d prepare myself by mastering the
language of the country I was to travel in. Accordingly, in 1829, having
brushed up my German, I first set foot on the Continent at Rotterdam,
and my 'Handbook for Holland' gives the results of my personal
observations and private studies of that wonderful country.

"At that time such a thing as a Guide-book for Germany, France, or Spain
did not exist. The only Guides deserving the name were: Ebel, for
Switzerland; Boyce, for Belgium; and Mrs. Starke, for Italy. Hers was a
work of real utility, because, amidst a singular medley of classical
lore, borrowed from Lempriere's Dictionary, interwoven with details
regulating the charges in washing-bills at Sorrento and Naples, and an
elaborate theory on the origin of _Devonshire Cream_, in which she
proves that it was brought by Phoenician colonists from Asia Minor into
the West of England, it contained much practical information gathered on
the spot. But I set forth for the North of Europe unprovided with any
guide, excepting a few manuscript notes about towns and inns, etc., in
Holland, furnished me by my good friend Dr. Somerville, husband of the
learned Mrs. Somerville. These were of the greatest use. Sorry was I
when, on landing at Hamburg, I found myself destitute of such friendly
aid. It was this that impressed on my mind the value of practical
information gathered on the spot, and I set to work to collect for
myself all the facts, information, statistics, etc., which an English
tourist would be likely to require or find useful.

The first of Mr. John Murray's Handbooks to the Continent, published
1836, included Holland, Belgium, and North Germany, and was followed at
short intervals by South Germany, Switzerland--in which he was assisted
by his intimate friend and fellow-traveller, William Brockedon, the
artist, who was then engaged in preparing his own splendid work on "The
Peaks, Passes, and Glaciers of the Alps"--and France. These were all
written by Mr. Murray himself; but, as the series proceeded, it was
necessary to call in the aid of other writers and travellers.
Switzerland, which appeared in 1838, was followed in 1839 by Norway,
Sweden, and Denmark, and in 1840 by the Handbook to the East, the work
of Mr. H. Parish, aided by Mr. Godfrey Levinge. In 1842 Sir Francis
Palgrave completed the Guide to Northern Italy, while Central and
Southern Italy were entrusted to Mr. Octavian Blewitt, for many years
Secretary of the Royal Lite