TO THE 
%P5 
* HK 
C7& 
/8$tr 
v./-z 
J CaJ 
QUEEN’S MOST EXCELLENT MAJESTY. 
Madam, 
The cultivation of the Fine Arts has been regarded by all 
civilised nations as an ornament of the Diadem, but by England 
in the higher light of an essential instrument of her intellectual 
supremacy. 
Your Majesty’s ancestors, distinguished as they were by the 
triumph of fleets and armies, never lost sight of the milder, but 
not less permanent lustre reflected on the throne and the people 
by the triumphs of the national mind. 
Yet, while your Majesty’s known taste and royal munificence 
have already given new animation to the arts, the present work 
solicits your approval by higher claims than mere elegance of 
design or skill of execution. Illustrative of scenes once hallowed 
by the steps of the prophet and the apostle, possessing in all 
ages the highest interest for the scholar and the philosopher, 
and now opening the most sacred contemplations and most 
glowing prospects to the philanthropist and the Christian, these 
volumes are dedicated to your Majesty, as the Defender of the 
Faith of a great Christian empire, by, 
Madam, 
Your Majesty’s most faithful Subjects 
and dutiful Servants, 
THE PUBLISHERS. 
