AN IMPORTANT HISTORICAL BOOK.
The History of the Louisiana Purchase.
By Dr. James K. Hosmer, Author of "A Short History of the Mississippi Valley," etc. With Illustrations and Maps. 12mo. Cloth, $1.20 net; postage, 12 cents additional.
The story that Dr. Hosmer tells of the acquisition of the western empire included in the Louisiana Purchase presents fresh and picturesque phases of a most important historical event of peculiar and timely interest, in view of the anniversary which comes next year. He pictures the vague and curious ideas of the Louisiana country held by most Americans one hundred years ago, and the objections to this form of expansion. He treats the changes in the ownership of the territory from France to Spain, and again to France, and he develops fully the purposes and acts of Jefferson and the American Commissioners in Paris.
Of special importance from both the historical and personal points of view are the chapters which picture more fully and vividly than has been done before the leading part taken by Napoleon in bringing about the sale of Louisiana, and the relations between France and America, which are shown to possess a historical importance that has not been appreciated.
There has been no account of the Louisiana Purchase which is so popular and constant in its interest, and the authoritative character of the historian's work renders the volume indispensable for younger and older readers who wish to gain a thorough knowledge of the personal elements and the historic significance of the acquisition of Louisiana.