THE YOUNG SCIENTIST. 
33 
notices of holiday gift books, with prices, titles, 
and remarks: 
One of the best books on the list suitable for a 
■boy. is a copy of the new edition of Addison's 
masterpiece. Sir Roger Be Goverley, just pub- 
lished by D. Appleton & Co., Bond street. New 
York. Price, $2.25. The book is handsomely 
bound and contains 125 illustrations, and has a 
fine steel etching as a frontispiece. 
Another good book, suitable for either boys or 
girls is the Magna Gharta Stories, a collection of 
tales of heroism, edited by Arthur Oilman, A. M. 
The tales recounted in this volume are presented 
to their readers with the intention of showing to 
a certain extent the persistence with which the 
idea of freedom has been pursued through the 
<3enturies, from the mythical age of Horatius to 
the time of King John, of England. It is not an 
•endeavor to give a history of freedom, but a pre- 
sentation of the notable instances in the world's 
history in which men have made their lives 
memorable in resisting oppression and breaking 
the bonds of the oppressor. The fact that a 
number of authors have labored together under 
the general supervision of the editor, gives the 
book the advantage of presenting its subject in a 
variety of lights. While adhering closely to the 
historical truth, the sketches are all written in a 
lively, entertaining style. Whether it be merely 
a coincidence or not, the fact is, that all the papers 
contributed are, with the exception of the editor's, 
written by women. Harriet D. Slidell McKenzie, 
Amanda B. Harris, Mary Blake, Lizzie W. Champ- 
ney, Susan Coolidge. Mrs. M. E. Sherwood, Anne 
Laurens Dawes, Mrs. Rose Hawthorne Lathrop, 
and Mrs. M. H. Catherwood, have contributed the 
following articles : " The Great Paper," " Horatius 
at the Bridge," " A Successful Secession," " Two 
Immortal Names." " At the Toe of the Big Boot," 
"The Triumph of an Idea," "The Hammer of 
the Gentiles," "The Barbarian's Overthrow," 
" The Hammer of the Saracens." " Miltiades at 
Marathon." " In the German Woods, Long Ago," 
and " Out of the Dark," are by the editor. A list 
of authorities is added at the end of each paper, 
9,0 that the youthful reader can pursue the sub- 
ject further, if so inclined. This is published by 
Lathrop & Co., Boston. 
A most excellent book for boys between ten and 
sixteen years of age, isZ.K Bennett's A Young 
Vagabond, published by J. S. Ogilvie & Co., 31 Rose 
St., New York. This is just the kind of book boys 
like to read, and though full of stirring incidents 
and interesting anecdotes, it does not contain 
anything that will tend to corrupt their taste or 
morals, and the illustrations, of which there are a 
number, are not calculated to vitiate their ideals 
of life. The work is well bound in cloth and 
contains 265 pages. Price, $1.00. 
A book adapted for the smaller children, boys 
or girls, is the Wew Games for Parlor and Lawn, 
by George B. Bartlett, a collection of social 
games, pleasantly and clearly explained by the 
author. The charades are so simply arranged 
that children can easily prepare them for home 
amusement, and some new changes in old games 
are suggested. This work is published by the 
Harper Brothers, New York. Price $l.oo. 
Another good work for either boys or girls is 
Di(iken's A GliiMs History of England. This is a 
standard work, and is likely to remain so for all 
time, and we do not know of any work of the 
kind we can recommend to our young reader in 
preference. The American News Co. have issued 
a fine illustrated edition of this work, covering 
nearly 500 pages ; it is well bound in cloth. Price, 
$1.25 
The fourth part of Adventures of Ttvo Youths in 
a Journey to Egypt and the Holy Land, by Thomas 
W. Knox, published by Harper Bros., is a season- 
able book just adapted for enterprising boys. The 
author's method of putting the narrative in the 
mouths of boys is a happy one, and his books 
are descriptive of countries that had before been 
neglected by juvenile writers. He has also the 
art of presenting information so attractively that 
he has not resisted the temptation to make his 
volumes very large. The book is illustrated, and 
contain 438 pages. Price, $3.00. 
Two books published by the Scribners' may 
also be mentioned as making very appropriate 
gift-books. The one by James Baldwin, The 
Story of Siegfried, is, especially adapted for boys, 
indeed it is the first successful effort to open up 
to young readers that wonderful world of the 
Nibeluugen Legend, from which they have hither- 
to been shut out by a lack of the learning that 
would admit them. They have had either to take 
feeble versions of the great story, or wait until 
the time when they could read it understand- 
ingly in its fullest form— a time too late to give 
them the keenest enjoyment of the adventures 
of Si(?gfried, the Dragon -Slayer, and the heroes 
and traitors, giants and dwarfs and monsters, 
who fought with or against him in that marvel- 
lous and almost endless struggle. The work is 
handsomely illustrated. Price, $2.00. 
The other work. The Ting-a-Ling Tales, by 
Frank R. Stockton, will be sure to please the 
girls both with its illustrations and funny tales. 
It is full of enchanting sorcery and fairy-pranks, 
fantastic, grim, preposterous, fanciful, astonish- 
ing, quaint, by turns, and always brimful of 
humor— a peculiarly sly and irresistible humor, 
of which Mr. Stockton alone has the secret. Price, 
$1.00. 
My Household Pets, by Theophile Gautier, is a 
desirab'.e gift-book, and will no doubt gladden 
the hearts of many little ones these coming holi- 
days. Gautier's tender descriptions of his cats— 
the white and the black " dynasties "—dogs, mice, 
chameleons, majvpies and horses, which owe 
their charm to his happy style, are sympathetic- 
ally translated in this neat volume. The work is 
published by Roberts Bros., Boston. Price, $1.25. 
