SOME OF THE PRINCIPAL CHRISTMAS BOOKS.—IV.* IT was a happy

thought to bring out a "Jubilee Edition" of The Pickwick Papers, the first number of which appeared fifty years ago. And in some respects the thought has been well carried out. The two volumes are not quite as sumptuous in appearance as we should have expected of what is practically an edition de luxe; still, they make a handsome book. Then the illustrations have a good deal of interest in them. They are not, indeed, the original illustrations; that these should not have been reproduced is, of course, the great complaint which all Dickens enthusiasts will make against the edition. And it is certainly to be regretted that this has not been done. We can only conjecture that some insuperable difficulty of proprietorship has arisen. Still, we are thankful for what we have; pictures of Rochester, for instance, and of various scenes in London, which occur or are alluded to in the story, are, in a sense, more real illustrations of what Dickens wrote than the humorous efforts of " Phiz." Then there are two curious "rejected addresses," drawings suggested for the illustration of the Papers, but not accepted. The editor has added some notes of considerable value.

• 1. The Pickwick Papers. With Notes and Illustrations. Edited by Charles Dickens the younger. 2 vols. ( Ifacmillan.)-2. Little Lord Paunt'eroll. By Mrs. Burnett. (F. Warne and Co.)-3. Bill Beasts and Birds. By Mrs. Hugh Black- burn. (Kegan Paul, Trench, and Co.1-4. Picturesque Europe. (Cassell and Co.)-5- The Boys' Own .sEsop. By Walter Crane. (Routledge and Sons.)- 6. The. Queen of the Pirate Island. By Kate Greenaway and Bret Harte. (Chatto and Windus).-7. An Italian Pilgrimage. By Joseph and Elizabeth Robins Pennell, (Seeley and Co.)-8. Dickie's Attic. By Catharine Elhaw. (If. Shaw and Co.)-9. Silvertherne. By Mrs. Molesworth. alatchards.) —10. The White Chief of the Caffres. By Major-General A. W. Drayson. (Rontledge and Sons.)-11. In the Time of ROECS. Told and Illustrated by Florence and Edith Scannell. (T. Fisher Unwin.)-12. Stories of the Magicians. Thslaba and the Magicians of the Domdaniel; Eastern and the Genii: Kohama and his Soreeries. By Rev. Alfred J. Church, MA., Professor of Latin in University College, London. (Seeley and Co.) Mrs. Burnett, in her Little Lord Fauntleroy, gives her readers, young or old, some really delightful entertainment. There is just the spice of romance that we all like; the striking change of fortune which is an invariable source of interest. Cedric Errol, a lad of seven years, and his mother are astonished one morning by the announce- ment, made by a most respectable-looking Englishman (the earlier scenes of the story are laid in New York) that Cedric, by the death of his two uncles, has become Lord Fauntleroy. How the boy goes to take leave of his acquaintances ; how he timidly announces to Mr. Hobbs at the store, who has declared that he wouldn't have such "grasping tyrants" as Earls "sitting 'round on his biscuit-barrels," that he is himself likely to became an Earl ; how he uses the money which is put at his disposal; how he makes his debut at his grand- father's seat, and takes the stern old man's heart by storm,—all these things are described with a singular charm and grace of narrative. But the best of it all is the way in which the little fellow's simple faith in his grandfather—for had he not given him as much money as he wanted for his poor friends in New York ?—reacts on the hard and selfish old man. He is ashamed to be BO unequal to the ideal self

which the simple and affectionate little fellow has imagined him. This part of the story is given with a quite irresistible pathos and force. Of course, there must be an obstacle to the prosperous course of events. For a moment we fear that this admirable little fellow is not the heir after all. But, equally of course, things come right, and one of the most charming tales that we have ever read ends exactly as we should desire.

