The problem of building a world and then tearing it to pieces is a very complicated one. There is a constant battle going on between the powers that build up and those that tear down; and this is as true of character-building as it is of world-building. The world has never been exactly alike any two successive days from the time its foundations were laid to the present moment. It seems to be a fundamental law of all life and growth, as well as of all decay, that there shall be a constant change. There is no such thing as rest in nature. The smallest molecules and atoms of matter are in constant agitation. In the animal and vegetable world there is a period of life and growth, and a period of decay and death; and this seems to be the destiny of planets themselves as well as the things that live and grow upon them. Still, science teaches us that with all this turmoil and change nothing either of matter or energy is lost, but that it is simply undergoing one eternal round of change. Does this law apply to mind and soul? Do we die? Or do we simply change? * * * * * Nature's Miracles: FAMILIAR TALKS ON SCIENCE. By PROF. ELISHA GRAY. VOL. I.--World Building and Life: Earth, Air and Water. VOL. II.--Energy and Vibration: Force, Heat, Light, Sound, Explosives. VOL. III.--Electricity and Magnetism. Elisha Gray is a name known and honored by scientific men the world over. Farmer's boy, blacksmith apprentice, ship-joiner, carpenter, self-supporting through a college course; his genius interested him in electricity, and in that realm his Inventions have made him famous. These, with his organization and presidency of the Congress of Electricians at the Columbian Fair of 1893, and his many decorations and degrees, conferred at home and abroad, all stand sponsors for his fame. These little volumes convey scientific truth without technical terms, and are enriched with reminiscence, anecdote, and reflections that allure and hold the interest. "The place held by Elisha Gray in the scientific world has been won not by catering to the applause of the public, but by a life devoted to original investigation in untrodden fields."--_Chicago Times-Herald._ Handy Volumes, 4-1/2 × 6-1/4; Cloth; 60 cents per Volume. FORDS, HOWARD, & HULBERT, 47 East 10th St., New York. * * * * * _BITS OF ORE FROM RICH MINES._ THE "NUGGETS" SERIES. "Don't Worry" Nuggets: From Epictetus, Emerson, George Eliot, Robert Browning. Gathered by Jeanne G. Pennington. _Portrait of Emerson._ "Might be marked _Multum in Parvo_.... Hardly a paragraph that does not bring a new sense of strength and comfort."--_Chicago Inter-Ocean._ Patriotic Nuggets: From Franklin, Washington, Jefferson, Webster, Lincoln, Beecher. Gathered by John R. Howard. _Portrait of Washington._