Pen Pictures at Home and Abroad<br><br>Having been engaged in the service of my country at home and abroad, it has been my fortune to meet many eminent men, and to observe the actual working of the political systems that have so rapidly developed the re sources and advanced the power of the United States where free government is established, and those of other countries where monarchical forms exist with all the accessories of pomp and splendor and state.<br><br>I have seen the rise and fall of parties, the overthrow of reigning dynasties, and the setting up on the ruins of fallen thrones other establishments. Of these events and the men who took part in them I shall write freely; in the hope that the following pages recording the struggles, the disasters, and the triumphs which have occurred in our time may contribute something towards the advance ment of the liberty of mankind all over the world.<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.