HISTORY OF ENGLAND, POLITICAL, MILITARY, AND SOCIAL, FROM THE EARLIEST TIMES TO THE PRESENT. 66 BY BENSON J. LOSSING, AUTHOR OF PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK OF THE REVOLUTION AND WAR OF 1812," STATES," In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. THE NEW YORK PRINTING COMPANY, 205, 207, 209, 211, and 213 East Twelfth Street PREFACE. IN the work of preparing this volume, I claim no larger share of merit than that which justly belongs to a careful compiler of facts from the best and most recent sources of information. I have given, within as small a space as a clear presentation would allow, a narrative of the most important events in the history of the civil and military transactions of England, from the time of its occupation by the ancient Britons and Gauls until now; also, an account of the progress of the people in the organization of government, the establishment of laws, the practical assertion of popular liberty, the practice of useful occupations, which give strength and beauty to society and the State; the modes of dress, living, and recreations; and the cultivation of science, literature, and the fine arts; by all of which the reader may comprehend the growth and philosophy of that civilization and power which distinguish the British Empire to-day. This volume is specially intended for the use of students of the It is divided into eras, which mark important changes in the civil, political, and social condition of the country; and is subdivided into convenient chapters and sections, in a manner to combine the advantages of a text-book with those of an attractive story of the life of a great nation. For the purpose of assisting the reader and the student in obtaining a clear understanding of the unity of events, remote and near, which make up the History of England, a running concordance is introduced in the form of marginal references, by which the relations of a fact noticed in any portion of the work to another fact already 45X1003 mentioned is indicated, and the nature of that relation may be in stantly observed. This will be found eminently useful, not only as forming a continuous chain of connection, but as a means for saving a great amount of time that might be spent in searching for such connection. B. J. L. THE RIDGE, DOVER PLAINS, N. Y., August, 1871. |