Those of us older readers who were brought up on the works of Mary Howitt, Miss Edgeworth, Mrs. Follen, Miss Martineau, and Jacob Abbot, have a strong feeling that nothing which has since appeared can surpass ourold favorites. They were treasured, read over and over again, their maxims and suggestions put into practice and made really a part of ourselves. The distractions of manifold magazines and floods of juvenile literature did not then exist; a few favorite books had the field to themselves, And even in modern times it is only those books which the children read over again and again that are of any real good tothem. A child's book that is worth reading but once is hardly worth reading at all. In spite of the large amount of trash which goes under the name of children's literature, there is a steady increase of good books for the young, books which as well eserve immortality as our old favorites. The style of Oscar Wilde's stories of 'The Happy Prince and Other Tales' (Roberts) is pleasing, reminding one of the German fairy tale; and almost any child who enjoys Grimm and Hans Andersen will be pleased with this book. Each story bears amoral, not stated, but interwoven in the thread of the story. The happy Prince teaches the joy of doing good to others. He is a leaden statue covered with golden scales, set on a high pedestal from which he sees the suffering in the city and strives to relieve it by giving away all his fine adornings. At length he stands blind and bare,---his sapphire eyes, the golden scales of his armor, and the ruby from his sword, all gone. His friend, a litlle swallow, the bearer of his gifts to the poor, falls dead at his feet as the winter cold comes on, and the leaden heart of the Happy Prince breaks. 'Bring me the two most precious things in the city, said God to one of his angels; and the angel brought him the leaden heart and the dead bird'. Of the other stories in the volume, 'The Nightingale and the Rose' is the least pleasing, being too full of sentiment unsuited to children. ' The Selfish Giant', 'The Devoted Friend', and 'The Remarkable Rocket' are excellent. Though many children appreciate books of this class, still the fullest appreciation of them comes from the elder ones who see what is implied rather than spoken. The illustrations, by Walter Crane and Jacomb Hood, are pleasing as ornaments for the book, but will hardly add to a child's appreciation of it.