Among all the joyous festivals of the year, I must not forget to tell you of the plum-viewing. The winter season is very short in Japan, and the houses are not built to keep out the cold very well, as you must have already perceived. When the spring days arrive and the blossoms begin to appear, the child people are very happy. If they are happy, of course they must show it. How can they do it so well as by having out-door picnics in the plum orchards? The children watch for the great day's arrival when the flowers will be in full bloom. They save up their yen to spend, and plan for a great good time. No school on that day! No practising on the koto! No embroidery for Lotus Blossom! Every one is up early on the bright, clear morning, and baskets are filled with the nice luncheon mamma has prepared. There is actually an air of excitement in the quiet Japanese household. The good father leads the family procession as they start out on their walk to the picnic grounds. It is about two miles from their home. Other families join them as they walk along. The throng of gaily dressed and happy people grows larger every moment. As they near the plum-orchard they find the road lined with stands, which have been put up for the day. It seems as though everything one could desire were on sale: cakes, tea, fruit, fans, sweets of all kinds, toys, etc. No wonder Lotus Blossom and Toyo wanted to save up their money. But the orchard! Was there ever a lovelier sight? Hundreds of trees loaded with fragrant pink blossoms! The people write poems about them, and pin them on the branches, to show how much they appreciate the beautiful sight which Nature has given them. Tea-drinking, story-telling, and the entertainments of travelling showmen take up the day. Sunset bids them leave the beautiful scene and go back to home and work. And now, children, we must bid these dear cousins good-bye for a little while. Although they worship in strange ways, and read their books upside down, besides doing many other things in a manner that seems strange to us, yet we can learn much from their simple, childlike natures. And, after all, isn't one reason why we live in this big world and are so different one from another, that we may learn from each other? THE END. NEW JUVENILES 'Tilda Jane BY MARSHALL SAUNDERS AUTHOR OF "BEAUTIFUL JOE," "FOR HIS COUNTRY," ETC. _Fully illustrated_ 1 vol., 12mo, $1.30 [Illustration] A charming and wholesome story for girls, handled with unusual charm and skill, which was issued serially in the _Youth's Companion_. 'Tilda Jane is a runaway orphan from a Maine asylum, who wanders over the Canadian border into the settlements of the habitants. The simple lives of the peasants, their fine characters and racial traits give a characteristic charm to the story, and the delightful girl heroine will endear herself to young and old readers. SEND FOR CIRCULARS, ETC. NEW JUVENILES THE Rosamond Tales BY CUYLER REYNOLDS