Two Girls.-Amy E. Blanchard, the author of "Two Girls," has evidently known and deeply studied the manners of young people in their teens, and she has reproduced for other young people a life-like book which will please because it is true, and because its truth is interesting. One hears the inflection of childish voices through the pages and seems to know personally, and like, the young folks who travel through them. We ramble on in the company of Val and Theo and Archie and Aunt Janet, with a queer old black cook, Mammy Jane, occasionally appearing, and go well through the year, including the diversions of the holidays. Val is a cousin of Theo, who has been left an orphan and poor; but this makes no difference in their love and the fun they have, and the tale comes out at the end as all good tales should. The book is illustrated with noticeably true pictures of home-life by Miss Ida Waugh, than whom there is no better painter of children in the artistic ranks. As a gift for Christmas the volume would be admirable both in looks and in tone. (Lippincott. $1.25.)

J. B. Lippincott's Juveniles.-Two juveniles sure to start out at Christmas on a brilliant round of delight-giving are Mrs. Molesworth's "Olivia' and Hans Christian Andersen's Fairy Tales," prepared with taste for young readers who, spoiled by lavish publishers, are growing more exacting year by year. Olivia and her little sister are two little English girls, the only children of a typical English country vicar. They have lots of fun in their father's rural parish amid the beautiful English lanes, and Mrs. Molesworth hides beneath one of her admirably told stories of the people and things dear to young hearts and aspirations an artistic suggestion of the snares and pitfalls laid and dug by undue self-esteem. ($1.25.) The Andersen volume is illustrated by E. A. Leman, and his conceptions of the little "mermaid," the "goloshes," and "the tin soldier," does away with the active exercise of imagination demanded of the parents of the youngsters who now have even their pleasures made easy. ($1.50.)

Nora Perry's New Book for Girls.-Miss Perry's books for girls are constantly increasing in popularity, and no writer is more successful in creating wholesome stories which girls read and enjoy. She has hitherto devoted herself to short stories, and the present work is the first from her pen in which her heroine's experiences are given an entire volume. "Hope Benham" is destined to be a favorite. The book has eight full-page illustrations by Frank T. Merrill. Miss Perry's other volumes are "A Rosebud Garden of Girls," illustrated by F. C. Gordon, and Another Flock of Girls," illustrated by Reginald B. Birch and Charles Copeland. (Little, Brown & Co. $1.50.)

Twilight Land. An untrammelled imagination, an inexhaustible vocabulary, and a longpractised pencil are at the call of the brilliant artist-writer, Howard Pyle. He has produced for the Christmas season a book of fairy tales fully equal to anything the fortunate young people have already received from his hands. "What is Twilight Land? It is a wonderful, wonderful place, where no sun shines to scorch your back as you jog along the way,

where no rain falls to make the road muddy and hard to travel, where no wind blows the dust into your eyes or the chill into your marrow, where all is sweet and pure and quiet and ready to go to bed. Where is Twilight Land? That I cannot tell you. You will either have to ask your mother or find it for yourself." Howard Pyle reached Twilight Land, floated along like a soap-bubble until he reached an Inn. It was the sign of Mother Goose. The earth and the sky and the air were all still, just as it is at twilight, and the traveller heard them laughing and talking in the Inn of the Sign of Mother Goose and her Gray Gander. Mother Goose herself opened the door for him. The room was all full of twilight, and there he found sitting around: Aladdin, Ali Baba, Jackthe-Giant-Killer, Cinderella, Patient Grizzle, Hans in Luck, Sindbad the Sailor, the Tailor who killed seven flies at one blow, and all the other heroes of the dearest books the children know. They made the tired traveller welcome. He sat down and heard them all telling stories, and these he has written down for the children who are not yet old enough to go far from home alone and meet all these delightful people. And Howard Pyle also shows all the young worshippers just how their special favorites look when they sit down to rest in Twilight Land. This fine material makes a handsome book. (Harper. $2.50.)

Bible Stories for Young People contains twelve stories, each written by a different writer the Rev. W. E. Griffis, D.D., the Right Rev. Henry C. Potter, D.D., the Rev. C. H. Parkhurst, D.D., Bishop John F. Hurst, D.D., Margaret Sangster, and others equally noted being the authors. They have for some of the subjects "The Sacrifice of Noah,' "Little Samuel," "Peter Walking on the Water,” and Mary in the Garden." The stories are simply told, practically applied, beautifully illustrated, and the book, says The Beacon, "is one that cannot be too highly praised as an adjunct in Bible teaching, as well as an entertaining volume for young or old." (Harper. $1.)

