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+This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements,
+metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be
+in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES.
+
+Procedures for determining public domain status are described in
+the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org.
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+Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for
+eBook #65406 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/65406)
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-The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Girl's Own Paper, Vol. VIII, No. 364,
-December 18, 1886, by Various
-
-This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and
-most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions
-whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms
-of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at
-www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you
-will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before
-using this eBook.
-
-Title: The Girl's Own Paper, Vol. VIII, No. 364, December 18, 1886
-
-Author: Various
-
-Release Date: May 22, 2021 [eBook #65406]
-
-Language: English
-
-Character set encoding: UTF-8
-
-Produced by: Susan Skinner and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at
- https://www.pgdp.net
-
-*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE GIRL'S OWN PAPER, VOL. VIII,
-NO. 364, DECEMBER 18, 1886 ***
-
-
-
-
-[Illustration: THE GIRL’S OWN PAPER
-
-VOL. VIII.—NO. 364.] DECEMBER 18, 1886. [PRICE ONE PENNY.]
-
-
-
-
-TINNED MEATS; THEIR VALUE TO HOUSEKEEPERS.
-
-BY A. G. PAYNE, Author of “Common-sense Cookery,” “Choice Dishes at
-Small Cost,” “The Housekeeper’s Guide,” &c.
-
-[Illustration: LOBSTER CANNING IN CANADA.]
-
-_All rights reserved._]
-
-
-Tinned meats and provisions may be regarded from two distinct points of
-view. The majority of persons, especially in this country, look upon
-them simply as a convenience to housekeepers, but the subject should
-be regarded from a far higher point than one of mere convenience, for
-by means of tinned provisions the whole food supply of the world is
-increased, and thereby the happiness and enjoyment of mankind at large.
-
-By means of tinned meats the superfluities of one country help the
-deficiencies of others. Owing to this useful invention, no longer are
-sheep slaughtered for their wool and tallow only, and the carcasses
-wasted, but the whole is utilised. It should be borne in mind that
-economy in the use of food is a duty clearly pointed out to us by the
-highest of all authority. The age of miracles has passed, but were it
-in our power to multiply our food miraculously, we are taught that it
-would still be a duty to gather up the fragments that remain, that
-nothing be lost.
-
-At present I will confine myself to the consideration of tinned meats
-in relation to their value to housekeepers, and I will illustrate my
-subject by supposing the following case, which is by no means a rare
-one in England in the present day.
-
-There are, throughout the length and breadth of the land, many hundreds
-of little quiet country villages which, to a certain extent, may be
-said to be isolated from civilised life. There is the village inn,
-alas! generally more than one; the village shop, a few scattered houses
-and outlying farms. But for all practical purposes the well-to-do
-inhabitants are dependent for their supplies on the carrier’s cart,
-which takes a journey into the neighbouring town, some four or five
-miles distant.
-
-The village shop generally supplies the inhabitants with bread;
-probably they will kill a pig on Thursday or Friday, and supply the
-usual dish of pork for Sunday’s dinner. They also will usually be found
-to deal in cheap crockery, needles and cotton, sweetstuff, candles,
-pickles, etc. The only means of communication with the neighbouring
-town is, as I have said, the carrier’s cart, which generally takes a
-few passengers. I have lately lived in a little village myself, and
-have travelled by the same hooded conveyance backwards and forwards,
-never without thinking of the lazy horse associated with David
-Copperfield; and, indeed, at times I have felt inclined to chalk up in
-the corner, “Barkis is willin’.” The carrier usually takes his orders
-the night before, starts at an early hour in the morning, and returns
-in time to supply the dinner-table. Let us suppose that he has brought
-with him a shoulder of mutton, and that, instead of dining late, as
-is our wont, we, on this particular day, dine early. Shortly before
-our usual dinner hour, we are suddenly alarmed by the astounding news,
-“Oh, mamma, Mr. Smith has arrived; what are we to do?” Hospitality is
-a duty, and were I cynically inclined, I would imagine Mr. Smith to be
-a rich old bachelor uncle, very fond of good living, from whom we had
-great expectations; but I would rather put this supposititious case.
-Suppose Mr. Smith to be an old friend of our father who has seen better
-days, in which he showed us many little acts of kindness. Under these
-circumstances he is, of all men in the world, the very last one to whom
-we should like to give the “cold shoulder.” What is to be done?
-
-We will suppose that our housekeeper, or whoever acts as such, has, in
-anticipation of such contingencies, laid in a little stock of tinned
-goods, which are safely put by in the store closet. Having welcomed
-our guest, and whispered a few words to the cook and those willing
-to assist her, we will calmly sit down to our table, take a sheet of
-paper, and commence as follows:—
-
-MENU.
-
- Ox Tail Soup.
- Salmon Mayonnaise.
- Hashed Mutton and Pickled Walnuts.
- Curried Rabbit.
- Asparagus.
- Plum Pudding. Brandy Sauce.
- Jelly in glasses.
- Pine Apple (whole in syrup).
-
-If the cook is smart, the whole dinner could be served easily within
-an hour, and should one or two of the girls in the house be willing to
-assist (and who would not, under such circumstances?), the dinner might
-be sent to table in considerably less time. I can imagine some of my
-readers glancing over the bill of fare I have just written, and saying
-to themselves, “What a lot of saucepans we shall want on the fire at
-the same time!” This, however, is not the case; for I would remind you
-that one of the first points to learn in connection with the serving
-of tinned meats is that they should be warmed up in the tin before it
-is opened. We can, therefore, perform the astonishing trick of making
-hot our ox-tail soup, our curried rabbit, our asparagus, and our plum
-pudding in the same saucepan at the same time.
-
-I must, however, commence at the beginning. Our store cupboard is
-supposed to contain the following provisions in tins:—Ox-tail soup,
-preserved salmon, mayonnaise sauce, curried rabbit, asparagus, plum
-pudding, pine apple in syrup, as well as a bottle of jelly. I may,
-however, mention, with regard to the mayonnaise sauce, that should
-you have a bottle of oil in the house and a couple of eggs, it would
-be better to make some fresh sauce from the egg and oil direct. Our
-cupboard will also contain a bottle of pickled walnuts, a bottle of
-capers, a bottle of olives, and a bottle of anchovies.
-
-Of course we commence dinner with the soup, unless we happen to have
-in the house a Brunswick sausage, in which case a few thin slices of
-Brunswick sausage may be placed in a plate with a few of the anchovies,
-capers, olives, and a little pat of butter, as there are many persons
-who like to commence dinner with what is known as a _hors d’œuvre_, and
-I do not know a better mixture than the one I have named.
-
-But to return to the soup. In my opinion, of all provisions sold in
-tins at present, the soups are the greatest failures.
-
-This is very much to be regretted; but there is a good old saying,
-that we must always make the best of a bad job. As a rule, the thick
-soups are better than the clear, and although I have mentioned ox-tail
-soup, I will later on give a list of the soups from which you may
-take your choice. Fortunately, all thick soups in tins can be very
-greatly improved by a very simple method. Make the thick soup hot in
-the tin, take the tin out of the hot water, open it, and pour the
-contents into a saucepan. Of course, if there are many persons to
-dinner, it would be necessary to warm up two tins, or even more. I will
-now describe the contents of the tin. The soup itself is not exactly
-thick, nor is it exactly clear. The bones of the tail, instead of being
-surrounded by the meat, are quite bare, and it looks as if the bone
-and the meat had had a quarrel, and they had mutually agreed never
-to speak to one another again, while the bone itself recalls a game
-known as “knuckle-bones.” To every pint of soup in the saucepan add as
-follows: a brimming dessertspoonful of brown thickening, or what French
-cooks know as brown roux. This brown roux looks like light-coloured
-chocolate. It keeps good for months, is very cheap, very useful,
-and I will describe how to make it by-and-by. Add, also, a brimming
-teaspoonful of extract of meat and half a glass of sherry. The effect
-of adding the brown roux is that when the roux is crumbled into the
-soup and gently stirred over the fire till it boils, it makes the soup
-thicker than it was before. It also makes it darker in colour, richer
-in flavour, and makes the divorce between the meat and the bone less
-conspicuous.
-
-The extract of meat also greatly adds to its nutritious properties,
-and gives additional colour. The sherry gives it flavour. Were I going
-to take the soup myself, I should also add a little cayenne pepper and
-lemon-juice, but we must be very cautious how we use cayenne, unless we
-know the taste of our guests.
-
-We will next consider the salmon mayonnaise. As this is all cold, we
-should naturally see to the hot things first, and we will, therefore,
-suppose that the ox-tail soup, the curried rabbit, the asparagus, and
-the plum pudding are all getting hot in the saucepan. First open the
-tin of salmon. Turn the contents entirely out. If there is any liquid,
-throw it away, and, as far as possible, absorb all the moisture of the
-salmon in a dry cloth before placing it in a dish. Make the surface,
-as far as possible, oval, and raised in the middle, and then pour the
-sauce with a spoon gently over the top, so that it looks like a custard
-pudding. If the season of the year is suitable, and we have some
-lettuces in our garden, of course we should cut one or two lettuces,
-and surround the salmon with the best part of the lettuce. Next to
-ornament the salad. Take a bottle of capers, and with a spoon take out
-about a couple of dozen, throw these into a cloth and dry them, and
-place them at intervals on the sauce. Then take three or four anchovies
-out of the bottle, cut them into strips, remove the bone, and place
-these little strips of anchovy round the base of the light pyramid
-of sauce like trellis work. A dozen olives may be placed also round
-the base of the salad, the stone being removed with a knife. This is
-done by taking not too sharp a knife and cutting the olive sideways,
-keeping the blade of the knife always in contact with the stone of
-the olive. When the stone is removed the olive assumes its original
-shape, of course with a hole in the middle where the stone has been.
-Now take a little piece of parsley and chop up enough, say, to cover a
-shilling or a little more. Place this on the tip of a knife and shake
-it gently over the mayonnaise sauce, so that the little green specks
-of parsley fall naturally. Now take a bottle of cochineal, supposing
-you have one—cochineal can be bought at sixpence a bottle, and keeps
-good for months, or even years—and drop a few drops in a plate or
-saucer; take a little piece of dry bread and make about a saltspoonful
-of fine breadcrumbs. Throw these dry breadcrumbs into the saucer with
-the cochineal, and shake them. This will cause the breadcrumbs to turn
-red. These can be shaken over the mayonnaise like the chopped parsley,
-and we shall have a very bright-looking dish. The green lettuce round
-the edge, the raised surface of the salmon covered with the yellow
-mayonnaise sauce in the middle, which is decorated round the base with
-the anchovies and olives, and on the top the capers and the little
-green and red specks, which contrast nicely with the yellow. If you
-have no lettuce or salad of any kind to put round the base, you can
-ornament the edge with hard-boiled eggs cut in quarters, and a sprig of
-parsley between each piece.
-
-Our next dish is the hashed mutton and pickled walnuts. This scarcely
-comes in the category of tinned meats. The mutton we had for dinner was
-probably in a semi-cold and flabby state when our guest arrived. Were
-I going to make the hashed mutton, I should commence by slicing up a
-couple of onions, browning them in a frying-pan with a little butter,
-then pouring in the remains of all the gravy that had been left from
-the joint, cutting the mutton into slices, and warming them up in this
-gravy, taking care it does not boil; and as the gravy would be rather
-poor, as soon as the soup was got ready I should add two or three
-tablespoonfuls of the soup to the hashed mutton. And let me remind you
-of another very great improvement. Add, as well, a dessertspoonful
-of Harvey sauce, after shaking the bottle. You can toast a piece of
-bread a nice brown, as you would not have time to fry any bread, which
-is better. Cut the toast into round pieces, and place them round the
-hash alternately with the pickled walnuts cut in half. Do not send
-the hashed mutton to table in a great, big dish, large enough to hold
-a round of beef, but serve it in a deep dish—a vegetable dish, for
-instance. By this means it keeps hot longer, and looks more appetising.
-
-Our next dish is the curried rabbit. First class curry can be obtained
-in tins. Remember that tinned meats are like everything else in the
-world—some are good, and some are bad. If you wish for a bottle of
-really good wine, you must go to a first class wine merchant; and if
-you wish your tinned provisions good, you must get them from first
-class people, or see that some well-known name is on the label.
-Unfortunately, this country has been flooded, from time to time, with
-worthless imitations, introduced by unknown men who have no name to
-lose.
-
-The curry, having been made hot in the tin, should be turned out in a
-deep dish; and here again I would recommend a vegetable dish. Boiled
-rice should be served with it in a separate dish, and the rice should
-be handed before the curry. If you have any chutney in the house, the
-chutney should be served with the curry, like they do on board the
-P. & O. boats, which are so famed for their oriental curry cooks.
-When the curry has been turned out into the dish, you might add a few
-fresh bayleaves and serve them up in the curry whole, and if you feel
-anxious to have the dish ornamental you can proceed as follows, and,
-should your guest be an “old Indian,” he will probably appreciate the
-addition:—Take some red chilis and bend each chili in the middle, so
-as to make it look like one of the small claws of a lobster, and place
-these red chilies round the edge of the dish in a triangular shape,
-exactly as if you were placing the small claws of a lobster around a
-lobster salad mayonnaise.
-
-The asparagus should be served as a course by itself. When the tin is
-sufficiently hot, which it will be a few minutes after the water has
-boiled, take it out and open it, pour off the liquid, and serve the
-asparagus on a piece of toast. A little butter sauce should be handed
-round with it.
-
-Butter sauce is best made by simply thickening, say, half a pint of
-water (not milk) with a little butter and flour mixed together. When
-the water is sufficiently thick, add some more butter to the hot,
-thickened water till it becomes rich and oily.
-
-As soon as you have handed round the butter sauce with the asparagus,
-take the tureen down-stairs, and let the cook put back the butter sauce
-in the saucepan for a minute, and add a tablespoonful of moist sugar, a
-tablespoonful of rum, and two tablespoonfuls of brandy. By this means
-we avoid waste, and make the same sauce do twice. If you don’t approve
-of spirits being used in the kitchen (I don’t approve of it myself),
-add a little sherry, and rub a few lumps of sugar on the outside of
-a lemon, and also two drops of essence of almonds. (You can, indeed,
-leave out the sherry, and still have a good sauce.)
-
-The plum pudding will be hot through after the water has boiled for
-over half an hour. Open the tin, take out the pudding, and serve with a
-little sauce poured over it, and the rest in a tureen.
-
-The jelly should be served in glasses, for the simple reason that there
-is no time to melt the jelly. Open the bottle, and rake out sufficient
-jelly with a bent skewer to fill the glasses.
-
-The pineapple, whole, in addition to the usual stock of almonds and
-raisins, figs, biscuits, &c., makes a first-class dessert.
-
-It is perhaps needless to add that as a rule all these dishes are not
-necessary for one dinner; but I wish to show what can be done in order
-to avoid giving your friends the “cold shoulder.”
-
-(_To be continued._)
-
-
-
-
-THE SHEPHERD’S FAIRY.
-
-A PASTORALE.
-
-BY DARLEY DALE, Author of “Fair Katherine,” etc.
-
-
-CHAPTER XI.
-
-THE WHITE RAM.
-
-The secret of Fairy’s parentage died with Dame Hursey, and for the next
-two or three years she lived quietly on with the Shelleys, nothing
-more remarkable than the finding of some rare bird, or an occasional
-tiff with Jack, the Lewes carnival on the fifth of November, and the
-sheep washing and shearing every June, occurring to vary the monotony
-of her happy life. She was naturally a bright, happy little creature,
-not much given to thinking, and if she sometimes wondered who she was
-and where she came from, she never allowed the matter to distress her;
-she had the Shelleys, and they all worshipped her, and if she wanted
-other friends she was always welcome at the Rectory, where she still
-continued to go every day for her lessons. As to the future, it is
-doubtful if she ever gave it a thought; she lived as all children do,
-for the present, at least, as far as this world is concerned, though
-neither she nor any one else could have been brought up by good John
-Shelley without learning that life here is but a preparation for the
-life to come. Ignorant as the shepherd was in many things, he was
-by no means ignorant in things spiritual, and his knowledge of the
-Bible, large portions of which he knew by heart, would have put many
-an educated man and woman to shame. It was a favourite amusement of
-Fairy’s and the boys on long Sunday winter evenings, when there was
-no service at church, and after John had read the evening service to
-them, as he invariably did, to start him off in some chapter and see
-how long he would go on without stopping, saying it by rote. He always
-carried a small Bible in his pocket, and during his long days with the
-sheep, he had plenty of opportunities of studying it; and he studied it
-to some purpose, for he was a fine character. Faults he may have had,
-but you might have known him a long time before you discovered them.
-Mrs. Shelley, who had better opportunities of judging than anyone else,
-would have said he liked his own way too much; and that, for such a
-wise man as he was, it was surprising how easily he allowed a little
-thing like Fairy, whom he always had spoilt, to get over him; but it is
-doubtful whether in her heart of hearts she considered either of these
-faults.
-
-If he had any pride in his composition it was entirely professional,
-and when one May evening, sixteen years after Fairy first was brought
-to Lewes, he announced to his family that he had been elected captain
-of the Lewes shearing company, his face certainly glowed with an honest
-pride, for he had then obtained the highest honour which could be
-conferred on a shepherd, and realised his fondest dreams of earthly
-happiness.
-
-In those days it was the custom for shearers to form themselves into
-companies, called after the district in which they lived, and to go
-round to the various farms in the district in the shearing season,
-which begins in the middle of June, shearing the different flocks. The
-shearers in those days were generally shepherds, and each band had a
-lieutenant and a captain, the former distinguished by a silver band
-round his cap and a badge, the latter by a gold band and badge to
-match. They were chosen according to their proficiency in shearing, and
-for the good character they bore. John Shelley had been a lieutenant
-for some years, but he was now elected captain, owing to the death
-of the captain of the Lewes band, an old man over seventy; and with
-this honour some new duties devolved upon him, for at the captain’s
-house was held the shearing feast, called the White Ram. This feast
-lasted throughout the shearing week, and consisted of a supper after
-the day’s work was over; first, a good, substantial meal, in which
-the Sussex dish of beefsteak pudding, the crust made of flour and
-water, played an important part, and then ending with cakes and ale,
-during the consumption of which shearing songs were sung and many
-pipes were smoked till late in the long summer evening, when the men
-dispersed—sometimes not before midnight—to their various homes.
-
-These bands are now a thing of the past, though the shearing is still
-done by men who go round for the purpose, but no lambs are shorn
-nowadays, so the work is very much lessened.
-
-“There is plenty of work for you, Polly; you’ll have to get someone in
-to help you; we shall have to have the White Ram here for the future,”
-said John.
-
-“Oh, what fun!” exclaimed Fairy; “now I shall see it all, and hear the
-shearing songs. Mother, you must let me help; John says no one can make
-plum heavies, not even you, mother, like me: can they, John?”
-
-“No, but I am thinking those little white fingers of yours are not fit
-for that sort of work, my pretty one,” said John.
-
-“Stuff! white fingers can work as well as red ones—better, I daresay,
-if the truth were known. And may I help to wait on you?” asked Fairy.
-
-“No, certainly not,” growled Jack; “you listen outside to the shearing
-songs with me, but you are not going inside to wait on a lot of rough
-men, who will, perhaps, take more beer than they ought.”
-
-“No, Jack; I’ll have none of that; it shall never be said that John
-Shelley’s White Ram is disgraced by drunkenness. But you must come to
-the feast, even if Fairy does not, for you must go round shearing this
-year; it is time you began, if, as I hope, one of these days you are to
-take my place of captain.”
-
-“There’s an honour for you, Captain Jack. Don’t you wish you may ever
-get it?” laughed Fairy.
-
-But Jack neither laughed nor wished for the honour; hitherto he had
-always managed to escape going round with the shearers, but this year
-he saw he must go, since he had not the heart to throw a shadow over
-his father’s innocent joy by refusing; so he said with the best grace
-he could, “Very well, father, I’ll go shearing, but Fairy can’t be left
-out in the cold, I shall have to stay with her during the supper.”
-
-“No, you need not, we will take it by turns; I can stop with Fairy
-sometimes,” said Charlie, a remark by no means calculated to soothe
-Jack, whose love and jealousy had grown greatly in the last few years;
-but Mrs. Shelley wisely stopped the discussion by remarking that there
-was plenty of time to settle the details, as the sheep-washing was not
-begun yet.
-
-“It begins to-morrow though; Jack and I are off with half our flock at
-daybreak to-morrow. Charlie, you must follow the rest for a day or two;
-I must have Jack with me to-morrow,” said the shepherd.
-
-“And I shall come too. If mother can’t take me, I shall get the Leslies
-to come. I always go to see our sheep washed every year,” said Fairy.
-
-Accordingly, early next morning the shepherd and his son were up at
-dawn, driving their sheep to the brook in which the sheep-washing took
-place. For some days previously, preparations had been made for this
-washing, which lasts two or three weeks, as all the sheep for miles
-round are brought to this spot. These preparations consisted of pens
-made of hurdles by the side of the river for the sheep; in the stream
-itself, opposite to each other, were erected two rough pulpits or deal
-boxes, in which stand the sheep-washers. When Jack and his father
-arrived, it was so early that no one was there, not even the washers;
-but at ten o’clock, when Mrs. Shelley and Fairy went, the scene was a
-most lively one.
-
-Hundreds of sheep were in the pens, some white and clean, their
-agonies over; others still dirty, with their tortures to come. On
-the neighbouring bridge stood or leant every child in the village,
-thoroughly enjoying the sight. On the roadside were some stragglers of
-all grades, watching the performance, one or two farmers on horseback
-who had a lively interest in the washing of their flocks, and on the
-banks several shepherds, among them Jack and his father, all armed with
-large, toothless wooden rakes, with which they push the sheep about,
-holding them under water when necessary, and steering them from pulpit
-to pulpit.
-
-What with the laughter and screams of delight from the children, the
-shouts of the shepherds, and the coughing of the sheep and jingling
-of their bells, the scene is a very noisy one; but, noisy as it is,
-Fairy thoroughly enjoys it, and declares she must stay till the last
-of John’s red-ringed flock are finished. It is such fun to see the
-poor sheep tumbled into the water and then rolled over on its back and
-rubbed from head to foot in the bright, clear stream, first by one
-washer in his pulpit, and then, after sundry pushes and thumps from
-the toothless rakes, to be seized by the other washer and subjected to
-another vigorous rubbing and scrubbing, and splashing and dashing, and
-finally to be pushed off to scramble or swim as best it might out of
-the river.
-
-Poor, patient sheep! They take their sufferings in very good part, and
-submit meekly enough to the inevitable ordeal, basing a protest as
-feeble as it is useless, the older and wiser ones knowing that this
-washing is but a preliminary to the still more disagreeable ceremony
-of shearing to be performed a fortnight hence, as soon as the wool
-is dry. And Fairy, fascinated by the picturesque scene, could not be
-persuaded to move when Mrs. Shelley was forced to go home to prepare
-some dinner—a useless labour, Fairy declared, since there would be no
-one to eat it, for Charlie had taken his with him, and John and Jack
-were too busy to stop for dinner, and she herself was not hungry, and
-had no intention of going home till all John’s sheep were washed. But
-Mrs. Shelley had no idea of leaving a pretty young girl like Fairy
-alone among a crowd of people, so she proposed they should both go home
-and fetch some dinner and share it out in the field with John and Jack,
-a proposal Fairy jumped at; and an hour later the four were sitting on
-a bank under a hedge of blackthorn, with a carpet of buttercups and
-daisies at their feet, eating their simple meal as happy as it was
-possible for four people to be.
-
-And then, while the shepherd smoked his pipe, Jack gave Fairy a lesson
-in the notes of the different birds which were singing around them, and
-Mrs. Shelley listened with pride to her eldest and darling son, and
-wondered whether Fairy would ever care for him in the way he evidently
-cared for her, and thought what a handsome couple they would make.
-
-“Oh, Jack, how clever you are; you know everything; but there, I do
-know one thing—I am right this time at least—there is a skylark singing
-up over our heads. Look,” cried Fairy, who had been making various
-wrong guesses at the names of the different songsters around them.
-
-“Poor little Fairy! you are wrong again; it is a woodlark; the skylark
-mounts up straight in a succession of springs, and then hovers,
-singing; the woodlark flies round and round in circles, singing all the
-while, as this bird is doing,” said Jack.
-
-“Oh, I give it up; I know nothing; but as long as I have you to tell
-me, what does it matter? I shall go and look for a wheatear’s nest in
-that fence,” said Fairy, rising and shaking back her long golden hair,
-which she still wore down her back, and which added greatly to her
-childish appearance.
