IT has not been the purpose to make this work a man ual of diplomatic procedure, that field being already occupied by European publications. It is rather designed as a companion volume and complement of A Century of American Diplomacy. As the latter sought to show the in?uence exerted by the United States in the fram ing and improvement of international law, the present work is intended, primarily, to set forth the part taken by American diplomatists in the elevation and purifica tion of diplomacy and, secondarily, to give in popular form, through such a narrative, the rules and procedure of diplomatic intercourse. While it is prepared for the general reader, numerous citations of authorities are given to enable the student to pursue his investigation.