It is, perhaps, hardly necessary to begin by saying that this little book lays no claim to originality. Its aim has been to tell some oft-told stories in a form likely to attract those who are not yet of an age to study the larger classical works on the subjects chosen.

The following chapters do not form a continuous whole. The stories are drawn mainly from the earlier periods of Italian history, and can only pretend to give the simplest outline of the matters and events described.

An eminent scholar of our own day was once heard to say that he did not disapprove of a certain amount of desultory reading, because desultory study often "opens doors."

That is exactly what these short stories are intended to do, namely, to open doors.

If the young readers can be induced to push the doors further open and enter the enchanted realms of history, especially of Italian history, the object of this book will be attained.

From the Preface