The first epocha to be observed is the year of our Lord 330, when Constantine, the first Christian emperor, who restored peace to the oppressed and persecuted church, removed the seat of empire from Rome to Byzantium, called afterwards from him Constantinople. After his time, about the year 400, began those irruptions of the Goths and Vandals, and other northern nations, who settled themselves all over the western parts of the Roman empire, and laid the foundation of the several states which now subsist in Europe. The next epocha is the year 622--for the ease of memory say 600--when Mahomet, by his successful imposture, became the founder of the Saracen empire, which his followers extended over a great part of Asia and Africa, and over some provinces of Europe. At the same time, St. Gregory, bishop of Rome, began to assume a spiritual power, which grew by degrees into that absolute and enormous dominion, so long maintained by the popes over the greatest part of Christendom. St. Augustine--a missionary from St. Gregory--about this time, began the conversion of Great Britain to Christianity. The third and concluding epocha in this division, is the year 800; when Charlemagne, king of France--after having subdued the Saxons, repressed the Saracens, and established the temporal dominion of the pope by a grant of considerable territories--was elected emperor of the west, and protector of the church. The date of this event corresponds with that remarkable period of our English history--the union of the Heptarchy, or seven kingdoms, under Egbert. As to the _third_ part of Chronology, namely, the _Modern_, I shall spare you and myself all trouble about at present; for if you follow the course of reading which I shall recommend, it will be some years before you reach modern history; and, when you do, you will easily make periods for yourself, if you do but remember carefully to examine the dates as you read, and to impress on your memory those of very remarkable reigns or events. I fear you are by this time tired of Chronology; but my sole intention, in what I have said, is to convince you that it is a science not out of your reach, in the moderate degree that is requisite for you; _the last volume of the Ancient Universal History_ is the best English Chronological Work I know; if that does not come in your way, there is an excellent French one, called Tablettes Chronologiques de l'Histoire Universelle, Du Fresnoy, 3 tomes, Paris; there is also a _chart_ of universal history, including Chronology, and a _Biographical_ chart, both by Priestley, which you may find of service to you.