461 
THE MICROSCOPE; 
WITH DIRECTIONS FOR ITS USE* 
BY CUTHBERT COLLINGWOOD, M.B., B.L.S., ETC. 
I T may be said that there is scarcely any instrument of a phi- 
losophical character which, placed in the hands of one 
unaccustomed to its use, at once suggests the method of its 
satisfactory application. Explanations are necessary, methods of 
manipulation have to be pointed out by some one who has already 
mastered its details, and learned the uses of the various parts, 
and the practical application of the whole. And particularly is 
this the case with an instrument so complicated as the Micro- 
scope, the beautiful adaptations of which may be missed in the 
absence of a guiding hand, the results impaired for want of fully 
comprehending the means of arriving at them, or the delicate 
parts may be injured by the too rough usage of an in- 
experienced tyro. It has sometimes been our lot to meet with 
persons who, surprised at the marvels, or delighted with the 
beauties of the natural objects that have been casually shown 
them through the Microscope, have forthwith determined to be 
themselves the happy possessors of so enchanting an instru- 
ment. The Microscope, obtained perhaps at great cost, arrives, 
is unpacked, and the source of a thousand innocent and intel- 
lectual gratifications stands before its owner, a useless machine, 
for he has not the skill to use it, and perhaps is almost afraid 
to touch it, lest he should do it some injury. The beautiful 
objects seen through the previous instrument cannot be ob- 
served by this, or are only so partially and obscurely viewed as 
to give rise to blank disappointment. He may, perchance, 
know no one to whom to apply for an explanation of the various 
parts, and disappointment is followed by vexation, and the 
instrument laid aside in disgust, just for the want of a hint or 
two of a practical nature, the result of which could not fail to 
stimulate further inquiries. It is to such of our readers as may 
be thus situated that the following pages are addressed, — to 
beginners with the Microscope, who are in search of some brief 
* We publish this paper at the request of numerous correspondents. 
