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ALFRED THE GREAT

Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year one thousand
eight hundred and forty-nine, by

Harper & Brothers,

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the Southern District
of New York.

PREFACE.

It is the object of this series of histories topresent a clear, distinct, and connected narrativeof the lives of those great personages whohave in various ages of the world made themselvescelebrated as leaders among mankind,and, by the part they have taken in the publicaffairs of great nations, have exerted the widestinfluence on the history of the human race.The end which the author has had in view istwofold: first, to communicate such informationin respect to the subjects of his narrativesas is important for the general reader to possess;and, secondly, to draw such moral lessons fromthe events described and the characters delineatedas they may legitimately teach to the peopleof the present age. Though written in adirect and simple style, they are intended for,and addressed to, minds possessed of some considerabledegree of maturity, for such mindsonly can fully appreciate the character and actionwhich exhibits itself, as nearly all that isdescribed in these volumes does, in close combinationwith the conduct and policy of governments,and the great events of internationalhistory.

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