I102 Entered according to Act of Congress," By S. G. GOODRICH, In the Clerk's Office of the District 2786 STEREOTYPED BY METCALF, KEITH & NICHOLS, WM. A. HALL & CO., PRINTERS, PREFACE. THE following pages will be found to contain, in the first place, a rapid outline of the History of Europe, from its beginning to the present time; and then a series of sketches or pictures of important and interesting events, belonging to the history, and drawn out with some detail. It is supposed that even the youthful reader may be able to assign these sketches to their proper chronological places, and that they may, therefore, form a succession of prominent points, from which he may be able to mark the outlines or boundaries of the entire field of European history. It is believed that there are difficulties in the study of history, which are somewhat formidable to the youthful mind. If the beginner takes an abridgement, which presents the topics in distinct chronological succession, the book is dry, conveys few ideas, and makes a feeble impression on the understanding and memory. If, on the contrary, he enters upon voluminous details, the mind is apt to become confounded in a wilderness of events, and therefore to obtain no clear comprehension of the whole subject. |