"As the most obscure soldier of an army may sometimes by a fiery arrow destroy the strongest
fortress of the enemy, so may the weakest man, when he makes himself the courageous champion of
truth, overcome the most solid ramparts of superstition and error."
ΜΑΝΟΣ.

WITH NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS, AND AN APPENDIX.

NEW YORK:

D. APPLETON AND COMPANY,
549 & 551 BROADWAY.

1874.

A few months before his lamented death, while this work was yet in progress, Hon. WILLIAM H. SEWARD had kindly permitted its dedication to himself, but, in the interval which elapsed before its completion, the nation was called to mourn the loss of one of her greatest sons, and the author that of a revered and beloved friend. It is, therefore, as a tribute to his memory, that this volume is inscribed.