F2891.2 A HARVARD COLLEGE LIBRARY GIFT OF DANIEL B. FEARING Printed by WILLIAM CLOWES and SONS, Stamford Street. ADVERTISEMENT. DURING very nearly a quarter of a century the Editor of The Weekly Volume' has been associated with various literary undertakings, which have had in view, more or less ostensibly, the furtherance of the object which has long since become the business, as it is the pleasure, of his life-the general diffusion of knowledge and a love of letters. Looking back upon these things, in which there is much pain as well as happiness in the retrospect the pain being that some loved ones of his fellow-labourers have no longer to share in the advancement of that principle which has become more animating as its success is more assured the happiness being that, however sanguine the hopes, and feeble the modes of carrying out the purposes, of himself and his early friends, there were certain seeds then sown which have since produced fruit-looking back upon these things, the Editor of The Weekly Volume' is tempted to collect a few scattered papers together, 6 which were written by him at various periods of his life, chiefly with the view of doing something to advance the Education of the People. Some, however, are to be regarded as purposeless recreations of vacant hours, or expressions of personal feelings and recollections. He has preferred mostly to select for this Volume of Varieties,' those contributions to several periodical works which are of an amusing rather than a didactic character. The papers are selected principally from the following periodical publications: |