CURRENT LITERATURE.
GIFT BOOKS.
The English Illustrated Magazine. (Maotnillan.)—The literary contents of this annual volume are at least as noticeable as the illustrations. Among them we have Hugh Conway's tale, "A Family Affair," of which we have already expressed our opinion. That in itself is enough to give a more than average value to the volume. Then there is a clever little story, by Mr. Wilkie Collins, with the title of "The Girl at the Gate," and "A Ship of '49" by Bret Harts. Mr. D. C. Murray contributes a pretty little dog-story. Of the articles that are intended more directly for the purposes of illustra- tion, we may mention, "In the New Forest," by Mabel Collins; "The Pilgrimage of the Thames," by G. Hastings White (a little too much hurried, we venture to think) ; and "Shakespeare's Country," by Rose Kingsley. But it is idle to attempt an epitome of the varied contents of the English Illustrated Magazine. Suffice it to say that they ought to satisfy every reasonable person. We had almost forgotten to say that the second part of Mr. Shorthouse's " Spiritual Romance," "The Little Schoolmaster Mark," is one of its attractions.
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