On the other hand, a sceptic asked to be supplied with the historical evidence for Guinevere’s extravagance in dress. I am conscious that in some of these letters I may have laid myself open to the charge of irreverence towards certain themes which are hallowed by romance and overshadowed by the wings of the great poets. I plead “Not guilty.” I am sure that you, of all people, will acquit me; for those (such as you) whose enjoyment of the great poets is vital and whose belief in the permanence of Romance is robust are seldom offended at a levity which they have no difficulty in recognizing to be the familiarity, not breeding contempt but begotten of awe, of the True Believer, nor have they any difficulty in distinguishing such laughter from the scoff of the Infidel. To end on a less pompous note, let me add that if you like this book that is enough for me; and the blame of the rest of the world, although it will ultimately affect my purse--and a purse, as Shakespeare says, is trash--will disturb neither my peace of mind nor my digestion and will therefore not vex me. On the other hand there is no amount of praise which a man and an author cannot endure with equanimity. Some authors can even stand flattery. I hope, therefore, to earn a certain measure both of your approval and others’; while theirs will be the more profitable, yours will be the more prized. MAURICE BARING. SOSNOFKA, TAMBOV, RUSSIA. _October 19th, 1909._ “To most people of time past and present, at least history is a pageant, no less and no more. It is a vast procession of human lives, fascinating to us because of the likeness underlying all the differences and because of the differences through which we see the likeness.” J. W. ALLEN (_The Place of History in Education_). “Il n’y a pas de lettres ennuyeuses.” _The Man in the Iron Mask._ CONTENTS PAGE FROM THE MYCENAE PAPERS 1 WITH THE CARTHAGINIAN FLEET, 216 B.C. 21 LESBIA ILLA 29 CLEOPATRA AT ROME 39 OVID’S BANISHMENT 50 THE CAPRAE REGATTA, A.D. 27 60 MESSALINA 68 NERO INTERVIEWED, ROME, A.D. 64 81 MARCUS AURELIUS AT LANUVIUM 91 THE CAMELOT JOUSTS 103 KING LEAR’S DAUGHTER 113 LADY MACBETH’S TROUBLE 121