Thefollowing pages pretend to no original or scientificresearch. It is their object to present, in a popular form,a picture of the world as it was a thousand years beforethe Christian Era, and to exhibit, mainly for the young, asummary of that varied information which is contained inbooks, many of which by their high price and exclusivelytechnical character are generally unattainable.

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It would only have encumbered the fictitious narrative,which is the vehicle for conveying the instruction thatis designed, to crowd every page with references; but itmay be alleged, once for all, that for every statementwhich relates to the history of the period, and especially tothe history of the Phœnicians, ample authority might bequoted from some one or other of the valuable books whichhave been consulted.

Of the most important of these a list is here appended:—