j v PREFACE. 



B. Gough, the most eloquent and eminent apostle of temperance. Literature 

 has lost Paul Hayne, the Southern poet; and medicine Dr. Austin Flint. 

 Among the noted men of Europe that have died are King Ludwig of Bavaria ; 

 Leopold von Ranke, the veteran historian, whose early work furnished Macaulay 

 a subject for one of his most brilliant essays ; Franz Liszt, the musician ; Count 

 von Beust, William E. Forster, and Archbishop Trench. 



Among the other notable events in our own country were the disturbances 

 in South Carolina, described under EARTHQUAKES, and the threatened social 

 earthquake in Chicago described under ANARCHISTS. The progress of Cholera 

 is noted under that head, the great works in Engineering are described with 

 many illustrations, and the remarkable activity of the Iron and Steel industry is 

 duly set forth. 



Among the occasional articles the reader will find an interesting one on 

 Library Economy, which is supplemented by a paragraph on the growth of free 

 public libraries, in the article on New York City, both written by a veteran 

 librarian ; one on Bird-Songs, by a gentleman who has made a special study of 

 that subject, with numerous dissections and experiments ; one on Mushrooms 

 and Toadstools, also by an authority ; one on the recently revived theory of the 

 Sea-Serpent, showing the form of the story in successive ages, and how it has 

 grown ; one on Recent Progress in the Higher Education of Women, by the 

 Rev. J. Ryland Kendrick, D. D., ex-President of Yassar ; one on Snow-Shoeing, 

 the latest fashion in sports, by a snow-shoer ; two that present new theories of 

 the old subjects of Mirage and the Moon, by a skillful astronomer ; a carefully 

 prepared and valuable article on the Law of Railroad Accidents, showing how 

 the statutes of the various States deal with the subject ; and articles partly curi- 

 ous and partly useful on Cable-Railways, Crab-Farming, Cyclorama, Fair-Trade 

 League, Faith-Cure, Game Laws, Natural Gas, Artificial Ice, Trained Nurses, 

 Newspapers in the United States, Red-Cross Society, and other subjects. Many 

 of these articles are profusely illustrated, and that on Earthquakes is supple- 

 mented by a colored chart. 



NEW YORK, April, 1887. 



