THE Poetry in these books was written without any intention of publishing it. I wished to find some short and simple pieces on subjects of natural history, for the use of a child of five years old, who on her arrival in England could speak no English, and whose notice was particularly attracted by flowers and insects. Among the collections avowedly made for the use of children, I met with very few verses that answered my purpose, and therefore I wrote two or three of the most puerile of the pieces that appear in these volumes. Some friends were pleased with them, as well as with the slight alterations I made in others already in their possession; and a near relation sent me several

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 which she had composed on purpose, and one or two which had long lain in her port folio. Thus encouraged, my collection insensibly increased. I grew fond of the work; and when it contained, as I imagined, enough to answer my original intention, I sent it up to be printed; but I found that there was not manuscript enough to make even a very small volume. I therefore undertook to enlarge the book by Conversations, but I suffered some borrowed and altered pieces to remain, which I should have taken out, had I known that I need not have retained them for want of a sufficient number of original compositions. Of this, however, I was not aware, till the First Volume was arranged, and the prose written; and as my trespass on others has not been granted, I trust it will be forgiven me. There are seven pieces not my own, some of them a little altered, to

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 answer my first purpose of teaching a child to repeat them; and five of my own reprinted. Of the remainder, though the Relation to whom I am obliged to my distinguishing them by any acknowledgement, it is necessary to say, that where my interlocutors praise any Poem, the whole or the greater part of it is hers.

     It will very probably be observed, that the pieces toward the end of the Second Volume are too long for mere children to learn to repeat, and too difficult for them to understand. It is, however, impossible to write any thing for a particular age; some children comprehend more at eight years old, than others do at twelve; but to those who have any knowledge of Geography or Mythology, or who have a taste for Botany, the two last pieces will not be found difficult. I confess, that in the progress of my work I be

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 came so partial to it, as to wish it might, at least the latter part, be found not unworthy the perusal of those, who are no longer children.

     I have endeavoured, as much as possible, to vary the measure, having observed, that a monotonous and drawling tone is acquired, by reciting continually from memory verses, selected without attention to variety of cadence. To each of these little pieces, I have affixed some moral, or some reflection; and where I supposed the subject or the treatment of it might be obscure, I have preceded or followed the Poetry, with a slight explanation in prose: but many notes were, notwithstanding, unavoidable.

     Whoever has undertaken to instruct children, has probably been made sensible, in some way or other, of their own limited knowledge. In writing these pages of prose,

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 simple as they are, I have in more than one instance been mortified to discover, that my own information was very defective, and that it was necessary to go continually to books. After all, I fear I have made some mistakes, particularly in regard to the nature of Zoophytes; but the accounts of this branch of natural history in the few books I have, are so confused and incompleat, that I could not rectify the errors I suspected.

     I found it difficult to make my personages speak so as entirely to satisfy myself. I shall perhaps hear that my children, in this book, do not talk like children; but the mere prattle of childhood would be less in its place here, than language nearer to that of books, which however will probably be criticised as affected and unnatural. There is a sort of fall-lall way of writing very usual in works of this kind, which I have been solicitous

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 to avoid, and perhaps have erred in some other way. Being at a considerable distance from the press, errors have crept in, which under such a disadvantage are almost unavoidable.