FACTS AND DATES OR THE LEADING EVENTS IN SACRED AND PROFANE HISTORY AND THE PRINCIPAL FACTS IN THE VARIOUS PHYSICAL SCIENCES THE MEMORY BEING AIDED THROUGHOUT BY A SIMPLE AND NATURAL METHOD FOR SCHOOLS AND PRIVATE REFERENCE BY THE REV. ALEX. MACKAY, LL.D. F.R.G.S. AUTHOR OF A MANUAL OF MODERN GEOGRAPHY, MATHEMATICAL, PHYSICAL, AND POLITICAL;' 'FIRST STEPS IN GEOGRAPHY;' ETC. WILLIAM BLACKWOOD AND SONS MDCCCLXIX 260967 PREFACE. A LIMITED acquaintance with reading, writing, and arithmetic can no longer be regarded as sufficient for the great bulk of the community. It has become imperative that the youth of our land, whether rich or poor, shall acquire some knowledge of history and the physical sciences. Human life, however, is very short, and the struggle for existence on the part of the many seems to be daily becoming more arduous. Hence it follows that new branches of instruction, however necessary, are practically unattainable, unless they are simplified, condensed, and in every way rendered as attractive as possible. The man, therefore, who in our day produces the best school-book on any elementary subject confers an immense boon on the community. The following pages consist of an earnest and elaborate attempt-prosecuted without intermission for a number of years-to popularise science and history, to enable our boys and girls to acquire and remember all the more important events in history, whether |