My friend BOB handed his man-servant some books, to return to the Franklin Library.  Noticing, a few minutes afterwards, while passing through the hall, that he was busy carefully wrapping them up in newspaper, he asked him what he was doing that for.

’Och, shure, Mister ——­, I’m afraid, if they say me carr’ing books rouhnd undher me ahrm, they’ll be afther tayking me for a maydical student!’

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The very remarkable and enthusiastic welcome which has been extended to our proposal to establish the CONTINENTAL as an independent magazine, calls for the warmest gratitude from us, and at the same time induces us to lay stress upon the fact that our pages are open to contributions of a very varied character; the only condition being that they shall be written by friends of the Union.  While holding firmly to our own views as set forth under the ‘Editorial’ heading, we by no means profess to endorse those of our contributors, leaving the reader to make his own comments on these.  In a word, we shall adopt such elements of independent action as have been hitherto characteristic of the newspaper press, but which we judge to be quite as suitable to a monthly magazine.  We offer a fair field and all favors to all comers, avoiding all petty jealousies and exclusiveness.  Will our readers please to bear this in mind in reading all articles published in our pages?

We can not conclude without expressing the warmest gratitude to the press and the public for the comment, commendation and patronage which they have so liberally bestowed upon us.  We have been obliged to print three times the number for which we had anticipated sale, and believe that no American magazine ever circulated so many copies of a first number.  In consequence of this demand we have been compelled to go to press earlier than was anticipated.  Articles promised for February, by Messrs. BAYARD TAYLOR and CHARLES F. BROWNE, but not yet received, are necessarily deferred.  From the latter gentleman we have a note promising a positive appearance in March.

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THE KNICKERBOCKER

FOR 1862.

In the beginning of the last year, when its present proprietors assumed control of the Knickerbocker, they announced their determination to spare no pains to place it in its true position as the leading literary Monthly in America.  When rebellion had raided a successful front, and its armies threatened the very existence of the Republic, it was impossible to permit a magazine, which in its circulation reached the best intellects in the land, to remain insensible or indifferent to the dangers which threatened the Union.  The proprietors accordingly gave notice, that it would present in its pages, forcible expositions with regard to the great question of the times,—­how