This little work has been drawn up chieflyfor the use of Young Persons; it is thereforehoped, that should it fall under the eye ofolder readers, the purpose for which it iswritten will be kept in mind.

On the other hand, should any youngperson meet with passages he does not perfectlyunderstand, he is recommended notto puzzle over them, but rather to concludethat those parts of the book may be intendedfor people a little further advanced.

It does not seem a settled point, whether,in the estimation of Juvenile Readers,most interest attaches to a true story, orto one entirely fictitious; but it may be rightto mention, that all the incidents here relatedare real.

The advice which the author has takenthe liberty of offering to his Young Friends,as well as the speculations he has occasionallyintroduced, contain no opinions butsuch as he considers might have proveduseful to himself, at some stage of his ownprofessional life.

Putney Heath,
28th March, 1831.