In the office of the Clerk of the District Court of the United States, in and for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Preface To condense the leading events of modern history into the space afforded in the following pages has been by no means an easy task. As history advances from antiquity to the Middle Ages, and from the Middle Ages to modern times, the affairs of nations continually become more and more complicated and extensive, until the multitude of characters and events, which present themselves to notice, completely bewilder the mind. Hence the choice. of important points on which the reader's attention should be fixed requires a great deal of care and reflection. It has been the author's aim to acquit himself in this respect in as faithful a manner as his ability and means permitted. He has endeavoured to present the subject in broad masses, avoiding minute details, and bringing into strong relief the men and things that have exerted the strongest influence on the grand current of human affairs. The divisions of the subject are few, and the narrative as simple and direct as so extensive a plan would by any means permit. Leading characters and events are dwelt upon according to the author's estimate of their relative importance, and others are necessarily passed over with, comparatively, slight notice. But little space has been afforded to the history of our own country, from the conviction that this course would be most acceptable to intelligent readers, familiar as they are with all the great events of American history. It will be perceived by the references to authorities, which occur in the work, that the author has generally relied on the most recent and approved for his facts. It is incumbent on him, in taking leave of his task, to express his obligations to the great living writers of whose labours he has freely availed himself; and to the artists and literary friends who have so kindly aided him in the prosecution of the work. In conclusion, he trusts that this Pictorial History may in some degree contribute to the more general diffusion of a taste for history and the fine arts. |