Those of us who have been brought op on a youthful diet of Hans Andersen and Grimm are apt to scan with dubious and critical glance all more modern fairy tales, expecting to find therein little else than copies, more or less shadowy, from one or other of these beloved originals; but Mr Oscar Wilde, in the pretty little volume before us, provides quite fresh and very dainty fare, which it is, indeed, difficult to praise too highly. The stories seem to os all that such stories ought to be---rich in fancy, felicitous in expression, abounding both in humour and in pathos, and far more poetic than many a so-called 'poem'. They are not children's stories, for although clever children will, no doubt, enjoy then, it would be impossible for them to seize the point of the many witty and satirical touches so neatly introduced throughout, or to appreciate the finish and refinement of Mr Oscar Wilde's style. Of the five tales composing the volume, 'The Happy Prince' is, perhaps, the best as a whole; but in 'The Nightingale and the Rose' the pathos strikes deepest, while the 'Devoted Friend' is a very clever satire. We feel much tempted to copious quotation, but are checked by the difficulty of choosing where all is so uniformly good, and, therefore, are lain to refer our readers to the little book itself, confident that they will endorse our praise, and echo our hope that Mr Wilde may, ere long, give us something more in the, same happy and healthy vein.