WITH OUR EXCHANGES. 



MCCLURE s. 



In the December number Capt. Mahan 

 begins a series of articles on the naval 

 operations in the recent war ; a new serial 

 by Rudyard Kipling, entitled "Stalky & 

 Co." is also begun. Stories from the ex- 

 periences of a famous elephant hunter, 

 from those of a telegraph operator and of 

 a train- despatcher give the necessary 

 spice of adventure to the number, while 

 the holiday spirit is furnished by two 

 Christmas stories. 



BEVIEW OF REVIEWS. 



Mr. W. T. Stead, who has spent the 

 greater part of the autumn in a tour of the 

 European capitals, making inquiry into 

 political and international conditions and 

 especially with regard to the Czar's peace 

 proposition, gives some of the results of 

 his investigations in the December num- 

 ber, under the title "World Politics 

 Through a Russian Atmosphere." Mr. 

 Stead has a ready pen, and were he living 

 in Germany would doabtless have to face 

 the charge of "lese Majeste" for his words 

 regarding the famous pilgrimage of Em- 

 peror William to the Holy Land, which 

 he characterizes as "one of the most bizarre 

 and picturesque incidents of the season." 

 Says Mr Stead "Belter men than he have 

 made the pilgrimage before, although 

 none ever signalized their Christian zeal 

 by publicly fraternizing with the head of 

 Mohammedanism, whose hands still drip 

 with Christian gore." The reproductions 

 of the paintings of J. J. Tissot in connec- 

 tion with the article on the great painter, 

 are very fine. They are from scriptural 

 subjects, most of them being scenes from 

 the life of Christ. "Current History in 

 Caricature," contains as usual the best of 

 the caricatures that have appeared during 

 the month, while the other departments 

 are possibly more interesting than com- 

 mon, particularly the review of the late 

 books, this being the season when so many 

 new publications appear, and old friends, 



in covers befitting the holiday time, greet 

 us again. 



THE COMPANION'S NEW CALENDAR. 

 The calendars given by The Companion 

 in former years to all subscribers have 

 been remarkable for their delicacy of de- 

 sign and richness of coloring. But the 

 Calendar for 1899 far surpasses any of 

 those. The publishers have endeavored 

 to make it the finest calendar of the cen- 

 tury, and readers of Jhe Companion will 

 not be disappointed in it. Those who 

 subscribe now will receive not only the 

 gift of the Calendar, but also all the 

 issues of November and December, from 

 the time of the subscription free. The 

 new volume will be the best The Com- 

 panion has ever published. Among the 

 contributions already engaged are "The 

 Little Demons of war," by Hon. John D. 

 Long; ' : Opportunities for Young Ex- 

 plorers," Sir Clements Markham; "The 

 Boy with a Voice," David Bispham; "The 

 Wonders of Somnambulism," Dr. Wm. A. 

 Hammond. "Police Spies in Russia." 

 Poultney Bigelow ; and "Where Living is 

 Cheapest,'' Hon. Carroll D. Wright. 

 Fine illustrated announcement and sample 

 copies will be sent to any one addressing 

 The Youth's Companion, 211 Columbus 

 Ave., Boston, Mass. 



The annual report of the Smithsonian 

 Institute, (Washington, D. C.) a neatly 

 bound volume of over 725 pages, has been 

 received. The account of an archseologic 

 expedition, sent out by the Bureau of 

 American Ethnology of the Instititute, to 

 Winslow, Arizona, is especially interest- 

 ing. The Pueblo ruins are in the vicinity 

 of Winslow and the investigations were 

 for the purpose of discovering something 

 regarding the animals of the ancients. 

 Many valuable pre-historic articles were 

 found, fine plates being given in connec- 

 tion with the article. 



The "Utilization of Niagara" and "Arc- 

 tic explorations" are among the many 

 subjects discussed. 



