The _ancients_ boasted of their SEVEN WONDERS OF THE WORLD. These were
the Pyramids of Egypt, the Colossus of Rhodes, the Aqueducts of Rome,
the Labyrinth on the banks of the Nile, the Pharos of Alexandria, the
Walls of Babylon, and the temple of Diana at Ephesus. But the WONDERS
known to those of the _present_ day, may be counted by hundreds: wonders
of Nature, wonders of Science, wonders of Art, and Miscellaneous
wonders; each department full, to overflowing, of themes of the richest
instruction and deepest interest.
To present some of the most striking of these wonders, in a manner that
shall be acceptable to the man of science and profound research, and at
the same time full of interest to the general reader, and the family at
the fireside, has been the aim of the editor of the following pages. The
exaggerated and marvelous stories which the mischievous fancy of
travelers has too often imposed on the credulity of the weak, as well as
the foolish fables founded in bigotry and superstition, which were too
often received as truths in the dark ages, have been carefully avoided,
and, where the narrative permitted, exposed; and nothing has been
brought forward that has not been confirmed by the concurrent testimony
of enlightened travelers, and men of science, and extended observation.
On the subjects in which Nature, in her various departments, displays
her most wondrous magnificence and beauty; or in those in which Science
and Art have sought out their most wondrous inventions, and wrought out
the most wondrous results, the best authorities have been carefully
consulted. And the endeavor has been, so to assemble and arrange the
multiplied objects of wonder and delight, as to confer a lasting benefit
on the rising generation, and on families, and at the same time to
present a work that shall commend itself to those whose lives have been
wholly devoted to researches among the sublime wonders of nature,
science and art. Believing that the standard of general reading is
constantly rising higher, and that the sphere of intellectual tastes and
pursuits is constantly growing wider, the writer has endeavored to
prepare a volume that shall have more than the interest of fiction, and,
at the same time, the ripe and rich instruction of the book of travels,
or the work of science or descriptive art. The table of contents makes
manifest how extensive the range of the topics presented; while the list
of engravings may show how profusely and richly the enterprise of the
publishers has illustrated a work, which it is hoped may meet with
universal acceptance.