KIDD'S OWN JOURNAL. 



29 



our boys and girls will applaud you to the 

 echo, — for nobly have you " performed " 

 what is printed in your play- bill. We like 

 the idea much, and feel sure the plan will 

 become generally popular. We will set it 

 going, everywhere.* 



All the world knows the story of " Beauty 

 and the Beast." It is here admirably dra- 

 matised ; and to give it additional charms, 

 the principal scenes and characters are repre- 

 sented in tableaux by Alfred Crowquill. 

 Entering cordially into the spirit of this 

 " little play," he has infused into it a fund 

 of rich humor ; and we hope that he and the 

 fair dramatic manager will go on right mer- 

 rily, until they shall have exhausted all our 

 much-loved fairy tales. They " play up " 

 to each other delightfully. 



The book, we should add, is elegantly 

 printed ; and, in every sense of the word, 

 " well got up." We have not done yet. It 

 is to be had for — one shilling ! 



Flowers from the Garden of Know- 

 ledge. Nathaniel Cooke. 



Of this series of juvenile books we have 

 already spoken in terms of the highest 

 praise. This (forming No. 2) is entitled 

 " The Days, Months, and Seasons of the 

 Year," which the author, Maria Jacob, 

 explains to "the Little People of England." 

 And well does she explain them. 



Like its predecessor, " Prince Arthur's 

 Alphabet," it is profusely illustrated ; and in 

 addition to its emblematical devices on the 

 " Seasons," it presents us with a series of 

 noble delineations of the signs of the 

 Zodiac. 



This book, too, is sold for one shilling. 

 Had it emanated from any other establish- 

 ment, it would have been at least two 

 shillings and sixpence. Oh, how very 

 thankful you children ought to be ! 



The Midland Florist, and Suburban 

 Horticulturist, January. Simpkin, 

 Marshall, and Co. 



We take shame to ourself for not having 

 earlier noticed this amiable and useful little 

 periodical, — a ccpy of which is frequently 

 sent to us, and from which we have from 

 time to time gleaned much profitable know- 

 ledge. 



The Editor,— John Frederic Wood, of 

 " the Coppice," near Nottingham, thoroughly 

 understands the duties connected with a 

 publication of this kind. No man better. 

 Accordingly, we find amusement, instruction, 



and popular science nicely blended ; so that 

 all who love flowers, gardens, and nature 

 generally, may here enjoy an agreeable 

 monthly treat. As the price is merely 

 nominal (three pence), the work, we are 

 happy to learn, has a wide circulation. It 

 deserves it. 



December. W. 



* We were about to say we would ourself " act" 

 the principal character, — but the idea of making 

 a "Beast" of oneself requires some consideration. 

 Let us first look out for a " Beauty" whom we can 

 love ; and then — nous verrons. — Ed. K. J. 



The Leisure Hour. 

 Jones. 



We are are glad to note the great improve- 

 ment in this Miscellany ; and to find many 

 articles in it that lead the inquiring mind in 

 a right direction. The Cheap Press, gene- 

 rally, has much to answer for ; inasmuch as it 

 poisons the thoughts of the rising generation ; 

 so that, when we find an exception, we are 

 delighted to record it. 



The fairest specimen we can select, will 

 be the notes of a Correspondent ; who thus 

 describes his visit to the Zoological Gardens, 

 where he saw 



THE GREAT-MANED ANT-EATER, 



an animal brought from the interior of Brazil, and 

 said to be the only one that was ever imported 

 alive into Europe. Scarcely, says he, had the 

 new comer to the Zoological Gardens been safely 

 housed, and regularly installed as a member of 

 the incorporated society of the animal kingdom 

 assembled there, than we felt ourselves bound to 

 pay homage to the illustrious stranger, and take 

 our stand before it with a salaam. The animal 

 held its court in an apartment adjoining that 

 wherein a juvenile chimpanzee, the captive scion 

 of a powerful sept or clan on the banks of the 

 Quorra, holds his daily levee. As we entered, 

 our olfactory nerves at once apprised us that the 

 great Brazilian was by no means perfumed with 

 attar of roses. If the truth is to be told, the odor 

 which saluted our nostrils was overpoweringly 

 offensive ; requiring a profusion of eau de Cologne 

 in order to render it a little less intolerable. There 

 was a crowd of spectators, and continual use was 

 made among them of handkerchiefs, scented or 

 unscented. For ourselves, we were ready to 

 exclaim, in the words put by a great genius into 

 the mouth of one of his characters, " An ounce of 

 civet, good apothecary ! " This odor was that of 

 the natural cutaneous exudation of the animal. 



On a bed of clean straw, in one corner of the 

 apartment, lay the destroyer of ants, taking its 

 mid-day_ siesta. Its appearance was indistinct, 

 but reminded us of a large grey or grizzled New- 

 foundland dog, asleep in his kennel. On a closer 

 scrutiny, the body seemed to be covered by a 

 panache of long flowing hair; but this panache 

 proceeded from the reverted tail, and was such as 

 to form a good defence against the rays of the sun 

 on the one hand, or the heavy shower on the 

 other. 



After waiting with commendable patience for 

 half-an hour, and observing no signs of restoration 

 to a state of activity, we betook ourselves to the 

 Aquatic Vivarium, which, to our great satis- 

 faction, we found crowded with visitors, among 

 whom exclamations of delight and astonishment 

 were in constant repetition. There we passed a 