-
-“My pretty one, wheatears don’t build in fences,” cried John Shelley,
-as she ran lightly past him.
-
-“She is doing it on purpose; she knows as well as you and I wheatears
-build in rabbit-holes or chalk-pits; she only wants me to scold her,”
-said Jack.
-
-“It is time we were at work again, Jack, or we shan’t get our eight
-hundred washed to-day,” said John, who saw Jack showed signs of going
-after Fairy, and wisely thought he would not see him back in a hurry if
-he once let him go.
-
-So the sheep-washing began again, and Mrs. Shelley, who had brought
-some work with her, promised Fairy to remain till tea-time, on
-condition that she then accompanied her home.
-
-“I do enjoy it so, mother,” said Fairy; “it would be wicked to spend
-such a bright warm sunny day as this shut up in a house; it is so
-delicious out in this field. I wonder how much they pay those washers;
-it must be dreadfully hard work; they ought to pay them well.”
-
-“They give them half-a-crown for every hundred sheep, and they can wash
-a thousand sheep a day, but these men won’t do more than finish John’s
-eight hundred to-day.”
-
-“That leaves nearly eight hundred more for to-morrow. Oh! do let us
-come and have another day like this. Will you, mother?” pleaded Fairy.
-
-Mrs. Shelley looked at the fair little face, with its great brown eyes,
-its dainty pink and white complexion, and the long wavy hair which
-veiled the slight girlish figure, and smiled and sighed—the smile
-was for Fairy, and the sigh for Jack—as she promised to do so if the
-weather were fine.
-
-[Illustration: THE SHEEP-WASHING.]
-
-And so it came to pass that that sheep-washing was long remembered by
-Jack as two of the happiest days in his life, though, alas! they came
-to an end, as all days, however happy, must only too soon; and then
-came a fortnight of preparation for the great event of the shepherds’
-year—the sheep-shearing and the Feast of the White Ram. Jack had not
-much to do with the preparations, for he was upon the downs with his
-washed flock, but little else was talked of when he came home in the
-evening, and it was a very busy time for Mrs. Shelley, who had to
-provide supper for twelve men for five nights, the shearing beginning
-on the Tuesday, and ending on the Saturday, when the money earned was
-divided among the company. It had been a source of much anxiety to
-Mrs. Shelley to know where the supper was to be held. To have these
-twelve men in the kitchen in which she had to cook it all would be
-very inconvenient, and she was by no means inclined to lend the little
-sitting-room, which Fairy had made so pretty, for the purpose; but
-at last Jack suggested borrowing a tent and pitching it in the field
-near the house, a plan which was at once adopted. The shearing itself
-took place outside a barn belonging to the farmer who owned the sheep
-about to be shorn, and the company went round to the principal farmers
-in the neighbourhood, taking one each day of the shearing week. How
-Jack hated this business of shearing! He would have given anything to
-have got out of it, if he could only have done so without vexing his
-father; but as this was impossible, he was obliged to go on with it
-with the best grace he could, but he was in an irritable mood all the
-week. The work brought him into contact with other shepherds, with
-none of whom had he anything in common, and made him realise his lowly
-position, which in his lonely life on the downs, lost in his studies,
-he was apt to forget. He would long ago have given up his shepherd’s
-calling and gone to London to seek more congenial work, if it had not
-been for Fairy; she was the magnet which held him in her vicinity,
-but he was daily becoming aware that if any of his dreams were to be
-realised, he must go away at once, though the time he spent on the
-downs was by no means wasted, since he was educating himself to the
-best of his ability. His idea was to try and get an appointment as
-usher in a school, for which in those days he was fully qualified.
-In teaching others he would learn himself; he would have access to
-books of all kinds, and he would be able in his leisure hours to pursue
-his favourite study of natural history. He had confided this plan to
-Mr. Leslie, who had promised to look out for him, and when an opening
-occurred to give him a testimonial. Another reason which had kept Jack
-at home hitherto was that Charlie was barely old enough to take his
-place, but during this last sheep-washing Charlie had had the care of
-half the flock, and had shown himself quite up to his work, which, in
-the summer, at any rate, was just the lazy, dreamy kind of life to suit
-an indolent nature like his, and Jack saw he need no longer delay his
-departure because there was no one to take his place. On the contrary,
-it would solve a difficulty, for it had hitherto been rather a puzzle
-to know what to do with Charlie since John Shelley only required one
-under-shepherd, and he did not seem to have any inclination for any
-other kind of work. Accordingly, all through the White Ram Jack was
-making up his mind to tear himself away from Fairy, in the hope of
-eventually winning for himself a position he could ask her to share,
-and the thought of the coming separation did not tend to make him
-happier.
-
-Every morning he started with the rest of the Lewes company of
-shearers, with his father at their head, for some farm, where they
-spent their day in shearing the sheep, pausing about twelve and again
-about two o’clock to “light up,” that is to sharpen their shears, eat
-cakes, and drink beer, the meal of the day being supper when they got
-back after their labours were over.
-
-(_To be continued._)
-
-
-
-
-EVERY GIRL A BUSINESS WOMAN.
-
-A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO THE WORLD OF INDUSTRY AND THRIFT.
-
-BY JAMES MASON.
-
-
-PART III.
-
-We are going now to speak about money: not, however, about how to get
-it, but about what to do with it after it is got. About the occupations
-by which money is made, we shall not at present say anything. Many of
-them have already been treated of in THE GIRL’S OWN PAPER.
-
-When people have money there are three things they can do with it; they
-can spend it, or place it out at interest, or tie it up in a parcel and
-hide it away. Perhaps they do not need at the moment to spend it; in
-that case of the two ways that are left the only wise one is to place
-it out at interest.
-
-And what is _interest_? Interest is the sum paid by anyone who gets the
-loan of money, for the use of it. Selina, say, gets the loan of £50 for
-a year—not for nothing—oh, no, she pays £2 for the twelve months. This
-£2 is the interest. At the end of the year the lender receives back her
-£50 and £2 added to it, so, you see, it is for a good reason that we
-recommend lending in preference to unfruitful hoarding. Money—and this
-is a wise rule—should never be allowed to lie idle.
-
-The sum lent is known as the _principal_, and on the principal the
-interest is calculated at so much _per cent._ (by the hundred); that is
-to say, at so much for every £100. For instance, 5 per cent. means £5
-for the use of every £100; 2½ per cent., £2 10s. for the use of every
-£100; and 3¾ per cent., £3 15s. for the use of every £100. Selina’s
-loan, in the preceding paragraph, is at 4 per cent., in other words, £4
-for £100; so, of course, for £50 she just pays £2.
-
-When you see a rate of interest quoted you may safely conclude that it
-is for a year—_per annum_ (by the year), is the correct phrase—unless
-something is said to the contrary.
-
-The rate paid in the shape of interest depends on a number of things,
-but the main question is, will the principal be perfectly safe? If the
-answer be yes, then the interest in these days will certainly be low.
-But on this subject we shall have more to say in a succeeding article.
-
-To calculate interest on any sum _for a year_, the rule is to multiply
-by the rate per cent. and divide by 100. For example, find the interest
-on £460 at 4½ per cent. Here you multiply 460 by 4½, which gives
-2,070, and dividing by 100, arrive at the answer, £20 14s.
-
-When the interest is wanted _for a certain number of days_, you must
-multiply by the number of days and by double the rate per cent., and
-divide by 73,000. By way of example, find the interest on £320 for 30
-days at 3 per cent. Multiply 320, first by 30 and afterwards by 6,
-which gives 57,600. Now divide by 73,000, and you have the total amount
-of interest, 15s. 9d.
-
-People who have much calculating of interest to do should invest in
-a book of Commercial Tables. The use of these saves a great deal of
-trouble. There are some short cuts, however, which every business woman
-should carry in her head. At 5 per cent. per annum the interest upon
-a pound for every month is one penny. Having seen what this comes to,
-other rates may be reckoned by adding to or deducting from the 5 per
-cent. product.
-
-For example, 2½ per cent. is one-half; 3 per cent. is six-tenths; 3½
-per cent. is seven-tenths; 4 per cent. is four-fifths; 6 per cent. is
-six-fifths; 7½ per cent. is one-half more. Thus, 5 per cent. on £30 for
-ten months will be £1 5s.; 2½ per cent., 12s. 6d.; 3 per cent., 15s.;
-3½ per cent., 17s. 6d.; 4 per cent., £1; 6 per cent., £1 10s.; and 7½
-per cent., £1 17s. 6d.
-
-Sometimes, on interest becoming due, it is regularly added to the
-principal, and interest is paid on the new principal thus formed. Money
-invested on this accumulating system is said to be placed at _compound
-interest_.
-
-There is something startling about the growth of money invested in
-this way. “A penny,” says Dr. Price, “so improved from our Saviour’s
-birth as to double itself every fourteen years—or, what is nearly the
-same, put out at five per cent. compound interest at our Saviour’s
-birth—would by this time have increased to more money than could
-be contained in 150 millions of globes, each equal to the earth in
-magnitude, and all solid gold.
-
-“A shilling put out at six per cent. compound interest would, in the
-same time, have increased to a greater sum in gold than the whole solar
-system could contain, supposing it a sphere equal in diameter to the
-diameter of Saturn’s orbit; and the earth is to such a sphere as half a
-square foot or a quarto page is to the whole surface of the earth.”
-
-To show the difference between “simple interest,” in which the interest
-does not bear interest, and “compound interest,” in which it does,
-we give the following table, showing the time it takes for a sum to
-double itself at different rates:—
-
- ---------+------------------------------------------
- | Time in which a sum will double itself.
- Rate per +--------------------+---------------------
- cent. | Simple Interest. | Compound Interest.
- ---------+--------------------+---------------------
- 2 | 50 years | 35 years 1 day
- 2½ | 40 years | 28 years 26 days
- 3 | 33 years 4 months | 23 years 164 days
- 3½ | 28 years 208 days | 20 years 54 days
- 4 | 25 years | 17 years 246 days
- 4½ | 22 years 81 days | 15 years 273 days
- 5 | 20 years | 14 years 75 days
- 6 | 16 years 8 months | 11 years 327 days
- 7 | 14 years 104 days | 10 years 89 days
- 8 | 12½ years | 9 years 2 days
- 9 | 11 years 40 days | 8 years 16 days
- 10 | 10 years | 7 years 100 days
- ---------+--------------------+---------------------
-
-The really surprising difference between simple and compound interest
-is, however, only seen after the first few years are over. A loan of
-£100 for ten years at 4 per cent. simple interest would give £40, and
-at 4 per cent. compound interest about £47. But if the loan were for
-a hundred years the simple interest would be only £400, whilst the
-compound interest would be no less than £4,950.
-
-Having now said all that is necessary at present about interest, we
-must speak for a little on the subject of banking, for it is by means
-of banks that most money transactions are satisfactorily managed.
-
-What, then, is a bank? There seems, at first sight, something
-mysterious about it, but it is really a simple institution. It is
-partly a shop and partly a left-luggage office. It is a shop for
-dealing in cheques, bills, notes, gold, and silver, and a left-luggage
-office to which we consign our spare cash to lie till called for.
-
-This, however, is only a rough and ready way of putting it, and we may
-as well add the following extract from a writer who has taken pains to
-give an exact definition:—“A banker is the custodier of the money of
-other people. Such is his business, viewed in its simplest aspect. A
-banker, however, if he hoarded the money deposited with him, would be
-simply a cash-keeper to the public; his bank would be literally a bank
-of _deposit_.... But the business of receiving money on deposit has
-always been, and is now, universally combined with that of lending it
-out. A banker does not hoard all the money deposited with him—he gives
-the greater portion out in loan. The lending of money is as much a part
-of his business as the receiving of deposits.”
-
-You cannot go into a banker’s and say, “I have come to open an
-account,” just as you would enter a grocer’s with, “Be so good as send
-me half a dozen tins of the best sardines.” You must be introduced by
-someone who can vouch for your respectability, or, if not introduced,
-you must be able yourself to satisfy the banker that you are likely to
-be a desirable customer.
-
-This first step being taken, you open what is called a _current or
-drawing account_; that is to say, an account into which you can pay
-money whenever it suits you, and from which you can draw money at any
-time by means of orders, or _cheques_, as they are called. In a current
-account in a good bank money is kept safely—which is a great matter—and
-at the same time you can make use of it as readily as if it were lying
-in your pocket.
-
-For convenience, and partly, too, as a protection against fraud,
-bankers are in the habit of supplying their customers with books
-containing forms of cheques. When a book of cheques is exhausted, a new
-one is supplied on the presentation of a form which, when filled up,
-may resemble the following:—
-
- THE CASHIER,
- THE COSMOPOLITAN BANK.
- LONDON, _29th November, 1886._
-
- _Please deliver to Bearer Cheque Book containing 25 cheques
- payable to_
-
- JEMIMA BOUNCER.
-
-Each cheque bears a penny impressed stamp, and a book of cheques is
-supplied at the price of the stamps—a book, say, of twenty-five costing
-two shillings and a penny.
-
-Cheques may be in one or other of two forms. The first form is—
-
- No. 478953. LONDON............188...
- THE COSMOPOLITAN BANK,
- 14, Marketjew-street, E.C.
-
- Pay..................or Bearer..................
- £...............
-
-The other form is precisely the same, except that instead of the word
-“Bearer” it has the word “Order.”
-
-As an example of a cheque with the particulars filled in, take the
-following:—
-
- No. 536212.
-
- LONDON, 19th November, 1886.
- THE COSMOPOLITAN BANK,
- 14, Marketjew-street, E.C.
-
- _Pay Miss Georgina Makepeace or Bearer Nine pounds Thirteen
- shillings and Four pence._
-
- £9: 13: 4. ALICE M. LITTLEPROUD.
-
-The difference between cheques made out to “Bearer” and those made out
-to “Order” is this. Cheques payable to bearer can be cashed by anyone.
-Those payable to order, however, must be endorsed by the person in
-whose favour they are drawn before the money can be received. But what
-is to _endorse_ a cheque? It is simply to write your name on the back
-of it.
-
-Cheques payable to order are certainly safer than those payable to
-bearer. And they have another advantage. In the event of receipts being
-lost or mislaid, they supply evidence that the money was received by
-the person to whom it was owing.
-
-A cheque payable to bearer can be made payable to order by drawing the
-pen through “Bearer,” and writing “Order” above it. A cheque payable to
-order can also be made payable to bearer by scratching out “Order” and
-putting “Bearer” above it; but in this case you must put your initials
-to the alteration.
-
-To give extra security to a cheque, draw two parallel lines across the
-face of it with the words “—— & Co.” inserted between them. This makes
-it what is called a “crossed cheque,” which will only be paid through
-some banker to a known customer. Instead of “—— & Co.” you may write
-the name of the banker of the person to whom the cheque is payable.
-When this is done, the cheque is only payable through him.
-
-If in crossing the cheque you add the words “Not negociable,” that is
-another safeguard. These words “warn all whom it may concern that they
-accept the cheque subject to the liability of being compelled to refund
-its value should it prove to have come improperly into the possession
-of any person from whom their own title is derived.” This makes a
-cheque as secure against the wiles of the dishonest as anything in this
-world can be.
-
-The filling up of a cheque should be done very carefully, and the style
-of signature should be always the same. The figures in the body of a
-cheque must be in words, and should be written close together, so that
-there is no room left for the fraudulent to improve on the amount.
-Cases have frequently occurred of “ty” being added to six, seven, and
-nine, to make them read sixty, seventy, and ninety, and a “y” being
-given as a tail to eight, to multiply eight by ten, is quite a common
-trick. As a protection, the words “Under ten pounds” are sometimes
-written upon a cheque that lends itself to this sort of roguery.
-
-Suppose a cheque is given by a person who has not money enough in the
-bank to meet it, the banker will most likely return it, with the words
-written on it, “No effects,” or “Refer to Drawer.” The cheque is then
-said to be _dishonoured_.
-
-Cheques should always be _cashed_—that is to say, payment of them
-should be got—as soon as possible after they have come to hand. It is
-never safe to delay, for the most unlikely things happen; the bank may
-fail, or the drawer may become bankrupt, or his account may become
-locked up through his death.
-
-A memorandum should be preserved of every cheque you give away. This is
-provided for by the cheque-books furnished by the banks having a margin
-which is left when the cheque is torn out. This margin, separated
-from the cheque by a perforated line, is known as the _counterfoil_.
-The counterfoil bears the same number as the cheque to which it is
-attached. Here is an example of one filled up:
-
- No. 213,551
-
- _17th November, 1886._
- DR. SIMON BURRE.
- _Medical Attendance._
- £7.7.0
-
-On the back of each counterfoil some people are in the habit of
-writing the balance they have at the moment in the bank. This has some
-advantages, and is certainly a check to extravagance.
-
-Though cheques are usually made out on engraved forms, you may write a
-cheque on a sheet of note-paper should a cheque-book not be at hand. In
-that case, remember to put a penny stamp on it, and to cancel the stamp
-by writing on it the date and your initials.
-
-Keep your cheque-book always under lock and key. If you leave it about,
-it only puts temptation in the way of people to abstract a blank form
-and make free with your signature. Should your book ever be lost or
-stolen, give notice at once to the bank.
-
-Lodging money is one of the easiest of business operations. You go to
-the bank, and fill up a slip, headed, say—
-
- THE COSMOPOLITAN BANK,
- 14, Marketjew-street.
-
- ............18...
-
- CREDIT...........................
- _Paid in by_.....................
-
-Below this heading you enter the particulars of the sum you are going
-to lodge:—Bank-notes, so much; coin, so much; cheques and bills
-(mentioned separately), so much; total, so much. You hand this slip
-over to the teller with the money, and the whole thing is done. No
-receipt is given, and it says a great deal for the perfect machinery by
-which banking is conducted that one never hears of a mistake, or that
-any customer ever thought his confidence taken advantage of. We speak
-here of the method in the best London banks. In the provinces and in
-some London establishments the form of procedure varies a little.
-
-When you send money to your banker by post, you should write with it
-somewhat as follows:—
-
- _Brackenhurst, 24th November, 1886._
-
- _Dear Sir_,
-
- _I enclose cheque for £34 12/—Messrs. Bagwell and Sackit on the
- Welsh Counties Bank—which kindly place to my credit._
-
- _I remain, Dear Sir,
- Yours truly,
- SILVANINHA HAMILTON._
-
- _The Manager_,
- THE COSMOPOLITAN BANK.
-
-Receipt of this will be acknowledged by the manager, thus:—
-
- _Dear Madam_,
-
- _I beg to acknowledge receipt of your favour of 24th inst.,
- with enclosure, value £34 12/, for your credit._
-
- _Yours, etc.,
- JACOB BIRCHENOUGH,
- Manager._
-
-To every person keeping an account the bank supplies a book, generally
-known as a _pass-book_. On the Dr. or left-hand side of this book, will
-appear the sums received on behalf of the owner of the book; whilst all
-the cheques paid on her account by the bank will appear on the Cr. or
-right-hand side. Here is an example in which, for convenience, we have
-printed the Cr. side under the Dr., instead of side by side:
-
- THE COSMOPOLITAN BANK.
- _in Account with_
- MISS ESMERALDA BEATRICE BONES.
-
- Dr.
- 1886
- Sept. 6 _To Cash_ £60 0 0
- 13 ” _Draft_ 14 7 6
- 23 ” _do._ 4 1 8
- 29 ” _Bill_ 17 18 0
- Oct. 2 ” _Notes_ 15 0 0
-
- 1886 Cr.
- Sept. 9 _By Twentyman_ £ 3 5 0
- 15 ” _Self_ 10 0 0
- 25 ” _Jones_ 5 1 3
- Oct. 6 ” _Williamson_ 4 9 8
- 12 ” _Thomson_ 27 2 5
-
-In this book you must never make an entry yourself. It should be left
-at regular intervals at the bank to be “made-up,” that is to say, for
-all the sums received and paid to be entered in it. The pass-book is
-really a copy of the bank ledger. When received again from the bank it
-should be gone over carefully to see that all the entries are just as
-they should be.
-
-Current accounts, as a general rule in England, do not bear any
-interest, in other words, the banker pays nothing for the use he enjoys
-of any balance left in his hands. Unless the balance is large he
-thinks he does enough in taking the trouble of keeping the account. In
-Scotland interest is usually given on current accounts, but it is only
-a slight advance upon nothing.
-
-Besides receiving money on current account, however, bankers receive it
-on _deposit_. _Deposit accounts_ are those in which sums of money are
-lodged in a bank on the understanding that a certain rate of interest
-is to be paid upon them, and that a certain number of days’ notice
-is to be given before they are withdrawn. There is no such thing as
-drawing cheques on a deposit account.
-
-When money is received on deposit, a deposit receipt is given. The
-amount is usually repayable to the depositor alone, but it may also be
-paid to anyone to whom the depositor gives an order on the bank, either
-written on the back of the deposit receipt or accompanying it.
-
-The rate of interest paid on deposits varies with the Bank of England
-rate. It is, however, usually so small that no one, except for special
-reasons, will let money lie on deposit in a bank whilst there are
-plenty of perfectly safe investments to be met with outside.
-
-For business women who travel few business documents are of greater
-interest than a _letter of credit_. This is a communication from a
-banker to a correspondent, or correspondents, authorising credit to be
-given to the bearer to a certain specified amount.
-
-In applying for a letter of credit you must name to your banker the sum
-you will require altogether, and the number of towns in which you wish
-to draw portions of that sum, and if there are, say, three towns—Paris,
-Berlin and Rome—you must enclose your signature on three separate
-sheets of paper. The banker sends one of these slips to an agent in
-each of the towns named, and forwards to you a letter of credit in this
-form:—
-
- Messrs. ANCELOT & SANTINE _Paris._
- ” OTTO, RUST & UMLAUF _Berlin._
- ” TRENTO, BERTONI, & VALENTINO _Rome._
-
- LONDON, 27th November, 1886.
-
- _Gentlemen_,
-
- _We have the pleasure of establishing a credit in favour of
- Miss Robina Turpin, who will present to you this letter, and we
- shall thank you to supply her with cash to the amount of one
- hundred and twenty-five pounds (£125) sterling, or such part
- thereof as may not previously have been paid on this credit,
- writing off on the back of this letter the sum advanced, and
- taking her drafts on us in your favour for your reimbursement,
- which we engage duly to honour._
-
- _We remain, Gentlemen,
- Your most obedient Servants,
- SMITH, PATERSON & WINKLES._
-
-
-Across the face of the letter of credit is written, “_This credit to be
-in force for twelve months only from this date._”
-
-_Circular Notes_, as they are called, are in one respect an improvement
-on a letter of credit: they can be cashed in almost every town the
-traveller is likely to visit. They are issued by most London bankers
-and for sums of from £10 upwards.
-
-A banker has a pretty responsible time of it. He is bound to keep
-secret the state of his customer’s account. He must also know his
-customer’s handwriting, so, should he pay a cheque or bill which turns
-out to be a forgery, he must bear the loss. If he neglects to carry
-out any instructions within the legitimate sphere of banking business,
-such as the payment of premiums on a life insurance or the purchase
-of shares, he may be called to account for any loss the customer may
-suffer through his carelessness.
-
-The simplest bank in the country, and the most important to depositors
-of small means is the Post Office Savings Bank, about which we must
-now speak. It is an extensive institution, having over eight thousand
-branch establishments all over the country; indeed, every money order
-office is a branch office of the Post Office Savings Bank. At the
-present time there are more than three and a half millions of accounts
-open, with an average balance of £13 10s., and the average turnover of
-the bank, counting both the money deposited and the money drawn out, is
-twenty-eight million pounds a year.
-
-You cannot, in the Post Office Savings Bank, open an account from
-which, by means of cheques, you can draw money at any hour. It does not
-provide cheque books, and makes the withdrawal of money comparatively
-a slow process, for its leading idea is not to facilitate present
-business, but to provide for future need. It really starts with the
-reflection that
-
- “If youth but knew what age would crave,
- Many a penny it would save.”
-
-An account may be opened with a very small sum. You can do it with
-a shilling. With that in your hand you can go to a post office, and
-assert your intention of placing your savings under the care of the
-Government. And remember that the shilling, and anything else added to
-it, will be safer than in any other bank whatever; for the Post Office
-Savings Bank can only come to grief with the ruin of the British Empire.
-
-Intending depositors must state their Christian name and surname,
-occupation (if any), and residence, and they must sign a declaration to
-the effect that they have no interest in any savings bank account, and
-are willing to have any deposits they may make managed according to the
-regulations of the Post Office.
-
-When that is done a deposit book is supplied. In this book every
-deposit must be entered at the time of its being made by the
-postmaster, or whoever receives it, and he must affix to the entry his
-signature and the stamp of the office.
