A History of the Invasion of Russia by Napoleon Bonaparte; its Causes and Consequences.2s.6d.The Lord and his Vassal: a Familiar Exposition of the Feudal System in the Middle Ages; with its Causes and Consequences.A History of the French Revolution; its Causes and Consequences. Newly written for this Collection.The Ruins of Rome and their Historical Associations; including an Account of the Modern City and its Inhabitants.The Private Life, Manners, and Customs of the Ancient Romans. From the French of D’Arnay; carefully edited, and forming a valuable work for study or amusement.Constantinople and its Historical Associations; with some Account of its Institutions and the Manners and Customs of the People.History of the Rise and Progress of the Trading Communities of the Middle Ages.Trading Communities of Modern Times; a Popular View of the Origin, Structure, and General Tendency of the Joint-Stock Trading and Commercial Bodies of Modern Times.The Ruins of Athens and their Historical Associations; with Notices of the Modern City and its Inhabitants.A History of London, Ancient and Modern.A History of the Endowed Schools of Great Britain.The Incas of Peru, with some Account of the Ruins of their Greatness.A popular History of the British Army.A popular History of the British Navy.
A History of the Invasion of Russia by Napoleon Bonaparte; its Causes and Consequences.2s.6d.
The Lord and his Vassal: a Familiar Exposition of the Feudal System in the Middle Ages; with its Causes and Consequences.
A History of the French Revolution; its Causes and Consequences. Newly written for this Collection.
The Ruins of Rome and their Historical Associations; including an Account of the Modern City and its Inhabitants.
The Private Life, Manners, and Customs of the Ancient Romans. From the French of D’Arnay; carefully edited, and forming a valuable work for study or amusement.
Constantinople and its Historical Associations; with some Account of its Institutions and the Manners and Customs of the People.
History of the Rise and Progress of the Trading Communities of the Middle Ages.
Trading Communities of Modern Times; a Popular View of the Origin, Structure, and General Tendency of the Joint-Stock Trading and Commercial Bodies of Modern Times.
The Ruins of Athens and their Historical Associations; with Notices of the Modern City and its Inhabitants.
A History of London, Ancient and Modern.
A History of the Endowed Schools of Great Britain.
The Incas of Peru, with some Account of the Ruins of their Greatness.
A popular History of the British Army.
A popular History of the British Navy.
One of the most useful and pleasing forms under which knowledge can be presented to the general reader is that of the Biography of distinguished men, who have contributed to the progress of that knowledge in some one or other of its various departments. But it too frequently happens, that the biographical notices of great men consist rather of personal, trivial, and unimportant details, than of a clear and broad outline of the influence which they exerted upon the pursuit and upon the age in which they were distinguished. The true object of Biography is, while tracing the progress of an individual, to show not only what result his active life has produced on the well-being of his fellow-men, but also the position which he occupies as one of the “great landmarks in the map of human nature.”
Yet we are not satisfied with a biography which regards its subject in his public capacity alone: we are naturally curious to ascertain whether the same qualities which rendered him celebrated in public, followed him likewise into private life, and distinguished him there. We regard with interest, in his private capacity, the man who has been the originator of much public good: we look with an attentive eye on his behaviour when he stands alone, when his native impulses are under no external excitement; when he is, in fact, “in the undress of one who has retired from the stage on which he felt he had a part to sustain.”
But a detail of the public and private events in the life of a distinguished man, do not alone suffice to form a just estimate of his character. The reader requires to be made acquainted with the state of a particular branch of knowledge, at the time when the individual appeared, whose efforts extended its boundaries. Without this it is impossible to estimate the worth of the man, or the blessings and advantages conferred upon society by his means.
On the other hand, in tracing the history of any particular branch of knowledge, unless connected with Biography, we lose sight of individual efforts; they are mingled with the labours of others, or are absorbed into the history of the whole, and are consequently no longer individualized: hence we are likely to fail in recognising the obligations due to our distinguished countrymen, or to deprive of their just merit those of our foreign brethren, whose useful lives have influenced distant lands as well as their own.
With these views it is proposed that each Biography shall consist of three distinct portions:
1 The history of a particular department of knowledge, up to the time when the individual appeared by whom its boundaries were extended.
