is,
perhaps, more complimentary to the discernment of the public, than it
is laudatory of his individual exertions.

As many readers would yawn over a long preface like so much Latin,
the Editor will not, in the present instance, subject them to so
extraordinary a stretch of _ennui_, by any lengthy comment on the
character of his last volume. He hopes that its contents will be
found equal to either of its predecessors; and, if any superiority be
observed, he begs that it may be attributed to the "march of mind," in
whose rank and file he may be allowed his proper order.

Like the well-graced actor, who, at the conclusion of a play, bows
to the performers before he addresses the audience, the Editor first
returns his acknowledgments to his several Correspondents, who _have
contributed_ to the public entertainment in his last volume: perhaps
this class may be very small, although in the usual proportion of
good and evil which is scattered up and down all paths of life. To the
other and more numerous class, _viz._ those whose Communications (from
various motives, generally explained) have not been inserted, the
Editor is equally indebted,--for intention, if not accomplishment; and
he hopes that the performance of his critical duty has been such as
to conciliate their respect and good-will. As a pleasantry, he would
remind a fair proportion of his readers, that,

As the young and forward bud
Is eaten by the canker ere it blow,
Even so by love the young and tender wit
Is turned to folly; blasting in the bud,
Losing his verdure even in the prime,
And all the fair effects of future hopes--

for he would not affect the fickle guide on so extended a scale.
For graver matters, or such as are beyond the surface of the heart,
the Editor thanks his Correspondents on subjects of _Art_, in its
antiquarian and modern departments, of whose researches he has
frequently availed himself. With a view to keep pace with the Spirit
of Philosophical Discovery which characterizes the present day, the
Editor has been his own Prometheus in introducing his readers to the
"_Arcana of Science_," the object of which has already been fully
explained, and he hopes, to a certain extent, realized.

The Editor is not disposed to indulge too freely in anticipation, lest
he should lose sight of his object: accordingly, he must be brief in
his professions for the future. Improvement is contemplated in the
general execution of the Emb