-
-“In addition to the receipt in the book, the depositor will receive an
-acknowledgment by post from the Savings Bank department in London, and
-this should reach him within four clear days, exclusive of Sundays and
-bank holidays, if the deposit be made in England or Wales; within six
-days, if it be made in Ireland or Scotland.”
-
-The interest allowed is 2½ per cent. per annum—that is to say, at the
-rate of £2 10s. every year for every £100. This is just a halfpenny
-each month for every pound. Thus, a pound lodged in the bank, and lying
-there for a year, becomes £1 0s. 6d.: £10 becomes £10 5s.; and £30
-grows to be £30 15s. The interest is calculated to the 31st of December
-in every year, and is then added to and becomes part of the principal.
-
-The deposits made in any year ending 31st December must not exceed £30,
-and when a depositor has lodged in all £150, not counting interest, she
-is not allowed to lodge any more till she has reduced the sum standing
-at her credit. If she chooses to let it lie, it will, of course,
-by the addition of interest, increase every year. When it reaches
-£200, however, no more interest is allowed till some of the money is
-withdrawn.
-
-When a depositor wishes to withdraw any money, she fills up a notice
-of withdrawal, to be had at any Post Office Savings Bank, and forwards
-it to the Savings Bank Department in London. She then receives by post
-a warrant, which she should present with her book at the post office
-where payment is to be made.
-
-Once in every year, on the anniversary of the day on which the
-first deposit was made, the deposit book should be forwarded to the
-Controller of the Savings Bank Department in London, that the entries
-may be checked, and that the sum due for interest may be added. When
-sending the book, do not pay postage: all communications on Savings
-Bank business go free.
-
-Deposits may be made by married women, and in that case their husbands
-have no control over the money. They can draw from it when they please,
-and bequeath it by will to any person they choose.
-
-The Post Office Savings Bank adapts itself to saving on the smallest
-scale. If a girl can only save a penny at a time, she can with the
-penny buy a stamp, and the stamp she can stick on a form with twelve
-divisions, supplied by the Post Office. When she has in this way saved
-twelve stamps, she must take it to the post office, and have the
-shilling entered in a regular bank account.
-
-But the Post Office undertakes more business in connection with money
-than merely storing it up against a rainy day. Of that, however, we
-shall speak in our next article.
-
-(_To be continued._)
-
-
-
-
-A SONG FOR THE OLD YEAR.
-
-BY M. M. POLLARD.
-
-
- A tale of the past, a tale of the past!
- Of the days that have vanished, the first and the last,
- Of the year, the old year that has met with its doom,
- And is vanished for ever in time’s yawning tomb!
- The snow of December is spread as a pall
- Of white-crested trophies to mourn for its fall,
- And the flow of the river is hushed in its bed,
- Silent and still as the year that has fled.
-
- Bright were the blossoms that welcomed its birth,
- Springing afresh from the bosom of earth,
- Smiling in valley, on mountain, and glade,
- Gladdening the pathway in sunshine or shade.
- But they have budded and blossomed to fall,
- Summer birds answer no more to the call,
- They are gone—and the wail of the chill wintry blast
- Sweeps like the sound of a requiem past.
-
- E’en as the seasons my life-tale has been,
- Sunshine has lightened up many a scene;
- Sometimes the hours seemed all brightness and joy,
- Cloudless and calm as a sweet summer sky;
- Sometimes the beauty fled swiftly away,
- As rising clouds shadow the glory of day,
- For life has all changes—is joyous or drear,
- Like the seasons that make up thy round, hoary year!
-
- And many more cycles will swiftly roll past,
- With changes, and sunshine, and gloom like the last,
- Giving new birth to the blossom and rill,
- And voices will praise them when mine shall be still,
- And others will welcome with gladness or tears,
- The hope and the promise of many more years.
- Oh, year that is vanished! I bid thee farewell,
- And the chill winds of winter are sounding thy knell.
-
-[Illustration: THE NEW YEAR’S BELLS.]
-
-
-
-
-MERLE’S CRUSADE.
-
-BY ROSA NOUCHETTE CAREY, Author of “Aunt Diana,” “For Lilias,” etc.
-
-
-CHAPTER XI.
-
-MARSHLANDS.
-
-We had started by an early train, and arrived at Netherton soon after
-four. I knew we were to be met at the station, and was not at all
-surprised when a fresh-coloured, white-haired old gentleman brandished
-his stick as a token of welcome to Joyce. I was quite sure that it was
-Squire Cheriton before Joyce clapped her hands and exclaimed, “There’s
-gran.”
-
-“Halloa, little one,” he said, cheerily, as she ran up to him with a
-joyous face, “so you have not forgotten grandfather. Bless me, you
-are not a bit like Vi, you have taken after Alick. So this is the
-boy, nurse? Dear me! which is the nurse?” looking at me with rather a
-puzzled countenance.
-
-“I am the nurse, sir,” I returned, quietly; “and this is Hannah.”
-
-“Hannah Sowerby, of course. Bless me, I never forget a face—never;
-I knew yours directly,” as Hannah dropped a countrified curtsey to
-the squire. “I saw Michael the other day; he was looking hale and
-hearty—hale and hearty; ‘that comes of hard work and temperate living,
-Michael,’ I said—oh, we are both of an age, old Michael and I, and I
-am hale and hearty, too. So this is my grandson; he is a fine fellow;
-takes after Vi, I should say. Come along, come along, there’s auntie
-waiting for us,” and, talking half to us and half to himself, Mr.
-Cheriton led us through the station. On the way, however, we were
-stopped twice; first, the station master was interviewed and the
-children introduced to him—
-
-“My grandchildren, Drake,” observed the Squire, proudly, twirling his
-gold headed stick as he spoke; then a burly farmer jostled against the
-squire, and the two commenced observations on the weather.
-
-“Fine weather for the crops, Roberts; the oats look lively. These are
-my grandchildren; fine boy that.”
-
-“Little girl looks rather peaky, squire; wants a bit of fattening.”
-
-“Eh, what! We’ll fatten her, won’t we, Joyce?” pinching the child’s
-thin cheek. “Takes after her father, Alick Morton. You can’t find fault
-with my grandson, Roberts, I hope; never seen a finer child in my life.”
-
-“Father, father,” exclaimed a fresh young voice, “what are you doing
-with those children? Methuselah is fretting terribly to be off. Do be
-quick, pray.”
-
-“I am coming, Gay. Now then, all of you, move on. Ta-ta, Roberts.” And
-Mr. Cheriton drove us out before him. An open barouche was waiting at
-the door, and a young lady was on the box trying to hold in a pair of
-thoroughbreds. When she saw us, she at once handed the reins to her
-father, and jumped lightly to the ground.
-
-“Kiss me, you darlings,” she said, coaxingly; “don’t you know me yet?”
-as Joyce hung back a little shyly. “I am Gay, the little auntie, as you
-used to call me. How do you do, Miss Fenton—you see I know your name.
-Hannah, I am glad to see you again. There is plenty of room for us all;
-the boxes are going by omnibus. Now, father, we are all ready,” and in
-another moment Methuselah and his mate were on their homeward way.
-
-Miss Cheriton chattered all the time. She was a pretty, dark-eyed
-girl, rather piquante in style, but not equal to her beautiful sister,
-though I caught an expression that reminded me now and then of my
-mistress. She struck me as very fresh and unconventional, and she had a
-bright, chirpy voice and manner that must have been very attractive to
-children. Joyce made friends with her at once, and even Reggie wanted
-to go to her, and received her caresses and compliments with unusual
-condescension.
-
-“How wonderfully he has improved, nurse—Miss Fenton, I mean. My sister
-told me he was a lovely boy, and so he is. Why, Rolf will look quite
-plain beside him. What nicely-behaved children they seem. Poor Rolf is
-such a plague to us all.”
-
-“Don’t you love Rolf, auntie?” asked Joyce, fixing her dark eyes on
-Miss Cheriton’s face.
-
-The young aunt looked rather perplexed at this question.
-
-“When Rolf is good I love him, but not when he teases, fidgets, or
-frightens my canaries; I do not love him a bit then. I am always
-longing to box his ears, only his mother would be so angry with me.
-Father, dear, do make Methuselah go a little slower, Mr. Hawtry is
-trying to overtake us.”
-
-“Holloa, Roger,” exclaimed the squire, in his hearty voice, “you did
-not think to pass Methuselah, did you, on that hack of yours?” And the
-next moment a gentleman, well mounted on a dark bay mare, rode up, and
-entered into conversation with Miss Cheriton. He threw a searching
-glance round the carriage as he lifted his hat, and then laid his hand
-on the carriage door.
-
-“Good afternoon, squire; Methuselah seems a trifle fresh. How is it you
-are not driving, as usual, Miss Cheriton? Better employed, I suppose,”
-with a look at Reggie. “So these are Alick Morton’s children, are they?
-The little girl looks delicate. You must bring them out to my place;
-Mrs. Cornish will give them plenty of new milk. By the by, isn’t that
-Hannah Sowerby?” And as she dimpled and looked pleased, “Why, I was
-over at Wheeler’s Farm this morning, and your sister Molly was talking
-about you. I wanted Matthew to come up to the Red Farm for a job—he is
-a handy fellow, that brother of yours—so, as I was waiting, I had a
-chat with Molly.”
-
-I looked across at Hannah and saw how this kindly mention of her home
-pleased her. It was good-natured of Mr. Hawtry to single her out, and
-this little act of Christian charity prepossessed me in his favour. He
-was not very young—a little over thirty, I should have judged—and had a
-strong sensible face, “not a mask without any meaning to it,” as Aunt
-Agatha sometimes said, but a face that seemed to reveal a sensible,
-downright character.
-
-I saw Mr. Hawtry look in my direction once a little doubtfully. I
-daresay, being an old friend of the family, he thought it rather
-odd that Miss Cheriton did not introduce him to me, but Joyce soon
-enlightened him.
-
-“Oh, nurse! do look at those pretty flowers,” she called out, pulling
-my gown to enforce my attention.
-
-“Yes, I see them, dear,” I answered, quietly, and then Reggie became
-restless and struggled to get to me, so I took him in my arms, and at
-that moment the carriage turned in at some lodge gates.
-
-I had not been able to judge much of the place. Miss Cheriton’s chatter
-had engrossed me. I knew we had driven very fast through a pretty
-village, and that we had turned off down a country road, and that was
-all. Once I fancied I had caught a blue shimmer in the distance that
-must have been the sea, but after we had turned into the lodge gates,
-I took no more notice of Miss Cheriton and her companion. I was far
-too curious to see Marshlands, the home where my beloved mistress had
-passed her childhood.
-
-A short avenue brought us to the gravelled sweep before the hall door.
-A large sunny garden with terraces seemed to stretch into a park-like
-meadow; in reality it was divided by a wire fence to keep in the sheep
-that were feeding between the trees. An old white pony was looking
-across the fence, attracted by the sound of our horses, a little black
-and tan terrier flew out on the steps barking, and a peacock, who was
-spreading his tail on the sundial, retreated in much disgust, sweeping
-his train of feathers behind him.
-
-“Jacko hates Fidgets,” observed Miss Cheriton, as the children clapped
-their hands at the gorgeous bird, and then Mr. Hawtry dismounted and
-lifted Joyce out of the carriage.
-
-I stood for a moment with Reggie in my arms, admiring the old red brick
-house, with its ivy-covered gables, before we entered the wide dark
-hall, and it was then that I distinctly heard Mr. Hawtry say—
-
-“Who is that young lady?”
-
-“Do you mean the children’s nurse, Miss Fenton?” observed Miss
-Cheriton, carelessly. “Oh, yes, Vi says she is quite a lady, and very
-nice, but——” Here I passed on quickly and lost the rest, only my
-foolish cheeks caught fire. Merle, Merle, be prudent, remember the
-Valley of Humiliation. What does it matter, my girl, what the world
-thinks? Eve was a dairymaid in Eden.
-
-An old grey-headed butler had hurried out to meet us. Miss Cheriton,
-who had joined us after a minute or two, questioned him at once.
-
-“Is Mrs. Markham still out, Benson?”
-
-“Yes, ma’am, and Master Rolf and Judson are with her, but I have taken
-tea into the morning-room.”
-
-“Very well, Benson, I will be down presently. Now, Miss Fenton, let me
-show you your quarters,” and she preceded us up the dark old staircase,
-and down a long narrow lobby, lighted with small lozenged pane windows,
-and threw open a door at the end of the passage. “This is the old day
-nursery, and there are two bedrooms communicating with it. Susan will
-bring up the children’s tea directly. Will you ring for anything you
-want. I am sorry I cannot wait now, but I must pour out tea for my
-father and Mr. Hawtry. I will come up again by-and-by,” and she nodded
-pleasantly and ran away.
-
-I looked round the nursery approvingly. It was such a charming,
-old-fashioned room, rather low, perhaps, but with brown wainscotting,
-and a dark panelled ceiling, and wooden window seats, and though the
-windows were small, they were deliciously quaint, and they looked
-out on the grass terrace and the sundial, and there was the white
-pony grazing under the elms, and such a pretty peep of the park, as
-I supposed they called it. An old black-faced sheep came in sight; I
-called Joyce to look at it, and even Reggie clapped his dear little
-hands, and cried out, “Ba—ba, ba—ba.”
-
-The bedrooms were just as cosy and old-fashioned as the nursery. The
-bed where Joyce and I were to sleep was hung with curious blue chintz,
-and there was an oak wardrobe that looked black with age, and curious
-prints in little black frames hung round the walls. Reggie’s cot had
-chintz hangings too. The afternoon sunshine was flooding the room, as
-I stood at the window a moment. I called to Hannah to admire the view.
-We were at the back of the house; there was a kitchen garden and fruit
-trees, then came a deep, narrow lane and cornfield, and beyond lay the
-sea; I could even catch sight of a white sail very near the shore.
-
-I never saw Hannah so excited as she was when she caught sight of that
-lane. She thrust her head out of the window, almost overbalancing
-herself in her eagerness.
-
-“Why, miss,” she exclaimed, “there is Cherry-tree-lane, and if we could
-only see round the corner—but those pear trees shut it out—we should
-see Wheeler’s Farm. Isn’t it like being at home?” her voice trembling
-with emotion. “Directly I had a taste of the salt air, and a glimpse of
-Squire Hawtry’s cornfields, I felt almost beside myself.” And indeed
-the girl’s honest joy was good to witness, and again, as I thought of
-those sisters crowding out the attics of Wheeler’s Farm, I could have
-found it in my heart to envy Hannah.
-
-When I had taken off the children’s things we went back to the day
-nursery. A freckled-faced country girl was covering the round table
-with all sorts of dainties—new laid eggs, fruit, jam, and honey; there
-seemed no end to the good things. She nodded to Hannah in a friendly
-way, and asked after her health in broad Sussex dialect.
-
-“Do you know Susan?” I observed, in some surprise, as I poured out some
-milk for the thirsty children.
-
-“She is a neighbour’s daughter,” replied Hannah, as she waited on us.
-“Susan was never much to my taste, but we learnt our samplers together.
-The Mullinses are not our sort,” she continued, with manifest pride.
-“Joseph Mullins is the village cobbler, but he is none too steady, and
-father and Molly can’t abide him.”
-
-As soon as the children had finished their tea, I took them to the
-window, where they found plenty to amuse them. The white pony was still
-cropping the grass; here and there was a nibbling sheep; the rooks were
-cawing about their nests in the elm trees; the peacock was strutting
-along the terrace, accompanied by his mate; a pair of golden-crested
-pheasants followed them.
-
-Presently the bay mare was brought round by a groom, and Mr. Hawtry
-came out on the terrace, and stood talking to Mr. Cheriton before he
-mounted.
-
-“Why did you call him Squire Hawtry, Hannah?” I observed, curiously, as
-he rode away down the avenue.
-
-“He is mostly called by that name,” returned Hannah. “He is a gentleman
-farmer, and lives at the Red Farm down Dorlcote way. His mother and
-sister used to live with him, but his mother died two years ago, and
-Miss Agnes did not long survive her. She was a sweet creature, and very
-handsome, but she had been a sad invalid the last few years of her
-life.”
-
-“Poor Mr. Hawtry! and he is all alone.”
-
-“Quite alone, except for his good old housekeeper, Mrs. Cornish;
-she takes good care of Mr. Roger, as she calls him. Folks say,”
-continued Hannah, somewhat hesitating, “Squire Hawtry has had enough
-of loneliness and nursing Miss Agnes, and that he is looking out for a
-wife; he and Miss Gay are firm friends, and——”
-
-“I think Reggie is getting sleepy,” I observed, hastily, for Joyce was
-listening with all her might, and the old proverb is true in saying
-“little pitchers have long ears;” besides which this was gossiping
-about other people’s affairs, and Hannah knew I never countenanced
-gossip; it always seemed to me such a mean and undignified thing to
-chatter about those who were inmates of the house that sheltered us.
-We had partaken of their bread and salt, and so they ought to have
-been sacred to us. How little the world understands the so-called word
-“honour,” but “_Noblesse oblige_” is a safe motto.
-
-Hannah took the hint with her usual good nature, and went off for the
-bath water. The next moment there was a slight peremptory tap at the
-nursery door, and before I could answer a tall, elegant-looking woman,
-dressed in black, entered the room. I rose at once in some little
-trepidation; of course it was Mrs. Markham.
-
-“Good evening, nurse,” she said, in rather a thin, highly-pitched
-voice. “I hope you find yourself comfortable, and that the children are
-not tired with the journey.” Then, without waiting for an answer, she
-seated herself languidly, and called to Joyce, “Come to me, my dear; I
-am your Aunt Adelaide; good children always come when they are called.”
-
-I gave Joyce a slight push, for she was hanging back in a most
-unaccountable way, and yet she was by no means a shy child, and would
-be friendly even with strangers, if she liked their appearance. I
-thought Mrs. Markham looked a little annoyed at her hesitation, but she
-controlled herself and tried coaxing.
-
-“What would your mamma say, if you refused to kiss poor Aunt Adelaide?
-Come, that is better,” as Joyce advanced, timidly. “Why what a thin,
-sickly-looking child it is,” regarding the sweet little face before her
-rather critically; “I should hardly have thought,” speaking half to
-herself, “that Violet would have had such a plain child.”
-
-I was indignant at this; for everyone thought Joyce had a lovely
-little face, though it was rather too thin and grave. “Excuse me, Mrs.
-Markham,” I observed, hastily, “but Joyce is a very forward child, and
-understands all that is said before her,” for it was hard that our pet
-should meet with such a cold reception.
-
-Mrs. Markham regarded me with a supercilious stare; she evidently
-thought I was taking a liberty with her in venturing to remonstrate,
-but I took no notice, and prudently restrained myself.
-
-I felt, even at that first moment, an unaccountable dislike to Mrs.
-Markham. Most people would have pronounced her very handsome, in spite
-of her sallow complexion and thin lips, but a certain hardness in her
-expression repelled me, as it repelled Joyce. Her dark eyes regarded
-one so coldly; there was such hauteur and indifference in her manners;
-and then the metallic harshness of her voice! “How could she be Mrs.
-Morton’s sister?” I thought, as I recalled the sweet graciousness, the
-yielding softness, that made my dear mistress so universally beloved.
-
-(_To be continued._)
-
-
-
-
-CHRISTMAS IN THE GERMAN FATHERLAND.
-
-
-In the days of my youth it was my good fortune to have letters of
-introduction to some German friends of our family, and to be invited to
-spend the winter with them in their charming country house at the foot
-of the Riesengebirge.[1]
-
-It was the 24th of December, and bitterly cold, when I emerged from the
-railway carriage upon the platform of a small country station, and was
-taken into friendly possession by a vivacious little dark-eyed baroness
-and her tall, flaxen-haired son, who, with many fears that I must be
-nearly frozen by my long journey from Berlin, wrapped me in an extra
-fur and supplied me with a third veil before allowing me to encounter
-the keen outer air and a long sledge drive.
-
-To drive in a sledge at all was to me a novel and delightful
-experience, and the sledge to which I was now conducted was
-particularly pretty, with its body of light carved wood, its fur rugs
-lined with crimson, its pair of cream-coloured Russian ponies, with
-their harness studded with silver knobs, and arches of silver bells
-over their heads; and when once we were all warmly ensconced among
-the cushions and wrappers, and were gliding with noiseless swiftness
-over the well-kept sledge-way, it seemed to me that sledging was the
-very acme of luxurious motion, and I felt almost sorry when Baron Max
-checked his ponies to point out the high tower, now close at hand,
-which he said formed part of the main building of his home.
-
-After passing through some fine pine-woods, we drove across the whilom
-moat, now planted with trees and called the Dark Walk, and, driving
-under a small archway, found ourselves in a spacious court laid out as
-a flower-garden, while facing us, and forming three sides of a hollow
-square, stood the schloss itself. The great entrance was approached
-by a long flight of steps, and upon these were several liveried
-servants awaiting our arrival, while at the sound of the sleigh-bells
-and the cracking of the driver’s whip, two great wolfhounds rushed
-out to welcome their master, and were followed, more sedately, by the
-daughters of the house, who from their striking disparity in height
-were always known by the sobriquet of Tiny and Tall.
-
-To Tiny’s care I was immediately consigned, and, after a brief
-adjournment to my room, was led by her into the saloon, where we found
-Tall presiding over the coffee and cakes, which, as I discovered later
-on, she had herself prepared.
-
-The Baroness had disappeared, leaving an apology for me that, as it
-was Christmas Eve, she had much to do, to which she must attend, and
-while we were waiting the signal to go and view the tree, Tiny and
-Tall proceeded to enlighten me as to many of their national customs in
-connection with this particular season.
-
-In this village, for instance, as in many others of the Fatherland,
-and especially in Southern Germany, a veiled woman goes up and down
-the streets after nightfall, bearing in her arms a child chosen for
-his beauty and goodness to represent the Infant Saviour, and as they
-pass along they find the cottage windows discreetly left ajar, so
-that the Christ-child, as he is called, can leave upon the sill some
-token of the day. Every good child, upon awakening next morning, finds
-gifts—oranges, sweeties, or some such things; but, alas for the child
-who has been naughty! for him are no such delights; for him there lies
-only a pliant willow or birchen rod, suggestive of the chastisement he
-deserves. Into the towns the Christ-child seldom comes; he is there
-replaced by the Christmas tree; and it was to decorate such a tree that
-the mother of the family had now disappeared.
-
-The room in which I was hearing all this was large and lofty, lighted
-by five windows, the remaining walls being hung with ancestral
-portraits; for these unassuming, domesticated young girls were the
-descendants of a noble and historical line, would not have changed
-their ancient barony for a modern dukedom, and with pardonable pride
-showed me the family portraits, and gave me slight sketches concerning
-the originals. The most striking of these was certainly the full-length
-picture of that old field-marshal of whom Carlyle thus graphically
-writes:—“With regard to Friedrich, the court-martial needs no amendment
-from the King. The sentence on Friedrich, a lieutenant-colonel guilty
-of desertion, is from president and all members, except two, death as
-by law.”
-
-From this portrait we turned to that of Frederic the Great himself—his
-own gift to the family; from that prince the transition was easy to the
-subject of the Seven Years War, and we had begun planning excursions to
-the different battlefields when a bell began to ring, and changed the
-current of our thoughts.
-
-We rushed down a long corridor, being joined as we went by different
-other members of the household, and reached the room from whence
-the blaze of light betrayed the presence of the great tree. It was,
-indeed, a giant, and formed a most imposing spectacle, as it stood in
-the centre of the large room, dazzling with variegated waxen tapers,
-shimmering all over with ice-like crystals, and decorated with gilded
-fruits and sweetmeats. The base of this wonderful member of the
-vegetable world was covered by a pyramid of the tempting confectionery
-and gingerbread peculiar to the province, and for which lots had
-afterwards to be drawn.
-
-Round the room, and overshadowed by the mighty branches of the central
-tree, stood tiny specimens of the same tribe, each standing upon a
-table laden with gifts, and each destined for a separate member of the
-family and household.
-
-Even I, stranger as I was, had my own little tree and table of
-presents—pieces of fine Silesian linen, a huge surprise ball,[2] and
-a pretty gold brooch, embossed with roses and forget-me-nots, which I
-cherish still in remembrance of my first happy visit to Germany. There
-were so many pretty things to admire, so many thanks to tender, so many
-good wishes to exchange, that it was growing quite late before we could
-make up our minds to leave these “halls of dazzling light” for the more
-prosaic supper-room.
