Since 1848, when the “Poetry of Science” was first submitted to the public, two editions have been exhausted. This, were proofs required, would of itself show that there is a large circle of readers to whom the deductions of science have an unfailing interest. Beyond this, it conveys an assurance that every truth, however abstract it may appear, has a large popular value if studied in its relations to those generalities which embrace great natural phenomena. With this persuasion the third edition of the “Poetry of Science” has been extended so as to include all the important discoveries which have been made in Natural Philosophy to the end of the year 1853. It is now presented to the world in a new and cheaper form, in the hope, that, with the extension of its circulation, there may be awakened, in still larger circles, a deep and healthful interest in the sciences of which the volume treats.

R. H.

Edinburgh, March 7, 1854.