The Cosmopolitan
An Occasional (Classic Reprint)

Excerpt from The Cosmopolitan: An Occasional<br><br>"What though the Snail be slow, is he not a traveller - Though he span not a square yard in the day, he has seen the world; for the world adapts itself to the compass of the creature."<br><br>There is something, to most persons, excessively awkward in an introduction of any kind, and the preface to a book is a matter of scarcely less difficulty, and certainly of not less importance, than an entry into the circle of court and company. Society, not unfrequently, determines upon the pretensions of the new comer by his manner of approach; and the reader, though generally apt to look upon a preface as a most tedious and almost unnecessary performance, nevertheless, takes it largely into the account, when making up his estimate of the work which follows. With the fine gentleman and author, alike, it is matter of paramount importance that they make their bow with a due reference to the probable effect which it may have, in ensuring them a favorable reception.<br><br>The difficulty is somewhat increased in the present case, by the fact, that this little melange does not properly come from the hands of authors by profession.<br><br>About the Publisher<br><br>Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com<br><br>This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.