Excerpt from History of the Borough of Preston and Its Environs, in the County of Lancaster All men naturally feel more interest in the historical associations of their own race than they do in those of any other portion of mankind. The study of that which immediately pertains to them and theirs is more interesting, and therefore more pursued. If this be true in a national sense, it may be expected to Operate even more powerfully within limits still more contracted The soil daily trodden by the foot of any reflecting being; the locality, with whose present struggles, progress or decay, he is practically acquainted; whose traditions and folk lore were fixed in his memory and his heart, long before more exact knowledge or cultivated judgment enabled him to test their. Accuracy or correctly weigh their value; must possess historic reminiscences, not only capable of commanding his attention, by exciting in the imaginative faculty agreeable and healthy sensations, but of teaching him valuable lessons in profound practical wisdom. The dullest familiar scene is encircled with a sacred halo, when associated with some mighty deed of a bygone age. Its physical impress may, perhaps, be superficially erased, but its spiritual influence still permeates, with a subtlety cognizant only to cultivated intelligence, the sentiment and aspiration of the mass of mankind. 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.