INTRODUCTION. IN that " History of Napoleon I." which he never lived to complete, Lanfrcy says: "Do not misconstrue events; history is not a school of fatalism, but one long plea for the freedom of man." In this pleading chronicle there are few chapters more pathetic than the career of my old friend John Brown, which I long since undertook to set forth, though strangely delayed in completing my task. It was begun in those dismal years when the Southern oligarchy and their humble followers at the North still controlled our degraded politics; and it has been continued through all the vicissitudes, the anxieties, and the assured repose of subsequent years. More than once in those earlier days recurred to me that gloomy magniloquence of the Eoman annalist, where Tacitus complains that the tyranny of Domitian had suppressed the unheralded renown of Agricola: "Patient sufferance we showed, no doubt. Our ancestors saw the extreme of license, but we of servility; for our inquisitors About the Publisher Forgotten Books is a publisher of historical writings, such as: Philosophy, Classics, Science, Religion, History, Folklore and Mythology.Forgotten Books" Classic Reprint Series utilizes the latest technology to regenerate facsimiles of historically important writings. Careful attention has been made to accurately preserve the original format of each page whilst digitally enhancing the difficult to read text. Read books online for free at www.forgottenbooks.org