-
-Here—as in Germany the Eve is more celebrated (except as regards
-religious services) than the Christmas Day itself—we found the
-traditional dishes of Germany and of England. In honour of Germany I
-had to make acquaintance with real black bread—“Pumpernickel,” as they
-call it in some parts of Germany, sauerkraut, and raw smoked ham, all
-of which at first I secretly thought odious, but eventually grew to
-like very much; and in honour of England we had plum pudding and mince
-pies—the former not at all badly cooked, the latter a dismal failure,
-as most English housewives will understand when I tell them that the
-cook, although adhering strictly to the proportions of an excellent
-recipe, had—for some extraordinary reasons of his own—pounded the whole
-into a paste, and enclosed it in a very thick crust, the shape and size
-of a small pork pie.
-
-We did not linger long after supper; for it had been a long and
-fatiguing day for everyone. As for myself, after so many interesting
-and novel incidents, and so long and wearying a journey, I was only too
-glad to find myself once more in my own room, and I slept without pause
-or wakening until the appearance of the young ladies’ maid, Amalia, at
-my bedside next morning with a cup of coffee and the intimation that it
-was now 7.30, and that the sledge for church-goers would be at the door
-at nine o’clock.
-
-We were off punctually to the time, and after about half an hour’s
-drive over the hard-frozen snow, upon which the brilliant sunshine was
-streaming down, we reached the unpretending-looking little Lutheran
-church. Here, as the due of the Adel,[3] we sat in a gallery all by
-ourselves, and had high-backed velvet chairs, surmounted by the baron’s
-coronet, and with footstools embroidered to match; and very strange it
-seemed to me to be looking down from this pinnacle of isolated grandeur
-upon the poorer congregation below.
-
-Generally speaking, these wore the costume of the province, and a
-charming costume too—a short skirt of red, green, or blue serge, with
-five broad bands of black velvet round the lower edge; black velvet
-bodice, laced over a full chemisette, and sleeves of white cambric;
-pointed velvet cap (of the Stuart shape), in colour matching the skirt,
-adorned with heavy gold braiding, and edged with a fluting of Silesian
-lace. Long gold earrings and a broad gold plaque, set with garnets and
-suspended by a slender chain round the neck, were the ornaments worn
-with this costume, and were, as I was afterwards told, handed down as
-family heirlooms from mother to child.
-
-The dress of the men was, of course, less elaborate. It consisted of
-dark-blue or grey cloth suits, much adorned with silver buttons. Both
-men and women wore long black stockings and buckled shoes as part of
-their Sunday garb, but on weekdays generally go barefoot.
-
-Those among the congregation who abjured these picturesque costumes
-and went in for modern fashion, wore—like the gentle folk—black;
-and I found to my astonishment that black was also _de rigueur_
-for Confirmation and the Holy Communion. The clergyman, a tall,
-kindly-looking old man, wore a long black gown and a wide box-pleated
-ruff. There was an ebony and silver crucifix upon the altar, which had
-lighted waxen tapers burning upon it. The musical part of the service
-was led by a full brass band; and, to complete my surprise, I found it
-was against rule to kneel at any time; one either sat or stood.
-
-All this seemed so utterly at variance with recognised ideas in England
-upon the same subject, that I am afraid I did not much profit by my
-first church-going in the Fatherland. Still, it was an interesting
-experience, and when time had familiarised me more with both the
-language and the customs, I found a great deal that I could honestly
-admire, though I never ceased to prefer our own bright and beautiful
-Liturgy to the somewhat ponderous nature of worship in the Fatherland.
-
-
-FOOTNOTES:
-
-[1] A lofty chain of mountains lying to the south of the province of
-Silesia.
-
-[2] A ball of this kind is a favourite gift in Germany. It looks like a
-very unskilfully-wound ball of knitting wool. You are bound in honour
-to knit it up, and as you do so you disclose, one by one, a variety of
-gifts, the most precious being generally the innermost of all.
-
-[3] Nobility.
-
-
-
-
-“NO.”
-
-BY MARY E. HULLAH.
-
-[Illustration: “AN EMPTY CAB CAME RATTLING ROUND THE CORNER.”]
-
-
-CHAPTER III.
-
-The wind blew fiercer than ever as Embrance turned out of the broad
-avenue into a side path, and found herself face to face with Horace
-Meade.
-
-“Good afternoon, Miss Clemon.”
-
-“Good afternoon, Mr. Meade.”
-
-She put her hand into his for a second; he had thrown away his cigar
-and turned to walk by her side. “How fast you walk,” he said; “I have
-been watching you for the last three minutes.”
-
-“I haven’t much time to lose,” said Embrance, apologetically, “as a
-rule. The park gate will shut soon.”
-
-“Yes, to be sure. Do you like the Regent’s-park?”
-
-“Very much; don’t you?”
-
-“Oh yes, immensely, but somehow I never come here. No, indeed, I
-don’t,” in answer to her look of amusement; “I came to-day because I
-thought there was a chance of meeting you. There is something that I
-want to talk to you about. Do you know that you are the most difficult
-person in the world to approach?”
-
-“I should not have thought so,” said Embrance, with a smile. “I think I
-can guess what you are going to tell me.”
-
-He shook his head: “I’m afraid you can’t.”
-
-“You must not suppose that she means all she says; only give her time
-and she will take your advice.”
-
-“Ah, yes; Joan, you mean?”
-
-It struck Embrance that he was very absent and unlike himself, but she
-had broached the subject now, and she felt bound to go on with it. “She
-told me that she was very sorry that she had been ungracious about some
-suggestion that you made. I’m quite sure that she would not willingly
-say anything to hurt you.”
-
-“I’m quite sure she would not,” assented Horace, “she is much too
-kind-hearted.”
-
-“And,” continued Embrance, clasping her hands firmly in her muff, “I
-wanted to say (we needn’t talk about it again), if you think that it
-would be better for her to go down to Doveton, I will try and persuade
-her to go; it would not be for long, perhaps.”
-
-“No, I suppose not,” said Horace, absently; “but don’t you see, Miss
-Clemon, the question is not altogether about Joan’s peace of mind, but
-yours?”
-
-They had reached the gate, and turned into a dreary piece of “outer
-circle.”
-
-“Mine?” exclaimed Embrance, growing scarlet in the dim twilight; “there
-is no occasion to talk about me.”
-
-“I beg your pardon, I have a great deal to say. Do you suppose I don’t
-see what you are doing for my cousin, how you are helping her and
-teaching her, and taking on your shoulders the responsibilities that
-her own family ought to bear?”
-
-“I had not looked upon it from that point of view,” said Embrance,
-dryly.
-
-“Now you are angry at what I have said; I can’t help it, I can’t hold
-my tongue any longer. Joan knows what I think, but perhaps she has not
-told you all I said; she is a dear little girl. Don’t imagine that I am
-throwing any blame on her, but she shouldn’t have come to London!”
-
-“I have tried to do my best for her,” said Embrance, in a broken voice.
-
-“Miss Clemon,” cried Horace, “you must think that I am behaving like
-a brute! Do you suppose I don’t know that? You have done her, and are
-doing her, all the good in the world.”
-
-“I thought that you did not trust me,” explained Embrance, simply. “I’m
-so glad I was wrong; indeed, Joan is like a younger sister to me; don’t
-try to separate us.”
-
-The light of a feeble gaslight fell upon her face as she spoke; her
-eyes were raised pleadingly to his.
-
-“You have mistaken me altogether,” he said, hurriedly, “but I couldn’t
-expect it to be otherwise. You must not misunderstand me again.
-Embrance, I know I am taking you by surprise; I must say it. I love
-you. I am miserable when I am away from you. Don’t, don’t turn away!”
-
-A gust of wind came roaring down the road; she did not heed it. She
-walked quietly by his side, stricken dumb with great joy. She did not
-deceive herself for one instant, it was too late for that, she liked
-him too well. She could not shut her heart to the truth, any more than
-she could shut her ears to his words. Alas, alas! where were all her
-plans for Joan? Did Joan love him? In the darkness of the badly lighted
-road, she seemed to see Joan’s beautiful face, and to hear her say,
-“Embrance, have patience with me. Don’t think ill of me! You are the
-only one who has patience with me!”
-
-“My poor dear, I will do my best for you,” she thought, as a feeling of
-great tenderness towards Joan came over her. She had no answer ready
-for Horace Meade. Ah! he was strong, and did not want her pity.
-
-“What shall I say? What shall I do?” she cried at last, in desperation.
-It seemed as if hours had passed since he had spoken the words that
-made this great difference in her life.
-
-“Have I distressed you? I can’t help it. Tell me, won’t you listen to
-me?”
-
-“I, I am sorry,” she faltered, looking at him with a tearful glance.
-
-“I didn’t know. I had thought——” She stopped; Joan’s name must not be
-mentioned now if she loved him; if—nay, she must love him, and he would
-find it out by-and-by; he could not but be fond of her. Only give them
-time; he was vexed with her for the moment; it would all come right.
-Nevertheless it was hard to give him her answer. “Mr. Meade,” she said,
-speaking more firmly now, “it is very good of you. I thank you very
-much. I can’t listen to you; it is better not.”
-
-“Are you engaged to that man who went to New Zealand?”
-
-“My cousin? No, certainly not; why should you think so?”
-
-“Joan said something about it, that is partly why I determined to know
-my fate at once.”
-
-“You must have misunderstood her altogether. When did you see her last?”
-
-“About a fortnight ago. I can’t remember,” he replied, impatiently. “I
-believe your whole thoughts are wrapped up in her.”
-
-“I beg your pardon. I didn’t mean to vex you. Can’t we be friends, at
-least?”
-
-Up to the present moment she had indeed been thinking how she could
-best make a reconciliation possible between him and Joan. With a sharp
-pang it struck her that perhaps after all she was in the wrong.
-
-“Listen,” he said; “I am in earnest, in bitter earnest. You believe me,
-don’t you?”
-
-“Yes,” said Embrance.
-
-“Thank you. I was sure of that, at least. I care so much that I can’t
-stay here any longer, coming to see you like a stranger, and having
-no right to help you in any way whatever. I have seen enough in the
-last few months to guess a little what your work is. No; let me say it
-out to the end. Before I knew you I fancied that you were selfish and
-indifferent. Heaven knows how wrong I was! If I can’t win your love, it
-is my own fault. Embrance, don’t decide in a hurry. Think it over. I
-love you. Give me a chance.”
-
-They had reached the crowded thoroughfare. Gaslights were flaring; the
-road was thronged with cabs and carts; the people were pushing along
-the pavement, too busy to notice the quiet couple, or to observe that
-the plain girl in an ulster had a white face, and that the lines of her
-mouth were set with pain and suffering. Across the street, in a few
-minutes, they were in a dreary square. Here there were no loiterers. A
-murky grey sky; black trees, flinging their gaunt arms to the chimney
-pots; rows of melancholy stone houses, with carved heads, placidly
-unconcerned, gazing down from the lintels.
-
-In vain she strove to find words to tell him her perplexity. How could
-she accept this gift from his hands, believing as she did that the
-child at home was longing to make friends with him? How should she
-return and look her friend in the face, saying, “I have stolen your
-lover”?
-
-“Embrance, be patient with me,” Joan had said. “Embrance, don’t give me
-up.”
-
-Then she turned and put her hand into Horace’s. Her fingers were cold
-as ice, but they did not tremble. “I can’t; don’t ask me,” she cried
-under her breath.
-
-He strode by her side in silence. An empty cab came rattling round the
-corner. “Stop it,” whispered Embrance. He obeyed her, opened the door,
-and told the man where to drive. He lifted his hat, standing on one
-side, and waiting for the cab to drive off. At last she raised her eyes
-to his. “Forgive me,” she whispered; “do forgive me. God bless you,
-Horace.”
-
-He turned away without a word. What should he say more than he had
-said? She could not love him. There was nothing more to be done. She
-was no coquette to say “No” when she meant “Yes.” Fate was hard on him.
-The one woman in the whole world whom he longed to call his wife had
-rejected his love. He must bear his grief as best he could.
-
-Embrance sank back into a dark corner of the cab, shuddering as she
-recalled his look of misery. She had none of the spirit of a heroine
-or a martyr to support her; she had tried, struggling against her own
-self, to act uprightly by one friend; suppose that her very love of
-honesty had caused her to be cruel to another? Now that it was all
-too late, she longed to have the last five minutes over again. No,
-a thousand times, no! Let her only get home and have time to think,
-and she would leave off being sorry. Whether rightly or wrongly, she
-had done what seemed honest and fair; she would not reproach herself,
-and he would soon get over it. “Men forget sooner than women,” she
-reflected, falling back on one of her aunt’s numerous truisms. Then
-she almost laughed in scorn at her own insincerity. “You don’t believe
-it; you know he loves you, and your ridiculous behaviour will make him
-think worse of all womanhood from this day forth.” “Oh! I hope not. I
-hope not!” she sobbed aloud, with her head against the cushion of the
-cab.
-
-The sound of her own voice roused her to the consciousness that she
-was getting very near home; she sat up, dried her eyes and smoothed
-her hair. It would not do to alarm Joan; what had happened this
-afternoon must be kept a secret from her at all events. She had her own
-latch-key. She opened the door and stole upstairs. The landlady and
-her daughter were chatting in the back parlour, but Embrance did not
-want to exchange civilities with them just now. Outside her own door
-she paused for a moment, then opened it, saying: “Well, Joan, are you
-waiting for your tea?”
-
-There was no answer. The lamp was lighted, the tablecloth was laid, but
-Joan was not there. Her chair was in a corner by the window; there were
-no signs of her drawing or scraps of millinery about.
-
-“Joan!” cried Embrance, nervously. “Where are you?”
-
-No answer. She ran to the door of the next room and looked in; all was
-dark and silent. “I suppose it is not so late as I thought,” she said
-to herself. “She will be in soon, I daresay.”
-
-She took off her bonnet, and sat down to wait with a book, but she
-could not fix her attention. She was very, very tired, and rather
-lonely; she did wish that Joan would come. The longing to speak to
-somebody was so great, that after a short time she put out her hand and
-rang the bell. Annie came running upstairs at the summons; her eyes
-were round with excitement; she hardly waited to hear Miss Clemon’s
-question.
-
-“Did Miss Fulloch leave any message for me when she went out?”
-
-“No, miss; she’s been gone ever since ten o’clock, half an hour after
-you left. I heard the door bang, and I said to myself, ‘What’s that?’
-And it was Miss Fulloch; she had on her new bonnet, with the pink
-feather, that she was making.”
-
-“Never mind the bonnet, Annie; did she say when she would be in to tea?”
-
-“No, miss; and I expect she won’t be back; she took her bag.”
-
-“Very well. I will wait half an hour, and then, please, bring tea.”
-
-“There’s something wrong upstairs,” was Annie’s report in the kitchen.
-“Miss Clemon looks as if she see a ghost. She isn’t half the lady she
-was.”
-
-Seven o’clock struck; eight o’clock, nine o’clock, and no Joan
-appeared. Embrance drank a cup of tea, but she could not eat anything.
-In vain she told herself that very likely Mrs. Rakely had made one of
-her flying visits to London, and had persuaded Joan to spend the day
-with her; it was absurd to be anxious; of course she would be back
-directly; nevertheless she could not read, write, or rest. The late
-postman brought a letter for Miss Clemon. Annie, having studied the
-envelope on the way upstairs, saw that the postmark was Brighton.
-
-Embrance took the letter. The handwriting, firm and neat, was quite
-strange to her. She opened it hastily.
-
-“Dear old Embrance” (it began). “I had not the courage to say good-bye
-to you this morning, but I told you that I had a secret, and I
-think you guessed it; you are so clever. I was afraid you would be
-disappointed, you meant me to be a painter’s wife, didn’t you? but
-I was happily married to Alfred Brownhill this morning, and we are
-spending our honeymoon at Brighton. We must come and see you before we
-go to Doveton. Alfred sends his kind regards; he remembers you quite
-well. You will be glad to hear that I am so happy; I hope you won’t
-miss me too much, you busy old dear.—Your loving, JOAN BROWNHILL. P.S.
-Alfred likes the bonnet very much. He wrote the address; were you
-mystified?”
-
-A little bunch of sweet smelling violets dropped out of the letter and
-scented the room—Joan always loved flowers. She liked everything that
-was pleasant and good to look upon.
-
-Alfred Brownhill! he was a staid, middle-aged man, with a comfortable
-home and a prosperous income. No wonder that old Mr. Fulloch had wished
-for the marriage. He would be surprised, too, and would wonder that
-his grand-daughter had not returned to his roof, as she was prepared to
-follow his advice at last. But Embrance saw clearly enough that Joan
-would never have done that. A runaway wedding, and a triumphant return
-to Doveton, would be much more to her taste. She looked at Joan’s
-unused cup and saucer on the table, and she shivered as she realised
-the truth; her friend would never come back. While she had been
-rejecting the pleadings of a good man who loved her, Joan had perhaps
-been telling her husband that “Embrance wished her to marry a painter.”
-
-“I will write to him,” she said, turning to the little table where she
-had so often sat when he and Joan talked together over the fire. She
-never swerved from her intention; he had been cruelly treated; he might
-not care to accept her apology, that did not matter. She must see him
-once more, and explain to him that she had been deceived—mistaken, that
-was a more gracious word. She would write no more than she could help.
-
-“Dear Mr. Meade,—Please come and see me. I have made a mistake.—Yours
-truly, EMBRANCE CLEMON.”
-
-She knew his address, she had written to him before, asking him to do
-various little acts of kindness for Joan. Once she had been to tea at
-his rooms, with Mrs. Rakely and Joan, he had shown her his sketches and
-asked her opinion about his pictures. It was all long ago. It had been
-a bitterly cold day, Joan had caught a bad sore throat, and was ill for
-a week afterwards; she had been an impatient invalid, and Horace had
-called to inquire after her very often, and had left fruit and flowers.
-
-Embrance could no longer endure the loneliness of the little parlour;
-she missed Joan terribly, her laugh and her many coaxing ways. She
-longed for air; it was a good excuse for posting the letter herself. As
-she tied her bonnet-strings before the glass, she shrank back aghast at
-the sight of her pale face. She put on a thick veil and threw a shawl
-over her shoulders; she would feel happier when the letter was once in
-the pillar-box. A hundred times she had been up and down the crooked
-staircase in the dark; to-night, it might be that she was tired, or
-that her eyes were full of tears, but her foot slipped, she clutched
-instinctively at the banister, missed it, and fell down into the
-darkness below.
-
-So it came about that the letter to Horace Meade was left unposted till
-the following morning.
-
-Some days passed before Embrance could leave her room; the doctor,
-whom the landlady had summoned in her fright, said that she had
-sprained her ankle badly, and ordered perfect rest. The people in
-the house were good to the solitary invalid; the first-floor lodger
-brought her knitting and a great many dull stories of her own youth,
-and experiences of sprained ankles and broken limbs, and came and sat
-by her sofa, while the landlady and Annie were unceasing in their
-attentions. Some of Embrance’s pupils called, and Joan wrote sheets of
-sympathy, crossed and recrossed. Her husband sent his kind regards and
-hoped that Miss Clemon would come down to Doveton and stay there till
-she was quite convalescent. However, Embrance refused the invitation,
-she would rather stay at home for the present; later on, she would like
-to visit Joan.
-
-Mrs. Brownhill, in the snug breakfast-room in her new home, fretted a
-little over this refusal; then she recovered her spirits and laid plans
-for summer excursions; it would be better to have Embrance, after all,
-when the roses were in bloom. Alfred Brownhill was very much in love
-with his young wife, and considered her interest in the welfare of her
-sick friend the prettiest trait of character imaginable.
-
-“Poor old Embrance,” exclaimed Joan, with her hand in his; “I should
-die of loneliness in that pokey room all by myself, but she has so much
-strength of will; I don’t believe she minds a bit. I shall never be
-like her!”
-
-“Heaven forbid!” murmured he devoutly. He was prepared to be kind
-to the lady for his wife’s sake, but he had a virtuous horror of a
-strong-minded woman wrapped up in herself, and his principles (which he
-held sacred) did not allow him to disguise his feelings.
-
-In the meantime Embrance recovered slowly and went back to her work,
-but she received no answer to her letter.
-
-(_To be concluded._)
-
-
-
-
-ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS.
-
-
-EDUCATIONAL.
-
-L. M. D. (Suisse).—We have no charge whatever to make against the
-moral or intellectual training given in Swiss schools, having had
-opportunities for making ourselves well acquainted with some of them.
-But we speak advisedly in stating that, on the score of diet, and
-certain other matters, English habits differ from those of foreign
-countries, and many English constitutions cannot bear so great a change
-with impunity, especially young growing girls. Thus it is better that
-they should be educated at schools in their own country; or, if abroad,
-should attend day schools, or engage visiting masters, and sleep and
-board at home. We have many Swiss friends, and are partial to them and
-their country. We are glad you like our paper, being one of “our girls.”
-
-YOUNG ANTIQUARY.—The word “cromleac” is a compound of two Irish
-words—viz, _crom_, “to adore,” or “worship,” and _leac_, “a stone.”
-_Crom_ was likewise one of the Irish names of the supreme God. These
-ancient remains are therefore very clearly those of altars or places of
-worship. You would learn all that is known of them by reading Higgins’
-rare work on the round towers, etc., in the British Museum.
-
-
-WORK.
-
-DUCHESS.—To tan a tennis net, soak it in boiled oil, and let it dry
-under cover, hung up in the air. Your writing is too full of flourishes.
-
-YOUNG MOTHER, HELEN C.—Get a shilling manual with knitting and crochet
-patterns. Our space cannot be occupied by them.
-
-FLORENCE GOBBLER.—We thank you for your communication about hat
-cleaning.
-
-COURTS.—Clothing for Ceylon should consist of what we here call summer
-clothing—white and pale-coloured cambrics, tussore and Surah silks,
-very thin cashmere, silk gauze webs for undervests, etc. Go to an
-Indian outfitter’s, and you will be shown the materials which are the
-most suitable.
-
-T. A. and C. M.—The best dress for tricycle-riding is a tailor-made
-short habit, or tight short jacket, and a plain narrow cloth skirt,
-without any trimmings, festooning, and draping.
-
-C. C.—Table centres are much used for dinner parties, but not of
-gathered up plush. They are made of straight pieces of silk, German
-canvas, or satin sheeting, ornmented with an appliqué of plaited straw,
-or plush edged with fine cord or tinsel.
-
-
-MISCELLANEOUS.
-
-MAUD.—Go to the police office and inform the inspector of your trouble
-and the cruel treatment to which you are subjected, and he will take
-you to the proper quarters, where you may obtain a separation and
-an allowance. Do nothing rashly and nothing wrong, be your trials
-and provocations what they may. What you suggested to us would be
-very wrong indeed, and we think and hope you must have done so under
-great excitement. If by word or act you thoughtlessly gave cause for
-jealousy, you might not obtain the separation and allowance, to which
-otherwise you could lay just claim. Pray God to guide you and preserve
-you from evil.
-
-BLUSH ROSE.—_Requiescat in pace_ means “Rest in peace.”
-
-LOTTA.—Try to live much in prayer during each day while at your
-business, or in little intervals of leisure. The responsibility of
-either turning to God and accepting or “neglecting so great salvation”
-lies on you. You are not a mere puppet, but a reasonable being, and
-have been given to distinguish between good and evil. “Ye _will_ not
-come unto Me,” not “Ye _shall_ not come.” “Why will ye die?” etc. Do
-not let anyone deceive you with the idea that you have no free will.
-God does not unjustly “gather where He does not strew.” He had already
-given the one pound to the idle servant, and thus supplied the means
-for trading, or would not have expected any return. May He guide you
-aright.
-
-KITTIE.—Perhaps some glycerine or vaseline might remove the roughness
-from your face and neck. Get some nice nursery hairwash and apply it to
-the skin of your head with a small sponge.
-
-HARRY’S WIFE.—We sympathise with you in your trouble and your sister
-in her sufferings. Certainly, the prayer offered in faith, resting on
-God’s promises, will certainly be answered. He who bestows faith will
-accept His own gift with favour. It is He who is drawing your heart
-towards Him.
-
-EMMA WALKER.—There is the Royal Free Hospital in Gray’s-inn-road, W.C.,
-for the relief of the sick poor of all nations, without any letter of
-recommendation or other claim beyond sickness and destitution. Write to
-the secretary, James S. Blyth, Esq. About 2,000 in-patients and 25,000
-out-patients are annually under its care.
-
-BEATRICE MARIE.—1. The 16th July, 1869, was a Friday. 2. A series of
-articles on girls’ pets was given in vol. iv., pages 83, 274, 602, and
-731.
-
-A DARK LADY and SUSSEX.—When a married man dies intestate, having
-children, the widow can claim one-third of his property, and the
-remaining two-thirds are divided between his children in equal
-portions. If he die without children, the widow can claim one-half
-of his property, and the rest is divided in equal portions between
-his nearest of kin. “Sussex” is quite wrong in his ideas respecting
-a brother’s claims taking precedence of those of the widow and the
-children, and it would be most unjust if such were the law. The “Dark
-Lady” writes well.
