at 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.

VI. Popular Miscellanies.

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 form