THE

LATTER DAYS OF JUDAH,

AND HER FALL.

BY

MRS. CLERE,

AUTHORESS OF

'THE APOSTLES OF JESUS,' 'bethlehem's THREE MOTHERS,' etc.

'How doth the city solitary sit, she that was full of people!
How is she become a widow, that was great among the nations!
Princess among the provinces, how is she become tributary!'

BHappentations, i. 1.

LONDON:

HATCHARDS, PICCADILLY.

1876.

LONDON:

PRINTED BY JOHN STRANGEWAYS,

PREFACE.

WHEN the writer of the following pages began this little work, her intention was to give but a mere outline of the latter days of Judah and her fall, and then to enter fully into the history of the Judean exiles in Babylonia and Persia. She, however, found the closing scenes of Judah's sad history so full of deeply interesting matter, embracing, as they do, the life of Jeremiah, that it was impossible to avoid entering into their details. consequence is, that she has been obliged to lay down her pen without attempting at present to follow the Hebrew captives to their exile home. Should she, however, be spared to carry out her original design, she hopes, ere long, to present to her readers a sequel to the volume she now lays before them, under the title of 'The Judean Exiles

The