-
-PRISCILLA.—Your digestion needs attention, and perhaps your diet and
-mode of life. If you get a bad headache whenever you read for long at a
-time, why do you attempt it? Read a little from time to time, and rest
-your eyes and the feeble nerves connected with the brain.
-
-ADELAIDE.—What you name are designed as acts expressing respect and
-veneration for Him whom we worship on bended knee. We cannot enter more
-fully into the subject of your letter. We have no remembrance of any
-letter signed “Ade.”
-
-ANTOINETTE R. informs us that “she is pretty,” and that gentlemen
-whom she serves in her father’s shop “stare at her as if she were an
-unseen object.” (?) We fail to understand what that means. She should
-resolutely try to forget herself, and give her whole attention to
-selling her father’s gloves, etc.
-
-JULIA F. E. must count the feet of her verses, so as to get them even.
-It will not do to have nine feet in one line and eight in another.
-“Heaven” and “driven” do not rhyme, and in the poem to a “Skylark” here
-are many mistakes in the length of the feet. But, after all, to an
-invalid the pleasure of writing down the “thoughts that oppress” and
-“the words which burn” is very great, and the relief is excellent both
-for brain and the feelings.
-
-AN ENGLISH VOICE FROM IRELAND.—We certainly could not advise you to
-marry under the circumstances that you “neither love nor respect” the
-man to whom you have promised your hand. Perhaps you do not know your
-own mind, and had better ask to wait a year before you decide finally.
-
-MARION, NEWCASTLE.—The new volume of the G. O. P. begins with the
-November part. You could improve your writing by crossing your “t’s”
-and dotting your “i’s.”
-
-RILLY.—The Malvern Home of Rest might suit you. Particulars may be had
-from the Hon. Mrs. Hewett, Barnard’s Green, Great Malvern. There is
-also Fern House, Coleshill, Warwickshire, standing high, having a large
-garden, etc. Apply for terms to Miss Price, Fern House, Coleshill,
-Warwickshire. We think that one of these might suit you. If a boarder
-were willing to share a bedroom, the charge would be 17s. per week,
-everything included except washing, which would be 9d. a dozen.
-
-ANNIE.—The office of the Poor Clergy Relief Corporation, an institution
-intended to give aid in temporary distress to them, their widows, or
-orphans, is at 36, Southampton-street, Strand, W.C.
-
-THYRA and CASSY.—There is no “usual time” for giving answers. There is
-very little space allowed for putting them in. In reference to your
-question, the use of tweezers and pumice-stone is all that we can
-recommend.
-
-AUNTIE LAURIE.—Your parents’ objection to an engagement with the
-man you name is fully justified by his conduct. The fact that he
-has endeavoured to induce you, a minor, to rebel against them and
-“marry him secretly,” shows him to be devoid of all honour and right
-principle. He is taking a disgraceful advantage of your youth,
-weakness, and inexperience.
-
-MAUDE SCOTT.—1. When a cemetery is closed it is generally because the
-neighbourhood has become overcrowded near it. We never heard of a
-cemetery being re-opened. 2. The colours of the hoods worn by clergymen
-and their linings show the university or college from which they come.
-
-A PERPLEXED ONE.—We know of no remedy so good as golden ointment. But
-why not consult a doctor, as your house and its surroundings must be in
-fault?
-
-A SCOTCHWOMAN.—“Edward Garrett” is the _nom de plume_ under which
-Isabella Fyvie Mayo has written several popular works, amongst others,
-“Occupations of a Retired Life,” and “Premiums Paid to Experience.”
-
-VIRGINIA MAUD.—We could not answer your letter at the length you
-desire, as we have no space in our columns. We should advise you to
-write to the secretary, Girls’ Friendly Society, central office, 3,
-Victoria Mansions, Victoria-street, Westminster, S.W., with a view to
-joining the Girls’ Friendly Society, which will offer you all the aid
-and information you may require.
-
-LILY.—Ten extra summer and Christmas numbers have now been published.
-
-HERMON’S SERVANT.—Ember Week is a corruption of _Quatuor tempora_,
-through the Dutch _Quatemper_ and German _Quatember_. The four times
-are after Quadragesima Sunday, Whit Sunday, Holyrood Day (September),
-and St. Lucia’s Day (December). The ancient belief that persons sat in
-embers or ashes on those days is without foundation.
-
-RANCE and GYPSY.—Canaries’ claws when too long can be cut with a small
-pair of sharp scissors, but it is a very delicate business to perform.
-
-PORTIA.—Your sending out cards of thanks for kind inquiries is an
-intimation that you are prepared to receive the visits of the friends
-who made them. That will decide the time for you. Until you send the
-cards, they would be most indiscreet and intrusive in calling, unless
-the very nearest relations, or an exceptionally intimate and privileged
-friend.
-
-ROWENA.—It is a fixed and general rule that for a girl to ride out only
-with a riding master is very far from expedient. Of course, if he were
-an uncle or brother, or a very old and respectable married man, the
-objection would be lessened, especially if riding up and down the sea
-sands in full sight, instead of taking a country ride out of sight.
-There should always be a second lady or a brother, though quite young.
-
-JERBOA is thanked for her kind letter, and the Editor feels much
-obliged to those who proposed his health at the dinner party “Jerboa”
-attended. She makes the tails of her letters too long below the lines.
-Those above are of a suitable and prettier length. Make them correspond.
-
-PRISCILLA may probably outgrow her headaches, as she is so young. They
-may arise from various causes. Thus, we could not prescribe without due
-acquaintance with her constitution and many surrounding circumstances.
-
-[Illustration: A COQUETTE.]
-
-LOUIE.—Your informant was right, and probably drew his information from
-Major A. B. Ellis’s work, entitled “West African Islands,” published
-last year. Canaries have no song in their wild state; it is of
-artificial origin, and the song our birds give us in no way resembles
-their natural shrill chirp. They are placed in cages near those of
-birds already trained to sing, and when accustomed to imprisonment
-they strive hard to imitate the notes of their educated fellows. The
-natives of the Canary Islands keep a large stock on hand in process of
-training. The young of those trained and taught naturally learn from
-the parent birds.
-
-ELLA BROWN.—The statue of the Venus de Medici is only 4 feet 11½
-inches in height. It is believed to be the production of Cleomenes, of
-Athens, of the second century. It was exhumed in the seventh century
-near Tivoli, in the villa of Hadrian, and was removed in 1680, by Cosmo
-III., to the Imperial Gallery at Florence, from the Medici Palace
-at Rome. It was broken into eleven pieces when discovered, all in a
-perfect state, one arm only missing, which has been added.
-
-TWIN SISTERS.—The 5th of June, 1876, was a Monday.
-
-C. OF RUDOLSTADT, IDA, and STELLA.—We are inundated with verses from
-girls, young and untaught; and, as a rule, the same opinion and
-criticism would be suitable for all alike. But in the case of “Ida’s”
-verses there is some promise of better to come; as, at least, she has a
-good ear for rhythm. Our young friend with the long name should count
-the feet and make each line correspond with its fellow, observing
-where the beat falls in every line, and placing it uniformly on the
-same syllable in each verse. Those that follow her first verse neither
-correspond with it in feet nor in the beat. Though quite incorrect,
-there is some little poetic feeling in “Stella’s” lines.
-
-VEVEY.—We are much obliged for your article, but are unable to give it
-a place in our columns owing to lack of space.
-
-LULU.—Consult our series of articles on “Good Breeding,” and “The
-Habits of Polite Society.” At page 314, vol. ii., you will find
-“Dinners in Society,” and from this you can glean all the information
-you require. You only show your good sense in making inquiries when
-unacquainted with any subject. There is nothing to be ashamed of in so
-doing.
-
-BULB.—You should put out a good-sized barrel or tub to catch any
-rainfall in a garden, backyard, or on the leads, where accessible, and
-use it at least for the face and hands.
-
-LILY LEAVES.—To prevent moths from eating your clothes in the summer,
-keep them constantly brushed and aired. Camphor, Keating’s powder, or
-sandal-wood shavings should be placed about all clothing that is kept
-in boxes and cupboards. The 23rd of September, 1867, was a Monday.
-
-MILLICENT LEIGH.—St. Catharine was a virgin martyr, who suffered at
-Alexandria under Maximin in 307, and whose relics were said to have
-been miraculously conveyed to Mount Sinai, where they are preserved
-in a monastery. The celebrated Duchess of Devonshire was the youngest
-daughter of John, Earl of Spencer, born, June, 1757; died, March, 1806.
-Her beauty, wit, and audacity made her one of the most celebrated women
-of her day.
-
-A WARD IN CHANCERY.—Rice thrown at a bride is a relic of the _panis
-farreus_ in the most honourable form of marriage amongst the ancient
-Romans, and it was called _Confarreatio_. Orange blossoms were first
-worn by Saracen brides, but the modern custom of wearing them is a
-fashion introduced by dressmakers, and is referrable to the “language
-of flowers.”
-
-ARMISTICE.—The redness of the scar can only be removed by time. Nature
-has produced a new skin, but, like that of a new-born infant, it is
-tender and red. Leave it alone.
-
-MAUD KINSLEY.—_Au revoir_ is the French for “to see again,” and is
-pronounced as “o-rev-voir,” and _retroussé_ means “turned up,” or
-“tucked up,” and is pronounced as “re-troo-say.”
-
-ANAHUAC (Mexico).—The individual who is desirous of being naturalised
-as a British subject should have resided seven years in Great Britain.
-Did the applicant do so when being educated in England? Children belong
-to the father’s nationality, not the mother’s. The British consul would
-give all necessary instructions and assistance.
-
-T. M. B.—Your nice letter deserves a kindly acknowledgment. You may
-send as much as would fill a sheet of notepaper as a specimen of your
-style and originality of ideas, and we shall hope to give you our
-opinion, as you desire.
-
-WILL’S DARLING.—We do not know how to advise you, save to marry and
-live with your aged grandmother. You cannot possibly leave her, and in
-all probability she will be glad to have you comfortably settled with a
-kind husband before she is called away. Your writing is rather careless.
-
-SHINY FACE.—It is not the so-called working men whose wives enter
-learned professions and neglect home duties. They enter public-houses
-instead. The complete monopoly of almost all occupations for
-bread-earning for such a length of time by men could not continue
-amongst an ever-increasing population; so many suitable fields of
-intellectual and manual work have been shut out from women by their
-“natural protectors.” It is sad to see the latter selling tapes
-and ribbons behind counters. They can be clergymen, schoolmasters,
-soldiers, sailors, emigrants to prepare new settlements, lumberers,
-navvies, engine-drivers, stokers, mechanics, chimney sweepers, masons,
-etc., and the women will leave all such work to them. But dairy, fruit,
-flower, poultry, and other farming may be very suitably directed by
-women; also printing, binding, engraving, designing, china painting,
-and very many other ways of bread-earning should be equally open to
-them as to men.
-
-ROSELEAF.—An ell (cloth measure) was fixed at 45 inches by Henry I.,
-A.D. 1101. The word is derived from _ulna_, “the arm,” although much
-longer than that member; but even now measurements are made by it.
-
-LADY ADELAIDE.—Edelweiss is pronounced as “A-dle-vice.”
-
-ANXIOUS ONE.—Lessons can be had to cure stammering. Fill your lungs
-well with air, and consider what you wish to say before you speak. Make
-your sentences very short, and open your mouth well. When alone, read
-aloud, and beat time with your foot or hand regularly at every second
-syllable.
-
- * * * * *
-
-[Transcriber’s note—the following changes have been made to this text.
-
-Page 180: flocked to flock—“with his washed flocked”.]
-
-
-*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE GIRL'S OWN PAPER, VOL. VIII, NO.
-364, DECEMBER 18, 1886 ***
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-<div style='text-align:center; font-size:1.2em; font-weight:bold'>The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Girl's Own Paper, Vol. VIII, No. 364, December 18, 1886, by Various</div>
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-<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: The Girl's Own Paper, Vol. VIII, No. 364, December 18, 1886</div>
-
-<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Various</div>
-
-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: May 22, 2021 [eBook #65406]</div>
-
-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</div>
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-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Character set encoding: UTF-8</div>
-
-<div style='display:block; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Produced by: Susan Skinner and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net</div>
-
-<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE GIRL'S OWN PAPER, VOL. VIII, NO. 364, DECEMBER 18, 1886 ***</div>
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_177">{177}</span></p>
-
-<h1 class="faux">THE GIRL’S OWN PAPER</h1>
-
-<div class="figcenter illowp100" id="header" style="max-width: 37.5em;">
-<img class="w100" src="images/header.jpg" alt="The Girl's Own Paper." />
-</div>
-
-<hr class="full" />
-
-<div class="center">
-<div class="header">
-<p class="floatl"><span class="smcap">Vol. VIII.—No. 364.]</span></p>
-<p class="floatr"><span class="smcap">[Price One Penny.</span></p>
-<p class="floatc">DECEMBER 18, 1886.</p>
-</div></div>
-
-<hr class="full" />
-
-<p class="center">[Transcriber&#8217;s Note: This Table of Contents was not present in the original.]</p>
-
-<p class="center">
-
-
-
-<!-- Autogenerated TOC. Modify or delete as required. -->
-
-<a href="#TINNED_MEATS_THEIR_VALUE_TO_HOUSEKEEPERS">TINNED MEATS; THEIR VALUE TO HOUSEKEEPERS.</a><br />
-<a href="#THE_SHEPHERDS_FAIRY">THE SHEPHERD’S FAIRY.</a><br />
-<a href="#EVERY_GIRL_A_BUSINESS_WOMAN">EVERY GIRL A BUSINESS WOMAN.</a><br />
-<a href="#A_SONG_FOR_THE_OLD_YEAR">A SONG FOR THE OLD YEAR.</a><br />
-<a href="#MERLES_CRUSADE">MERLE’S CRUSADE.</a><br />
-<a href="#CHRISTMAS_IN_THE_GERMAN_FATHERLAND">CHRISTMAS IN THE GERMAN FATHERLAND.</a><br />
-<a href="#NO">“NO.”</a><br />
-<a href="#ANSWERS_TO_CORRESPONDENTS">ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS.</a><br />
-
-<!-- End Autogenerated TOC. -->
-
-</p>
-
-
-
-
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
-
-<div class="chapter">
-<h2 class="nobreak" id="TINNED_MEATS_THEIR_VALUE_TO_HOUSEKEEPERS">TINNED MEATS; THEIR VALUE TO HOUSEKEEPERS.</h2>
-</div>
-<p class="ph3"><span class="smcap">By A. G. PAYNE</span>, Author of “Common-sense Cookery,” “Choice Dishes at Small Cost,” “The Housekeeper’s Guide,” &amp;c.</p>
-
-<div class="figcenter illowp87" id="i_p_177" style="max-width: 34.375em;">
- <img class="w100" src="images/i_p_177.jpg" alt="" />
- <div class="caption"><p class="center">LOBSTER CANNING IN CANADA.</p></div>
-</div>
-
-<p class="smalltext"><i>All rights reserved.</i>]</p>
-
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Tinned</span> meats and provisions may be regarded
-from two distinct points of view. The
-majority of persons, especially in this country,
-look upon them simply as a convenience to
-housekeepers, but the subject should be
-regarded from a far higher point than one of
-mere convenience, for by means of tinned
-provisions the whole food supply of the world
-is increased, and thereby the happiness and
-enjoyment of mankind at large.</p>
-
-<p>By means of tinned meats the superfluities
-of one country help the deficiencies of others.
-Owing to this useful invention, no longer are
-sheep slaughtered for their wool and tallow
-only, and the carcasses wasted, but the whole
-is utilised. It should be
-borne in mind that economy
-in the use of food is a duty
-clearly pointed out to us by
-the highest of all authority.
-The age of miracles has
-passed, but were it in our
-power to multiply our food
-miraculously, we are taught
-that it would still be a duty
-to gather up the fragments
-that remain, that nothing be
-lost.</p>
-
-<p>At present I will confine
-myself to the consideration
-of tinned meats in relation to
-their value to housekeepers,
-and I will illustrate my subject
-by supposing the following
-case, which is by no
-means a rare one in England
-in the present day.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_178">{178}</span></p>
-
-<p>There are, throughout the length and
-breadth of the land, many hundreds of little
-quiet country villages which, to a certain extent,
-may be said to be isolated from civilised life.
-There is the village inn, alas! generally more
-than one; the village shop, a few scattered
-houses and outlying farms. But for all
-practical purposes the well-to-do inhabitants
-are dependent for their supplies on the
-carrier’s cart, which takes a journey into the
-neighbouring town, some four or five miles
-distant.</p>
-
-<p>The village shop generally supplies the
-inhabitants with bread; probably they will
-kill a pig on Thursday or Friday, and supply
-the usual dish of pork for Sunday’s dinner.
-They also will usually be found to deal in
-cheap crockery, needles and cotton, sweetstuff,
-candles, pickles, etc. The only means
-of communication with the neighbouring town
-is, as I have said, the carrier’s cart, which
-generally takes a few passengers. I have
-lately lived in a little village myself, and have
-travelled by the same hooded conveyance
-backwards and forwards, never without
-thinking of the lazy horse associated with
-David Copperfield; and, indeed, at times I
-have felt inclined to chalk up in the corner,
-“Barkis is willin’.” The carrier usually
-takes his orders the night before, starts at an
-early hour in the morning, and returns in time
-to supply the dinner-table. Let us suppose
-that he has brought with him a shoulder of
-mutton, and that, instead of dining late, as
-is our wont, we, on this particular day, dine
-early. Shortly before our usual dinner hour,
-we are suddenly alarmed by the astounding
-news, “Oh, mamma, Mr. Smith has arrived;
-what are we to do?” Hospitality is a duty,
-and were I cynically inclined, I would imagine
-Mr. Smith to be a rich old bachelor uncle,
-very fond of good living, from whom we had
-great expectations; but I would rather put
-this supposititious case. Suppose Mr. Smith to
-be an old friend of our father who has seen
-better days, in which he showed us many
-little acts of kindness. Under these circumstances
-he is, of all men in the world, the very
-last one to whom we should like to give the
-“cold shoulder.” What is to be done?</p>
-
-<p>We will suppose that our housekeeper, or
-whoever acts as such, has, in anticipation of
-such contingencies, laid in a little stock of tinned
-goods, which are safely put by in the store
-closet. Having welcomed our guest, and
-whispered a few words to the cook and those
-willing to assist her, we will calmly sit down
-to our table, take a sheet of paper, and commence
-as follows:—</p>
-
-<ul class="center">
-<li><span class="smcap">Menu.</span></li>
-<li>Ox Tail Soup.</li>
-<li>Salmon Mayonnaise.</li>
-<li>Hashed Mutton and Pickled Walnuts.</li>
-<li>Curried Rabbit.</li>
-<li>Asparagus.</li>
-<li>Plum Pudding. Brandy Sauce.</li>
-<li>Jelly in glasses.</li>
-<li>Pine Apple (whole in syrup).</li>
-</ul>
-
-<p>If the cook is smart, the whole dinner
-could be served easily within an hour, and
-should one or two of the girls in the house be
-willing to assist (and who would not, under
-such circumstances?), the dinner might be
-sent to table in considerably less time. I can
-imagine some of my readers glancing over the
-bill of fare I have just written, and saying to
-themselves, “What a lot of saucepans we
-shall want on the fire at the same time!”
-This, however, is not the case; for I would
-remind you that one of the first points to learn
-in connection with the serving of tinned meats
-is that they should be warmed up in the tin
-before it is opened. We can, therefore, perform
-the astonishing trick of making hot our
-ox-tail soup, our curried rabbit, our asparagus,
-and our plum pudding in the same
-saucepan at the same time.</p>
-
-<p>I must, however, commence at the beginning.
-Our store cupboard is supposed to
-contain the following provisions in tins:—Ox-tail
-soup, preserved salmon, mayonnaise
-sauce, curried rabbit, asparagus, plum pudding,
-pine apple in syrup, as well as a bottle
-of jelly. I may, however, mention, with regard
-to the mayonnaise sauce, that should you
-have a bottle of oil in the house and a couple
-of eggs, it would be better to make some fresh
-sauce from the egg and oil direct. Our cupboard
-will also contain a bottle of pickled
-walnuts, a bottle of capers, a bottle of olives,
-and a bottle of anchovies.</p>
-
-<p>Of course we commence dinner with the
-soup, unless we happen to have in the house a
-Brunswick sausage, in which case a few thin
-slices of Brunswick sausage may be placed in
-a plate with a few of the anchovies, capers,
-olives, and a little pat of butter, as there are
-many persons who like to commence dinner
-with what is known as a <i>hors d’œuvre</i>, and I
-do not know a better mixture than the one I
-have named.</p>
-
-<p>But to return to the soup. In my opinion,
-of all provisions sold in tins at present, the
-soups are the greatest failures.</p>
-
-<p>This is very much to be regretted; but there
-is a good old saying, that we must always
-make the best of a bad job. As a rule, the
-thick soups are better than the clear, and although
-I have mentioned ox-tail soup, I will
-later on give a list of the soups from which
-you may take your choice. Fortunately, all
-thick soups in tins can be very greatly improved
-by a very simple method. Make the
-thick soup hot in the tin, take the tin out of
-the hot water, open it, and pour the contents
-into a saucepan. Of course, if there are many
-persons to dinner, it would be necessary to
-warm up two tins, or even more. I will now
-describe the contents of the tin. The soup
-itself is not exactly thick, nor is it exactly
-clear. The bones of the tail, instead of being
-surrounded by the meat, are quite bare, and it
-looks as if the bone and the meat had had a
-quarrel, and they had mutually agreed never
-to speak to one another again, while the bone
-itself recalls a game known as “knuckle-bones.”
-To every pint of soup in the saucepan
-add as follows: a brimming dessertspoonful
-of brown thickening, or what French
-cooks know as brown roux. This brown roux
-looks like light-coloured chocolate. It keeps
-good for months, is very cheap, very useful,
-and I will describe how to make it by-and-by.
-Add, also, a brimming teaspoonful of extract
-of meat and half a glass of sherry. The effect
-of adding the brown roux is that when the
-roux is crumbled into the soup and gently
-stirred over the fire till it boils, it makes the
-soup thicker than it was before. It also makes
-it darker in colour, richer in flavour, and makes
-the divorce between the meat and the bone
-less conspicuous.</p>
-
-<p>The extract of meat also greatly adds to
-its nutritious properties, and gives additional
-colour. The sherry gives it flavour. Were I
-going to take the soup myself, I should also
-add a little cayenne pepper and lemon-juice,
-but we must be very cautious how we use
-cayenne, unless we know the taste of our
-guests.</p>
-
-<p>We will next consider the salmon mayonnaise.
-As this is all cold, we should naturally
-see to the hot things first, and we will,
-therefore, suppose that the ox-tail soup,
-the curried rabbit, the asparagus, and the
-plum pudding are all getting hot in the
-saucepan. First open the tin of salmon.
-Turn the contents entirely out. If there is
-any liquid, throw it away, and, as far as possible,
-absorb all the moisture of the salmon in a dry
-cloth before placing it in a dish. Make the
-surface, as far as possible, oval, and raised in
-the middle, and then pour the sauce with a
-spoon gently over the top, so that it looks like
-a custard pudding. If the season of the year
-is suitable, and we have some lettuces in our
-garden, of course we should cut one or two
-lettuces, and surround the salmon with the
-best part of the lettuce. Next to ornament
-the salad. Take a bottle of capers, and with
-a spoon take out about a couple of dozen,
-throw these into a cloth and dry them, and
-place them at intervals on the sauce. Then
-take three or four anchovies out of the bottle,
-cut them into strips, remove the bone, and
-place these little strips of anchovy round the
-base of the light pyramid of sauce like trellis
-work. A dozen olives may be placed also
-round the base of the salad, the stone being
-removed with a knife. This is done by taking
-not too sharp a knife and cutting the olive
-sideways, keeping the blade of the knife always
-in contact with the stone of the olive. When
-the stone is removed the olive assumes its
-original shape, of course with a hole in the
-middle where the stone has been. Now take
-a little piece of parsley and chop up enough,
-say, to cover a shilling or a little more. Place
-this on the tip of a knife and shake it gently
-over the mayonnaise sauce, so that the little
-green specks of parsley fall naturally. Now
-take a bottle of cochineal, supposing you have
-one—cochineal can be bought at sixpence
-a bottle, and keeps good for months, or even
-years—and drop a few drops in a plate or
-saucer; take a little piece of dry bread
-and make about a saltspoonful of fine breadcrumbs.
