Lives of British Seamen. By W. A. Atkinson. (J. F.

Shaw and Co. is. 6d.)—This volume begins with a record of the services of Sir John Fisher, including an account, which makes it especially seasonable, of the constitution of the Board of Admiralty. After this we come to historical biographies, eleven in number, beginning with Lord Howard of Effingham, and ending with Lord Charles Beresford. The book does not aim at giving anything new, but it is a serviceable little volume.

The Song of Craig Dhu. By Margaret S. Comrie. (J. F. Shaw and Co. 3s. 6d.)—This is a story of a well-known kind, of good young people and bad. There is a theft and its discovery, the culprit being treated with something less than the summary vengeance of poetical justice ; there is a girl who is very unhappy at being plain, but finds consolation; and there are other more or leas familiar persons and things. The dialogue is sufficiently natural, and the whole quite readable.—The central situation of The Heiress of Aylewood (T. Nelson and Sons, 5s.) is not [new. A long experience has taught us that the girl who begins by being an heiress will not be an heiress in the end. The method by which Ethel dispossesses herself of the inheritance which ought to have gone elsewhere stretches "the long arm of coincidence." It is somewhat strange that she should go as a governess; but having done this, it was only to be expected that she should make her way into a. disused attic andifind in an armchair a. letter which annuls Ian unjust will. And then, of course, Cupid makes it all right.—Tender and True, by L. E. Tiddeman (R.T.S., 3s. 6d.), shows considerable skill in the drawing of character. Both " Granny " and " Betty " are vivid personalities, and Miss Tiddeman makes us feel that they are real. The story, too, is above the average in merit, and its winding up—especially the scene in London—is full of interest. —Andy, by Lucile Lovell (Ward, Lock, and Co., 3s. 6d.), is a. very charming story of how a little boy does a very good work. He is a really delightful creation is Andy, and the way in which he lays siege to the "Squire's" heart and captures it is admir- ably told. But—for one ought not to neglect details—should not a rabbit be carried by the ears ? Andy has a constant com- panion Jeremiah,' a white rabbit, and we see him in the

frontispiece cuddling the creature up in a way that must infallibly have killed it.

The Zoo, Past and Present. By A. T. Elwes and the Rev' Theodore Wood. (Wells Gardner, Darton, and Co. 2s. 6d.)— This book is the result of many years of study and observation, and of practice with the pencil in sketching from life. It is difficult to say enough in praise of it ; the letterpress is as good as are the pictures,—both, it will be observed, give us the "Zoo " as it has been for a generation past as well as it is now. Alas ! there are melancholy things in the book as well as others. It is sad, for instance, to know that the giraffe is disappearing from the face of the earth. His skin, unluckily, is worth some five or six pounds, and so his fate is sealed. The zebra, too, is becoming rare. He is not, it seems, so amiable as the giraffe. Mr. Elwes tells us how the male was seen dragging the female round the enclosure by one of her ears, which he held in his teeth. When he let go, she nestled fondly up to him; then bit and kicked him savagely, and fied. The Polar bears are also, we are sorry to hear, quarrel- .some. Here it was the lady who began it. She tormented the male so continuously that he escaped from the cage, and it required all the force of the Gardens to bring him back again. Another "bear story " recounts how a cataract was removed from the eye of a brown bear, of course by the help of chloroform. It would have been a bold oculist who attempted the operation in pre-chloroform days. ' Sally,' the famous chimpanzee, figuras among these reminiscences. She had a language,—there were three words in it, translateable by " Yes," " No," and "Thanks." But we must take leave of a most entertaining 'volume.

A Trip to Santa Claus Land. By Vivian Phillips. Illustrated by Patten Wilson. (Gay and Bird. 5s. )—This is one of the books, which by this time must number several hundreds, that would never have been written but for " Alice Through the Looking Glass." However, it is a good specimen of its kind. The rhymes jingle well—a quality which they do not always possess in books of this sort —and the illustrations are of merit considerably above the average; they have a humorous strength about them which it is quite a pleasure to observe.—A Morning of Childhood, by A. Revell Reynolds, Illustrated by G. P. Standen (Simpkin, Marshall, and Co., 2s. 6d.), has some graceful repre- sentations of Nature by pen and pencil. Mr. Standen's birds and beasts are good, but the child is not so happily imagined.—The Pie and the Pattypan, by Beatrix Potter (F. Warne and Co., ls. net), is, like previous works by the same author, a humorous little fantasyiwith some appropriate pictures.

