No apology need be offered for presenting a new Edition of the following Narrative, of one of the most remarkable men of the age in which he lived. It is given in the plain language of its self-educated author, without any alteration. The Senior publisher has been intimately acquainted with his widow, who died about ten years since, and has been assured by her that this narrative is printed as he wrote it without alteration; and, that it shows more of his true character, than all else ever written of him.
Little is known of the life of Col. Allen, but what is found in Biographical Dictionaries, Spark's American Biography, and his Memoirs written by Mr. Moore, from whose introduction the following just tribute to his memory is copied:
"Perhaps no individual, of equal advantages, and the station he occupied in life, contributed more towards establishing the independence of our country, than Ethan Allen, the subject of this memoir. The mass of the people among whom he resided, were rude and uncultivated; yet bold in spirit and zealous in action. It consequently followed, that no one, save a man of strong natural endowments—of much decision, energy and bravery, could control their prejudices and inclinations. Habit had rendered them familiar with danger, and impatient of restraint; hence, it followed, that no policy, unless proceeding from a source in which they had confidence, ever gained their approbation. Upon Allen, whose courage was undoubted, and whose zealous devotion to their interests was universally acknowledged, they implicitly relied. They had known him in adversity and prosperity—they had weighed him, and found nothing lacking. To friend or foe, he was ever the same unyielding advocate of the rights of man, and universal liberty. The policy, therefore he upheld, as beneficial to the common cause of American liberty, ever found strong and efficient supporters in the friends with whom he associated, and by whom he was known.
"From the commencement of our Revolutionary struggle, until its final close, Ethan Allen proved a zealous and strenuous supporter of the cause. Whether in the field or the council—whether at home, a freeman among the mountains of Vermont, or loaded with the manacles of despotism, in a foreign country, his spirit never quailed beneath the sneer of the tory, or the harsh threats of insolent authority. A stranger to fear, his opinions were ever given without disguise or hesitation: and, an enemy to oppression, he sought every opportunity to redress the wrongs of the oppressed. It is not to be supposed, however, that he was faultless. Like other men, he had his errors—like other men, his foibles. Yet he was not wilfully stubborn in either. When convinced of an erroneous position, he was ever willing to yield a victory; but, in theory, as in practice, he contested every inch of ground; and only yielded when he had no weapons left to meet his antagonist. This trait in his character serves, at least, to prove, that he was honest in his conclusions, however erroneous the premises from which they were deduced.
"Much error of opinion prevails among all classes of individuals, at the present period, in relation