-Throw these dry breadcrumbs into
-the saucer with the cochineal, and shake them.
-This will cause the breadcrumbs to turn red.
-These can be shaken over the mayonnaise like
-the chopped parsley, and we shall have a very
-bright-looking dish. The green lettuce round
-the edge, the raised surface of the salmon
-covered with the yellow mayonnaise sauce in
-the middle, which is decorated round the base
-with the anchovies and olives, and on the top
-the capers and the little green and red specks,
-which contrast nicely with the yellow. If you
-have no lettuce or salad of any kind to put
-round the base, you can ornament the edge
-with hard-boiled eggs cut in quarters, and a
-sprig of parsley between each piece.</p>
-
-<p>Our next dish is the hashed mutton and
-pickled walnuts. This scarcely comes in the
-category of tinned meats. The mutton we
-had for dinner was probably in a semi-cold
-and flabby state when our guest arrived. Were
-I going to make the hashed mutton, I should
-commence by slicing up a couple of onions,
-browning them in a frying-pan with a little
-butter, then pouring in the remains of all
-the gravy that had been left from the joint,
-cutting the mutton into slices, and warming
-them up in this gravy, taking care it does
-not boil; and as the gravy would be rather
-poor, as soon as the soup was got ready I
-should add two or three tablespoonfuls of the
-soup to the hashed mutton. And let me remind
-you of another very great improvement.
-Add, as well, a dessertspoonful of Harvey
-sauce, after shaking the bottle. You can toast
-a piece of bread a nice brown, as you would
-not have time to fry any bread, which is
-better. Cut the toast into round pieces, and
-place them round the hash alternately with
-the pickled walnuts cut in half. Do not send
-the hashed mutton to table in a great, big
-dish, large enough to hold a round of beef,
-but serve it in a deep dish—a vegetable dish,
-for instance. By this means it keeps hot
-longer, and looks more appetising.</p>
-
-<p>Our next dish is the curried rabbit. First
-class curry can be obtained in tins. Remember
-that tinned meats are like everything else
-in the world—some are good, and some are
-bad. If you wish for a bottle of really good
-wine, you must go to a first class wine merchant;
-and if you wish your tinned provisions<span class="pagenum" id="Page_179">{179}</span>
-good, you must get them from first class
-people, or see that some well-known name is
-on the label. Unfortunately, this country has
-been flooded, from time to time, with worthless
-imitations, introduced by unknown men
-who have no name to lose.</p>
-
-<p>The curry, having been made hot in the tin,
-should be turned out in a deep dish; and here
-again I would recommend a vegetable dish.
-Boiled rice should be served with it in a
-separate dish, and the rice should be handed
-before the curry. If you have any chutney in
-the house, the chutney should be served with
-the curry, like they do on board the P. &amp; O.
-boats, which are so famed for their oriental
-curry cooks. When the curry has been turned
-out into the dish, you might add a few fresh
-bayleaves and serve them up in the curry
-whole, and if you feel anxious to have the dish
-ornamental you can proceed as follows, and,
-should your guest be an “old Indian,” he
-will probably appreciate the addition:—Take
-some red chilis and bend each chili in the
-middle, so as to make it look like one of the
-small claws of a lobster, and place these red
-chilies round the edge of the dish in a triangular
-shape, exactly as if you were placing
-the small claws of a lobster around a lobster
-salad mayonnaise.</p>
-
-<p>The asparagus should be served as a course
-by itself. When the tin is sufficiently hot,
-which it will be a few minutes after the water
-has boiled, take it out and open it, pour off
-the liquid, and serve the asparagus on a piece
-of toast. A little butter sauce should be
-handed round with it.</p>
-
-<p>Butter sauce is best made by simply thickening,
-say, half a pint of water (not milk) with
-a little butter and flour mixed together.
-When the water is sufficiently thick, add some
-more butter to the hot, thickened water till
-it becomes rich and oily.</p>
-
-<p>As soon as you have handed round the
-butter sauce with the asparagus, take the
-tureen down-stairs, and let the cook put back
-the butter sauce in the saucepan for a minute,
-and add a tablespoonful of moist sugar, a
-tablespoonful of rum, and two tablespoonfuls
-of brandy. By this means we avoid waste,
-and make the same sauce do twice. If you
-don’t approve of spirits being used in the
-kitchen (I don’t approve of it myself), add a
-little sherry, and rub a few lumps of sugar on
-the outside of a lemon, and also two drops of
-essence of almonds. (You can, indeed, leave
-out the sherry, and still have a good sauce.)</p>
-
-<p>The plum pudding will be hot through after
-the water has boiled for over half an hour.
-Open the tin, take out the pudding, and serve
-with a little sauce poured over it, and the
-rest in a tureen.</p>
-
-<p>The jelly should be served in glasses, for
-the simple reason that there is no time to
-melt the jelly. Open the bottle, and rake out
-sufficient jelly with a bent skewer to fill the
-glasses.</p>
-
-<p>The pineapple, whole, in addition to the
-usual stock of almonds and raisins, figs, biscuits,
-&amp;c., makes a first-class dessert.</p>
-
-<p>It is perhaps needless to add that as a rule
-all these dishes are not necessary for one
-dinner; but I wish to show what can be done
-in order to avoid giving your friends the
-“cold shoulder.”</p>
-
-<p class="center">(<i>To be continued.</i>)</p>
-
-
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
-
-<div class="chapter">
-<h2 class="nobreak" id="THE_SHEPHERDS_FAIRY">THE SHEPHERD’S FAIRY.</h2>
-</div>
-<p class="ph3">A PASTORALE.</p>
-
-<p class="ph3"><span class="smcap">By</span> DARLEY DALE, Author of “Fair Katherine,” etc.</p>
-
-
-<h3>CHAPTER XI.</h3>
-
-<p class="ph3">THE WHITE RAM.</p>
-
-<div class="ddropcapbox illowe10_9375" id="i_p_179">
- <img class="w100 idropcap" src="images/i_p_179.jpg" alt="T" />
-</div>
-<p><span class="uppercase">he</span> secret of Fairy’s
-parentage died
-with Dame Hursey,
-and for the
-next two or three
-years she lived
-quietly on with
-the Shelleys,
-nothing more
-remarkable than
-the finding of some rare bird, or an
-occasional tiff with Jack, the Lewes
-carnival on the fifth of November,
-and the sheep washing and shearing
-every June, occurring to vary the monotony
-of her happy life. She was
-naturally a bright, happy little creature,
-not much given to thinking, and if she
-sometimes wondered who she was and
-where she came from, she never allowed
-the matter to distress her; she had the
-Shelleys, and they all worshipped her,
-and if she wanted other friends she was
-always welcome at the Rectory, where
-she still continued to go every day for
-her lessons. As to the future, it is
-doubtful if she ever gave it a thought;
-she lived as all children do, for the
-present, at least, as far as this world is
-concerned, though neither she nor any
-one else could have been brought up by
-good John Shelley without learning that
-life here is but a preparation for the life
-to come. Ignorant as the shepherd
-was in many things, he was by no
-means ignorant in things spiritual, and
-his knowledge of the Bible, large
-portions of which he knew by heart,
-would have put many an educated man
-and woman to shame. It was a favourite
-amusement of Fairy’s and the boys on
-long Sunday winter evenings, when there
-was no service at church, and after John
-had read the evening service to them, as
-he invariably did, to start him off in
-some chapter and see how long he would
-go on without stopping, saying it by
-rote. He always carried a small Bible
-in his pocket, and during his long days
-with the sheep, he had plenty of opportunities
-of studying it; and he studied
-it to some purpose, for he was a fine
-character. Faults he may have had, but
-you might have known him a long time
-before you discovered them. Mrs.
-Shelley, who had better opportunities of
-judging than anyone else, would have
-said he liked his own way too much;
-and that, for such a wise man as he was,
-it was surprising how easily he allowed a
-little thing like Fairy, whom he always
-had spoilt, to get over him; but it is
-doubtful whether in her heart of hearts
-she considered either of these faults.</p>
-
-<p>If he had any pride in his composition
-it was entirely professional, and when
-one May evening, sixteen years after
-Fairy first was brought to Lewes, he announced
-to his family that he had been
-elected captain of the Lewes shearing
-company, his face certainly glowed
-with an honest pride, for he had then
-obtained the highest honour which could
-be conferred on a shepherd, and realised
-his fondest dreams of earthly happiness.</p>
-
-<p>In those days it was the custom for
-shearers to form themselves into companies,
-called after the district in which
-they lived, and to go round to the
-various farms in the district in the shearing
-season, which begins in the middle
-of June, shearing the different flocks.
-The shearers in those days were
-generally shepherds, and each band had
-a lieutenant and a captain, the former
-distinguished by a silver band round his
-cap and a badge, the latter by a gold
-band and badge to match. They were
-chosen according to their proficiency in
-shearing, and for the good character
-they bore. John Shelley had been a
-lieutenant for some years, but he was
-now elected captain, owing to the death
-of the captain of the Lewes band, an old
-man over seventy; and with this honour
-some new duties devolved upon him, for
-at the captain’s house was held the
-shearing feast, called the White Ram.
-This feast lasted throughout the shearing
-week, and consisted of a supper
-after the day’s work was over; first, a
-good, substantial meal, in which the
-Sussex dish of beefsteak pudding, the
-crust made of flour and water, played an
-important part, and then ending with
-cakes and ale, during the consumption
-of which shearing songs were sung and
-many pipes were smoked till late in the
-long summer evening, when the men
-dispersed—sometimes not before midnight—to
-their various homes.</p>
-
-<p>These bands are now a thing of the
-past, though the shearing is still done by
-men who go round for the purpose, but
-no lambs are shorn nowadays, so the
-work is very much lessened.</p>
-
-<p>“There is plenty of work for you,
-Polly; you’ll have to get someone in to
-help you; we shall have to have the
-White Ram here for the future,” said
-John.</p>
-
-<p>“Oh, what fun!” exclaimed Fairy;
-“now I shall see it all, and hear the
-shearing songs. Mother, you must let
-me help; John says no one can make
-plum heavies, not even you, mother, like
-me: can they, John?”</p>
-
-<p>“No, but I am thinking those little
-white fingers of yours are not fit for that
-sort of work, my pretty one,” said John.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_180">{180}</span></p>
-
-<p>“Stuff! white fingers can work as well
-as red ones—better, I daresay, if the
-truth were known. And may I help to
-wait on you?” asked Fairy.</p>
-
-<p>“No, certainly not,” growled Jack;
-“you listen outside to the shearing
-songs with me, but you are not going
-inside to wait on a lot of rough men,
-who will, perhaps, take more beer than
-they ought.”</p>
-
-<p>“No, Jack; I’ll have none of that; it
-shall never be said that John Shelley’s
-White Ram is disgraced by drunkenness.
-But you must come to the feast,
-even if Fairy does not, for you must go
-round shearing this year; it is time you
-began, if, as I hope, one of these days
-you are to take my place of captain.”</p>
-
-<p>“There’s an honour for you, Captain
-Jack. Don’t you wish you may ever get
-it?” laughed Fairy.</p>
-
-<p>But Jack neither laughed nor wished
-for the honour; hitherto he had always
-managed to escape going round with
-the shearers, but this year he saw he
-must go, since he had not the heart to
-throw a shadow over his father’s innocent
-joy by refusing; so he said with
-the best grace he could, “Very well,
-father, I’ll go shearing, but Fairy can’t
-be left out in the cold, I shall have to
-stay with her during the supper.”</p>
-
-<p>“No, you need not, we will take it
-by turns; I can stop with Fairy sometimes,”
-said Charlie, a remark by no
-means calculated to soothe Jack, whose
-love and jealousy had grown greatly in
-the last few years; but Mrs. Shelley
-wisely stopped the discussion by remarking
-that there was plenty of time to
-settle the details, as the sheep-washing
-was not begun yet.</p>
-
-<p>“It begins to-morrow though; Jack
-and I are off with half our flock at daybreak
-to-morrow. Charlie, you must
-follow the rest for a day or two; I must
-have Jack with me to-morrow,” said the
-shepherd.</p>
-
-<p>“And I shall come too. If mother
-can’t take me, I shall get the Leslies to
-come. I always go to see our sheep
-washed every year,” said Fairy.</p>
-
-<p>Accordingly, early next morning the
-shepherd and his son were up at dawn,
-driving their sheep to the brook in which
-the sheep-washing took place. For
-some days previously, preparations had
-been made for this washing, which lasts
-two or three weeks, as all the sheep for
-miles round are brought to this spot.
-These preparations consisted of pens
-made of hurdles by the side of the river
-for the sheep; in the stream itself, opposite
-to each other, were erected two
-rough pulpits or deal boxes, in which
-stand the sheep-washers. When Jack
-and his father arrived, it was so early
-that no one was there, not even the
-washers; but at ten o’clock, when Mrs.
-Shelley and Fairy went, the scene was a
-most lively one.</p>
-
-<p>Hundreds of sheep were in the pens,
-some white and clean, their agonies
-over; others still dirty, with their tortures
-to come. On the neighbouring bridge
-stood or leant every child in the village,
-thoroughly enjoying the sight. On the
-roadside were some stragglers of all
-grades, watching the performance, one
-or two farmers on horseback who had a
-lively interest in the washing of their
-flocks, and on the banks several shepherds,
-among them Jack and his father,
-all armed with large, toothless wooden
-rakes, with which they push the sheep
-about, holding them under water when
-necessary, and steering them from
-pulpit to pulpit.</p>
-
-<p>What with the laughter and screams
-of delight from the children, the shouts
-of the shepherds, and the coughing of
-the sheep and jingling of their bells, the
-scene is a very noisy one; but, noisy as
-it is, Fairy thoroughly enjoys it, and
-declares she must stay till the last of
-John’s red-ringed flock are finished. It
-is such fun to see the poor sheep tumbled
-into the water and then rolled over on
-its back and rubbed from head to foot
-in the bright, clear stream, first by one
-washer in his pulpit, and then, after
-sundry pushes and thumps from the
-toothless rakes, to be seized by the other
-washer and subjected to another
-vigorous rubbing and scrubbing, and
-splashing and dashing, and finally to be
-pushed off to scramble or swim as best
-it might out of the river.</p>
-
-<p>Poor, patient sheep! They take their
-sufferings in very good part, and submit
-meekly enough to the inevitable
-ordeal, basing a protest as feeble as it is
-useless, the older and wiser ones knowing
-that this washing is but a preliminary
-to the still more disagreeable
-ceremony of shearing to be performed a
-fortnight hence, as soon as the wool is
-dry. And Fairy, fascinated by the
-picturesque scene, could not be persuaded
-to move when Mrs. Shelley was
-forced to go home to prepare some
-dinner—a useless labour, Fairy declared,
-since there would be no one to eat it,
-for Charlie had taken his with him, and
-John and Jack were too busy to stop
-for dinner, and she herself was not
-hungry, and had no intention of going
-home till all John’s sheep were washed.
-But Mrs. Shelley had no idea of leaving
-a pretty young girl like Fairy alone
-among a crowd of people, so she proposed
-they should both go home and
-fetch some dinner and share it out in
-the field with John and Jack, a proposal
-Fairy jumped at; and an hour later the
-four were sitting on a bank under a
-hedge of blackthorn, with a carpet of
-buttercups and daisies at their feet,
-eating their simple meal as happy as it
-was possible for four people to be.</p>
-
-<p>And then, while the shepherd smoked
-his pipe, Jack gave Fairy a lesson in
-the notes of the different birds which
-were singing around them, and Mrs.
-Shelley listened with pride to her eldest
-and darling son, and wondered whether
-Fairy would ever care for him in the way
-he evidently cared for her, and thought
-what a handsome couple they would
-make.</p>
-
-<p>“Oh, Jack, how clever you are; you
-know everything; but there, I do know
-one thing—I am right this time at least—there
-is a skylark singing up over our
-heads. Look,” cried Fairy, who had been
-making various wrong guesses at the
-names of the different songsters around
-them.</p>
-
-<p>“Poor little Fairy! you are wrong
-again; it is a woodlark; the skylark
-mounts up straight in a succession of
-springs, and then hovers, singing; the
-woodlark flies round and round in
-circles, singing all the while, as this
-bird is doing,” said Jack.</p>
-
-<p>“Oh, I give it up; I know nothing;
-but as long as I have you to tell me,
-what does it matter? I shall go and
-look for a wheatear’s nest in that fence,”
-said Fairy, rising and shaking back her
-long golden hair, which she still wore
-down her back, and which added
-greatly to her childish appearance.</p>
-
-<p>“My pretty one, wheatears don’t
-build in fences,” cried John Shelley, as
-she ran lightly past him.</p>
-
-<p>“She is doing it on purpose; she
-knows as well as you and I wheatears
-build in rabbit-holes or chalk-pits; she
-only wants me to scold her,” said
-Jack.</p>
-
-<p>“It is time we were at work again,
-Jack, or we shan’t get our eight
-hundred washed to-day,” said John,
-who saw Jack showed signs of going
-after Fairy, and wisely thought he
-would not see him back in a hurry if he
-once let him go.</p>
-
-<p>So the sheep-washing began again,
-and Mrs. Shelley, who had brought some
-work with her, promised Fairy to remain
-till tea-time, on condition that she then
-accompanied her home.</p>
-
-<p>“I do enjoy it so, mother,” said
-Fairy; “it would be wicked to spend
-such a bright warm sunny day as this
-shut up in a house; it is so delicious out
-in this field. I wonder how much they
-pay those washers; it must be dreadfully
-hard work; they ought to pay them
-well.”</p>
-
-<p>“They give them half-a-crown for
-every hundred sheep, and they can
-wash a thousand sheep a day, but these
-men won’t do more than finish John’s
-eight hundred to-day.”</p>
-
-<p>“That leaves nearly eight hundred
-more for to-morrow. Oh! do let us
-come and have another day like this.
-Will you, mother?” pleaded Fairy.</p>
-
-<p>Mrs. Shelley looked at the fair little
-face, with its great brown eyes, its dainty
-pink and white complexion, and the
-long wavy hair which veiled the slight
-girlish figure, and smiled and sighed—the
-smile was for Fairy, and the sigh for
-Jack—as she promised to do so if the
-weather were fine.</p>
-
-<div class="figcenter illowp56" id="i_p_181" style="max-width: 28.125em;">
- <img class="w100" src="images/i_p_181.jpg" alt="" />
- <div class="caption"><p class="center">THE SHEEP-WASHING.</p></div>
-</div>
-
-<p>And so it came to pass that that sheep-washing
-was long remembered by Jack
-as two of the happiest days in his life,
-though, alas! they came to an end, as all
-days, however happy, must only too soon;
-and then came a fortnight of preparation
-for the great event of the shepherds’
-year—the sheep-shearing and the Feast
-of the White Ram. Jack had not much
-to do with the preparations, for he was
-upon the downs with his washed flock,
-but little else was talked of when he came
-home in the evening, and it was a very
-busy time for Mrs. Shelley, who had to
-provide supper for twelve men for five
-nights, the shearing beginning on the
-Tuesday, and ending on the Saturday,
-when the money earned was divided
-among the company. It had been a
-source of much anxiety to Mrs. Shelley
-to know where the supper was to be held.
-To have these twelve men in the kitchen<span class="pagenum" id="Page_181">{181}</span>
-in which she had to cook it all would be
-very inconvenient, and she was by no
-means inclined to lend the little sitting-room,
-which Fairy had made so pretty,
-for the purpose; but at last Jack suggested
-borrowing a tent and pitching
-it in the field near the house,
-a plan which was at once
-adopted. The shearing itself
-took place outside
-a barn belonging to
-the farmer who owned
-the sheep about to be
-shorn, and the company
-went round to the principal
-farmers in the
-neighbourhood, taking
-one each day of the
-shearing week. How
-Jack hated this business of shearing!
-He would have given anything
-to have got out of it, if he
-could only have done so without
-vexing his father; but as this was
-impossible, he was obliged to go
-on with it with the best
-grace he could, but he was
-in an irritable mood all the
-week. The work brought
-him into contact with other
-shepherds, with none of
-whom had he anything in
-common, and made him
-realise his lowly position,
-which in his lonely life on
-the downs, lost in
-his studies, he was
-apt to forget. He
-would long ago have
-given up his shepherd’s calling
-and gone to London to seek more
-congenial work, if it had not been
-for Fairy; she was the magnet
-which held him in her vicinity, but
-he was daily becoming aware
-that if any of his dreams were to
-be realised, he must go away at
-once, though the time he spent on
-the downs was by no means
-wasted, since he was educating
-himself to the best of his ability.
-His idea was to try and
-get an appointment as
-usher in a school, for<span class="pagenum" id="Page_182">{182}</span>
-which in those days he was fully qualified.
-In teaching others he would learn
-himself; he would have access to books
-of all kinds, and he would be able in his
-leisure hours to pursue his favourite study
-of natural history. He had confided
-this plan to Mr. Leslie, who had promised
-to look out for him, and when an
-opening occurred to give him a testimonial.
-Another reason which had kept
-Jack at home hitherto was that Charlie
-was barely old enough to take his place,
-but during this last sheep-washing
-Charlie had had the care of half the flock,
-and had shown himself quite up to his
-work, which, in the summer, at any rate,
-was just the lazy, dreamy kind of life to
-suit an indolent nature like his, and
-Jack saw he need no longer delay his
-departure because there was no one to
-take his place. On the contrary, it
-would solve a difficulty, for it had hitherto
-been rather a puzzle to know what to
-do with Charlie since John Shelley only
-required one under-shepherd, and he did
-not seem to have any inclination for any
-other kind of work. Accordingly, all
-through the White Ram Jack was
-making up his mind to tear himself
-away from Fairy, in the hope of eventually
-winning for himself a position he
-could ask her to share, and the thought
-of the coming separation did not tend to
-make him happier.</p>
-
-<p>Every morning he started with the
-rest of the Lewes company of shearers,
-with his father at their head, for some
-farm, where they spent their day in
-shearing the sheep, pausing about
-twelve and again about two o’clock to
-“light up,” that is to sharpen their
-shears, eat cakes, and drink beer, the
-meal of the day being supper when they
-got back after their labours were over.</p>
-
-<p class="center">(<i>To be continued.</i>)</p>
-
-
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
-
-<div class="chapter">
-<h2 class="nobreak" id="EVERY_GIRL_A_BUSINESS_WOMAN">EVERY GIRL A BUSINESS WOMAN.</h2>
-</div>
-<p class="ph3">A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO THE WORLD OF INDUSTRY AND THRIFT.</p>
-
-<p class="ph3"><span class="smcap">By</span> JAMES MASON.</p>
-
-
-<h3><span class="smcap">Part III.</span></h3>
-
-<div class="ddropcapbox illowe10_9375" id="i_p_182">
- <img class="w100 idropcap" src="images/i_p_182.jpg" alt="W" />
-</div><p><span class="uppercase">e</span> are going now to
-speak about money:
-not, however, about
-how to get it, but
-about what to do
-with it after it is
-got. About the
-occupations by
-which money is
-made, we shall not
-at present say anything.
-Many of them have already been
-treated of in <span class="smcap">The Girl’s Own Paper</span>.</p>
-
-<p>When people have money there are three
-things they can do with it; they can spend it,
-or place it out at interest, or tie it up in a
-parcel and hide it away. Perhaps they do not
-need at the moment to spend it; in that case
-of the two ways that are left the only wise one
-is to place it out at interest.</p>
-
-<p>And what is <i>interest</i>? Interest is the sum
-paid by anyone who gets the loan of money,
-for the use of it. Selina, say, gets the loan of
-£50 for a year—not for nothing—oh, no, she
-pays £2 for the twelve months. This £2 is the
-interest. At the end of the year the lender
-receives back her £50 and £2 added to it, so,
-you see, it is for a good reason that we recommend
-lending in preference to unfruitful
-hoarding. Money—and this is a wise rule—should
-never be allowed to lie idle.</p>
-
-<p>The sum lent is known as the <i>principal</i>,
-and on the principal the interest is calculated
-at so much <i>per cent.</i> (by the hundred); that is
-to say, at so much for every £100. For
-instance, 5 per cent. means £5 for the use of
-every £100; 2½ per cent., £2 10s. for the use
-of every £100; and 3¾ per cent., £3 15s. for
-the use of every £100. Selina’s loan, in the
-preceding paragraph, is at 4 per cent., in other
-words, £4 for £100; so, of course, for £50 she
-just pays £2.</p>
-
-<p>When you see a rate of interest quoted
-you may safely conclude that it is for a year—<i>per
-annum</i> (by the year), is the correct phrase—unless
-something is said to the contrary.</p>
-
-<p>The rate paid in the shape of interest
-depends on a number of things, but the main
-question is, will the principal be perfectly safe?
