INTRODUCTION.

"CROWN JEWELS" has been pronounced the most captivating title ever given to jany book, and this title is in keeping with the Jewels of Thought, Feeling and Sentiment, which sparkle on every page. This very attractive and valuable work embraces all that is of the greatest interest in Poetry, Prose, Art and Song. It covers the whole field of literature in all languages from the earliest times.

Those Gems which have fascinated the world with their beauty are here gathered into one magnificent cluster. The most brilliant Authors of every age, in every department of literature, shine resplendent in one marvelous galaxy. The book is a popular educator, a vast treasury of the noblest thoughts and sentiments and its Jewels should sparkle in every home throughout the land.

AS CROWN JEWELS is pre-eminently a home book, it is appropriate that its first department should be entitled the Home Circle. Here, gathered into one rich and beautiful bouquet, are fascinating descriptions of the pleasures of home life. "The Cotter's Saturday Night," by Robert Burns; Daniel Webster's description of the "Old Log Cabin;" the song of the "Merry Christmas Time," by Sir Walter Scott, and the "Old Familiar Faces," by Charles Lamb, are but specimens of the captivating productions which embellish this part of the book.

The next department is Narratives and Ballads. There are songs that have touched the hearts of whole nations. Every phase of human life has been pictured in words and rhythms that entrance the reader. This part of the work may be described as stories told in verse-such as "The Village Blacksmith," by Longfellow; "Bingen on the Rhine," by Mrs. Norton; and the "Sands of Dee," by Charles Kingsley. The narrative portion of the work contains everything of special interest stored in ancient or modern literature.

Under the title of Love and Friendship is a vast collection of heart-poems. It is impossible, for want of space, to mention even the names of these beautiful gems. Here are the finest things written by Moore, Byron, Goldsmith, Shakespeare, Wordsworth, Ingelow, Tennyson, and a host of others. The great love passion-its joys, its pathos, its hopes, its disappointments, its all-controlling power -throbs in every

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poetry.

We come next to the Beauties of Nature—which is the native field of The reader, looking with the eyes of the poet, is spell-bound amidst the beauties of creation. He beholds landscapes of marvelous loveliness; and gazes up at the midnight heavens "where blossom the lovely stars, the forget-me-nots of the angels." With Thomson he beholds the magnificent panorama of the seasons; with

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Lowell he breathes the sweet air of leafy June, when "heaven tries the earth if it be in tune." Birds and fountains sing to him, and the universe is clothed with new life.

The next part, entitled Heroism and Adventure, is remarkably spirited and attractive. Narratives in both prose and poetry, excite to the highest pitch the reader's admiration for the heroic and give this part of CROWN JEWELS an absorbing interest. "The Heart of the Bruce," "The Draw-Bridge Keeper," "The Fate of Virginia," by Lord Macaulay, "Jim Bludso," and many other heroic adventures, make the most daring creations of romance seem tame and powerless in comparison.

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Sea Pictures comprise the most vivid descriptions of the sea ever gathered into one volume. The jolly tar who braves the dangers of the great deep, the . treasures of coral and pearl hidden beneath the waves, the light-house that guides the weary mariner, the awful grandeur of the ocean-these and many other themes, treated by the most brilliant authors, render Sea Pictures peculiarly fascinating.

Under the title of Patriotism and Freedom the patriotic songs and epics which have aroused nations and helped to gain victories are collected.

Following these stirring appeals to the patriotic emotions is an unrivaled collection of the world's best thoughts, classified under Sentiment and Reflection. Here are the famous "Elegy" of Gray; Longfellow's "Psalm of Life"; "Evening Bells," by Moore; "The Last Leaf," by Holmes; the song of the "Irish Famine;" the "Wants of Man," by John Quincy Adams; Poe's mystic "Raven," etc., etc.

Ballads of Labor and Reform present a fine collection of songs and poems peculiarly appropriate to the times. Here labor is dignified, and its magnificent achievements celebrated. Hood's "Song of the Shirt," and Charles Mackay's "Good Time Coming," are specimens of the numerous beautiful and touching productions.

The next part of CROWN JEWELS treats of Rural Life. Here are exquisite pictures of life in the country, such as the "Harvest Song," by Eliza Cook; "The Farmer's Wife," by Paul Hayne; "The Horseback Ride," by Grace Greenwood; "On the Banks of the Tennessee," by W. D. Gallagher;" the reader follows the "Ploughman," and "Mowers;" he rambles away with the "Angler" and "Barefoot Boy," and returns to enjoy the hospitality of the "Busy Housewife."

