The Sun.
London, England, 1867-01-14 00:00:00

More Christmas Books and New Year's

Gift-boo'z

Another cluster of brightly-bound Christmas
books and children's books again claims our atten-
tion. Foremost among them is a welcome gift to
the young from that charming authoress, a favourite
alike with young and old, Mrs. S. C. Hall. The
Prince of the Fair Family, a Fairy Tale, by Mrs.
S. C. Hall (Chapman and Hall), records the
adventures anc. misadventures of Ivor, Prince
of the Fair Family. The son of King
Rosemary, a fairy roi faineant, who pa-ses
all his time in drowsy case, and of Queen
Foam, who is both Queen Consort and Queen Reg-
nant of the fairy domain. This imperious Queen
banishes her disobedient son from fairyland, and
Ivor for a time takes up his abode among the mor-
tal inhabitants of Tenby-on-Sea. 'Whether the
record tells us of the doings of Lys or mortals, it
abounds throughout with touches of pleasant
humour. The illustrations scattered with lavish
hand on almost every page are singularly graceful,
nor is this to be wondered at when among the
artists we find the names of E. Ward, R.A., and
Mrs. Ward, and Noel Paton, and Kenny Meadows,
and many others of equal celebrity ; and the ini-
tial letters to many of the chapters are from the
graceful pencil of T. K. Macquid. Another delight-
ful book for the juveniles, Animal Sagacity (S. W.
Partridge), is edited by the same authoress, Mrs. S.
C. Hall, and is deserving the attention of children
of every age. It is just the book to please a child.
The stories are all wonderful and they are all
" true"—that great desideratum in a nursery-tale.
The pictures of animal life aro very attractive.
There is the clever cat on the window-ledge, who
catches her dinner when tossed up to her by (to use
an elegant expression) the customary purveyor of
feline refreshment. There is the gallant dog who
rtished through the pane of glass to rescue a burn-
ing chi/d. There is the sagaeious rat who dipped
his tail in the oil-bottle, and innumerable others
of equal interest. The book abounds with anecdotes,
and will instruct while it amuses the reader.
Legends of Savage Life, by James Greenwood
(John Camden Hotten), with thirty-six coloured
illustrations by Ernest Griset, is a counterpart to
that miniature Munchausen, " The Hatchet
Throwers," which appeared with the last year's
Christmas books. It is hardly possible, without
exhibiting to our readers one of these singularly
ridiculous illustrations, to convey any idea of this
bewildering book. Whether it is the Elk Demon
turning a gigantic somersault, or the ostrich pursued
by the Indian, each making a stride that rivals the
footsteps of the seven-league boots, whether it is
the hairy spider endeavouring to take the /Niilkee-
kokum captive, or the marvellous- escape of the
canoe from Black Stone Island, each picture appears
to be more grotesque, not to say more utterly ab-
surd, than its predecessor 1 The lett,er-press is
of course as amazing as are the illustrations.
Peter Parley's Annual (Darton and Co.) contains
a pleasant variety of juvenile tales raid adventures,
with many illustrations, some of them coloured,
while for yet younger readers Little Folks and The
Three Little Friends (FrederickWarne and Co.) will
prove singularly delightf al. Each of these little books
is adorned with twenty pictures of OscarPletsch, and
charming pictures they are—pictures that may well
excite the admiration and aelight, not only of the
little ones, for whom they are designed, but of
their papas and mammas also. In one picture we
find the three little friends" keeping shop," in an-
other,
"Playing at Housekeeping in Umbrella 1
Cottage ;" in another, performing a concert, in
which the voice of Fido takes the part of bass. In
" Little Folks" the descriptions arc in verse, and the
pictures are equally amusingand equally well drawn.
Turning from picture-books to story-books, we
have for girls a, delightful story from the indefatig-
able authoress of "John Halifax," " How to Win
Love, or Rhoda's Lesson," by Miss Mulock (Dean
and Sons). This is a charming little tale, with an
excellent moral, and will delight many a little
Annie and Rhoda during the Christrals holidays,
while their brothers will welcome, with exceeding
'glee, another history of their favourite Ernie.
Ernie Elton at School, by Mrs. Eiloart (George
Routlege and Son) records the sad misdoings and
wonderful misadventures of Ernie Elton as a school-
boy. It is said that " lazy people take the most
pains," and the saying appears realised in the
amazing escapade of Master Ernie. His adventures
in this volume are too extravagant for belief.
Donald Cameron, or 7 rust lVinneth Troth (Darton
and Co.) is a little tale for older readers illui-
trating the proverb that " all is well that ends well."
Devout Moments, by Lord Kinlock (Elmonston and
Douglas) contains, in the most unpretending form,
some very beautiful devotional pieces of short
length well worthy of remembrance. The Cloud
and the Beam, a Christmas story (Lothian and Co.),
is an interesting little story on that happy truth
familiar to every one's experience how " every
cloud has a silver lining." Glum-glum, a fairy
romance (Richard Bentley), is a most humorous
burlesque upon the extravagances of the day,
adorned with numerous quotations (imitated) from favourite authors. Foremost among them is
Carl-parl (Carlyle, of course), who, " seizing a red-
hot poker, burnt the following words into the
world for ever" —we do not give the quota-
tions, which is very happily done. Doleful as he
is by name and nature, " Glum-glum" will pro-
voke many a laugh from those who may read his
very marvellous and eccentric history. Quotations
from Shakespere, selected and arranged by
Edmund Routledge (Routledge and Sons), is
another collection of some of Shakespere's house-
hold words. Sunday Acrostics (edited by Mrs.
Ogilvy) and Hidden Senses; Seek and Find, double
acrostics, edited by E. R. Babington (Ware and
Co.), are two little volumes of acrostics ton amuse
and bewilder the Christmas fireside group---the
one for Sunday being on religious themes and the
, other upon a variety of miscellaneous matters.
Among other cheap works of light reading we
have Penny Readings, in prose and verse,
and Sunday Readings, both edited by J. Car-
penter (Warne and Co.), and Original Penny
Readings, by George M. Fenn, and Original
Penny Christmas Readings (Routledge and Sons),
all of which contain an agreeable variety of plea-
sant reading. Among the cheap books now before
us, let us also enumerate the new volume of Rota-
leclge's Library, containing the romantic tale of
Gilderoy. The Companion Library (Warne) con-
taining
Aunt Prue's Railway Journey, and Dan's
Treasure, by Leigh Tempest (Darton and Co.)

