"While within its bright'ning dimness,
With the misty halo 'round her,
Stood a beautiful white maiden"Page [70]
TO
The National Society
of
Colonial Dames of America
WHOSE PATRIOTIC WORK HAS STIMULATED
RESEARCH INTO AN IMPORTANT AND
INTERESTING PERIOD OF THE HISTORY OF
OUR BELOVED COUNTRY
FORGOTTEN FACTS AND FANCIES
OF AMERICAN HISTORY
AS civilization advances there develops in the heart of man a higher appreciation of the past, and the deeds of preceding generations come to be viewed with a calm criticism which denudes those deeds of false splendor and increases the lustre of real accomplishment. Man cannot see into the future and acquire the prescience of coming events which would make him infallible, but he can remove the veil from the past, contemplate the mistakes and successes of those who have lived before him, and who struggled with the same problems which now confront him. The results of their efforts are recorded in history, and inspired by high ideals he can study the past, and by feeding his lamp of wisdom with the oil of their experiences he secures a greater light to guide his own activities. Man remains a slave to Fate until Knowledge makes him free, and while all true knowledge comes from experience, it need not necessarily be personal experience.