-If the answer be yes, then the interest in these
-days will certainly be low. But on this subject
-we shall have more to say in a succeeding
-article.</p>
-
-<p>To calculate interest on any sum <i>for a year</i>,
-the rule is to multiply by the rate per cent.
-and divide by 100. For example, find the
-interest on £460 at 4½ per cent. Here you
-multiply 460 by 4½, which gives 2,070, and
-dividing by 100, arrive at the answer,
-£20 14s.</p>
-
-<p>When the interest is wanted <i>for a certain
-number of days</i>, you must multiply by the
-number of days and by double the rate per
-cent., and divide by 73,000. By way of
-example, find the interest on £320 for 30 days
-at 3 per cent. Multiply 320, first by 30 and
-afterwards by 6, which gives 57,600. Now
-divide by 73,000, and you have the total
-amount of interest, 15s. 9d.</p>
-
-<p>People who have much calculating of interest
-to do should invest in a book of Commercial
-Tables. The use of these saves a great deal
-of trouble. There are some short cuts, however,
-which every business woman should
-carry in her head. At 5 per cent. per annum
-the interest upon a pound for every month is
-one penny. Having seen what this comes to,
-other rates may be reckoned by adding to or
-deducting from the 5 per cent. product.</p>
-
-<p>For example, 2½ per cent. is one-half; 3 per
-cent. is six-tenths; 3½ per cent. is seven-tenths;
-4 per cent. is four-fifths; 6 per cent. is six-fifths;
-7½ per cent. is one-half more. Thus,
-5 per cent. on £30 for ten months will be
-£1 5s.; 2½ per cent., 12s. 6d.; 3 per cent.,
-15s.; 3½ per cent., 17s. 6d.; 4 per cent., £1;
-6 per cent., £1 10s.; and 7½ per cent.,
-£1 17s. 6d.</p>
-
-<p>Sometimes, on interest becoming due, it is
-regularly added to the principal, and interest
-is paid on the new principal thus formed.
-Money invested on this accumulating system
-is said to be placed at <i>compound interest</i>.</p>
-
-<p>There is something startling about the
-growth of money invested in this way. “A
-penny,” says Dr. Price, “so improved from
-our Saviour’s birth as to double itself every
-fourteen years—or, what is nearly the same,
-put out at five per cent. compound interest at
-our Saviour’s birth—would by this time have
-increased to more money than could be contained
-in 150 millions of globes, each equal
-to the earth in magnitude, and all solid
-gold.</p>
-
-<p>“A shilling put out at six per cent. compound
-interest would, in the same time, have
-increased to a greater sum in gold than the
-whole solar system could contain, supposing
-it a sphere equal in diameter to the diameter
-of Saturn’s orbit; and the earth is to such
-a sphere as half a square foot or a quarto page
-is to the whole surface of the earth.”</p>
-
-<p>To show the difference between “simple
-interest,” in which the interest does not bear
-interest, and “compound interest,” in which
-it does, we give the following table, showing
-the time it takes for a sum to double itself at
-different rates:—</p>
-
-
-<table class="autotable" summary="">
-<tr>
-<td class="tdr bt br" rowspan="2">Rate per cent.</td>
-<td class="tdc bt bb" colspan="2"> Time in which a sum will double itself.</td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-<td class="tdl br"> Simple Interest.</td>
-<td class="tdl"> Compound Interest.</td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-<td class="tdr bt br"> 2&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
-<td class="tdl bt br"> 50 years</td>
-<td class="tdl bt"> 35 years 1 day</td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-<td class="tdr br"> 2½</td>
-<td class="tdl br"> 40 years</td>
-<td class="tdl"> 28 years 26 days</td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-<td class="tdr br"> 3&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
-<td class="tdl br"> 33 years 4 months</td>
-<td class="tdl"> 23 years 164 days</td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-<td class="tdr br"> 3½</td>
-<td class="tdl br"> 28 years 208 days</td>
-<td class="tdl"> 20 years 54 days</td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-<td class="tdr br"> 4&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
-<td class="tdl br"> 25 years</td>
-<td class="tdl"> 17 years 246 days</td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-<td class="tdr br"> 4½</td>
-<td class="tdl br"> 22 years 81 days</td>
-<td class="tdl"> 15 years 273 days</td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-<td class="tdr br"> 5&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
-<td class="tdl br"> 20 years</td>
-<td class="tdl"> 14 years 75 days</td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-<td class="tdr br"> 6&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
-<td class="tdl br"> 16 years 8 months</td>
-<td class="tdl"> 11 years 327 days</td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-<td class="tdr br"> 7&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
-<td class="tdl br"> 14 years 104 days</td>
-<td class="tdl"> 10 years 89 days</td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-<td class="tdr br"> 8&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
-<td class="tdl br"> 12½ years</td>
-<td class="tdl"> 9 years 2 days</td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-<td class="tdr br"> 9&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
-<td class="tdl br"> 11 years 40 days</td>
-<td class="tdl"> 8 years 16 days</td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-<td class="tdr br"> 10&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
-<td class="tdl br"> 10 years</td>
-<td class="tdl"> 7 years 100 days</td>
-</tr>
-</table>
-
-<p>The really surprising difference between
-simple and compound interest is, however,
-only seen after the first few years are over.
-A loan of £100 for ten years at 4 per cent.
-simple interest would give £40, and at 4 per cent.
-compound interest about £47. But if
-the loan were for a hundred years the simple
-interest would be only £400, whilst the compound
-interest would be no less than £4,950.</p>
-
-<p>Having now said all that is necessary at
-present about interest, we must speak for a
-little on the subject of banking, for it is by
-means of banks that most money transactions
-are satisfactorily managed.</p>
-
-<p>What, then, is a bank? There seems, at
-first sight, something mysterious about it, but
-it is really a simple institution. It is partly a
-shop and partly a left-luggage office. It is a
-shop for dealing in cheques, bills, notes, gold,
-and silver, and a left-luggage office to which
-we consign our spare cash to lie till called for.</p>
-
-<p>This, however, is only a rough and ready
-way of putting it, and we may as well add the
-following extract from a writer who has taken
-pains to give an exact definition:—“A banker
-is the custodier of the money of other people.
-Such is his business, viewed in its simplest
-aspect. A banker, however, if he hoarded the
-money deposited with him, would be simply a
-cash-keeper to the public; his bank would be
-literally a bank of <i>deposit</i>.... But the
-business of receiving money on deposit has
-always been, and is now, universally combined
-with that of lending it out. A banker does
-not hoard all the money deposited with him—he
-gives the greater portion out in loan. The
-lending of money is as much a part of his
-business as the receiving of deposits.”</p>
-
-<p>You cannot go into a banker’s and say, “I<span class="pagenum" id="Page_183">{183}</span>
-have come to open an account,” just as you
-would enter a grocer’s with, “Be so good as
-send me half a dozen tins of the best sardines.”
-You must be introduced by someone
-who can vouch for your respectability, or, if
-not introduced, you must be able yourself to
-satisfy the banker that you are likely to be a
-desirable customer.</p>
-
-<p>This first step being taken, you open what
-is called a <i>current or drawing account</i>; that
-is to say, an account into which you can pay
-money whenever it suits you, and from which
-you can draw money at any time by means of
-orders, or <i>cheques</i>, as they are called. In a
-current account in a good bank money is
-kept safely—which is a great matter—and at
-the same time you can make use of it as readily
-as if it were lying in your pocket.</p>
-
-<p>For convenience, and partly, too, as a protection
-against fraud, bankers are in the habit
-of supplying their customers with books containing
-forms of cheques. When a book of
-cheques is exhausted, a new one is supplied on
-the presentation of a form which, when filled
-up, may resemble the following:—</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-<p>
-<span class="smcap">The Cashier</span>,<br />
-<span class="smcap ml2">The Cosmopolitan Bank.</span><br />
-<span class="ml4"><span class="smcap">London</span>, <i>29th November, 1886.</i></span><br />
-</p>
-
-<p><i>Please deliver to Bearer Cheque Book containing
-25 cheques payable to</i><br />
-<span class="smcap ml8">Jemima Bouncer.</span><br />
-</p>
-</div>
-
-<p>Each cheque bears a penny impressed
-stamp, and a book of cheques is supplied at
-the price of the stamps—a book, say, of
-twenty-five costing two shillings and a penny.</p>
-
-<p>Cheques may be in one or other of two
-forms. The first form is—</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-<p>
-No. 478953. <span class="smcap">London</span>............188...<br />
-<span class="ml2"><span class="smcap">The Cosmopolitan Bank</span>,</span><br />
-<span class="ml4">14, Marketjew-street, E.C.</span><br />
-<br />
-Pay..................or Bearer..................<br />
-£...............
-</p></div>
-
-<p>The other form is precisely the same, except
-that instead of the word “Bearer” it has
-the word “Order.”</p>
-
-<p>As an example of a cheque with the particulars
-filled in, take the following:—</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>No. 536212.</p>
-
-<p>
-<span class="ml4"><span class="smcap">London</span>, 19th November, 1886.<br /></span>
-<span class="smcap ml2">The Cosmopolitan Bank,</span><br />
-<span class="ml6">14, Marketjew-street, E.C.</span><br />
-</p>
-
-<p><i>Pay Miss Georgina Makepeace or Bearer
-Nine pounds Thirteen shillings and Four
-pence.</i></p>
-
-<p>
-£9: 13: 4.
-<span class="ml8">Alice M. Littleproud.</span>
-</p>
-</div>
-
-<p>The difference between cheques made out
-to “Bearer” and those made out to “Order”
-is this. Cheques payable to bearer can be
-cashed by anyone. Those payable to order,
-however, must be endorsed by the person in
-whose favour they are drawn before the money
-can be received. But what is to <i>endorse</i> a
-cheque? It is simply to write your name
-on the back of it.</p>
-
-<p>Cheques payable to order are certainly safer
-than those payable to bearer. And they have
-another advantage. In the event of receipts
-being lost or mislaid, they supply evidence that
-the money was received by the person to
-whom it was owing.</p>
-
-<p>A cheque payable to bearer can be made
-payable to order by drawing the pen through
-“Bearer,” and writing “Order” above it.
-A cheque payable to order can also be made
-payable to bearer by scratching out “Order”
-and putting “Bearer” above it; but in this
-case you must put your initials to the alteration.</p>
-
-<p>To give extra security to a cheque, draw two
-parallel lines across the face of it with the
-words “—— &amp; Co.” inserted between them.
-This makes it what is called a “crossed
-cheque,” which will only be paid through
-some banker to a known customer. Instead
-of “—— &amp; Co.” you may write the name
-of the banker of the person to whom the
-cheque is payable. When this is done, the
-cheque is only payable through him.</p>
-
-<p>If in crossing the cheque you add the
-words “Not negociable,” that is another safeguard.
-These words “warn all whom it may
-concern that they accept the cheque subject
-to the liability of being compelled to refund
-its value should it prove to have come improperly
-into the possession of any person from
-whom their own title is derived.” This makes
-a cheque as secure against the wiles of the
-dishonest as anything in this world can be.</p>
-
-<p>The filling up of a cheque should be done
-very carefully, and the style of signature
-should be always the same. The figures in the
-body of a cheque must be in words, and should
-be written close together, so that there is no
-room left for the fraudulent to improve on
-the amount. Cases have frequently occurred
-of “ty” being added to six, seven, and nine,
-to make them read sixty, seventy, and ninety,
-and a “y” being given as a tail to eight, to
-multiply eight by ten, is quite a common trick.
-As a protection, the words “Under ten
-pounds” are sometimes written upon a cheque
-that lends itself to this sort of roguery.</p>
-
-<p>Suppose a cheque is given by a person who
-has not money enough in the bank to meet it,
-the banker will most likely return it, with the
-words written on it, “No effects,” or “Refer
-to Drawer.” The cheque is then said to be
-<i>dishonoured</i>.</p>
-
-<p>Cheques should always be <i>cashed</i>—that is
-to say, payment of them should be got—as soon
-as possible after they have come to hand. It
-is never safe to delay, for the most unlikely
-things happen; the bank may fail, or the
-drawer may become bankrupt, or his account
-may become locked up through his death.</p>
-
-<p>A memorandum should be preserved of
-every cheque you give away. This is provided
-for by the cheque-books furnished by the
-banks having a margin which is left when the
-cheque is torn out. This margin, separated
-from the cheque by a perforated line, is known
-as the <i>counterfoil</i>. The counterfoil bears the
-same number as the cheque to which it is
-attached. Here is an example of one filled up:</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-<p>
-No. 213,551<br />
-<span class="ml2"><i>17th November, 1886.</i></span><br />
-<span class="ml2"><span class="smcap">Dr. Simon Burre.</span></span><br />
-<span class="ml2"><i>Medical Attendance.</i></span><br />
-£7.7.0
-</p></div>
-
-<p>On the back of each counterfoil some people
-are in the habit of writing the balance they
-have at the moment in the bank. This has
-some advantages, and is certainly a check to
-extravagance.</p>
-
-<p>Though cheques are usually made out on
-engraved forms, you may write a cheque on a
-sheet of note-paper should a cheque-book not
-be at hand. In that case, remember to put a
-penny stamp on it, and to cancel the stamp by
-writing on it the date and your initials.</p>
-
-<p>Keep your cheque-book always under lock
-and key. If you leave it about, it only puts
-temptation in the way of people to abstract a
-blank form and make free with your signature.
-Should your book ever be lost or stolen, give
-notice at once to the bank.</p>
-
-<p>Lodging money is one of the easiest of
-business operations. You go to the bank, and
-fill up a slip, headed, say—</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-<p>
-<span class="smcap ml4">The Cosmopolitan Bank,</span><br />
-<span class="ml6">14, Marketjew-street.</span><br />
-<span class="ml8">............18...</span><br />
-<span class="smcap">Credit</span>...........................<br />
-<i>Paid in by</i>.....................
-</p></div>
-
-<p>Below this heading you enter the particulars
-of the sum you are going to lodge:—Bank-notes,
-so much; coin, so much; cheques and
-bills (mentioned separately), so much; total,
-so much. You hand this slip over to the
-teller with the money, and the whole thing is
-done. No receipt is given, and it says a great
-deal for the perfect machinery by which banking
-is conducted that one never hears of a
-mistake, or that any customer ever thought
-his confidence taken advantage of. We speak
-here of the method in the best London banks.
-In the provinces and in some London establishments
-the form of procedure varies a little.</p>
-
-<p>When you send money to your banker by
-post, you should write with it somewhat as
-follows:—</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p class="right"><i>Brackenhurst, 24th November, 1886.</i></p>
-
-<p><i>Dear Sir</i>,</p>
-
-<p><i>I enclose cheque for £34 12/—Messrs.
-Bagwell and Sackit on the Welsh Counties
-Bank—which kindly place to my credit.</i></p>
-
-<p>
-<span class="ml2"><i>I remain, Dear Sir</i>,</span><br />
-<span class="ml6"><i>Yours truly</i>,</span><br />
-<span class="smcap ml4">Silvaninha Hamilton.</span><br />
-<br />
-<i>The Manager</i>,<br />
-<span class="smcap ml2">The Cosmopolitan Bank.</span><br />
-</p>
-</div>
-
-<p>Receipt of this will be acknowledged by the
-manager, thus:—</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p><i>Dear Madam</i>,</p>
-
-<p><i>I beg to acknowledge receipt of your
-favour of 24th inst., with enclosure, value
-£34 12/, for your credit.</i></p>
-
-<p>
-<span class="ml8"><i>Yours, etc.,</i></span><br />
-<span class="smcap ml4">Jacob Birchenough,</span><br />
-<span class="ml8"><i>Manager.</i></span><br />
-</p>
-</div>
-
-<p>To every person keeping an account the
-bank supplies a book, generally known as a
-<i>pass-book</i>. On the Dr. or left-hand side of
-this book, will appear the sums received on
-behalf of the owner of the book; whilst all
-the cheques paid on her account by the bank
-will appear on the Cr. or right-hand side.
-Here is an example in which, for convenience,
-we have printed the Cr. side under the Dr.,
-instead of side by side:</p>
-
-
-<table class="autotable" summary="">
-<tr>
-<td class="tdc" colspan="7"><span class="smcap">The Cosmopolitan Bank.</span><br />
- <i>in Account with</i><br />
-<span class="smcap">Miss Esmeralda Beatrice Bones.</span></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-<td class="tdr">Dr.</td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-<td class="tdc" colspan="2">1886</td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-<td class="tdr">Sept.</td>
-<td class="tdr">6</td>
-<td class="tdc"><i>To</i></td>
-<td class="tdl"><i>Cash</i></td>
-<td class="tdr">£60</td>
-<td class="tdr">0</td>
-<td class="tdr">0</td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-<td class="tdr"></td>
-<td class="tdr">13</td>
-<td class="tdc">”</td>
-<td class="tdl"><i>Draft</i></td>
-<td class="tdr">14</td>
-<td class="tdr">7</td>
-<td class="tdr">6</td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-<td class="tdr"></td>
-<td class="tdr">23</td>
-<td class="tdc">”</td>
-<td class="tdl"><i>do.</i></td>
-<td class="tdr">4</td>
-<td class="tdr">1</td>
-<td class="tdr">8</td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-<td class="tdr"></td>
-<td class="tdr">29</td>
-<td class="tdc">”</td>
-<td class="tdl"><i>Bill</i></td>
-<td class="tdr">17</td>
-<td class="tdr">18</td>
-<td class="tdr">0</td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-<td class="tdr">Oct.</td>
-<td class="tdr">2</td>
-<td class="tdc">”</td>
-<td class="tdl"><i>Notes</i></td>
-<td class="tdr">15</td>
-<td class="tdr">0</td>
-<td class="tdr">0</td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-<td class="tdc" colspan="2">1886</td>
-<td class="tdc" colspan="2"></td>
-<td class="tdc" colspan="3">Cr.</td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-<td class="tdr">Sept.</td>
-<td class="tdr">9</td>
-<td class="tdr"><i>By</i></td>
-<td class="tdl"><i>Twentyman</i></td>
-<td class="tdr">£ 3</td>
-<td class="tdr">5</td>
-<td class="tdr">0</td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-<td class="tdr"></td>
-<td class="tdr">15</td>
-<td class="tdc">”</td>
-<td class="tdl"><i>Self</i></td>
-<td class="tdr">10</td>
-<td class="tdr">0</td>
-<td class="tdr">0</td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-<td class="tdr"></td>
-<td class="tdr">25</td>
-<td class="tdc">”</td>
-<td class="tdl"><i>Jones</i></td>
-<td class="tdr">5</td>
-<td class="tdr">1</td>
-<td class="tdr">3</td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-<td class="tdr">Oct.</td>
-<td class="tdr">6</td>
-<td class="tdc">”</td>
-<td class="tdl"><i>Williamson</i></td>
-<td class="tdr">4</td>
-<td class="tdr">9</td>
-<td class="tdr">8</td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-<td class="tdr"></td>
-<td class="tdr">12</td>
-<td class="tdc">”</td>
-<td class="tdl"><i>Thomson</i></td>
-<td class="tdr">27</td>
-<td class="tdr">2</td>
-<td class="tdr">5</td>
-</tr>
-</table>
-
-<p>In this book you must never make an entry
-yourself. It should be left at regular intervals
-at the bank to be “made-up,” that is to say,
-for all the sums received and paid to be entered
-in it. The pass-book is really a copy of the
-bank ledger. When received again from the
-bank it should be gone over carefully to see
-that all the entries are just as they should be.</p>
-
-<p>Current accounts, as a general rule in
-England, do not bear any interest, in other
-words, the banker pays nothing for the use
-he enjoys of any balance left in his hands.
-Unless the balance is large he thinks he does
-enough in taking the trouble of keeping the
-account. In Scotland interest is usually given
-on current accounts, but it is only a slight
-advance upon nothing.</p>
-
-<p>Besides receiving money on current account,
-however, bankers receive it on <i>deposit</i>. <i>Deposit
-accounts</i> are those in which sums of
-money are lodged in a bank on the understanding
-that a certain rate of interest is to be
-paid upon them, and that a certain number of
-days’ notice is to be given before they are
-withdrawn. There is no such thing as
-drawing cheques on a deposit account.</p>
-
-<p>When money is received on deposit, a
-deposit receipt is given. The amount is<span class="pagenum" id="Page_184">{184}</span>
-usually repayable to the depositor alone, but it
-may also be paid to anyone to whom the
-depositor gives an order on the bank, either
-written on the back of the deposit receipt or
-accompanying it.</p>
-
-<p>The rate of interest paid on deposits varies
-with the Bank of England rate. It is, however,
-usually so small that no one, except for
-special reasons, will let money lie on deposit
-in a bank whilst there are plenty of perfectly
-safe investments to be met with outside.</p>
-
-<p>For business women who travel few business
-documents are of greater interest than a <i>letter
-of credit</i>. This is a communication from a
-banker to a correspondent, or correspondents,
-authorising credit to be given to the bearer to
-a certain specified amount.</p>
-
-<p>In applying for a letter of credit you must
-name to your banker the sum you will require
-altogether, and the number of towns in which
-you wish to draw portions of that sum, and if
-there are, say, three towns—Paris, Berlin and
-Rome—you must enclose your signature on
-three separate sheets of paper. The banker
-sends one of these slips to an agent in each of
-the towns named, and forwards to you a letter
-of credit in this form:—</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-<table class="autotable" summary="">
-<tr>
-<td class="tdl">Messrs.</td>
-<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Ancelot &amp; Santine</span></td>
-<td class="tdl"><i>Paris.</i></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-<td class="tdc">”</td>
-<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Otto, Rust &amp; Umlauf</span></td>
-<td class="tdl"><i>Berlin.</i></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-<td class="tdc">”</td>
-<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Trento, Bertoni, &amp; Valentino</span></td>
-<td class="tdl"><i>Rome.</i></td>
-</tr>
-</table>
-
-<p><span class="ml4"><span class="smcap">London</span>, 27th November, 1886.</span></p>
-
-<p><i>Gentlemen</i>,</p>
-
-<p><i>We have the pleasure of establishing
-a credit in favour of Miss Robina Turpin,
-who will present to you this letter, and we
-shall thank you to supply her with cash
-to the amount of one hundred and twenty-five
-pounds (£125) sterling, or such part
-thereof as may not previously have been paid
-on this credit, writing off on the back of this
-letter the sum advanced, and taking her drafts
-on us in your favour for your reimbursement,
-which we engage duly to honour.</i></p>
-
-<p>
-<span class="ml2"><i>We remain, Gentlemen,</i></span><br />
-<span class="ml4"><i>Your most obedient Servants,</i></span><br />
-<span class="smcap ml6">Smith, Paterson &amp; Winkles.</span><br />
-</p>
-</div>
-
-<p>Across the face of the letter of credit is
-written, “<i>This credit to be in force for twelve
-months only from this date.</i>”</p>
-
-<p><i>Circular Notes</i>, as they are called, are in
-one respect an improvement on a letter of
-credit: they can be cashed in almost every
-town the traveller is likely to visit. They are
-issued by most London bankers and for sums of
-from £10 upwards.</p>
-
-<p>A banker has a pretty responsible time of it.
-He is bound to keep secret the state of his
-customer’s account. He must also know his
-customer’s handwriting, so, should he pay a
-cheque or bill which turns out to be a forgery,
-he must bear the loss. If he neglects to carry
-out any instructions within the legitimate
-sphere of banking business, such as the payment
-of premiums on a life insurance or the
-purchase of shares, he may be called to account
-for any loss the customer may suffer through
-his carelessness.</p>
-
-<p>The simplest bank in the country, and the
-most important to depositors of small means
-is the Post Office Savings Bank, about which
-we must now speak. It is an extensive institution,
-having over eight thousand branch
-establishments all over the country; indeed,
-every money order office is a branch office of
-the Post Office Savings Bank. At the present
-time there are more than three and a half
-millions of accounts open, with an average
-balance of £13 10s., and the average turnover
-of the bank, counting both the money deposited
-and the money drawn out, is twenty-eight
-million pounds a year.</p>
-
-<p>You cannot, in the Post Office Savings
-Bank, open an account from which, by means
-of cheques, you can draw money at any hour.
-It does not provide cheque books, and makes
-the withdrawal of money comparatively a slow
-process, for its leading idea is not to facilitate
-present business, but to provide for future
-need. It really starts with the reflection that</p>
-
-<div class="poetry-container">
-<div class="poetry">
- <div class="stanza">
- <div class="verse indent0">“If youth but knew what age would crave,</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Many a penny it would save.”</div>
- </div>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<p>An account may be opened with a very
-small sum. You can do it with a shilling.
