It had been to him for some time a subject of regret that one of the most useful and fascinating studies--that which belongs to the domain of microscopic observation--should be, if not wholly neglected, at best but coldly and indifferently appreciated by the great mass of the general public; and he formed a strong opinion that this apathy and inattention were mainly attributable to the want of some concise, yet sufficiently comprehensive, _popular_ account of the Microscope, both as regards the management and manipulation of the instrument, and the varied wonders and hidden realms of beauty that are disclosed and developed by its aid. He saw around him valuable, erudite, and splendid volumes, which, however, being chiefly designed for circulation amongst a special class of readers, were necessarily published at a price that renders them practically unattainable by the great bulk of the public. They are careful and beautiful contributions to the objects of science, but they do not adequately bring the value and charm of microscopic studies home, so to speak, to the firesides of the people. Day after day, new and interesting discoveries, and amplifications of truth already discerned, have been made, but they have been either sacrificed in serials, or, more usually, devoted to the pages of class publications; and thus this most important and attractive study has been, in a great measure, the province of the few only, who have derived from it a rich store of enlightenment and gratification: the many not having, however, participated, to any great extent, in the instruction and entertainment which always follow in the train of microscopical science.[2] The manifold uses and advantages of the Microscope crowd upon us in such profusion, that we can only attempt to enumerate them in the briefest and most rapid manner in these prefatory pages.