HEROES, CONQUERORS, STATESMEN, AUTHORS, ARTISTS,
EXTRAORDINARY HUMORISTS, MISERS, MOUNTE-
BANKS, KINGS AND QUEENS, JUGGLERS,

AND OTHER

CURIOSITIES OF HUMAN NATURE

COMPILED FROM AUTHENTIC MATERIALS.

ILLUSTRATED BY SEVERAL HUNDRED ENGRAVINGS.

PHILADELPHIA:

LEARY, GETZ & 00.

224 NORTH SECOND STREET.

1860.

49

in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

THE biography of remarkable and eccentric men has long been considered one of the most entertaining kinds of reading. But it is more than this: It is a very useful exercise, and one which is worthy the attention of all who seek for general information. By examining the particulars of the career of a great man, one is often enabled to detect the elements of his success, and to derive from the study very useful lessons for the conduct of life. The biography of men who have rendered themselves remarkable only by their great eccentricity, is also not only curious but useful, as it prepares us to meet in real life similar characters, and to govern our conduct wisely in our necessary intercourse with them.

The characters brought to view in this volume are among the most remarkable, and many of them the most eccentric which have ever appeared on the great theatre of human action. Their virtues and failings are described with impartiality; and they are made to pass in succession before the reader like the figures in a long procession. The portraits of nearly all of

them are given by way of embellishment, and many of the scenes of their eventful lives are presented by the skill of the artist. The Editor cannot but hope that the volume will prove an acceptable addition to the libraries of all who are fond of the curiosities of Human Nature.