lowest, are no longer considered. The violence of party spirit has
been mitigated, and the judgment of the wise is not subordinated to the
prejudices of the ignorant.

Other dangers have come. Equality of conditions no longer exists.
Prophets of evil predict the downfall of democracy, but the student
of M. de Tocqueville will find consolation and encouragement in the
reflection that the same spirit which has vanquished the perils of
the past, which he foresaw, will be equally prepared for the
responsibilities of the present and the future.

The last of the four volumes of M. de Tocqueville's work upon American
institutions appeared in 1840.

In 1838 he was chosen member of the Academy of Moral and Political
Sciences. In 1839 he was elected to the Chamber of Deputies. He became
a member of the French Academy in 1841. In 1848 he was in the Assembly,
and from June 2nd to October 31st he was Minister of Foreign Affairs.
The coup d'etat of December 2, 1851 drove him from the public service.
In 1856 he published "The Old Regime and the Revolution." He died at
Cannes, April 15, 1859, at the age of fifty-four.

Hon. John J. Ingalls




Introductory Chapter

Amongst the novel objects that attracted my attention during my stay