2 Ageneralsketch of the life of such individual, withparticulardetails of the improvements effected by him.
3 The progress of such branch of knowledge, from the date of such improvements up to our own times.
The following subjects will be immediately published:
Smeaton and Lighthouses.Sir Joseph Banks and the Royal Society.Sir Humphrey Davy and the Safety Lamp.Linnæus and Jussieu; or, the Rise and Progress of Systematic Botany.Cuvier and his Works; or the Rise and Progress of Zoology.Brindley and Canals.Watt and the Steam-engine.Wedgwood and Pottery.Telford and Roads and Bridges.Caxton and the Printing Press.Galileo and the Telescope.Sir Isaac Newton and the Progress of Astronomical Discovery.Sir Christopher Wren and St. Paul’s Cathedral.Addison and the English Essayists.Jeremy Taylor and some Account of his Times and Works.Wilberforce and the Slave Trade.
Smeaton and Lighthouses.
Sir Joseph Banks and the Royal Society.
Sir Humphrey Davy and the Safety Lamp.
Linnæus and Jussieu; or, the Rise and Progress of Systematic Botany.
Cuvier and his Works; or the Rise and Progress of Zoology.
Brindley and Canals.
Watt and the Steam-engine.
Wedgwood and Pottery.
Telford and Roads and Bridges.
Caxton and the Printing Press.
Galileo and the Telescope.
Sir Isaac Newton and the Progress of Astronomical Discovery.
Sir Christopher Wren and St. Paul’s Cathedral.
Addison and the English Essayists.
Jeremy Taylor and some Account of his Times and Works.
Wilberforce and the Slave Trade.
Each work being a Popular Biography, with an Historical Introduction and Sequel.
When we contemplate the arts and processes of civilized life, we cannot but be struck with the vast amount of invention and ingenuity required for their gradual development. Not an article of clothing or of furniture, not an instrument, implement, or machine, could have been brought to the state in which we find it, without many successive steps of invention, due to different minds, supplied at different times, and brought to light in different countries. But in devoting several of our volumes to the Useful Arts, we shall not be unmindful of the fact, that Art is the application of Science to a practical end. It is proposed, therefore, under the comprehensive title ofPopular Science and Art, to include portions of our knowledge of animate and inanimate nature. The object will be to assist the general reader to regard with an intelligent eye the varied phenomena of nature, to gratify the laudable desire of understanding what he sees, and of preparing him in some measure to enter more fully upon the study of a given subject. In this way, it is hoped to effect a useful purpose, by connecting Science and the Useful Arts; for “it is not, surely, in the country of Arkwright, that the Philosophy of Commerce can be thought independent of Mechanics; and where Davy has delivered lectures on Agriculture, it would be folly to say that the most philosophic views of Chemistry were not conducive to the making our valleys laugh with corn.”
The works already prepared, or in course of preparation, for this division, comprise the following subjects:
The Useful Arts employed in the Production of Food.2s.6d.The Useful Arts employed in the Production of Clothing.2s.6d.The Useful Arts employed in the Construction of Dwelling Houses.The Writing-Desk and its Contents, taken as a Text for the Familiar Illustration of many important Facts in Experimental Science.2s.Examples of Mechanical Ingenuity.The Philosophy of the External Senses.Ancient and Modern Modes of Measuring Time, with curious Illustrations of the application of Clockwork.The Rise and Progress of Agriculture.The Natural History of Birds and Insects injurious to Farming and Gardening.The Wonders of the Microscope.Mathematical Magic.
The Useful Arts employed in the Production of Food.2s.6d.
The Useful Arts employed in the Production of Clothing.2s.6d.
The Useful Arts employed in the Construction of Dwelling Houses.
The Writing-Desk and its Contents, taken as a Text for the Familiar Illustration of many important Facts in Experimental Science.2s.
Examples of Mechanical Ingenuity.
The Philosophy of the External Senses.
Ancient and Modern Modes of Measuring Time, with curious Illustrations of the application of Clockwork.
The Rise and Progress of Agriculture.
The Natural History of Birds and Insects injurious to Farming and Gardening.
The Wonders of the Microscope.
Mathematical Magic.
The Fine Arts will also form an interesting portion of this division. The object will be, in a few popular histories, to trace the origin, rise, and progress of Sculpture, Painting, Engraving, Music, &c., and their influence on mankind.
