If the canal were open, vessels of our navy could be sent from one coast to the other in a very short time. Moreover, the canal would make trade with the East--China, Japan, etc.--much more direct than now, and, because the voyage would be easier and quicker, greatly increase that trade. It has been said that the nation that controls such a canal will hold the "key to the Pacific," and with the considerations of our shipping interests, and the desirability of having our war-ships easily transferable from one coast to the other, and our great expanse of country, it would seem that the United States should control it. SELECTED LIST OF NEW BOOKS =There often= come into our hands great bargains in DICTIONARIES, ENCYCLOPAEDIAS, &c., &c., and we are glad to give our readers the benefit of these bargains. WE NOW HAVE ON HAND =One set of THE AMERICAN ENCYCLOPAEDIC DICTIONARY, 4 volumes, full sheep, in all 4731 pages, illustrated, 1896 edition--published at $20.00, AS NEW,= =$10.00= =One set. The same. Cloth, AS NEW. Published at $16.00= =8.00= We should be glad to quote on any dictionary or encyclopaedia--in fact any book. Address =THE GREAT ROUND WORLD PUBLISHING CO. 5 WEST 18TH STREET, NEW YORK CITY= * * * * * =Dr. EDWARD JOYNES=, Professor of South Carolina College, Columbia S. C., says of =Thieme's Preusser's German and English Dictionary=: ". . . a book so beautiful, so valuable, and so monumental--whose new appearance forms justly a 'Jubilee' event, in memory of its present editor and publishers. In external beauty, in paper, type, presswork, and binding, and all that belongs to solid and elegant book-making, the volume is a fine specimen of German skill, good taste, and thoroughness. And as a contribution to our lexicography, and its completeness and convenience, it _takes rank with the foremost and best_. Such a book is at once a boon to scholars and a new bond of union between great and kindred nations. It will give me great pleasure to recommend its use to teachers and pupils wherever I have opportunity." =Price, elegantly bound in Half Russia, $5.00; sent prepaid upon receipt of amount by= =William Beverley Harison (Foreign Department), 3 and 5 West 18th Street, New York.= * * * * * =The . . . School Record= is a wide-awake Monthly Journal for teacher and pupil. 36 big pages. High-class, practical, and helpful. Every department up to date. The universal testimony from subscribers is "Best paper I ever saw"; "Am delighted with it," etc. 50 cents a year. We want agents in every part of the U. S., at teachers' institutes and associations. Big commission. Send for sample copy and premium list if you are a prospective subscriber or agent. * * * * *