Front Matter

Preface

It, is the object of this series of histories to present a clear, distinct, and connected narrative of the lives of those great personages who have inv various ages of the world made themselves celebrated as leaders among mankind, and, by the part they have taken in public affairs of great nations, have exerted the widest influence on the history of the human race. The end which the author has had in view is twofold; first, to communicate such information in respect to teh subjects of his narratives as important for the general reader to possess; and, secondly, to draw such moral lessons from the events described and the characters delineated as they may legitimately teach to the people of the present age. Though written in a direct and simple style, they are intended for, and addressed to, minds possessed of some considerable degree of maturity, for such minds only can fully appreciate the character and action which exhibits itself, as nearly all that is described in these volumes does, in close combination with the conduct and policy of governments, and the great events of international history.