JV INTRODUCTION. 



heart, to illumine the understanding, and 

 insensibly to allure to further research and 



investigation. 



In many instances, it must be acknow- 

 ledged, this fascinating science has appeared 

 tinder the most uninviting forms ; and the 

 Fair Sex, in particular, have been deterred 

 from the perusal of volumes which were, in 

 some parts, offensive to the eye of female 

 modesty. But in the. NATURALIST'S CA- 

 BINET the most unremitting attention has 

 been paid to obviate these objections, and 

 the Editor, can affirm, with conscious satis- 

 faction, that the following pages are unsul- 

 lied by a single sentence which might excite 

 a blush, or contaminate, even in the slightest 

 degree, the purest and most delicate mind. 



The work now respectfully submitted to 

 the public, though not professedly systema- 

 tic in its arrangement, is divided into 

 four distinct classes Quadrupeds Birds 

 Fishes and Amphibia Reptiles and In* 

 sects ; each class designed to form a vo- 

 lume, and the whole embellished with beau* 

 tiful engravings, from original designs, on 

 an entire new plan, and illustrative of the, 

 most curious anecdotes related in the course, 

 of the work. 