More than thirty years ago, Mrs. Hugh Blackburn published twenty drawings under the title of Illustrations of Scripture by an Animal Painter, the drawings being reproduced by photography. The volume received high commendation from Sir Edwin Landseer, from Thackeray—who thought, for instance, that the "dogs were serving Jezebel right," and that the "vultures coming up were very fine and tragic "—and from Mr. Ruskin, who mingled a little criticism with some very hearty praise. Mrs. Blackburn now republishes the drawings, with changes both of withdrawal and addition. They are executed in " platino-type," and so will enjoy a permanence which the photographs did not attain. Admirable they are, both as to drawing and composition, and they interpret, too, and illustrate in the best sense of the word. Let any one look, for instance, at "The Dogs came and licked his Sores," or "The Stork in the Heavens knoweth her appointed times," with its suggestive landscape. "The Swine rushing down the steep place," is a wonderful picture. Clearly the Gadarenes were well quit of them. The letterpress consists of passages from Scripture and illustrative extracts from Milton. This is certainly one of the handsomest and most valuable volumes of the year.

As the volume of Picturesque Europe (Cassell and Co.) contains a "general index," it is, we presume, the last. It is somewhat perplex- ing to the overburdened memory of a reviewer, especially at this most trying of times, when the deluge of "Christmas Books" is over- whelming him, to have no date or number of volume to guide him. The illustrations of this series are of so well established a character for excellence, that we need not say more than that they are equal to our expectations. The subjects are taken from Switzerland, the Tyrol, Spain, Russia, Turkey, &c., and they are illustrated by thirteen steel engravings, and wood engravings which are beyond numbering. Both kinds abound with admirable work. It is a characteristic of Picturesque Europe that the "letterpress," as it is called, is always committed to competent hands. So now Professor Bonney writes about "The Tyrol," "Eastern Switzerland," and "The High Alps ;" Captain Griffiths about "Sweden," "Gibraltar," "Constantinople," and "Spain ;" Mr. W. R. S. Ralston about" Russia ;" Mr. G. A. Smith about "Holland," "The Danube," and "Dresden and the Saxon Switzerland."

The Boy's Own "Esop. By Walter Crane. (Routledge and Sons.) —Mr. Walter Crane versifies iEsop in this fashion :— " Twin children the girl, she was plain ; The brother was handsome and vain;

'Let him brag of his looks,' Father said ; • mind your books! The best beauty is bred in the brain.' "

And this:—

" Yon have heard bow Sir Fox treated Crane : With soup in a plate. When again They dined, a long bottle Just suited Crane's throttle,

And Sir Fox licked the outside in vain."

There may be doubts whether this will be a successful experiment. Probably its novelty will please, for a time at least, though some of the verses are involved and difficult ; and there are some children, too, who have a most wonderful delight in rhyme, which, in default of supply from without, they will make up for themselves. About Mr. Crane's drawings, with their graceful outlines and delicately har- monised tints, there can be no doubt.

When the names of Kate Greenaway and Bret Herta appear on a title-page together, it promises well for the entertainment of the young reader. "The Queen" was a child of a lively imagination,

who "was only nine years old, inclined to plumpness and good- humour, deprecated violence, and had never been to sea." Hence her title. Her two subjects are her young brother and a " Chinee boy" (who appears to be on amazing terms, of familiarity with the white children). The "Chines boy" makes the awful announcement,— " Melioan [American] boy Pilat [pirate] inside housee ; Chinee boy Pilat outside houses. First chop Pilat." And he proposes that they should put it to the proof by running away with him. Run away they do, and with the very singular result of rediscovering an "old lead" in a mine, out of which, we suppose, every one's fortune is to be made. Miss Greenaway's children are as charming as ever, and "Wan-lee," the " Chinee boy," makes an agreeable novelty.

Readers—and they were many—who appreciated the quiet humour and grace, shown in pen and pencil, of Mr. and Mrs. Pennell's

