PREFACE 



THE contents of the following pages have been culled from many 

 sources, and embrace a great diversity of subjects. It has been the 

 purpose of the compiler to combine useful information with 

 innocent entertainment ; to invite to the cultivation of literature 

 and of science ; to minister to refined tastes, and foster large intel- 

 lectual sympathies. Whilst the volume aims at the gratification 

 of a general class of readers, the interests of the young have been 

 constantly kept in view in the selection, which, it is hoped, contains 

 nothing, either in sentiment or expression, adverse to their moral 

 and intellectual improvement. 



The paucity of anecdotes, in the annals of science, possessed of 

 personal interest, will account for the meagreness of this department 

 of the collection, as compared with the amplitude and variety of 

 the literary portion. 



The subject of Art and Artists is deferred for another of the 

 Cyclopedias projected by the Publishers. 



