CRADLE HYMN.

ISAAC WATTS.

HUSH, my dear, lie still and slumber;
Holy angels guard thy bed;
Heavenly blessings without number
Gently falling on thy head.

Sleep, my babe, thy food and raiment,
House and home, thy friends provide;
All without thy care, or payment,
All thy wants are well supplied.

Soft and easy is thy cradle;

Coarse and hard thy Saviour lay,
When his birthplace was a stable,
And his softest bed was hay.

May'st thou live to know and fear him,
Trust and love him all thy days;
Then go dwell forever near him,
See his face and sing his praise.

SHADOW-TOWN FERRY.

ANONYMOUS.

SWAY to and fro in the twilight gray; This is the ferry of Shadow-town.

It always sails at the end of day,

Just as the darkness is coming down.

Rest, little head, on my shoulder, so-
A sleepy kiss is the only fare;
Drifting away from the world we go,
Baby and I, in the rocking-chair.

See, where the fire-logs glow and spark
Glitter the lights of the shadow-land!
The winter rains on the window-hark! —
Are ripples lapping up its strand.

Rock slow, more slow, in the dusky light,
Silently lower the anchor down;

Dear little passenger, say "Good-night!"

We have reached the harbor of Shadow-town.

GOOD-NIGHT.

VICTOR HUGO. TRANSLATED AND ARRANGED BY THE EDITORS.

GOOD-NIGHT! Good-night!

Far flies the light;

But still God's love

Shall flame above,

Making all bright.
Good-night! Good-night!

CLASSICS FOR CHILDREN.

In forming the mind and taste of the young, is it not better to use authors who have already lived long enough to afford some guaranty that they may survive the next twenty years?

"Children derive impulses of a wonderful and important kind from hearing things that they cannot entirely comprehend." — SIR WALTER SCOTT.

IT

T is now some five or six years since we began publishing the Classics for Children, and the enterprise, which at first seemed a novel one, may fairly be said to have passed the stage of experiment. It has been the aim to present the best and most suitable literature in our language in as complete a form as possible; and in most cases but few omissions have been found necessary. Whether judged from the literary, the ethical, or the educational standpoint, each of the books has attained the rank of a masterpiece.

The series places within reach of all schools an abundant supply of supplementary reading-matter. This is its most obvious merit. It is reading-matter, too, which, by the force of its own interest and excellence, will do much, when fairly set in competition, to displace the trashy and even harmful literature so widely current.

It is believed also that constant dwelling upon such models of simple, pure, idiomatic English is the easiest and on all accounts the best way for children to acquire a mastery of their mother-tongue.

A large portion of the course has been devoted to history and biography, as it has seemed specially desirable to supplement the brief, unsatisfactory outlines of history with full and life-like readings.

The annotation has been done with modesty and reserve, the editors having aimed to let the readers come into direct acquaintance with the author.

The books are all printed on good paper, and are durably and attractively bound in 12mo. A distinctive feature is the large, clear type. Illustrations have been freely used when thought desirable. The prices are as low as possible. It has been felt that nothing would be gained by making the books a little cheaper at the expense of crowding the page with fine type and issuing them in a style that would neither attract nor last.

The best proof of the need of such a course is the universal approbation with which it has been received.

Æsop's Fables.

Illus

Edited by J. H. STICKNEY, with a Life of Esop, and a Supplement con taining fables from La Fontaine and Krilof. xvii +204 pages. trated. Boards: Mailing Price, 40 cents; for introduction, 35 cents. Cloth: 60 and 50 cents.

Hans Andersen's Fairy Tales.

Edited, for school and home use, by J. H. STICKNEY.

FIRST SERIES: Supplementary to the Third Reader, for children from eight to twelve years of age. viii+280 pages. Illustrated. Mailing Prices: Cloth, 55 cents; Boards, 45 cents. For introduction: Cloth, 50 cents; Boards, 40 cents.

SECOND SERIES: Supplementary to the Fourth Reader, for children from ten to fourteen years of age. 352 pages. Illustrated. Mailing Prices: Cloth, 55 cents; Boards, 45 cents. For introduction: Cloth, 50 cents; Boards, 40 cents.

Kingsley's Water-Babies.

Edited by J. H. STICKNEY. 200 pages. Illustrated. Boards: Mailing Price, 40 cents; for introduction, 35 cents. Cloth: 60 and 50 cents.

The King of the Golden River; or, The Black

Brothers.

By JOHN RUSKIN. A legend of Stiria. 54 pages. Illustrated. Boards: Mailing Price, 24 cents; for introduction, 20 cents, Cloth: 30 and 25 cents.

The Swiss Family Robinson.

Edited by J. H. STICKNEY. Viii +364 pages. Illustrated. Boards: Mailing Price, 50 cents; for introduction, 40 cents. Cloth, 60 and 50 cents.

Robinson Crusoe.

The famous English Classic. Schools, by W. H. LAMBERT. cents; for introduction, 35 cents.

Edited for Supplementary Reading in
263 pages.
Boards Mailing Price, 40
Cloth: 60 and 50 cents.

Kingsley's Greek Heroes.

Edited by JOHN TETLOW, Head Master of the Girls' High and Latin Schools, Boston. 185 pages. Illustrated. Boards: Mailing Price, 40 cents; for introduction, 35 cents. Cloth: 55 and 50 cents.

Lamb's Tales from Shakespeare.

Measure for Measure has been omitted. 320 pages. Boards: Mailing Price, 50 cents; for introduction, 40 cents. Cloth: 60 and 50 cents.

Scott's Tales of a Grandfather.

Being the history of Scotland from the earliest period to the close of the reign of James the Fifth. Abridged by EDWIN GINN. vi+286 pages. Boards Mailing Price, 50 cents; for introduction, 40 cents. Cloth: 60 and 50 cents.

The Peasant and the Prince.

Illustrated. Boards:

By HARRIET MARTINEAU. viii+212 pages.
Mailing Price, 40 cents; for introduction, 35 cents. Cloth: Mailing
Price, 55 cents; for introduction, 50 cents.

Scott's Lady of the Lake.

Edited by EDWIN GINN. 268 pages. Boards: Mailing Price, 40 cents; for introduction, 35 cents. Cloth: 60 and 50 cents. Canto I., 5 cents.

Scott's Lay of the Last Minstrel.

With map. Edited by MARGARET ANDREWS ALLEN. 150 pages. Boards: Mailing Price, 35 cents; for introduction, 30 cents. Cloth: 45 and 40

cents.

Adventures of Ulysses.

By CHARLES LAMB. vii + 109 pages. Boards: Mailing Price, 30 cents; for introduction, 25 cents. Cloth: Mailing Price, 40 cents; for introduction, 35 cents.

Stories of the Old World.

Prepared expressly for this Series by the Rev. ALFRED J. CHURCH, M.A., author of Stories from Homer, Livy, Virgil, etc. 354 pages. Boards: Mailing Price, 50 cents; for introduction, 40 cents. Cloth: 60 and 50 cents.

Plutarch's Lives.

From Clough's Translation. Edited by EDWIN GINN, with Historical Introductions by W. F. ALLEN. Xvi + 333 pages. Illustrated. Boards: Mailing Price, 50 cents; for introduction, 40 cents. Cloth: Mailing Price, 60 cents; for introduction, 50 cents.

Scott's Talisman.

Edited by DWIGHT HOLBROOK, Principal of Morgan School, Clinton, Conn., with an Introduction by Miss CHARLOTTE M. YONGE. Xii +454 pages. Boards: Mailing Price, 60 cents; for introduction, 50 cents. Cloth: 70 and 60 cents.