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Whilst the greatest effort has been made to ensure the quality of this text, due to the historical nature of this content, in some rare cases there may be minor issues with legibility. IT became, therefore, the only resource of the Reader, in many cases Where explanation was wanted, to'' have recourse to Chamhers''s Dictionary, in four large volumes folio, or to the Encyclopaedia Britannica, now in eighteen large volumes 4to, or the still more stupendous performance of the French Encyclopedists; and even here his expectations might be fre quently disappointed. These great and useful works, aiming at a general comprehension of the whole circle Of the Sciences, are sometimes very deficient in their descriptions of parti; colar branches; it being almost impossible, in such extensive undertakings, to appreciate.