The Fur Seal's Tooth.-This is an exciting story of adventure in Alaska, by Kirk Munroe. The reader is introduced to the hero at Victoria, British Columbia, as he was en route to join his father, a mining expert in Alaska. The story begins its interest in the opening chapter, and never flags. Its hero is Phil Ryder, and scarcely second, his friend Serge Belcobsky. Robbed of his money while en route to Victoria, Phil met his former friend Serge, and the two shipped on a wild sailing craft, which proved to be a poacher in Alaskan waters. The exciting chapters of the story are their experiences on board the Seamew, and in the capturing of seals and the dodging of government vessels. The story is artistically illustrated, but it is the text in Kirk Munroe's best style of romance that will give the charm to all young readers. (Harper.

$1.25.)

The Boy Travellers in the Levant.-Colonel Knox, the indefatigable cicerone of the boy travellers, has not yet, it seems, exhausted the habitable globe in his wanderings. Last year we left his party at Gibraltar, where they had arrived after journeying through Italy, Southern France, and Spain. In the present volume the boys and their friends visit the Levant,

going by sea across the Strait of Morocco, and thence along the southern coast of the Mediterranean, where they touch at many places of interest, chief among which are Algiers, Cairo, Tunis, Malta, Athens, Constantinople, Smyrna, Ephesus, Cyprus, and Beyrout. Of course, Dr. Bronson, Mrs. Bassett and her daughter Mary, accompany the boys as heretofore, and the usual amount of historical and geographical information is conveyed by means of pleasant conversations. To many young people the boy travellers and their companions have become very real friends, and the amount of useful information that has been unconsciously imbibed in following their footsteps can hardly be estimated. In this volume, as in its precursors, the utmost care has been taken to insure geographical and historical accuracy, a clear map of the regions visited is given, and the handsome volume abounds in good and interesting illustrations. (Harper. $3.)

Harper's Young People.-One could with difficulty find a volume containing better stories, or

more of them, than the bound volume of "Harper's Young People for 1894." The best serials that can be obtained are there to be enjoyed from the first chapter to the last; and there are also the brightest of short stories, historical' sketches, practical papers on a variety of interesting subjects, poems, letters, and all the special features that from week to week delight young readers in every part of this continent. And in excellence, in variety (in educational value, one is tempted to add) the pictures do not lag behind the text. It was the last bound volume of the "Young People," together with the other Harper periodicals, of which the New York Sun wrote: "We warn anybody who, for any reason, believes it to be necessary to steel his heart against these publications, not to venture a look at them. To see is to surrender. The manifold art that is represented here has a fascination as great as any fascination that may attach to books. The Young People

is in the first rank of publications for boys and girls. But it is hardly necessary to say so. The whole world knows it." (Harper. $3.50.)

Important Juveniles of Roberts Brothers. Another volume is added to the fascinating little books begun with "Dear Daughter Dorothy." Few stories have touched the hearts of the children as did this tender little story, and it would be almost impossible to set up a rival to it; still Miss Plympton's new holiday offering-or at least her chief holiday offering, for she is to be credited with two "Juvenile " works-has abundant pathos and incident, and a very sweet and lovable heroine. Its title, Rags and Velvet Gowns," indicates the contrasts in life it deals with. Its rather depressing background is a manufacturing town on the verge of starvation, from the combined effects of low wages and a poor year. "Katherine," the golden-haired heroine, is the spoiled daughter of the wealthy owner of the Kingsland mills. She plays the part of good angel to her father and his unhappy "hands "-the old rate of wages and a Christmas tree winding up the story in a blaze of glory. (50c.) "Penelope Prig, and Other Stories" is the name of Miss Plympton's second book, embracing the adventures of a group of

From "Another Girl's Experience."

