Then follow selections relating to Religious Life. In this department alone are nearly one hundred gems, each with its own peculiar beauty and attraction, by Pope, Cowper, Mrs. Sigourney, the Cary sisters, Newman, Ella Wheeler, and scores of others. The songs which have been sung clear round the globe, which have cheered the desponding, and brought peace to the troubled, are here set in attractive array. Under the title of Childhood and Youth is an admirable collection of pieces interesting to young persons. Children and young people will read something, and only the best reading matter should be placed in their hands. In Dramatic Selections are the masterpieces of the world's great dramatists. The sublime creations of Shakespeare, Coleridge, Knowles, Addison, Joanna Bailie, and others, and the sparkling effusions of Sheridan, Jerrold, and their compeers, are here presented for the instruction and delight of every reader. Poetical Curiosities and Humorous Readings make up an extensive collection of quaint, curious and witty productions which are greatly relished by all readers. Irish wit, Scotch wit, German wit, Yankee wit, and every other kind of wit are given a place, and the great humorists, who have made the world healthier and better by making it laugh, here indulge in their favorite pastime. By no possible arrangement could a greater variety of thoughts and topics be presented, while the Gems, both those that are new and those that are old favorites, are the finest, and most captivating in the literature of all ages. In addition to the myriad of attractive features already named, the work is a Treasury of the Choicest Music. A great variety of songs and popular pieces by authors whose fame fills the earth, affords a source of entertainment for the home. These have been selected with great care, and charm all lovers of music. The aim has been to insert only the finest melodies, the sweetest songs that musical genius has produced. This valuable work is elegantly embellished with a Galaxy of the most Beautiful Steel Plate Engravings, by artists of world-wide renown. The most entrancing scenes are reproduced in these charming pages, forming a magnificent picture gallery. CROWN JEWELS is a work of Art, and each of its many superb illustrations is a beauty and a delight. The book contains a Biographical Dictionary, giving in concise form those facts concerning the most renowned authors which the reading public desire to know. This is a very valuble feature of the book. 3 Publisher's Announcement. HIS magnificent work, which comprises many books in one volume, is a vast treasury of the Choicest Gems of English Literature, in prose and poetry. It contains those resplendent jewels of thought, feeling and sentiment which fascinate, instruct and entertain the reader. The following are only a few of the many reasons why CROWN JEwels is more complete than any other work: First. The elegant appearance of the work recommends it. It is indeed. a beautiful book. Second. The selections possess the very highest merit, and are the best in every department of literature. They are admirably suited to every home and to every class of readers. Third. No work so comprehensive and with such great variety of selections was ever before published. It contains more than 1000 gems from 500 of the world's most famous authors. Fourth. The great masterpieces and favorite productions, which all persons desire to possess, are gathered into this superb volume. Fifth. It contains the latest and most fascinating pieces of the popular writers of the day. Sixth. The arrangement is admirable. There are eighteen departments, thus affording a whole library of the choicest literature in one volume. Seventh. There is something charming, instructive and entertaining for old and young alike. Eighth. The book is a treasury of the most captivating music, containing a large collection of the finest melodies and sweetest songs. Ninth. The work is furnished with a Biographical Dictionary of the authors. Tenth. It is embellished with a galaxy of magnificent Steel-Plate Engravings, which are alone worth the whole cost of the book. It is a superb work of art. Eleventh. The Prospectus is very attractive, and shows at a glance the great superiority of this book over other similar works that are illustrated with cheap wood-cuts. Twelfth. The price for such a rare volume is very low, and brings it within the reach of all. Blest into mother, in the innocent look, Or even the piping cry of lips that brook birth and power; the poor man's attachment to the tenement he holds, which strangers have held before, and may to-morrow occupy again, has a worthier root, struck deep into a purer soil. His household gods are of flesh and blood, with no alloy of silver, What may the fruit be yet? I know not-Cain was gold, or precious stones; he has no property but in Eve's. But here youth offers to old age the food, To whom she renders back the debt of blood Great Nature's Nile, whose deep stream rises higher Drink, drink and live, old man! Heaven's realm holds no such tide. The starry fable of the milky-way And sacred Nature triumphs more in this Where sparkle distant worlds :-O, holiest nurse! LORD BYRON. JOHN ANDERSON, MY JO. OHN ANDERSON, my jo, John, When we were first acquent, Your locks were like the raven, Your bonnie brow was brent; But now your brow is beld, John, Your locks are like the snaw; But blessings on your frosty pow, John Anderson, my jo. John Anderson, my jo, John, We clamb the hill thegither; And monie a canty day, John, We've had wi' ane anither. Now we maun totter down, John, But hand in hand we'll go: And sleep thegither at the foot, John Anderson, my jo. ROBERT BURNS. AFFECTIONS OF HOME. F ever household affections and loves are graceful things, they are graceful in the poor. The ties that bind the wealthy and the proud to home, may be forged on earth, but those which link the poor man to his humble hearth, are of the true metal, and bear the stamp of heaven. The man of high descent may love the halls and lands of his inheritance as a part of himself, as trophies of his the affections of his own heart; and when they endear bare floors and walls, despite of toil and scanty meals, that man has his love of home from God, and his rude hut becomes a solemn place. CHARLES DICKENS. SHALL leave the old house in the autumn, That meet me each morn at the door! I shall miss the "good nights" and the kisses, I shall miss them at morn and at even, And death says, "The school is dismissed!" May the little ones gather around me, To bid me good night and be kissed! CHARLES M. DICKINSON. |