If we had a word in our language which expressed | the idea of Lines of Knowledge, we should employ it as the title of the Series now proposed, to distinguish the work from a Cyclopædia, or Circle of Knowledge. As it is, we adopt a homely word to express the character of this undertaking- Store of Knowledge.' A Store suggests the notion of Accumulation -of valuable matters brought together from time to time, to be employed when needful. Such an idea was of course present to the mind of him who first used the word Magazine in a literary sense. But that word expresses something different from the object of the present work, which is to publish a SERIES OF PAPERS, each, for the most part, complete in itself, which, in the quantity of condensed information they may eventually contain, shall form a Library for Reading and Reference. Each contribution to the 'Store of Knowledge' will, in truth, be a Book; -sold, indeed, at a very small price; but as accurate, as complete, within its limits, and therefore as trustworthy, as books of larger cost. In the same way as he chooses other books, a reader may here select what subject he pleases, should he desire information only on some especial point; and, on the other hand, by a very small weekly or monthly outlay, he may gradually accumulate a library essentially large, although occupying a narrow space. If we should go on to publish, for example, two hundred and fifty papers, the purchaser will in reality possess, for about two pounds, a body of knowledge which we may truly say cannot be obtained in so useful a form in a collection of as many ordinary volumes, at the cost of fifty pounds. When the work has attained a certain completeness, he may classify what has been riginally presented to him in a miscellaneous form. No. 1.-Price 2d.

This Store of Knowledge will then become a library, and it will have its departments, as every other library; and to this ultimate arrangement we shall steadily look forward. As it proceeds, he will find abundant variety, but that variety produced not without reference to a principle and an end. The Publishers have the command of a great body of valuable Copyright, which they propose thus to apply; and they have secured the co-operation, either for new contributions or for careful revision, of gentlemen well qualified to conduct such a work. They have determined to produce this series of 'Knowledge for all Readers' at a price which relies upon its being acceptable to many thousands. If they give for Twopence what is equal to a hundred ordinary octavo pages, they must look to such a circulation as the present extended desire for knowledge renders possible. They cannot, however, secure that circulation without adequately meeting the general demand, in the nature of the subjects which it is proposed to treat, and in the manner in which they are treated. Upon the latter point it is unnecessary to make professions. One great security of the reader as to the original value of the information which he receives will be this-that the names of the authors will in most cases be affixed to their papers, and in all cases the sources of the information will be stated. Without offering any formal or complete list of subjects, it may be sufficient here to give a very general outline of the plan.

The information contained in this "Store" will be condensed; but it will not be so condensed that the work shall have little value except for reference. It is not proposed, therefore, to treat historical subjects as if the mere chronology of events was alone

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desirable to be known; nor geographical, so as to present little more than the dry matters of name and position; nor literary, as if catalogues of authors were of more importance than a knowledge of what their works contain. Each subject will have its own proper limits: which may be secured by a steady adherence to a well-defined system. What we propose may be briefly explained.

1. It is not intended to include in The Store of Knowledge' any abstruse Scientific Treatises. The practical applications of SCIENCE will, however, form the subjects of many papers.

2. In HISTORY, no long connected relation of Civil and Military Transactions will be attempted; but striking periods in the progress of mankind, such as the Crusades, the Discovery of America, the Reformation, will be treated of; and the Lives of Men who have exercised a marked influence on the condition of Society, either by their acts or their opinions, such as Alexander the Great, Napoleon Bonaparte, and the great writers of ancient and modern times, will be fully given.

3. IN GEOGRAPHY, the great physical features of the Globe, such as Oceans, Seas, Rivers, Mountainranges, will be discussed in such a way as to combine isolated facts, and so lead to general results of direct utility, with the larger divisions of the earth,-and occasionally will be given a fuller description of some country upon which more minute information, from particular circumstances, is required, such as our Indian Empire, China, New Zealand, at the present time.

4. In the exposition of GOVERNMENT and LAw, all politics, in the ordinary sense of the word, will be avoided; but those matters will be explained— whether having reference to the theory and practice of the Constitution, the Duties of every member of the community as such, and the great principles of the Law, both of persons and property-which are necessary to be known for the proper understanding of a man's social position and that of his fellow-subjects.

5. The RESOURCES OF THE NATION, whether in Agriculture, Manufactures, or Commerce, will be treated not only with regard to the large aggregate

of facts, but with a particular view towards those practical details, a right knowledge of which, in whatever branch of industry, determines the successful progress of a community, by rendering individual exertion profitable.

6. In DOMESTIC ECONOMY, whether in Household Management, the preservation of Health, or the cultivation of pure and inexpensive sources of enjoyment, the advance of happiness and the improvement of taste will be constantly kept in view.

7. In NATURAL HISTORY, and in Zoology especially, those relations only of the Animal Kingdom to Man will be considered by which the inferior creatures are subdued to his service and rendered subservient to his existence. In other respects, the habits of the living creation will be more particularly regarded in connexion with those instincts which so remarkably exhibit the design of the Creator. In the Mineral and Vegetable Kingdoms, the uses of the great products of the earth will claim more of our attention than their scientific nomenclature and arrangement. It is in connection with the human family that we shall chiefly treat of the riches of Nature. The geographical distribution of plants and animals will demand some distinct notices.

8. In LITERATURE, the Series will not include any republication of Standard Books; but it will occasionally contain an Analysis of some great work, and a full critical Biography of some illustrious Author. Some numbers will also be applied to the object of rendering our finest Poetry familiar, by Specimens and explanatory Notices; and these will form a connected Series, not large in extent, but comprising a great mass of the choicest treasures of our language, under the title of English Anthology.'

The Store of Knowledge' will be printed on super-royal octavo, each Number consisting of 32 columns.

The first Number will appear on Saturday, June 5, 1841; and the first Part on the 1st July. A Volume will be completed Half-Yearly. But, as we have intimated, regard will be had to a more systematic arrangement of subjects, ultimately, than can be now proposed.