little girls of varied fortunes and accomplishments. "Penelope Prig's" somewhat selfish little nature is purified by a distressing contact with poverty in very miserable guise. The other stories are "A Brave Coward," "The Girl Without a Conscience," and Little Olive, the Heiress." ($1.) Both books are gracefully illustrated by the author. "Another Girl's Experience "appeals to "grown-up girls," yearning to try their wings in an unknown world. Frances Prescott leaves a happy home for the position of companion in the house of a wealthy New York lady, a confirmed invalid, hoping to make some money and to enjoy the pleasures of a fashionable life. Her "experience" is sad enough and full of instruction. The author is Leigh Webster. ($1.25.) "Not Quite Eighteen," by Susan Coolidge, is a collection of her happy, charming tales about sweet young girls just on the verge of womanhood. Jessie McDermott is the illustrator. ($1.25.) This firm have added to their list Captain Joshua Slocum's " Voyage of the Liberdade," which appears fully illustrated in a small quarto of

somewhat juvenile aspect, and while it may be bought with a certainty of giving pleasure to any intelligent young reader, it is also just as certain to please mature readers. It embraces the romantic adventures of Captain Slocum and his family, who were wrecked on the coast of Brazil, built the Liberdade, and after a perilous and almost miraculous sea voyage reached Washington on their little boat. That the story is an entirely true one makes it all the better reading. ($1.) "Father Gander's Melodies," by Adelaide F. Samuels, for "Mother Goose's Grandchildren," is a counterpart to "Mother Goose," and are verses easily within the grasp of young people who know the latter venerable dame's poetical effusions. ($1.25.) A new cheaper edition of John Bradley Gilman's "The Kingdom of Coins" (60c.), is included in the wonderful collection of good things prepared by this house for the happy Christmas-tide. And it must never be forgotten that Miss Alcott's wonderful books are on the list of Roberts Brothers. You can get them as a set, or you can get them one by one. "Little Women after the quarter of a century in which its heroines have delighted other little women is always Miss Alcott's best book. (Per volume, $1.50.)

Charles Scribner's Juveniles.-Mrs. Frances Hodgson Burnett has written a new book for the children that love her. It is entitled "Piccino, and Other Stories," and R. B. Birch has put the finishing touches to her always admirable work by his graceful and sympathetic drawings. ($1.50.) Three new books by Henty, impossible as it may seem, are ready: "In the Heart of the Rockies," a story of adventure in Colorado, with eight full-page illustrations; Wulf the Saxon," a story of the Norman conquest, with twelve large pictures; and "When London Burned," with twelve full-page cuts. G. A. Henty always teaches useful facts of history or other learning in the stories that boys wish for at all times. (Ea., $1.50.) "The Butterfly Hunters in the Caribbees," by Eugene Murray-Aaron, the leading American entomolo

gist, gives a lively and exciting account of the adventures of two Pennsylvania lads on an imaginary journey to the Bahamas, Hayti, and the eastern part of Jamaica. ($2.) "Czar and Sultan," by Archibald Forbes, describes the adventures of a British boy in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78. It is fully illustrated and sure to be popular with youthful readers. ($2.) A praiseworthy book for little folks is that which bears the title of "The Wagner Story-Book: Firelight Tales of the Great Music Dramas." William Henry Frost has told the tales in an easy, fluent way, preserving their wonders and simplifying their somewhat thunderous original tones into a key more suitable to juvenile ears, and he has performed this pleasant task in that familiar, story-tellinground-the-fire way which appeals to children

with peculiar force. It is illustrated by S. R. Burleigh, and makes a very handsome volume. ($1.50.) Among the many more we only have space to mention the titles of "To Greenland and the Pole," a story of adventure in the Arctic regions ($1.50); "Olaf the Glorious," by Robert Leighton ($1.50); "Things Will Take a Turn," by Beatrice Harraden, telling of a sunny-hearted little girl in her grandfather's dusty book-shop ($1), and Eugene Field's "Love-Songs of Childhood" ($1).

Jolly Good Times To-Day.-"All the children will be delighted to hear more of Mary P. Wells Smith's Jolly Good Times,' and in her latest book, which is entitled 'Jolly Good Times ToDay,' there is a perfect wealth of good times in which Amy Strong, Kitty and Rob, Clover, and other interesting girls and boys, as well as Duke, the intelligent Irish setter, all figure conspicuously;" so says the Boston Beacon. "The good times are such as all children delight in impromptu picnics on Saturday holidays, boisterous frolics, in which a mock fire almost ended in a quarrel; and more quiet amusements, such as the Brightside Club,' in which, like some grown-up clubs, all the members wanted to be officers. Through the annals of the fun and frolic, and sometimes errors, of this little company of friends, there is much that cannot fail to give valuable lessons on unselfishness, usefulness, and wise character building. There are practical suggestions of the best methods by which restless, ambitious children can be amused; and the children who read about Aunt Mary's collecting mania will be certain to look upon stones thereafter with an eye to fossils and specimens.' Various amusing plays for winter evenings are described, and every season of the year is represented with its natural and appropriate employment." (Roberts Bros. $1.25.)