My New Year's Gift to My Son. By Pamphilius.
Virtue Brothers and Co.
This little book is worthy of a separate notice. It
forms, indeed, an admirable giftbook for the young,
especially for a young man entering life. The in-
structicns which it so pleasantly conveys are evi-
dently founded upon experience, and truth--that
truth which is " stranger than fiction"—is appa-
rently the foundation of the very interesting his-
tory which it relates. "The head and heart legacy"
contains the history of a father's life, recorded for
the benefit of his son. By industry and steady
determination the author of this his',orf mad,; his
vay in the world from poverty and obscurity to
comparative wealth and eminence. The record of
the history is full of interest and encouragement.
The remainder of the volume is occupied with very
interesting anecdotes and reminiscences of George
Stephenson and James Watt and other self-made
men.

SNOWBALLING AT LIVERPOOL—On Saturday
morning a heavy fall of snow again visited Liverpool, the
wind at the time blowing at intervals from the south and
then from the north, the breezes from the latter quarter
very rapidly and sensibly lowering the temperature to
freezing point. About ten o'clock some of the "young
swells" on 'Change began the dangerous game of snow-
balling, in which a number of idlers soon joined. Profiting
by previous affairs of the same description, the police
promptly appeared at the scene of action, and finding their
remonstrances disregarded, they at once seized 14 of the
most energetic throwers and walked them off to Bridewell.
This unhesitating display of vigour at once put a stop to
the proceedings. In the course of the morning the young
gentlemen taken into custody were brought up at the
police-court before Mr. Rallies, the stipendiary magistrate,
who fined them each 20s, and costs, and said, if another
batch were brought before him On the 6.41110 charge, he
should make the flue 40s.