Smeaton and Lighthouses Part 9

The Life and Adventures of Peter Wilkins, a Cornish Man.

Carefully revised and corrected.

The most Delectable History of Reynard the Fox; an old Romance, thoroughly revised and corrected.

The Life and Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, newly revised; with a new Introduction, and Ill.u.s.trations.

VI. Popular Miscellanies.

Under this head will be published, works of a miscellaneous nature which do not fall strictly under any of the foregoing divisions, or which may include several of those divisions. Among the former may be mentioned a short series of works on in-door and out-door amus.e.m.e.nts, the object of which is to furnish young persons with sources of amus.e.m.e.nt, innocent in their kind, and healthful in their application both to mind and body. Among the in-door amus.e.m.e.nts may be mentioned a volume which is nearly ready for publication on the game of Chess.

Experience has shown that where Chess is introduced as an amus.e.m.e.nt into families and schools, it exerts a highly beneficial influence, by exciting a taste for more exalted sources of recreation than are afforded by _games of chance_, which so far from producing a beneficial influence on the mind, are apt to disturb the temper, excite animosity, and foster a spirit of gambling. Chess, on the contrary, is an effort of pure skill; it gives healthy exercise to the mental powers; it requires caution and forbearance on the part of both players; it leaves the victor satisfied with having won the game without the additional stimulus of 'a stake;' and it entails no humiliation on the vanquished, but rather prompts him to greater exertions. We propose, therefore, to give the history and antiquities of the game of Chess, together with a series of Easy Lessons, the object of which will be to make the young student acquainted with a few of the leading features of the princ.i.p.al openings, that he may form some idea of the richness of the territory of Chess, and to add a selection of Chess Problems. Chess Problems form one of the most attractive departments of the game; they enable us, more perhaps than anything else, to appreciate the subtle skill and resources of a first-rate player, and tend to elevate Chess to the rank of mathematical science.

Among the works which include several of the foregoing divisions, is one in four volumes, ill.u.s.trating the Progress of the Year, wherein the information given is arranged under the form of Daily Headings.

All the varied phenomena of nature; the animals, the plants, the minerals, a.s.sume different phases, according to the means and acquirements of the observer, the progress of science, and the climate under which the descriptions are given. As science advances, the descriptions of naturalists admit of modification and addition, in order to keep pace with the progress of discovery; hence our Year-books require renewal from time to time. The present is an attempt to furnish a seasonal account of the natural phenomena of the year, in conformity with the present state of knowledge. The work, however, will not be confined to natural history, but will be varied with notices of the arts, antiquities, manners and customs of our native country; choice selections from our prose writers and poets; and a series of papers expressly adapted for Sunday reading, so that on whatever day, and at whatever season, the book be taken up, something appropriate of an instructive and amusing nature may be found, calculated either for family reading, or solitary perusal, as a fireside manual, or a travelling pocket companion.

The following works are intended for early publication:

Chronicles of the Seasons, or the Progress of the Year; being a Course of Daily Instruction and Amus.e.m.e.nt from the Popular Details of the Natural History, Science, Art, Antiquities, and Biography of our Father Land. In Four Books. Book the First, containing the Months of January, February, and March. 3_s._ 6_d._

The History, Antiquities, and Curiosities of the Game of Chess; including a Selection of Games, ill.u.s.trative of the Various Openings, a.n.a.lyzed and Explained for the use of Young Players; together with a Choice Selection of Chess Problems.

The Sea--the Highway of the World; or the History and Practice of Navigation, in Ancient and Modern Times, familiarly explained.

The Houses of all Nations; or some Account, Historical and Descriptive, of the Progress of National and Domestic Architecture in all Parts and Ages of the World.

The Games and Sports of the Ancients and Moderns.

An Account of Shipwrecks, Fires, and other Calamities, at Sea.