The Little Lady of the Horse.-" Steenie, the heroine of The Little Lady of the Horse,' by Evelyn Raymond, is a ten-year-old girl of more than ordinarily loving characteristics," says the Boston Beacon, "the only child of a widower, who is manager of a large ranch in California. There is some sensible talk about horses introduced in such a way that the story is not at all interfered with, and the story itself presents a succession of eventful situations which are exceedingly bright and interesting without savoring too much of sensation or improbability. The old servants employed by Steenie's grandmother furnish sufficient fun and humor to lighten the narrative, and Steenie herself is as amusing as she is lovable. The book is handsomely bound and beautifully illustrated, so that it is a most desirable gift-book that either boys or girls will enjoy. (Roberts Bros. $1.50.)

More Celtic Fairy Tales. - Once more Mr. Jacobs has provided a collection of fairy tales for his young friends. He tells us that this is the last time, at least for the present, which is certainly a matter for regret, as the stories are just what children delight in, and the illustrations are so clever that we wish it were possible to have at least one every year. The volume belongs to Putnam's Fairy Tales of the Nations, a charming series comprising seven volumes, as follows: " English Fairy Tales," Celtic Fairy Tales," "Indian Fairy Tales," "More English Fairy Tales," More Celtic

Fairy Tales" (these five are edited by Joseph Jacobs and illustrated by John D. Batten); "The Light Princess, and Other Fairy Tales," by George MacDonald, illustrated by Maud Humphrey; and "Chinese Nights' Entertainments," by Adele M. Field, illustrated with designs by Chinese artists. The books are uniform in size and form a most interesting sequence. (Putnam. Ea., $1.75.)

Three Great Men: Cicero, Lincoln, Cromwell.— Cicero and Abraham Lincoln are the latest additions to the Heroes of the Nations series. In tracing the life of the great Roman Mr. StrachanDavidson has, as much as was possible, allowed Cicero to tell his own story, as it is found in his orations and his letters. It is a story which appeals strongly to the English-speaking race, for it is the record of a struggle, ending in martyrdom, in behalf of political liberty against despotism. The story of Lincoln is by Noah Brooks, whose earlier biography of the martyrpresident has been revised and enlarged for incorporation in the series. Mr. Brooks writes from intimate personal knowledge, and he gives a graphic presentation of the chief events in the life of Lincoln, in his dramatic career from the log-cabin to the White House, together with a clear and comprehensive statement of the nature of his services to the country during the great struggle for national existence. (Ea., $1.50; $1.75.) The history of Oliver Cromwell and his time is by Samuel Harden Church, and it has attracted much attention on both sides of the Atlantic. Mr. Church writes well; his style is strong and simple, graphic and flowing, and while avowedly a champion of Cromwell, whom he considers as perhaps the most startling, certainly the most unique, figure in the whole pageantry of English history, yet the reader is impressed with his impartiality. The volume is a handsome one, with an excellent portrait and several battle plans. (Putnam. $3.)

Thomas Nelson & Sons' Boys' Books.—Boys' books seem the rule this year, and some very good ones come from the Nelsons. "In the Wilds of the West Coast," by J. Macdonald Oxley, tells a story of Canadian trade before the establishment of the Hudson Bay Company ($1.50); "Kilgorman" is a story of Ireland in 1798, by Talbot Baines Reed ($1.75); "Shut In" is a tale of the wonderful siege of Antwerp in 1585, by Mrs. Evelyn Everett Green ($1.75); As We Sweep Through the Deep," by Gordon Stables, gives stirring pictures of the Napoleonic wars (80c.); and "Sons of the Vikings," by John Gunn, is a story of the same period, but of naval interest ($1).

Thomas Nelson & Sons' Girls' Books.—First among the books intended wholly for the girls that will find it "perfectly beautiful," and "too lovely for anything," stands "Mopsie," in which Dorothy Walrond has sketched one of her pathetic pictures of life in the London "slums" (60c.); "The Little Swedish Baron" is by the author of the "Swedish Twins" (60c.); The Rival Princes" is a story of the fourteenth century, by J. M. Caldwell (50c.); and a whole library is provided for both girls and boys, in thirty-five volumes, by A. L. O. E., which are put up in sets. This remarkable writer for children has died within the year, and the publication of her books is most timely. (35 volumes, $20.) All these books have illustrations.