PREFACE. 



This little work is intended as an assistant to the tyro in 

 Microscopy — a sort of A B C, or Hornbook — at most, in the 

 light of a ** Primer containing Words of one and two Syllables." 

 Not that the author assents to the notion that for rudimentary 

 works excellence is not required. On the contrary, he believes 

 that elementary instruction, to be really efficient, requires even a 

 greater amount of knowledge of and penetration into the human 

 mind, than is required for the composition of books intended for 

 readers of higher attainments. He regrets, however, that, in the 

 following pages, circumstances have prevented him from attaining 

 even an approach to his own standard. 



The want of a practical work on Microscopic Objects has long 

 been felt. Many possessors of valuable Microscopes bring them 

 out on state occasions for the admiration of their friends ; but 

 rarely can they exhibit half-a-dozen objects properly. Either 

 they employ a magnifier too high or too low, or the illumination 

 is defective. The design of this book is to obviate this want of 



