The idea of this women's magazine originated with Samuel Williams, a Cincinnati Methodist, who thought that Christian women needed a magazine less worldly than Godey's Lady's Book and Snowden's Lady's Companion. Written largely by ministers, this exceptionally well-printed little magazine contained well-written essays of a moral character, plenty of poetry, articles on historical and scientific matters, and book reviews. Among western writers were Alice Cary, who contributed over a hundred sketches and poems, her sister Phoebe Cary, Otway Curry, Moncure D. Conway, and Joshua R. Giddings; and New England contributors included Mrs. Lydia Sigourney, Hannah F. Gould, and Julia C.R Dorr. By 1851, each issue published a peice of music and two steel plates, usually landscapes or portraits. When Davis E. Clark took over the editorship in 1853, the magazine became brighter and attained a circulation of 40,000. Unlike his predecessors, Clark included fictional pieces and made the Repository a magazine for the whole family. After the war it began to decline and in 1876 was replaced by the National Repository. The Ladies' Repository was an excellent representative of the Methodist mind and heart. Its essays, sketches, and poems, its good steel engravings, and its moral tone gave it a charm all its own. -- Cf. American periodicals, 1741-1900.

Reprint of the original, first published in 1872. The publishing house Anatiposi publishes historical books as reprints. Due to their age, these books may have missing pages or inferior quality. Our aim is to preserve these books and make them available to the public so that they do not get lost.

This story is set in the late seventh and early eighth centuries and focuses on the life of a young Saxon, Alric, born in the year 775 at Wearmouth in Northumbria. He has a twin sister, Hilda. His parents plan for them to take vows. Alric will enter the monastery at Wearmouth, while Hilda will enter the convent to the south, at Whitby. All is well until Wearmouth is the focus of an attack by sea raiders (now known as Vikings) from Scandinavia who appeared out of the morning mists, killing and pillaging without remorse. In Alric's sixteenth year they return to Wearmouth, and Alric is captured. He is taken from his home as a captive bound for a fjord in what is now modern Norway. A severe storm causes the ship to be beached, and the raiders suffer the same fate as their victims, but at the hands of a party of Mesopotamian soldiers. Through the courtesy of the commander, Alric eventually ends up in Baghdad, where Harun al-Rashid (Aaron the Just) is the Caliph and at the time the tales of A Thousand and One Arabian Nights were being told by the Caliph's wife, Scheherazade. Alric is apprenticed to an alchemist with medical knowledge, where his role is to pursue science and develop drugs and other chemicals that help the Caliph's cause. During this time, Alric becomes a valuable member of the Caliph's inner circle and becomes familiar with the inner workings of the House of Light, comprising the royal palace and the Great Library. As a result of his work, he is able to rise from the position of captive to apprentice to a status in which he is able to make contributions to science and medicine. However, he becomes embroiled in the politics of the palace and a plot to assassinate the Caliph. Coupled with this, he discovers a cuneiform tablet that had once been the prized possession of King Nebuchadnezzar and gives him an insight into chemical and medical science. This tablet also contains a prophecy that Alric must fulfill.