3 JULY 1869, Page 22

Cassell's Ilustratecl Readings, by Tom Hood, Second Series (Cassell and

Co.), is a volume full of good things in prose and verse ; s. selection of such sort as does credit to the taste and judgment of the editor. Most English authors of note appear, and American literature is more fully represented than is commonly the case. When books of this kind are to be got, there is no excuse for the rubbish that may often be heard at penny readings. What audience could desire anything better than Miss Proctor's "Angel's Story," or Browning's "Lost Leader," or-2 but we might fill our page with naming old favourites that we have met again in this volume. It is well put together, and has besides not a few spirited illustrations.