_Princes, Authors and Statesmen_,[H] edited by James Parton, is a collection of very entertaining sketches of noted persons, written, for the most part, by relatives, personal friends or others who have known them under favorable circumstances. The habits and demeanors of eminent persons are always matters of curiosity and interest to the general public, and this book contains abundant material which will gratify just this harmless instinct, and yet there is no violation of that privacy which always ought to be observed. The volume contains "Dickens with his Children," by Miss Mamie Dickens; "Reminiscences of Arthur Penrhyn Stanley," by Canon Farrar; "Victor Hugo at Home," by his secretary, M. Lesclide; and valuable chapters on Emerson, Longfellow, Gladstone, Disraeli, Thackeray, Macaulay and many other authors, besides emperors, kings and princes. The illustrations are numerous, and include many scenes of places and excellent portraits. * * * * * In no department of publishing has there been a greater advance than in the production of juvenile literature. Not many years ago there were very few really appropriate books for children published, and hardly anything in the way of periodical literature of a high standard for young folks. To supply a long felt need, Harper & Brothers began a few years ago to publish a weekly magazine for children, employing in its production not only the best writers but the best artists to be found. The year's numbers up to November last, make a bound volume[I] of more than eight hundred pages of choicest juvenile reading, all crowded with beautiful illustrations, about 700 in number, and many of them gems of art. It would hardly seem possible to praise such a book too much. It is a storehouse of pleasure which may well delight any intelligent boy or girl. * * * * * The art of sculpture is commanding the interest of a steadily growing class outside the practical workers with the chisel, or the professional critics. Clara Erskine Clement's new book[J] is on the plan of her "Outline History of Painting." For beginners in the sculptor's art, it is an admirable text-book, which must be welcomed by all in that class, while to the amateur, or the mere admirer of the art, it is a very pleasing and instructive book. It presents the salient facts about sculptors and their works from the earliest times, and the reader is given a large amount of help in the illustrations, which represent specimens of the art in every age and of every school. * * * * *