ne 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 A _general_ sketch of the life of such individual, with _particular_
details 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.

Linnaeus 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.

III. Popular Science and Art.

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