Messrs. j. F. Shaw and Co. send us two editions of Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress, one of them in small quarto with a number of good illustrations, mostly in colour, by Ambrose Dudley (5s.), the other an octavo with one illustration by way of frontispiece (18.) This is a quite serviceable copy ; the other is a highly meritorious reproduction of the noble allegory. " Christian Welcomed at the Palace Beautiful," which serves as a frontis- piece to the smaller volume, and "The Pilgrims in Doubting -Castle" may be mentioned as especially good. The landscape scene in the Delectable Mountains is inferior. And why is 'Christian represented in complete armour when he is crossing the river ? Hopeful does not wear it.

The Schoolboy Abroad. By Ascott R. Hope. (A. and C. Black. Ss.)—Mr. Hope, who is now one of the veterans of schoolboy literature, deals in this volume, portions of which have already appeared in various periodicals, not with fiction, but with fact. 'To a certain extent he follows in the wake of the French writer, "Andr6 Laurie," who, "concerned not so much with fact as with fiction, has published what appears a successful series of stories illustrating school-life in various parts of the world." To judge by what Mr. Hope reproduces of M. Laurie's representation of

a Parisian boy's experiences in England, not to speak of Scotland, that author's fiction approaches perilously near to farce. Although Mr. Hope writes, as he always does, in a lively and pictur- • esque fashion, he deals with his various young heroes from -Germany, Austria, Russia, France, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, and Denmark on the basis of ascertained truth. And so his book is full of living interest, in the best sense, and should be specially welcomed by the older boys at school or boys leaving school. 'The last chapter is a delightful one in its author's lighter vein. It is entitled "The Schoolboy on Pegasus," and deals with the -efforts of schoolboys of various nationalities in verse, serious and satiric.

Hector, My Dog. By Egerton R. Young. (Hodder and 'Stoughton. 6s.)—This is a delightful story in "autobio-

graphical" form of wolves and dogs and Indians in the Winni- peg region. There is plenty of adventure and danger, animal jealousy and human love.- There is also rather too much preaching and philosophising, and, in the closing pages, specu- lation as to whether dogs have souls. But the book is pleasant —fascinating indeed—and morally healthy.

Old Tales from Rome. By Alice Zimmern. (T. Fisher Unwin. 5s.)—Here, delightfully told and with abundant illustrations, are the old legends of old Rome, which young people at least decline to separate from its authentic history. The wanderings and struggles of Aeneas, the tyranny of Tarquin, the fight for freedom, the" transformations "—such as " Orpheus," " Narcissus and Echo," "Philemon and Baucis "—all live again, and live to purpose. It would not be easy to conceive of a bettor or more gracefully written book of tho kind, which is in every respect an admirable companion volume to "Tales of Old Greece."

C URRENT LITERAT URE.

CHILDREN'S BOOKS.

Mr. Punch's Children's Book. Edited by E. V. Lucas. Mus- trated by Olga Morgan. (Punch Office. 68.) —This is an attrac- tive collection of stories, verses, and pictures, in which Mr. Punch's reputation for entertaining is well maintained. Tho first story, by Mr. Lucas, tolls how a rich and generous elderly gentleman arranged a happy Christmas with plenty of toys for several streets-full of slum children.

Sir Toady Crusoe. By S. R. Crockett. (Wells Gardner, Darton, and Co. 6s.)—Sir Toady has some wonderful adventures in this book. He wanders about the wilds of Scotland with two other children, Dinky and Saucy, and a nice dog called Boom- pluff '; and on his return home he arranges the tangled love affairs of his elder brother, Hugh Sohn. Tho old Scotch nurse is a delightful person. Mr. Gordon Browne's illustrations are characteristic of his work.

A Gay Dog. Pictured by Cecil Aldin. (W. Heinemann. 5s.) —This year of a dog's life is very amusing. Mr. Aldin's style is too well known to want description, but we should like specially to call the reader's attention to the picture in which the hero of this book says, "Some dogs are too readily imposed upon— not I !"