Volume XVII. With 1276 Pages and about 1500 Illustrations. 4to, Cloth,

Ornamental, $3.50.

This unusually attractive volume contains three long serial stories for boys, by James Barnes, Kirk Munroe, and Molly Elliot Seawell, besides many shorter stories by other popular writers.

Modern Outdoor Life is very fully treated, some one hundred and fifty pages being devoted to subjects of that nature, and in addition there is an important series of articles illustrated by instantaneous photographs on the different athletic sports.

A few of the other features of this volume are the interesting papers by Mrs. Lew. Wallace on The Tower of London, and the twelve articles by Mrs. Emma J. Grey, on getting up entertainments for young people. Each article describes amusements suitable for one month in the year. Cyrus C. Adams contributes a series upon different interesting subjects connected with recent African explorations.

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Of the previous bound volume of HARPER'S ROUND TABLE, the _N. Y. Sun_ said: "There is nothing, we imagine, that the young reader would be likely to prize more."

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READY DECEMBER 10

A VIRGINIA CAVALIER

By MOLLY ELLIOT SEAWELL. Illustrated. Post 8vo, Cloth, Ornamental, $1.50.

Miss Seawell was born within a few miles of the birthplace of Washington, and both from her knowledge of Virginia life and from facilities which have been afforded to her alone she has been able to gather what little knowledge can be secured concerning the incidents of his boyhood. The story, however, should not be thought of as a history, for, while the incidents are founded upon fact, the book itself is historic fiction, with the Father of his Country as its hero. The book ends with the early fights with the Indians, in which Washington took part during his Western trips, and includes his appointment as Commander-in-Chief of the Virginia troops at the age of twenty-two years.

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HARPER & BROTHERS, Publishers, New York

A DILEMMA.

WHEN TACKLER TRIED TO BLOW THE BALL--PERHAPS 'TWAS BUT A WHIM-- HE DIDN'T DARE LET UP AT ALL, LEST IT SHOULD BLOW UP HIM.

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An amusing story comes from India. It concerns a distinguished officer who was constantly embracing some new hobby, much to the disgust of his brother officers, and to the annoyance of the soldiers on whom the hobbies frequently involved extra duty. His latest fad was amateur gardening. One day he was strolling past the officers' quarters, when he saw a couple of soldiers busily raking a lot of gravel-stones over a patch of earth.

"Ah, men, I'm glad to see you taking an interest in gardening. It's a very nice occupation."

One of the men, not knowing him by sight, replied: "Nice, is it? Umph! That's all you know. We wouldn't be hiding this earth with gravel if we didn't have an old fool of a General that's mad on gardening. Here we are scraping these stones about in case he should pass this way and want to grow cabbages on the bit of earth underneath."

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Here is an enjoyable little bit of history that has descended to us. It seems that some hundred and fifty years ago the natives of one of the Scilly Islands boasted a library which consisted of but one book. It was the pride and delight of the people, and went from hand to hand until its pages, from perpetual thumbing and handling, grew utterly worthless. This alarmed the proud natives, and a meeting of the dignitaries was held to decide upon the purchase of a new library, this time of more than one book. Long and loud they argued, and the matter was nearly approaching a disastrous crisis when a deputation of townspeople, desiring to have a voice in the matter, waited upon the dignitaries. Again the discussion waxed furious, and the ultimate result was the following resolution:

_Resolved._ On the next fine day, weather permitting communication with the mainland, an order be transmitted to Penzance for another copy of _History of Doctor Faustus_.

Then the meeting joyously broke up.

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THE WEATHER.

The snow comes down from the sky in flakes, The rain comes down in drops, The sunshine comes in beams, and makes The earth yield bountiful crops.

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A DAINTY SPRING FLOWER.

"The flowers that bloom in the spring," or any other season, for that matter, we find, by an English magazine, are not all suitable for boutonnières. The following is a description of the _Rafflesia arnoldi_, named by the discoverer, Dr. Arnold, found on the island of Sumatra, in 1818. The circumference, we are told, of the full expanded flower is nine feet, its nectarium calculated to hold nine pints; the pistils are as large as a cow's horns, and the entire weight of the flower is computed to be over fifteen pounds.

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REASSURING.

"OH, DON'T GO SO FAR OUT, BOYS; I'M AFRAID THE ICE IS NOT STRONG ENOUGH TO HOLD US!"

"WELL, THE WATER IS NOT DEEP, NELL. THIS IS JUST ABOUT WHERE CARRIE FELL THROUGH LAST WINTER, AND SHE ONLY WENT IN UP TO HER CHIN,--AND YOU ARE HALF A FOOT TALLER THAN SHE!"

End of Project Gutenberg's Harper's Round Table, December 8, 1896, by Various