Chapter VII

_Homer._--My introduction of the name of Homer undoubtedly
demands an apology. I can only plead that the temptation to
uplift the veil of mystery, and to reveal the mighty poet
in connection with my fiction, was very great. Even after
Schliemann's researches, the date of the Trojan war is so
uncertain that I feel quite at liberty to regard it as an open
question.--_Page 129._