PREFACE. 
The writer presumes that the following work requires no apology ; 
it claims a place in that class of publications, the value of which is 
indisputable, and on which the public has stamped its seal of appro- 
bation. The present volume, though complete in itself, may form a 
suitable companion to the writer^s Book of Curiosities ; it has been 
carefully compiled from standard books, and works of authority, and 
is also interspersed with choice extracts from the periodical and float 
ing literature of the day. It is in truth a new compilation ; though it is 
not improbable that some of the articles may be found among other col- 
lections ; but on this point the author is incompetent to decide, having 
compiled for himself, without reference to the collections of others. 
The writer has throughout the work endeavoured to maintain an ori- 
ginality in his extracts ; on this account he has passed over many 
things which are generally included in works v>f this nature. In proof 
of these assertions, he need only refer the reader to the Remarkable 
Biographies,” where he will find tl^at the characters introduced are not. 
generally those that have been exhibited ^nder the term Eccentric 
Biography, but are principally a new selection. 
The extracts in this volume are brought forward without any formality 
of disquisition, of which the writer did not see the necessity ; but a 
sort of order is nevertheless observed in the arrangement of the whole, 
which, if it be not visibly marked, will be obvious to every judicious 
observer. 
The compiler trusts that the work will fully answer to its title ; and 
that it will not only be esteemed a Compendium of Information, but also 
of Amusement, by readers of every description. 
Doncaster, May 18, 1827. 
