History of Scandinavia: From the Early Times of the Northmen and Vikings to the Present Day

From the preface: "The value of history being so generally appreciated, I need offer no apology for attempting to write such a work as the present, especially as the aim was, not to supplant any previous work, but actually to meet a want which was felt, because no such work existed here. But in submitting to the American and English public my first essay in writing English—to the somewhat ambitious extent of a book, I mean—let me claim some forbearance and kindly criticism, where certain unavoidable difficulties interposed themselves, and have not, perhaps, in every case, even where most earnestly grappled with, been successfully overcome. Notwithstanding that, on the whole, this attempt to make the Scandinavian countries—especially Denmark, my fatherland—better known in the United States, has been a "labor of love," it has, on account of the want of sufficient literary sources and of a thorough familiarity with the English language, by no means been a short and easy undertaking, but has occupied me both morning and evening for a long space of time. Nevertheless, should the result of my labor, the work which I here offer as an Introduction to the History of Scandinavia, be found calculated to promote even a little interest in the subject, my desire and purposes will be fully realized, and the great difficulties under which I have labored, amply rewarded."