publication of this second work, which gives us an insight into his mode
of working and the plan he proposed to follow. It begins with an allusion
which recalls a literary event interesting to many of his American
friends.

ROME, March 4, 1859.

F. H. UNDERWOOD, ESQ.

My dear Sir,--. . . I am delighted to hear of the great success
of "The Atlantic Monthly." In this remote region I have not the
chance of reading it as often as I should like, but from the
specimens which I have seen I am quite sure it deserves its wide
circulation. A serial publication, the contents of which are purely
original and of such remarkable merit, is a novelty in our country,
and I am delighted to find that it has already taken so prominent a
position before the reading world. . .

The whole work [his history], of which the three volumes already
published form a part, will be called "The Eighty Years' War for
Liberty."

Epoch I. is the Rise of the Dutch Republic.

Epoch II. Independence Achieved. From the Death of William the
Silent till the Twelve Years' Truce. 1584-1609.

Epoch III. Independence Recognized. From the Twelve Years' Truce
to the Peace of Westphalia. 1609-1648.