Book excerpt: Excerpt from Ismeer, or Smyrna and Its British Hospital in 1855 I am aware, that to plead hurry and want of time for any shortcomings in a book, is to offer a poor compliment to the Public; but, in this case, it is perhaps more pardonable, as at present there is a peculiar interest felt in our Work, which in a short time will share the fate of all 'human things, and die away. I h0pe, therefore, that those who read the follow ing pages, will judge them leniently on this account, and as my first and only attempt at authorship. 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.