A number of exquisite productions are classified under the title of Sorrow and Adversity. Here Dickens describes the "Last Hours of Little Paul Dombey;" Charles Lewis tells "Bijah's Story;" Mrs. Stowe contributes a beautiful selection entitled "Only a Year;" Tom Hood with his "Bridge of Sighs" makes the breast heave and the lip quiver.

The next department comprises Persons and Places. The great authors, explorers, heroes, statesmen, orators, patriots, and painters of ancient and modern times are immortalized. Classic Athens; sacred Jerusalem; the golden Orient; sunny Italy; Thebes, with her hundred gates; Naples, whose every adjacent cliff "flings on the clear wave some image of delight;" the Isles of Greece, "where burning Sappho loved and sung;" Russia's village scenes and Scotland's Highlands and old abbeys, are all commemorated in a manner that entrances the reader.

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Then follow selections relating to Religious Life. In this department alone are nearly one hundred gems, each with its own peculiar beauty and attraction, by Pope, Cowper, Mrs. Sigourney, the Cary sisters, Newman, Ella Wheeler, and scores of others. The songs which have been sung clear round the globe, which have cheered the desponding, and brought peace to the troubled, are here set in attractive array.

Under the title of Childhood and Youth is an admirable collection of pieces interesting to young persons. Children and young people will read something, and only the best reading matter should be placed in their hands.

In Dramatic Selections are the masterpieces of the world's great dramatists. The sublime creations of Shakespeare, Coleridge, Knowles, Addison, Joanna Bailie, and others, and the sparkling effusions of Sheridan, Jerrold, and their compeers, are here presented for the instruction and delight of every reader.

Poetical Curiosities and Humorous Readings make up an extensive collection of quaint, curious and witty productions which are greatly relished by all readers. Irish wit, Scotch wit, German wit, Yankee wit, and every other kind of wit are given a place, and the great humorists, who have made the world healthier and better by making it laugh, here indulge in their favorite pastime.

By no possible arrangement could a greater variety of thoughts and topics be presented, while the Gems, both those that are new and those that are old favorites, are the finest, and most captivating in the literature of all ages.

In addition to the myriad of attractive features already named, the work is a Treasury of the Choicest Music. A great variety of songs and popular pieces by authors whose fame fills the earth, affords a source of entertainment for the home. These have been selected with great care, and charm all lovers of music. The aim has been to insert only the finest melodies, the sweetest songs that musical genius has produced.

This valuable work is elegantly embellished with a Galaxy of the most Beautiful Steel Plate Engravings, by artists of world-wide renown. The most entrancing scenes are reproduced in these charming pages, forming a magnificent picture gallery. CROWN JEWELS is a work of Art, and each of its many superb illustrations is a beauty and a delight.

The book contains a Biographical Dictionary, giving in concise form those facts concerning the most renowned authors which the reading public desire to know. This is a very valuble feature of the book.

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Publisher's Announcement.

HIS magnificent work, which comprises many books in one volume, is a vast treasury of the Choicest Gems of English Literature, in prose and poetry. It contains those resplendent jewels of thought, feeling and sentiment which fascinate, instruct and entertain the reader.

The following are only a few of the many reasons why CROWN JEWELS is more complete than any other work:

First. The elegant appearance of the work recommends it. It is indeed a beautiful book.

Second. The selections possess the very highest merit, and are the best in every department of literature. They are admirably suited to every home and to every class of readers.

Third. No work so comprehensive and with such great variety of selections was ever before published. It contains more than 1000 gems from 500 of the world's most famous authors.

Fourth. The great masterpieces and favorite productions, which all persons desire to possess, are gathered into this superb volume.

Fifth. It contains the latest and most fascinating pieces of the popular writers of the day.

There are eighteen
There are eighteen departments,

Sixth. The arrangement is admirable. thus affording a whole library of the choicest literature in one volume. Seventh. There is something charming, instructive and entertaining for old and young alike.

Eighth. The book is a treasury of the most captivating music, containing a large collection of the finest melodies and sweetest songs.

Ninth. The work is furnished with a Biographical Dictionary of the authors. Tenth. It is embellished with a galaxy of magnificent Steel-Plate Engravings, which are alone worth the whole cost of the book. It is a superb work of art. Eleventh. The Prospectus is very attractive, and shows at a glance the great superiority of this book over other similar works that are illustrated with cheap wood-cuts.

Twelfth. The price for such a rare volume is very low, and brings it

within the reach of all.

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