E-text prepared by Camille Bernard & Marc D'Hooghe
(http://www.freeliterature.org)
In the series commencing with the present volume GUSTAVE AIMARD hasentirely changed the character of his stories. He has selected amagnificent episode of American history, the liberation of Texas fromthe intolerable yoke of the Mexicans, and describes scenes quorum parsmagna fuit. At the present moment, when all are watching with batedbreath the results of the internecine war commencing between North andSouth, I believe that the volumes our author devotes to this subjectwill be read with special interest, for they impart much valuableinformation about the character of the combatants who will, to a greatextent, form the nucleus of the confederated army. The North looks downon them with contempt, and calls them "Border ruffians;" but when themoment arrives, I entertain no doubt but that they will command respectby the brilliancy of their deeds.
Surprising though the events may be which are narrated in the presentvolume, they are surpassed by those that continue the series. The nextvolume, shortly to appear under the title of "The Freebooters,"describes the progress of the insurrection till it attained theproportions of a revolution, while the third and last volume will bedevoted to the establishment of order in that magnificent State ofTexas, which has cast in its lot with the Secessionists, and willindubitably hold out to the very last, confident in the prowess of itssons, whose fathers Aimard has so admirably depicted in the present andthe succeeding volumes of the new series.
L.W.