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iv and men of action; while last, but not least, as soldiers on the field of battle, which tradition regards as the field of glory, our great men have served as valiant soldiers while the American Army and Navy have produced heroes of undying fame in the defense of their land and in the cause of humanity. Is not so complete a record a credit to the nation and to the world?

While transmitting

to posterity the

memory

of distin-

guished persons of the past and present day, it will instil in the minds of our children the important lesson that

—

honor and station are the reward of continued exertion and that compared to a good education with habits of honest industry and economy, the greatest fortune would be but a poor inheritance. The courteous co-operation and words of praise received from prominent people throughout the Unite'd States,

confirmed the opinion that the public is sufficiently and importance of such a work, and the

alive to the value

from placing their names, by most honored ones, in a work that will be found in the great public libraries and reading rooms throughout the world, and which is ultimately destined to go down to posterity as an enduring record of the most eminent people of the United States; bearing in mind that without such a record some of the most illustrious names would be lost in oblivion, and their posterity deprived of the gratification and advantage of reference lasting benefit to be derived side

to so

side with those of our

honorable an ancestry.