Few subjects are more attractive than the narratives of celebrated travellers. Although they tell us of beings who speak another tongue, inhabit a different clime, differ altogether from ourselves in manners, customs, dress, and institutions—yet the sympathy which man feels for his fellows makes us delight in all the details which talent and enterprise procure for us. The personal narrative of the traveller has also a great charm; we seem to participate in his dangers, excitements, and pleasures; we add to our knowledge in his company; and the truth and sincerity which pervade the narrative, make us feel a personal interest in the narrator. It is intended to reprint some of the narratives of our old English Navigators, especially those of Discoveries, which have had most influence on the progress of Geographical Knowledge. It will not be an objection that these eminent men lived at a period of time distant from our own; for their Narratives are full of truths, told with plain simplicity.
But the important labours of modern travellers will not be forgotten. In describing several interesting portions of the earth’s surface, we shall avail ourselves of the most trustworthy individuals, and by a careful comparison of statements and details, we hope to present graphic descriptions of some of the most celebrated countries of the world; as well as of those which have only of late years been explored. Many voyages of discovery have had their proceedings recorded in large quartos, the price of which places them above the reach of the general reader, while their scientific details render them unfit for popular use: a digest of these works, containing an epitome of the lighter portions, and the results of the scientific discoveries, may prove acceptable.
The following works are being prepared for publication:
The Life, Adventures, and Discoveries of Captain William Dampier; including a History of the Buccaneers of America.Captain Cook and the Circumnavigation of the Globe.An Overland Journey and a Steam Voyage to India.Voyages and Discoveries in the South Polar Regions.Voyages and Discoveries in the Northern Polar Regions.Voyages and Discoveries in Australasia and Polynesia.
The Life, Adventures, and Discoveries of Captain William Dampier; including a History of the Buccaneers of America.
Captain Cook and the Circumnavigation of the Globe.
An Overland Journey and a Steam Voyage to India.
Voyages and Discoveries in the South Polar Regions.
Voyages and Discoveries in the Northern Polar Regions.
Voyages and Discoveries in Australasia and Polynesia.
To these will be added digests of Travels and Adventures in various Countries of the Old and New Worlds.
The design of this Collection embraces many favourite old works, which, though containing much that has instructed and delighted our predecessors, are, nevertheless, but ill adapted in their original form for general perusal. Among these may be reckoned some works of fiction, the excellencies of which are often obscured by a grossness of style not uncommon at the time when they were composed,but which justly excludes them from family-reading in the present day. Such works would be acceptable if freed from objectionable passages; and in undertaking to accomplish this reform, without detriment to the spirit of the original, the Publisher relies on the approbation of a large class of persons, who will thus be enabled to place in the hands of the young, purified editions of those romantic and interesting tales which are naturally sought for by youthful readers, whose hands they might otherwise reach, tainted with their original impurities. Every work will be prepared for this series by a careful editing, in order to suit the general tone of thought, principle, and feeling which will pervade the whole Collection, and no work will be admitted, the name of whose author is associated with considerations painful to Christian feeling, good taste, or propriety.
Among the new works intended to be included in this division, may be mentioned a series of tales, illustrative of the manners and customs of the people of different climes. Of these, the following, among others, are ready for early publication:
Norah Toole, a Tale of Ireland; My Son Mike, or, the Irish Emigrant in the United States; and Rob Maxwell, a Tale of the Highlands of Scotland.The Spanish Merchant and his Daughter, or, Life in Spain; a Tale illustrative of Domestic Manners and Customs.Van-ti, or, Life in China; The Leicesters, or, Life in Hindostan.The Merchant and the Friar; or, Truths and Fictions of the Middle Ages. A New Edition, revised by the Author.The Life and Adventures of Peter Wilkins, a Cornish Man. Carefully revised and corrected.The most Delectable History of Reynard the Fox; an old Romance, thoroughly revised and corrected.The Life and Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, newly revised; with a new Introduction, and Illustrations.
Norah Toole, a Tale of Ireland; My Son Mike, or, the Irish Emigrant in the United States; and Rob Maxwell, a Tale of the Highlands of Scotland.
The Spanish Merchant and his Daughter, or, Life in Spain; a Tale illustrative of Domestic Manners and Customs.
Van-ti, or, Life in China; The Leicesters, or, Life in Hindostan.
The Merchant and the Friar; or, Truths and Fictions of the Middle Ages. A New Edition, revised by the Author.
