The Sun. — 1862-11-19 (London, England)

ROUTLEDGE'S PUBLICATIONS.  The widely-spread reputation of this firm as caterers for the intellectual amusement of the young will be well sustained by the books before us, which are characterised not only by the tasteful manner in which they are got up, but by their variety of subject and agreeable handling. The first in the list is Ivery Boy's Annual, the frontispiece of which consists of a photograph of the Prince of Wales elegantly framed in gold and co:our, whilst the illuminated title page is of extremely pretty design. The work is adorned, moreover, with nearly one hundred illustrations, and its contents comprise tales of adventure by sea and land; articles on " Our Domestic Pets," by the hey. J. G. Wood, M.A.; " Rambles through the international Exhibition," by Edmund Routledge ; whilst various sports and pastimes, such as football, hockey, cricket, chess, &c., are described, and the more difficult points in them made clear by means of woodcuts.—Next comes The Wild Man of the West, by R. M. Ballantyne. This, as may be guessed by the title, is an exciting tale of Indian adventure, containing a number of spirited illustrations, and is a capital book for boys.—ln Clarissa ; or, the :Mervyn Inheritance, by Anne Bowman, which is also plentifully illustrated, we find a tale written for the special delectation of young ladies. It narrates in an easy, pleasant style the trials of a young girl named-Clarissa, who, after being brought up in luxury by an indulgent godmother, is left destitute by her sudden death, and sent to the workhouse by the supposed heir to the Mervyn property. Taken thence by an attached servant she becomes governess, meets with various adventures, and at last discovers her father and mother, succeeds to the " Mervyn Inheritance," and becomes the happy wife of Joseph Goodwin, who had loved her long and well. Of a different stamp is the volume called Dick Rodney, or the Adventures of an Eton Boy, by James Grant; inasmuch as it treats of hairbreadth 'sclpes on the stormy ocean, as well as from the hands of evildisposed Spanish desperadoes. Leaving Eton, and undecided as to a profession, Dick Rodney spends some time at his father's rectory, near the sea. Making there the acquaintance of a Dutch captain, whose schooner was being repaired, he goes on board of her evening and remains there by himself, whilst the captain leaves the vessel for a short time to secure her by some additional warps in consequence of an unusually high tide. The vessel breaks loose, however, Rodney is carried off to sea, and is picked up by a brig bound for the West Indies. But a " Cubano," whom they unluckily save in a drifted boat, murders the captain and several of the crew, and although he is eventually thrown overboard he escapes to au uninhabited island, whither the crew of the brig, which has been destroyed by lightning, follow. They are rescued, however, by a Spanish merchantman, on board which the " Cubano" attempts to excite a mutiny. It is suppressed ; and Dick Rodney, after seeing the miscreant garotted at Vera Cruz, end discovering, with a shipmate, a famous diamond, which, shining by night and becoming invisible when ap preached, had long baffled the search of the natives, he returns to England and prepares to enter the university,—The Story of Cervantes, by Amelia B. Edwards, is the strange eventful history, regarded, of course, from a somewhat imaginative point of view, of that great Spaniard, who was " a scholar, a poet, a soldier, a slave among the Moors, sand and the author of " Don Quixote." And ID The Story of a Penny, by Mrs. Perring, we find a wellwritten litrle tale, adapted to children of a smaller growth, holding up good examples, and ending, as such tales should do, pleasantly and cheerfully.