VERY gratefully do the projectors of this series acknowledge the kindness with which it has been received; and, through the assistance promised by friends eminent in literature and science, they confidently hope that future volumes may win a still larger share of public favour. At the end of the third year, when the work is completed, it is intended to give a classified index of the subjects discussed, together with the names of the principal contributors. In the meanwhile, it may be right to mention, for The information of those whom it concerns, that, although >me of the articles are written by foreigners, they are il copyright, and have all been prepared expressly for ne pages of "Excelsior," June 1, 1854, |