The flattering manner in which the Prospectus of the present volume has been received, and the condescension of His Majesty, who has been graciously pleased to honour it with his august patronage, are circumstances which demand my most grateful acknowledgments, and are the more gratifying to my feelings, as they were wholly unexpected.<br><br>It is, however, with much diffidence that I appear before the public in the characters of an artist and an author, conscious as I am, that my humble talents can offer but few pretensions to its favour, or indulgence.<br><br>Having at an early period in life, imbibed a predilection for the study of natural history, and subsequently been educated in a profession intimately connected with that science, upon fixing my residence at Lewes, I resolved to devote my leisure moments to the investigation of the "Organic remains of a former world;" a study replete with interest and instruction.