The Life and Adventures of Peter Wilkins, a Cornish Man. Carefully revised and corrected.
The most Delectable History of Reynard the Fox; an old Romance, thoroughly revised and corrected.
The Life and Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, newly revised; with a new Introduction, and Illustrations.
Under this head will be published, works of a miscellaneous nature which do not fall strictly under any of the foregoing divisions, or which may include several of those divisions. Among the former may be mentioned a short series of works on in-door and out-door amusements, the object of which is to furnish young persons with sources of amusement, innocent in their kind, and healthful in their application both to mind and body. Among the in-door amusements may be mentioned a volume which is nearly ready for publication on the game of Chess. Experience has shown that where Chess is introduced as an amusement into families and schools, it exerts a highly beneficial influence, by exciting a taste for more exalted sources of recreation than are afforded bygames of chance, which so far from producing a beneficial influence on the mind, are apt to disturb the temper, excite animosity, and foster a spirit of gambling. Chess, on the contrary, is an effort of pure skill; it gives healthy exercise to the mental powers; it requires caution and forbearance on the part of both players; it leaves the victor satisfied with having won the game without the additional stimulus of ‘a stake;’ and it entails no humiliation on the vanquished, but rather prompts him to greater exertions. We propose, therefore, to give the history and antiquities of the game of Chess, together with a series of Easy Lessons, the object of which will be to make the young student acquainted with a few of the leading features of the principal openings, that he may form some idea of the richness of the territory of Chess, and to add a selection of Chess Problems. Chess Problems form one of the most attractive departments of the game; they enable us, more perhaps than anything else, to appreciate the subtle skill and resources of a first-rateplayer, and tend to elevate Chess to the rank of mathematical science.
Among the works which include several of the foregoing divisions, is one in four volumes, illustrating the Progress of the Year, wherein the information given is arranged under the form of Daily Headings. All the varied phenomena of nature; the animals, the plants, the minerals, assume different phases, according to the means and acquirements of the observer, the progress of science, and the climate under which the descriptions are given. As science advances, the descriptions of naturalists admit of modification and addition, in order to keep pace with the progress of discovery; hence our Year-books require renewal from time to time. The present is an attempt to furnish a seasonal account of the natural phenomena of the year, in conformity with the present state of knowledge. The work, however, will not be confined to natural history, but will be varied with notices of the arts, antiquities, manners and customs of our native country; choice selections from our prose writers and poets; and a series of papers expressly adapted for Sunday reading, so that on whatever day, and at whatever season, the book be taken up, something appropriate of an instructive and amusing nature may be found, calculated either for family reading, or solitary perusal, as a fireside manual, or a travelling pocket companion.
The following works are intended for early publication:
Chronicles of the Seasons, or the Progress of the Year; being a Course of Daily Instruction and Amusement from the Popular Details of the Natural History, Science, Art, Antiquities, and Biography of our Father Land. In Four Books. Book the First, containing the Months of January, February, and March.3s.6d.The History, Antiquities, and Curiosities of the Game of Chess; including a Selection of Games, illustrative of the Various Openings, Analyzed and Explained for the use of Young Players; together with a Choice Selection of Chess Problems.The Sea—the Highway of the World; or the History and Practice of Navigation, in Ancient and Modern Times, familiarly explained.The Houses of all Nations; or some Account, Historical and Descriptive, of the Progress of National and Domestic Architecture in all Parts and Ages of the World.The Games and Sports of the Ancients and Moderns.An Account of Shipwrecks, Fires, and other Calamities, at Sea.
Chronicles of the Seasons, or the Progress of the Year; being a Course of Daily Instruction and Amusement from the Popular Details of the Natural History, Science, Art, Antiquities, and Biography of our Father Land. In Four Books. Book the First, containing the Months of January, February, and March.3s.6d.
The History, Antiquities, and Curiosities of the Game of Chess; including a Selection of Games, illustrative of the Various Openings, Analyzed and Explained for the use of Young Players; together with a Choice Selection of Chess Problems.
The Sea—the Highway of the World; or the History and Practice of Navigation, in Ancient and Modern Times, familiarly explained.
The Houses of all Nations; or some Account, Historical and Descriptive, of the Progress of National and Domestic Architecture in all Parts and Ages of the World.
The Games and Sports of the Ancients and Moderns.
An Account of Shipwrecks, Fires, and other Calamities, at Sea.