PUBLICATION RECEIVED.

Otago Witness, Issue 3018, 17 January 1912, Page 82

PUBLICATION RECEIVED.

The Pall Mall Magazine Christmas Number, comprising 240 pages of stories and pictures, printed on good quality paper, is among the best of this'class of Christmas publications we have oorao across. The short complete stories are by well-known writers, and, while all redolent of Christmas, they are above the average in point of merit. Somo of them may be termed "queer," as, for instance, William Waldorf Astor's "From the Silent River," and Algernon Blackwood's "The Glimmer of the Snow." In "Pantomime Land" Mr Jamas M. Glover gives an account, of how pantomime is produced. "The Child Emigrants," by Mr C. Morloy, tells how the children arc leaving England by the shipload for Canada and elsewhere. "The Lost Art of the Ballroom" is a timely reminder of how deterioration has set in in the manners of the ballrom, and the methods of dancing. Quite a number of pages are devoted to the children, and in the storybook section, Christmas stories are again to be found. Being a double number, the publishing price is one shilling. Brilliantly varied in its contents, arid attractively printed and produced, the Christmas double number of the Windsor Magazine is remarkable, not only for its accustomed programme of new fiction by favourite novelists, lavishly illustrated by clever artists, but for new features which even increase the range of intorcsts covered by its predecessors. The fiction includes complete stories by E.F. Benson, Eden Phillpotts, S. Macnaughtan, Justus Mil..; t';rman, Robert Barr, Ilalliwell Sutcl.ffe, Barry Pain, 11. B. Marriott Watson, and other accomplished authors. The coloured plates of the number are no fewer than 15 in number, and include not only masterpieces in modern art by Millais, Holman Hunt, Seymour Lucas, Stanhope Forbes, Stacy Marks, T. C. Gotch, and other distinguished painters, but also portraits of leading actors in Shakosperean and other rolos. The articles of the number are varied and important. Miss Ellon Terry writes with special authority on "Stage Decoration," as well as with all the wit and wisdom which made a fascinating book of her autobiography, and the endless store of reminiscence and anecdote, still untouched in the former work, is well represented in this article. Accompanying it aro portraits of many distinguished Players, from Charles Kean, under whoso management Miss Terry began her stage career, down to the present time. One of the coloured platen represents Miss Terry as Olivia, and the late Sir Henry Irving as the Vicar of Wakefield, and there are a number of other photographs of the playerqueen in various roie.s, besides notable portraits of Sir Squire and Lady Bancroft, and Madame Sarah Bernhardt. Another article deals with the new Zoological Gardens of Rome: and the story of constant work in detecting wasfco in our water supply is fully illustrated. 'Hie centenary of the Philharmonic Society is commemorated by an interesting review of its hundred years of representative musical work. This article includes many interesting portraits of famous composers and musicians. The fine art feature of the number is a survey of the pictures in the Manchester City Art Gallery, with four coloured plates and 14 reproductions in black and white, representing the work of Lord Leighton, Millais. Burnc-Joncs, Rossctti, Holman Hunt, Ford Madox Brown, Randolph Caldecott, G. D. Leslie, Sir W. Q. Orchardson, Briton Riviere, and other eminent artists. The valuable series, "England's Story in Portrait and Picture," is continued with some 16 plates, depicting the events of Queen Elizabeth's reign, with the stirring story of the defeat of the Armada. These are but a few of the many features which make up a notable volume containing quite an extraordinary array of valuable letterpress and important art.