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 e information of those whom it concerns, that, although >me of the articles are written by foreigners, they are l copyright, and have all been prepared expressly for ne pages of "Excelsior," June 1, 1854, |