PREFACE.It has been demonstrated that the desire of obtaining knowledge is one of the most natural, and, at the same time, most ennobling attributes of the human mind. There is at the present time a great number of inquiring minds among the working classes of this kingdom, and a still greater number of the young of all classes thirsting for information, who in entering upon a course of general reading must be greatly at a loss for many things which are familiarly alluded to in ordinary conversation, with which everybody is understood to be acquainted, or would have people to think so, but which, in reality, are only familiar to persons who have been living for a considerable time in intimate converse with the world.viii The "Historical Account of Useful Inventions and Discoveries in Science," is intended in some measure to supply such information to the anxious inquirer after knowledge. Of the numerous articles here treated of, it will be perceived that each has been traced to its origin in as lucid a style as possible, and in so doing we have endeavoured to combine instruction with amusement. As a proof of this we need only refer to the table of Contents.