OUR LITTLE FOLKS' OWN CORNER.

ANSWER TO "PICTURE WANTING WORDS" (p. 128).

FIRST PRIZE ANSWER.

The picture on page 128 of Little Folks represents the ruins of the vast Flavian Amphitheatre, or, as it is also called, Coliseum. After a period of civil war and confusion, Vespasian began the Flavian dynasty, and entered upon his reign by filling up the spaces made by the demolitions of Nero, and by the fire, with large buildings, the most conspicuous and massive of them being the Coliseum. It is not known whether this name was given to it from its tremendous size or from the Colossus of Nero which stood near.

Vespasian, however, did not complete it, but his son Titus, who succeeded him, did so. The splendour of the interior, as gathered from Roman poets, was said to be unequalled. Marble statues filled the arcades, gilt and brazen network supported on ivory posts and wheels protected the spectators from the wild beasts, fountains of fragrant waters were scattered throughout the building, and marble tripods for burning the incense upon. Speaking of the size of it, it covers five acres of ground, and is capable of holding a hundred thousand persons. An idea of the solidity of the building may be taken from the fact that after two thousand years, during which time it has been used for a quarry for materials for palaces and churches, nearly three-quarters still remain. Now that a description of the building has been given, I will say something about the uses of it.

The Coliseum was first of all built for gladiatorial shows, which were the favourite amusement of the Romans. All of both sexes, from the Emperor down to the meanest slave, used to flock to see them. Primitive Christianity is associated in a great degree with this building; "The Christians to the Lions" often being the cry throughout the city, and hundreds of innocent persons were "butchered to make a Roman holiday." The first Christian Emperor tried to put a stop to this butchery (statistics say that the combats of this amphitheatre cost from twenty to thirty thousand lives per month), but the custom was too deeply rooted to be stopped all at once. In the reign of Honorius, however, it was altogether abolished. It is very marvellous how this piece of masonry should have stood through all these years with comparatively so little decay.

H. D. Hope. (Aged 15).

11, Greenfield Crescent, Edgbaston, Birmingham. Certified by Henry Hope (Father).

LIST OF HONOUR.

First Prize (One-Guinea Book), with Officer's Medal of the "Little Folks" Legion of Honour;—H. D. Hope (15), 11, Greenfield Crescent, Edgbaston, Birmingham. Second Prize (Seven-Shilling-and-Sixpenny Book), with Officer's Medal:—Margaret T. S. Beattie (13), St. Michael's, Torquay. Honourable Mention, with Members Medal:—M. Agnes Howard (10½), 15, Clarence Square, Gosport; G. G. Callcott (15½), Hageldon, 27, Shepherd's Bush Road; Kate E. Greenhow (12½), Highfield, Chelmsford, Essex; Edith Wingate (15), 2, Finlayson Place, Relvinside, Glasgow; Adriana Poli (11), 24, Via Ricasoli, Livorno, Italy; Sybil Coventry (13½), Severn Stoke Rectory, Worcester; Clifford Crawford (11¾), 21, Windsor Street, Edinburgh; Edith B. Jowett (15¾), Thackley Road, Idle, near Bradford; Percy G. Trendell (12), 10, Coburg Place, Bayswater Road, London, S.W.

The "Little Folks" Annual for 1885.

The "Little Folks" Annual for 1885 (price Sixpence) will be published on the 25th of October, 1884, under the title of

"A SHIPFUL OF CHILDREN, AND THEIR MERRY ADVENTURES."

In this Annual will be related, in a number of bright and entertaining Stories, the amusing adventures and incidents which befell several Children during a wonderful "voyage" undertaken by them; and, in addition to telling of all the doings of these Children, and of what they saw and heard, the Annual will contain a large number of laughable Puzzles, Riddles, &c., a Song with Music, and a new Indoor or Outdoor Entertainment by Geo. Manville Fenn, which has been specially written with the view to its being easily performed at home by Boys and Girls. All the Stories in "A Shipful of Children" are from the pens of Authors with whose writings readers of "Little Folks" are familiar, including the Author of "Prince Pimpernel," Henry Frith, Julia Goddard (who contributes a Fairy Story), Robert Richardson, the Author of "Claimed at Last," and others; while the Illustrations—humorous and otherwise, and about Forty in number—have been specially drawn by Harry Furniss, Hal Ludlow, Lizzie Lawson, Gordon Browne, C. Gregory, W. Rainey, A. S. Fenn, E. J. Walker, and others. The Editor would remind intending purchasers that the "Little Folks" Annual last year was out of print a few days after publication, and many were in consequence unable to obtain copies; it is desirable, therefore, so as to avoid disappointment, that orders for "A Shipful of Children" should be given to booksellers as early as possible.