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ETC.

ILLUSTRATED WITH NUMEROUS FINE ENGRAVINGS OF NOTED PLACES, LIFE AND SCENES IN NEW YORK.

Issued by subscription only, and not for sale in the book stores. Residents of any State desiring a copy should address the Publishers, and an Agent will call upon them. See page 851.

NATIONAL PUBLISHING COMPANY,

PHILADELPHIA, PA.; CINCINNATI, OHIO; CHICAGO, ILL.;

ST. LOUIS, MO.

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1872, by J. R. JONES, In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D.C.

PREFACE.

It is the desire of every American to see New York, the largest and most wonderful city in the Union. To very many the city and its attractions are familiar, and the number of these persons is increased by thousands of new comers every year. A still greater number, however, will know the Great City only by the stories that reach them through their friends and the newspapers. They may never gaze upon its beauties, never enjoy its attractions in person. For their benefit I have written these pages, and I have endeavored to present to them a faithful picture of the "Lights and Shadows" of the life of this City, and to describe its "Sights and Sensations" as they really exist.

This Great City, so wonderful in its beauty, so strange to eyes accustomed only to the smaller towns of the land, is in all respects the most attractive sight in America, and one of the most remarkable places in the world, ranking next to London and Paris in the extent and variety of its attractions. Its magnificence is remarkable, its squalor appalling. Nowhere else in the New World are seen such lavish displays of wealth, and such hideous depths of poverty. It is rich in historical associations and in treasures of art. It presents a wonderful series of combinations as well as contrasts of individual and national characteristics. It is richly worth studying by all classes, for it is totally different from any other city in the world. It is always fresh, alway

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