Page:Men of the Time, eleventh edition.djvu/12



HE scope and object of, now in its Eleventh Edition, are so clearly indicated on its title-page, that it is scarcely necessary to dwell upon them at any length. The work was originally undertaken to fill a place till then unoccupied by any of the multifarious books of reference which the industry and enterprise of the age have provided for almost every class of the community. We have records of the aristocracy of birth and wealth, in the form of Peerages and Histories of the Landed Gentry; we have Court Calendars and Parliamentary Guides, which leave no official dignity, no part of the Civil Service, unchronicled; we have Post Office Directories for the registration of commercial and industrial occupations of every kind; we have lists also of Military and Naval Officers, and of the Clergy, which set forth the rank and services of the members of those professions; Lawyers and Medical Men have likewise their respective muster-rolls; but the aristocracy of intellect had been left, until this work first appeared, without any special record. The aim of the present volume, then, is to furnish memoirs of eminent living persons, of both sexes, in all parts of the civilized world.

The present edition of is to all intents and purposes a new book. Four years have elapsed since the