Excerpt from The Metropolitan, 1855, Vol. 3: A Monthly Magazine, Devoted to Religion, Education, Literature, and General Information For this success we are indebted less to our own efforts than to the generous exertions of the friends and patrons of the work, and to those who have so ably contributed to its pages. Among the latter we are proud to rank many of the ablest Catholic writers in the country; and others, who, though not within the pale of the Church, yet full of enlightened liberality, of expanded views, and of national principles, have at times lent us the aid of their gifted pens. To patrons, to contributors, and to the conductors of the press, we tender our grate ful acknowledgments, for the friendly aid and encouragement they have extended to the work. While we are grateful for the past, we are encouraged to look with hope to the future. The cause in which we are engaged is not our own: it is the common cause of Catholicity. The Church, year after year, is assuming a more promi nent position before the people of this country, and developing more widely her resources. With this development, her enemies become more active, and their hostility more determined. A work, therefore, designed to promote the interests of the one, and frustrate the machinations of the other, cannot be an object of indifference to the Catholic community. We can only assure our readers that the future of the Metropolitan, so far as our humble exertions extend, shall not disappoint their expectations; and as they have deemed the work heretofore worthy of their support, we shall use our best endeavors to render it more so. There is abundant Catholic talent in the country; we shall do our part to bring it into active exercise, - it is the duty of the reading Catholic community to acknowledge, to sustain, and encourage it. Let us then, respectively, do what devolves upon us, as publishers, editors, contributors, and public, and henceforth Catholic literature will be in the ascendant. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.