An ornate rectangular headpiece featuring a repeating symmetrical pattern of scrolling vines and stylized floral motifs.

P R E F A C E .

I present to the Public the Translation of a Greek Manuscript which was found in the Library of a foreign Nation, extremely jealous of this kind of treasure original: "thréfor." It was a popular literary device in the 1700s to claim a story was a "found manuscript" to give the narrative an air of ancient authority and exotic mystery.. Those who procured for me the reading of this Manuscript, only permitted me to publish it by translating it, without indicating the Library to which the Original belongs. The Author is not named anywhere: but some parts of the Book itself make it known that he was a Greek by origin, living in Alexandria A Mediterranean port city in Egypt, Alexandria was the greatest center of Greek learning and culture in the ancient world. under the Empire of Marcus Aurelius Roman Emperor from 161 to 180 AD, known as a Stoic philosopher and the last of the "Five Good Emperors.".

There is no reason to doubt that this is a Work of fiction fiction: a "roman" or work of imagination, often contrasted with "history" in the 18th century. The enterprises whose successes are roughly such as the Reader desires,