* * * * * _History of Hannibal the Carthagenian. By Jacob Abbott. With Engravings. New York: Harper & Brothers. 1 vol. 16mo._ This is one of a series of historical books for the people, prepared by Mr. Abbott with his usual felicity of condensation and simplification. The series so far includes the Life of Mary, Queen of Scots, Alexander the Great, Charles I. and the present volume, and others are to follow. The author manages his matter with much art, and while few can read his volumes without an addition to their information, they must be invaluable to a large class of minds almost altogether deficient in historical knowledge. * * * * * _A Catechism of the Steam Engine, Illustrative of the Scientific Principles on which Its Operation Depends, etc. By John Bourne, C. E. New York: D. Appleton & Co. 1 vol. 16mo._ Here, in the space of one small volume, is condensed a large amount of available information on the steam engine, its principles, the practical details of its structure, and its application to mines and mills, as well as steam navigation and railways. The author evinces an intimate practical acquaintance with his subject, and his work, while it is invaluable to the engineer, possesses great interest to every reader desirous of fathoming the mystery of the structure and operation of the steam engine. * * * * * VIRTUE’S EVERGREEN. POETRY BY THEODORE A. GOULD. MUSIC COMPOSED BY THEODORE VON LA HACHE. [Illustration] The ilied brow, the rosy cheek, Where beaming smiles of beauty play, Are transient things, they but beguile, As April’s bland and fickle smile, They charm us with their light awhile, Then [Illustration] fade, then fade at last away, They charm us with their light awhile, Then fade, then fade at last away. ’Tis Virtue’s Virtue’s evergreen. SECOND VERSE. They fade at last away! the form So beautiful in youth’s gay prime, Must shrivel up—the hair turn grey, The eye abate its lustrous ray, The smooth and pearly teeth decay, Beneath the touch of Time. THIRD VERSE. Beneath the touch of Time! a price There is he cannot touch, I ween; It bloometh always fair and bright Through springs warm day or winter’s night, A plant his hand can never blight; ’Tis Virtue’s Evergreen, * * * * * Transcriber’s Notes: