And first there are to be presented some pictures taken from the new juvenile books, as they will possess most interest for the little people for whom the volumes are prepared. So here is given an illustration from the book which has been written by Mrs. Diaz, whose William Henry Letters have made her so great a favorite and friend of all readers of this magazine. Her subject is "The Entertaining Story of King Brondé, his Lily and his Rosebud," and while the form she has chosen is that of a kind of fairy tale, it will be found that there is much to be learned from it about the beauties and advantages of a patient, pleasant, helpful, generous life. The first picture represents the King's Lily, - that is, his wife;

and the second shows his Rosebud, that is, his daughter, - watching the sea with a fisher-boy who was her playmate; while in the third there is shown the Rosebud, now grown to be a woman, walking with the Prince her husband. Of course there are many more engravings in the book, and all are drawn as prettily as these, by Mr. W. L. Sheppard.

the Star," by Mr. W. J. Linton, of whom the reader may have heard as having the greatest skill and power in engraving upon wood of all men now living. He has written the stories, drawn the pictures, and engraved them all himself; so that there can be no doubt, that for once, at least, the illustrator of a book has been able to do just what the writer of it wished him to do. See how quaint and ingenious this is. It illustrates a new story about Jack the Giant-Killer, and the bright eyes must look sharp

to find the head and hand of the old fellow who has scared Jack so dreadfully. The other picture is as beautiful as a dream,- indeed it represents part of a dream that came to a little boy, named Willie, who used to dream most delightful things, - apparently just for Mr. Linton to describe and adorn with his own fancies.

The large pictures on the separate leaf are taken from the illustrated books which have been made for grown-up people, but they can be understood and enjoyed by the smallest admirer of "Our Young Folks." The first one-drawn by Mr. Eytinge - shows a scene from Mr. Dickens's beautiful "Christmas Carol." The Cratchit family are poor, and they can hardly afford to have any extra cheer, even for Christmas; but they love one another so, and are so brave and contented, that a very little additional comfort seems to them as rich a blessing and as worthy of thanksgiving as the richest luxury in the world. See how eager and delighted they are over the little pudding, which is all that the good mother could make, and then read what Mr. Dickens says about it:

"Hallo! A great deal of steam! The pudding was out of the copper. A smell like a washing-day! That was the cloth. A smell like an eatinghouse and a pastry-cook's next door to each other, with a laundress's next door to that! That was the pudding! In half a minute, Mrs. Cratchit entered-flushed, but smiling proudly-with the pudding, like a speckled cannon-ball, so hard and firm, blazing in half of half a quartern of ignited brandy, and bedight with Christmas holly stuck into the top.

"O, a wonderful pudding! Bob Cratchit said, and calmly too, that he regarded it as the greatest success achieved by Mrs. Cratchit since their marriage. Mrs. Cratchit said that, now the weight was off her mind, she would confess she had had her doubts about the quantity of flour. Everybody had something to say about it, but nobody said or thought it was at all a small pudding for a large family. It would have been flat heresy to do so. Any Cratchit would have blushed to hint at such a thing."

Last December's number contained an illustration to Mr. Tennyson's "Bugle Song," accompanied by the verses; now another passage from that Among his most famous poems author is presented in pictorial form.

is the one called "Locksley Hall," which is indeed, as a whole, beyond the understanding of children, but in its changes the poet has a sweet word to say about the tender yet mighty influence that a little fragile infant has over the life and love of its mother, and Mr. Hennessy has most touchingly expressed the sentiment of that mother's affection, which is stronger and truer and more enduring than any other earthly passion. Is there not a lesson for all the children here ?- that they ought to value and return in every way of duty and affection this mother's care and love which they enjoy?