"Canterbury Pilgrimage," will be glad to hear of another work from the same hands. Very likely they may have had a preliminary taste of its pleasantness, for the chapters appeared in the Century, the Portfolio, and Outing. The Italian Pilgrimage (it began at Florence and ended at Rome, where the pilgrims were fined for violent driving on the Corso) is no unworthy successor of the former book, though it lacks, of course, the very happy occasion and appropriate title. The two travellers divide the labour of description between them with the happiest effect, for it is Mr. Joseph who wields the pencil (and fur nishes occasion for some humorous comment in his capacity as traveller), and Mrs. Elizabeth Robins who handles the pen. We must not forget to mention that Mr. C. G. Leland furnishes some quaint commendatory verses in Banyan's style. The last few lines may serve for an introduction :— " 'Twill set before Thee Portraiture of Townes, Castles and Towers, antient Villas and Downes, How rowling Rivers to ye Ocean bast, Of Road-side Inns and many a faire Palast, Serves up, I ween, with so much gentle mirthe, Thoulte fairly own thotest gott thy money's worth ; If thou art cheated Mine shall be the Sinn— Turn o'er the Page, my Lady, aad Begin I" Miss Shaw, in Dickie's Attic, treats a naturally pathetic subject with much skill as well as taste. " Meg " leaves a country home to marry a London workman, and she finds, as she well might, work for her kind and charitable spirit in her new surroundings. She finds it in another lodger, a hard-working but thriftless woman, who is weighed down by the burden of a large family. She finds it especially in the two deserted children " Cherry " and " Dickie." There is no straining after effect in the story of her dealings with these people. She is not at all too wise or good to be possible ; but she is an excellent example of what a good Englishwoman, reared in the fear of God, can be. The pathos of the book, like all else in it,. is natural, and therefore eminently effective. The scene where "Meg," disappointed of her hopes, begs that the dead child may be laid a little while in the cradle she had so lovingly prepared for it, is an instance.

The charm of Mrs. Molesworth's Silverthorns is mostly to be found in the delightful picture of the true heroine of the story, Claudia Meryon. Such creatures are seldom to be found, but one would fain believe that they exist ; beauty, a brightness that is never eclipsed, and a patience that never fails, make the happiest combination of gifts and qualities. The story, apart from this one character, is somewhat trite and commonplace ; and one is disposed to wish that virtue had found its satisfaction in something less material than a. great inheritance. We are all so ready to believe that wealth is the summum boniest, that a Moralist should be shy of making the awards of poetical justice consist in riches. Mrs. Molesworth has ventured to introduce a suggestion of the supernatural into her story, and makes as great a success with it as the subject admits.

Boys who read General Drayson's book will probably suggest that one of the most eligible of the openings that fathers are now seeking to discover for their sons may be found in being "a white chief of the Caffres." Apparently it has to be began young--Julius Peterson is little more than ten when he begins his career—and it obviously requires a singular capacity for falling on one's legs. But it is evidently very delightful. The story (which, by the way, has been published before in some magazine) is capitally told. The writer knows what he is writing about, and tells it with a simplicity, directness, and lucidity that leave nothing to be desired. The only fault that we have to find is that there is some repetition, a blemish which might have been the more easily removed, as the tale is, as we have said, a republication.

It is each a treat to get a book really illustrated, that we cannot refuse a place of honour to In the Time of Roses, which the pen and pencil of two sisters have combined to make exceedingly pleasing. The story is of the fortunes of two girls, Geraldine and Molina. Very romantic it is; but it owes no little of its charm—more, we may frankly say, than almost any other book of the season—to the way in which the characters of the text are made to live in the pictures.

Translating poetry into prose is not an easy task ; but it is a task for which some men with a poetic gift (it cannot be really effected

without it) have a singular capacity, and Mr. Church ie one of these. The advantage in the prose versions of great poems is that by the sacrifice of rhythmical movements and of the elevated imaginative plane which seems to require rhythmical movement, greater direct- ness and swiftness of narrative are gained, and young readers are more easily made acquainted with the main structure of the story on which the poet's imagination has hung so long. But if this is gained at the cost of all imaginative charm, the true structure of the poem is not laid bare, but ruined ; and that is what moat transformers of poetry into prose really effect. It is not so with Mr. Church. In this, as in former volumes, while he simplifies (and, of course, to some extent diminishes) the imaginative glamour of the poem with which he deals for those who can enter into its full charm, he never allows it to vanish. He ignores the more complex imaginative effects, but he has the tact to leave the general poetic conception in its force and simplicity. "The Story of Thalaba," for instance, as here narrated, is fall of fascination, and Southey himself, we imagine, would have enjoyed it in its simpler shape. The book is a delightful one, and the sixteen coloured illustrations, though they present us with those low-browed and rather mindless types of face too common in Eastern pictures, have a glow as of the East about them.