to pass, as it were, in visions before us, all the Kingdoms and Empires of the World, and, at the same time, all the great men who played conspicuous. rôles.

The HISTORY OF THE WORLD which we now present to our readers, is about as complete as it is possible for any History to be,—commencing in the dim mists of Heathen mythology; passing through Ancient and Mediæval, and down to Modern and the History of our own times up to the present hour.

The compiler has taken nations separately but contemporaneously, thus enabling the reader to follow the History of any one Country without the unnecessary and perplexing fatigue of being compelled to distinguish it from the narrative of others; the compiler has also, while pursuing the facts of history, collected its Sensations and most characteristic and thrilling episodes so as to impart to THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD the weird fascination of fiction with the solid of reality.

The compiler has given especial. care to the great and decisive battles of the world, utilizing the most vivid and complete descriptions of the most careful and picturesque writers, while the great captains form a pen portrait gallery of surpassing value.

The celebrated women of the world stand forth luminously in these pages, and the events which they controlled or participated in chronicled in detail.

The compiler has endeavored to wed a popular style with narration and biography, and to make statistics as interesting as may be.

The Chronological Table is a veritable condensed History of the World.