Tar in 1812 j " and the second of Mr. Rockhill's series on Tibet, this one being called " The BorderLand of China." Scribnt.r's Magazine for December is a holiday number (with a special bronze cover), containing seven illustrated articles, in which a remarkable list of artists is represented, including Robert Blum, Domenico Morelli, Harry Furniss, Howard Pyle, A. F. Jacassy, C. D. Gibson, W. L. Taylor, and W. L Metcalf. Among the contributions are Sir Edwin Arnold's first paper on Japan; Humphry Ward's description of the famous London picture salesroom, known as " Christie's; " W. H. Rideing's picturesque account of Amy Robsart's coun try; A. F. Jacassy's article on a great contemporary artist, — Domenico Morelli; and three short sto ries, which in feeling and motive are especially suited to the Christmas season. Their authors — Octave Thanet, Richard Harding Davis, and George A. Hibbard — are well known to the readers of Scribner's. in which for the most part their work appears. The poems of the issue include Helen Leah Reed's Sargent prize translation of Horace, Book III., Ode XXIX. (won by her over sixteen male competitors in Harvard University); and con tributions by Richard Henry Stoddard, Duncan Campbell Scott, and James Herbert Morse. A unique feature in magazine illustration is " A Pas toral without Words," twelve drawings by Howard Pyle, which tell their own story without the aid of text. They have been delicately engraved. To the December number of Lippincott's Maga zine Captain Charles King, U. S. A., contributes a complete novel, entitled " An Army Portia," which is characterized by that dash and breezy style which make all of Captain King's stories such entertaining reading. Mr. Joel Cook, of the " Philadelphia Led ger," has a timely paper, entitled " A Glance at the Tariff.*' The writer is evidently a firm believer in the McKinley bill. "The Bermuda Islands " form the subject of an article by H. C. Walsh; and his descriptions of scenery and climate make one long for a winter vacation in those delightful regions. Mr. W. W. Crane gives a few pertinent hits at authors in his paper on " Types in Fiction; " and Mr. Bird, in his " Book Talk." takes Mr. Howells to task for some ex-cathedra utterances in a preface to Signor Verga's " House by the Medlar free." Walt Whitman contributes a characteristic
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poem, entitled " To the Sunset Breeze." Other poems are contributed by Daniel L. Dawson, S. D. S., Jr., and Minna Irving.
Mr. Stockton's serial, " The House of Martha," goes on merrily in the Atlantic for December; and certainly the author is at his best in his de scription of the hero's new amanuensis, — a nun, separated from him by a wire grating, who, after days of irritating silence, is finally induced to speak to him by the appearance of an enraged wasp. Mr. Birge Harrison gives an account of the new rival of the French salon, the National Society of Fine Arts, in a paper entitled '. The New Departure in Parisian Art." Margaret Christine Whiting writes about " The Wife of Mr. Secretary Pepys," a delightful, gossiping article, with amusing quota tions from the immortal Diary. Mr. A. T. Mahan, in "The United States Looking Outward," shows the isolation of the country, not only in respect to position, but in regard to trade; and prophesies a change in public opinion, which will free us from our indifference to foreign nations, and open our eyes to the necessity of the defence of our own coasts, and a more active policy of trade with other countries. Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes con tributes a two-page poem, called " But One Talent;" and a well-known priest of the Episcopal Church reviews Hutton's "Cardinal Newman."
Harper's Magazine for December is a superb Christmas number. It opens with " As You Like It," the third of the series of articles on the come dies of Shakspeare. The comments on the play, written by Andrew Lang, are accompanied by eleven beautiful illustrations (including the frontis piece, printed in tints) from drawings by Edwin A. Abbey. Charles Dudley Warner, in an article entitled " The Winter of our Content," relates many interesting facts regarding the climatic influences of southern California. The article is accompanied by numerous illustrations from photographs and from drawings by the foremost artists. Theodore Child writes concerning "A Pre-Raphaelite Man sion," — the famous Leyland residence in London, — and describes the art treasures which it contains. His article is illustrated from paintings by the distinguished English artists Rossetti, Burne-Jones, and G. F. Watts. Pierre Loti contributes an arti cle about "Japanese Women," which is very fully