-With that in your hand you can go to a post
-office, and assert your intention of placing
-your savings under the care of the Government.
-And remember that the shilling, and
-anything else added to it, will be safer than in
-any other bank whatever; for the Post Office
-Savings Bank can only come to grief with the
-ruin of the British Empire.</p>
-
-<p>Intending depositors must state their Christian
-name and surname, occupation (if any),
-and residence, and they must sign a declaration
-to the effect that they have no interest in
-any savings bank account, and are willing to
-have any deposits they may make managed
-according to the regulations of the Post
-Office.</p>
-
-<p>When that is done a deposit book is supplied.
-In this book every deposit must be
-entered at the time of its being made by the
-postmaster, or whoever receives it, and he
-must affix to the entry his signature and the
-stamp of the office.</p>
-
-<p>“In addition to the receipt in the book,
-the depositor will receive an acknowledgment
-by post from the Savings Bank department
-in London, and this should reach him
-within four clear days, exclusive of Sundays
-and bank holidays, if the deposit be made in
-England or Wales; within six days, if it be
-made in Ireland or Scotland.”</p>
-
-<p>The interest allowed is 2½ per cent. per
-annum—that is to say, at the rate of £2 10s.
-every year for every £100. This is just a halfpenny
-each month for every pound. Thus, a
-pound lodged in the bank, and lying there for
-a year, becomes £1 0s. 6d.: £10 becomes
-£10 5s.; and £30 grows to be £30 15s. The
-interest is calculated to the 31st of December
-in every year, and is then added to and becomes
-part of the principal.</p>
-
-<p>The deposits made in any year ending 31st
-December must not exceed £30, and when a
-depositor has lodged in all £150, not counting
-interest, she is not allowed to lodge any more
-till she has reduced the sum standing at her
-credit. If she chooses to let it lie, it will, of
-course, by the addition of interest, increase
-every year. When it reaches £200, however,
-no more interest is allowed till some of the
-money is withdrawn.</p>
-
-<p>When a depositor wishes to withdraw any
-money, she fills up a notice of withdrawal, to
-be had at any Post Office Savings Bank, and
-forwards it to the Savings Bank Department
-in London. She then receives by post a warrant,
-which she should present with her book
-at the post office where payment is to be
-made.</p>
-
-<p>Once in every year, on the anniversary of
-the day on which the first deposit was made,
-the deposit book should be forwarded to the
-Controller of the Savings Bank Department
-in London, that the entries may be checked,
-and that the sum due for interest may be
-added. When sending the book, do not pay
-postage: all communications on Savings Bank
-business go free.</p>
-
-<p>Deposits may be made by married women,
-and in that case their husbands have no control
-over the money. They can draw from it
-when they please, and bequeath it by will
-to any person they choose.</p>
-
-<p>The Post Office Savings Bank adapts itself
-to saving on the smallest scale. If a girl can
-only save a penny at a time, she can with
-the penny buy a stamp, and the stamp she can
-stick on a form with twelve divisions, supplied
-by the Post Office. When she has in this
-way saved twelve stamps, she must take it to
-the post office, and have the shilling entered
-in a regular bank account.</p>
-
-<p>But the Post Office undertakes more business
-in connection with money than merely
-storing it up against a rainy day. Of that,
-however, we shall speak in our next article.</p>
-
-<p class="center">(<i>To be continued.</i>)</p>
-
-
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
-
-<div class="chapter">
-<h2 class="nobreak" id="A_SONG_FOR_THE_OLD_YEAR">A SONG FOR THE OLD YEAR.</h2>
-</div>
-<p class="ph3"><span class="smcap">By</span> M. M. POLLARD.</p>
-
-
-<div class="poetry-container">
-<div class="poetry">
- <div class="stanza">
- <div class="verse indent0"><span class="smcap">A tale</span> of the past, a tale of the past!</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Of the days that have vanished, the first and the last,</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Of the year, the old year that has met with its doom,</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">And is vanished for ever in time’s yawning tomb!</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">The snow of December is spread as a pall</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Of white-crested trophies to mourn for its fall,</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">And the flow of the river is hushed in its bed,</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Silent and still as the year that has fled.</div>
- </div>
- <div class="stanza">
- <div class="verse indent0">Bright were the blossoms that welcomed its birth,</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Springing afresh from the bosom of earth,</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Smiling in valley, on mountain, and glade,</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Gladdening the pathway in sunshine or shade.</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">But they have budded and blossomed to fall,</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Summer birds answer no more to the call,</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">They are gone—and the wail of the chill wintry blast</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Sweeps like the sound of a requiem past.</div>
- </div>
- <div class="stanza">
- <div class="verse indent0">E’en as the seasons my life-tale has been,</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Sunshine has lightened up many a scene;</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Sometimes the hours seemed all brightness and joy,</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Cloudless and calm as a sweet summer sky;</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Sometimes the beauty fled swiftly away,</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">As rising clouds shadow the glory of day,</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">For life has all changes—is joyous or drear,</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Like the seasons that make up thy round, hoary year!</div>
- </div>
- <div class="stanza">
- <div class="verse indent0">And many more cycles will swiftly roll past,</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">With changes, and sunshine, and gloom like the last,</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Giving new birth to the blossom and rill,</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">And voices will praise them when mine shall be still,</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">And others will welcome with gladness or tears,</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">The hope and the promise of many more years.</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">Oh, year that is vanished! I bid thee farewell,</div>
- <div class="verse indent0">And the chill winds of winter are sounding thy knell.</div>
- </div>
-</div>
-</div>
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_185">{185}</span></p>
-<div class="figcenter illowp56" id="i_p_185" style="max-width: 28.125em;">
- <img class="w100" src="images/i_p_185.jpg" alt="" />
- <div class="caption"><p class="center">THE NEW YEAR’S BELLS.</p></div>
-</div>
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
-
-<div class="chapter">
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_186">{186}</span></p>
-
-<h2 class="nobreak" id="MERLES_CRUSADE">MERLE’S CRUSADE.</h2>
-</div>
-<p class="ph3"><span class="smcap">By</span> ROSA NOUCHETTE CAREY, Author of “Aunt Diana,” “For Lilias,” etc.</p>
-
-
-<h3>CHAPTER XI.</h3>
-
-<p class="ph3">MARSHLANDS.</p>
-
-<div class="ddropcapbox illowe10_9375" id="i_p_186">
- <img class="w100 idropcap" src="images/i_p_186.jpg" alt="W" />
-</div><p><span class="uppercase">e</span> had started
-by an early
-train, and arrived
-at
-Netherton
-soon after
-four. I knew
-we were to be
-met at the
-station, and
-was not at
-all surprised
-when a fresh-coloured,
-white-haired
-old gentleman
-brandished his stick as a token of
-welcome to Joyce. I was quite sure that
-it was Squire Cheriton before Joyce
-clapped her hands and exclaimed,
-“There’s gran.”</p>
-
-<p>“Halloa, little one,” he said, cheerily,
-as she ran up to him with a joyous face,
-“so you have not forgotten grandfather.
-Bless me, you are not a bit like Vi, you
-have taken after Alick. So this is the
-boy, nurse? Dear me! which is the
-nurse?” looking at me with rather a
-puzzled countenance.</p>
-
-<p>“I am the nurse, sir,” I returned,
-quietly; “and this is Hannah.”</p>
-
-<p>“Hannah Sowerby, of course. Bless
-me, I never forget a face—never; I
-knew yours directly,” as Hannah
-dropped a countrified curtsey to the
-squire. “I saw Michael the other day;
-he was looking hale and hearty—hale
-and hearty; ‘that comes of hard work
-and temperate living, Michael,’ I said—oh,
-we are both of an age, old Michael
-and I, and I am hale and hearty, too.
-So this is my grandson; he is a fine
-fellow; takes after Vi, I should say.
-Come along, come along, there’s auntie
-waiting for us,” and, talking half to us
-and half to himself, Mr. Cheriton led us
-through the station. On the way, however,
-we were stopped twice; first, the
-station master was interviewed and the
-children introduced to him—</p>
-
-<p>“My grandchildren, Drake,” observed
-the Squire, proudly, twirling his gold
-headed stick as he spoke; then a burly
-farmer jostled against the squire, and
-the two commenced observations on the
-weather.</p>
-
-<p>“Fine weather for the crops, Roberts;
-the oats look lively. These are my
-grandchildren; fine boy that.”</p>
-
-<p>“Little girl looks rather peaky, squire;
-wants a bit of fattening.”</p>
-
-<p>“Eh, what! We’ll fatten her, won’t
-we, Joyce?” pinching the child’s thin
-cheek. “Takes after her father, Alick
-Morton. You can’t find fault with my
-grandson, Roberts, I hope; never seen a
-finer child in my life.”</p>
-
-<p>“Father, father,” exclaimed a fresh
-young voice, “what are you doing with
-those children? Methuselah is fretting
-terribly to be off. Do be quick, pray.”</p>
-
-<p>“I am coming, Gay. Now then, all
-of you, move on. Ta-ta, Roberts.” And
-Mr. Cheriton drove us out before him.
-An open barouche was waiting at the
-door, and a young lady was on the box
-trying to hold in a pair of thoroughbreds.
-When she saw us, she at once handed
-the reins to her father, and jumped
-lightly to the ground.</p>
-
-<p>“Kiss me, you darlings,” she said,
-coaxingly; “don’t you know me yet?”
-as Joyce hung back a little shyly. “I
-am Gay, the little auntie, as you used to
-call me. How do you do, Miss Fenton—you
-see I know your name. Hannah, I
-am glad to see you again. There is
-plenty of room for us all; the boxes are
-going by omnibus. Now, father, we
-are all ready,” and in another moment
-Methuselah and his mate were on their
-homeward way.</p>
-
-<p>Miss Cheriton chattered all the time.
-She was a pretty, dark-eyed girl, rather
-piquante in style, but not equal to her
-beautiful sister, though I caught an
-expression that reminded me now and
-then of my mistress. She struck me as
-very fresh and unconventional, and she
-had a bright, chirpy voice and manner
-that must have been very attractive to
-children. Joyce made friends with her
-at once, and even Reggie wanted to go
-to her, and received her caresses and
-compliments with unusual condescension.</p>
-
-<p>“How wonderfully he has improved,
-nurse—Miss Fenton, I mean. My sister
-told me he was a lovely boy, and so he
-is. Why, Rolf will look quite plain beside
-him. What nicely-behaved children
-they seem. Poor Rolf is such a plague
-to us all.”</p>
-
-<p>“Don’t you love Rolf, auntie?”
-asked Joyce, fixing her dark eyes on
-Miss Cheriton’s face.</p>
-
-<p>The young aunt looked rather perplexed
-at this question.</p>
-
-<p>“When Rolf is good I love him, but
-not when he teases, fidgets, or frightens
-my canaries; I do not love him a bit
-then. I am always longing to box his
-ears, only his mother would be so angry
-with me. Father, dear, do make Methuselah
-go a little slower, Mr. Hawtry
-is trying to overtake us.”</p>
-
-<p>“Holloa, Roger,” exclaimed the
-squire, in his hearty voice, “you did
-not think to pass Methuselah, did you,
-on that hack of yours?” And the next
-moment a gentleman, well mounted on
-a dark bay mare, rode up, and entered
-into conversation with Miss Cheriton.
-He threw a searching glance round the
-carriage as he lifted his hat, and then
-laid his hand on the carriage door.</p>
-
-<p>“Good afternoon, squire; Methuselah
-seems a trifle fresh. How is it you are
-not driving, as usual, Miss Cheriton?
-Better employed, I suppose,” with a
-look at Reggie. “So these are Alick
-Morton’s children, are they? The little
-girl looks delicate. You must bring
-them out to my place; Mrs. Cornish will
-give them plenty of new milk. By the
-by, isn’t that Hannah Sowerby?” And
-as she dimpled and looked pleased,
-“Why, I was over at Wheeler’s Farm
-this morning, and your sister Molly
-was talking about you. I wanted Matthew
-to come up to the Red Farm for a
-job—he is a handy fellow, that brother
-of yours—so, as I was waiting, I had a
-chat with Molly.”</p>
-
-<p>I looked across at Hannah and saw
-how this kindly mention of her home
-pleased her. It was good-natured of
-Mr. Hawtry to single her out, and this
-little act of Christian charity prepossessed
-me in his favour. He was not
-very young—a little over thirty, I should
-have judged—and had a strong sensible
-face, “not a mask without any meaning
-to it,” as Aunt Agatha sometimes said,
-but a face that seemed to reveal a
-sensible, downright character.</p>
-
-<p>I saw Mr. Hawtry look in my direction
-once a little doubtfully. I daresay,
-being an old friend of the family, he
-thought it rather odd that Miss Cheriton
-did not introduce him to me, but Joyce
-soon enlightened him.</p>
-
-<p>“Oh, nurse! do look at those pretty
-flowers,” she called out, pulling my gown
-to enforce my attention.</p>
-
-<p>“Yes, I see them, dear,” I answered,
-quietly, and then Reggie became restless
-and struggled to get to me, so I
-took him in my arms, and at that
-moment the carriage turned in at some
-lodge gates.</p>
-
-<p>I had not been able to judge much
-of the place. Miss Cheriton’s chatter
-had engrossed me. I knew we had
-driven very fast through a pretty village,
-and that we had turned off down a country
-road, and that was all. Once I
-fancied I had caught a blue shimmer in
-the distance that must have been the
-sea, but after we had turned into the
-lodge gates, I took no more notice of
-Miss Cheriton and her companion. I
-was far too curious to see Marshlands,
-the home where my beloved mistress had
-passed her childhood.</p>
-
-<p>A short avenue brought us to the
-gravelled sweep before the hall door. A
-large sunny garden with terraces seemed
-to stretch into a park-like meadow; in
-reality it was divided by a wire fence to
-keep in the sheep that were feeding between
-the trees. An old white pony was
-looking across the fence, attracted by
-the sound of our horses, a little black and
-tan terrier flew out on the steps barking,
-and a peacock, who was spreading his
-tail on the sundial, retreated in much
-disgust, sweeping his train of feathers
-behind him.</p>
-
-<p>“Jacko hates Fidgets,” observed Miss
-Cheriton, as the children clapped their
-hands at the gorgeous bird, and then
-Mr. Hawtry dismounted and lifted Joyce
-out of the carriage.</p>
-
-<p>I stood for a moment with Reggie in
-my arms, admiring the old red brick
-house, with its ivy-covered gables, before
-we entered the wide dark hall, and it
-was then that I distinctly heard Mr.
-Hawtry say—</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_187">{187}</span></p>
-
-<p>“Who is that young lady?”</p>
-
-<p>“Do you mean the children’s nurse,
-Miss Fenton?” observed Miss Cheriton,
-carelessly. “Oh, yes, Vi says she is
-quite a lady, and very nice, but——”
-Here I passed on quickly and lost the
-rest, only my foolish cheeks caught fire.
-Merle, Merle, be prudent, remember the
-Valley of Humiliation. What does it
-matter, my girl, what the world thinks?
-Eve was a dairymaid in Eden.</p>
-
-<p>An old grey-headed butler had hurried
-out to meet us. Miss Cheriton, who
-had joined us after a minute or two,
-questioned him at once.</p>
-
-<p>“Is Mrs. Markham still out, Benson?”</p>
-
-<p>“Yes, ma’am, and Master Rolf and
-Judson are with her, but I have taken
-tea into the morning-room.”</p>
-
-<p>“Very well, Benson, I will be down
-presently. Now, Miss Fenton, let me
-show you your quarters,” and she preceded
-us up the dark old staircase, and
-down a long narrow lobby, lighted with
-small lozenged pane windows, and threw
-open a door at the end of the passage.
-“This is the old day nursery, and there
-are two bedrooms communicating with
-it. Susan will bring up the children’s
-tea directly. Will you ring for anything
-you want. I am sorry I cannot wait
-now, but I must pour out tea for my
-father and Mr. Hawtry. I will come up
-again by-and-by,” and she nodded
-pleasantly and ran away.</p>
-
-<p>I looked round the nursery approvingly.
-It was such a charming, old-fashioned
-room, rather low, perhaps, but with
-brown wainscotting, and a dark panelled
-ceiling, and wooden window seats, and
-though the windows were small, they
-were deliciously quaint, and they looked
-out on the grass terrace and the sundial,
-and there was the white pony grazing
-under the elms, and such a pretty peep
-of the park, as I supposed they called it.
-An old black-faced sheep came in sight;
-I called Joyce to look at it, and even
-Reggie clapped his dear little hands,
-and cried out, “Ba—ba, ba—ba.”</p>
-
-<p>The bedrooms were just as cosy and
-old-fashioned as the nursery. The bed
-where Joyce and I were to sleep was
-hung with curious blue chintz, and
-there was an oak wardrobe that looked
-black with age, and curious prints in
-little black frames hung round the walls.
-Reggie’s cot had chintz hangings too.
-The afternoon sunshine was flooding
-the room, as I stood at the window a
-moment. I called to Hannah to admire
-the view. We were at the back of the
-house; there was a kitchen garden and
-fruit trees, then came a deep, narrow lane
-and cornfield, and beyond lay the sea;
-I could even catch sight of a white sail
-very near the shore.</p>
-
-<p>I never saw Hannah so excited as she
-was when she caught sight of that lane.
-She thrust her head out of the window,
-almost overbalancing herself in her
-eagerness.</p>
-
-<p>“Why, miss,” she exclaimed, “there
-is Cherry-tree-lane, and if we could only
-see round the corner—but those pear
-trees shut it out—we should see
-Wheeler’s Farm. Isn’t it like being
-at home?” her voice trembling with
-emotion. “Directly I had a taste of the
-salt air, and a glimpse of Squire Hawtry’s
-cornfields, I felt almost beside
-myself.” And indeed the girl’s honest
-joy was good to witness, and again,
-as I thought of those sisters crowding
-out the attics of Wheeler’s Farm, I
-could have found it in my heart to envy
-Hannah.</p>
-
-<p>When I had taken off the children’s
-things we went back to the day nursery.
-A freckled-faced country girl was covering
-the round table with all sorts of
-dainties—new laid eggs, fruit, jam, and
-honey; there seemed no end to the good
-things. She nodded to Hannah in a
-friendly way, and asked after her health
-in broad Sussex dialect.</p>
-
-<p>“Do you know Susan?” I observed,
-in some surprise, as I poured out some
-milk for the thirsty children.</p>
-
-<p>“She is a neighbour’s daughter,”
-replied Hannah, as she waited on us.
-“Susan was never much to my taste,
-but we learnt our samplers together. The
-Mullinses are not our sort,” she continued,
-with manifest pride. “Joseph
-Mullins is the village cobbler, but he is
-none too steady, and father and Molly
-can’t abide him.”</p>
-
-<p>As soon as the children had finished
-their tea, I took them to the window,
-where they found plenty to amuse them.
-The white pony was still cropping the
-grass; here and there was a nibbling
-sheep; the rooks were cawing about their
-nests in the elm trees; the peacock was
-strutting along the terrace, accompanied
-by his mate; a pair of golden-crested
-pheasants followed them.</p>
-
-<p>Presently the bay mare was brought
-round by a groom, and Mr. Hawtry
-came out on the terrace, and stood
-talking to Mr. Cheriton before he
-mounted.</p>
-
-<p>“Why did you call him Squire Hawtry,
-Hannah?” I observed, curiously,
-as he rode away down the avenue.</p>
-
-<p>“He is mostly called by that name,”
-returned Hannah. “He is a gentleman
-farmer, and lives at the Red Farm down
-Dorlcote way. His mother and sister
-used to live with him, but his mother
-died two years ago, and Miss Agnes
-did not long survive her. She was a
-sweet creature, and very handsome, but
-she had been a sad invalid the last few
-years of her life.”</p>
-
-<p>“Poor Mr. Hawtry! and he is all
-alone.”</p>
-
-<p>“Quite alone, except for his good old
-housekeeper, Mrs. Cornish; she takes
-good care of Mr. Roger, as she calls
-him. Folks say,” continued Hannah,
-somewhat hesitating, “Squire Hawtry
-has had enough of loneliness and nursing
-Miss Agnes, and that he is looking out
-for a wife; he and Miss Gay are firm
-friends, and——”</p>
-
-<p>“I think Reggie is getting sleepy,”
-I observed, hastily, for Joyce was listening
-with all her might, and the old proverb
-is true in saying “little pitchers
-have long ears;” besides which this was
-gossiping about other people’s affairs,
-and Hannah knew I never countenanced
-gossip; it always seemed to me such a
-mean and undignified thing to chatter
-about those who were inmates of the
-house that sheltered us. We had partaken
-of their bread and salt, and so
-they ought to have been sacred to us.
-How little the world understands the so-called
-word “honour,” but “<i>Noblesse
-oblige</i>” is a safe motto.</p>
-
-<p>Hannah took the hint with her usual
-good nature, and went off for the bath
-water. The next moment there was a
-slight peremptory tap at the nursery
-door, and before I could answer a tall,
-elegant-looking woman, dressed in black,
-entered the room. I rose at once in
-some little trepidation; of course it was
-Mrs. Markham.</p>
-
-<p>“Good evening, nurse,” she said, in
-rather a thin, highly-pitched voice. “I
-hope you find yourself comfortable, and
-that the children are not tired with the
-journey.” Then, without waiting for an
-answer, she seated herself languidly, and
-called to Joyce, “Come to me, my dear;
-I am your Aunt Adelaide; good
-children always come when they are
-called.”</p>
-
-<p>I gave Joyce a slight push, for she
-was hanging back in a most unaccountable
-way, and yet she was by no means
-a shy child, and would be friendly even
-with strangers, if she liked their appearance.
-I thought Mrs. Markham looked
-a little annoyed at her hesitation, but
-she controlled herself and tried coaxing.</p>
-
-<p>“What would your mamma say, if you
-refused to kiss poor Aunt Adelaide?
-Come, that is better,” as Joyce
-advanced, timidly. “Why what a thin,
-sickly-looking child it is,” regarding the
-sweet little face before her rather critically;
-“I should hardly have thought,”
-speaking half to herself, “that Violet
-would have had such a plain child.”</p>
-
-<p>I was indignant at this; for everyone
-thought Joyce had a lovely little face,
-though it was rather too thin and grave.
-“Excuse me, Mrs. Markham,” I observed,
-hastily, “but Joyce is a very
-forward child, and understands all that
-is said before her,” for it was hard that
-our pet should meet with such a cold
-reception.</p>
-
-<p>Mrs. Markham regarded me with
-a supercilious stare; she evidently
-thought I was taking a liberty with her
-in venturing to remonstrate, but I took
-no notice, and prudently restrained myself.</p>
-
-<p>I felt, even at that first moment, an
-unaccountable dislike to Mrs. Markham.
-Most people would have pronounced her
-very handsome, in spite of her sallow
-complexion and thin lips, but a certain
-hardness in her expression repelled me,
-as it repelled Joyce. Her dark eyes
-regarded one so coldly; there was such
-hauteur and indifference in her manners;
-and then the metallic harshness of her
-voice! “How could she be Mrs. Morton’s
-sister?” I thought, as I recalled the sweet
-graciousness, the yielding softness, that
-made my dear mistress so universally
-beloved.</p>
-
-<p class="center">(<i>To be continued.</i>)</p>
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
-
-<div class="chapter">
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_188">{188}</span></p>
-
-<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHRISTMAS_IN_THE_GERMAN_FATHERLAND">CHRISTMAS IN THE GERMAN FATHERLAND.</h2>
-</div>
-
-
-<p><span class="smcap">In</span> the days of my youth it was my good
-fortune to have letters of introduction to some
-German friends of our family, and to be invited
-to spend the winter with them in their
-charming country house at the foot of the
-Riesengebirge.<a id="FNanchor_1" href="#Footnote_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a></p>
-
-<p>It was the 24th of December, and bitterly
-cold, when I emerged from the railway carriage
-upon the platform of a small country
-station, and was taken into friendly possession
-by a vivacious little dark-eyed baroness and
-her tall, flaxen-haired son, who, with many
-fears that I must be nearly frozen by my long
-journey from Berlin, wrapped me in an extra
-fur and supplied me with a third veil before
-allowing me to encounter the keen outer air
-and a long sledge drive.</p>
-
-<p>To drive in a sledge at all was to me a novel
-and delightful experience, and the sledge to
-which I was now conducted was particularly
-pretty, with its body of light carved wood, its
-fur rugs lined with crimson, its pair of cream-coloured
-Russian ponies, with their harness
-studded with silver knobs, and arches of
-silver bells over their heads; and when once
-we were all warmly ensconced among the
-cushions and wrappers, and were gliding with
-noiseless swiftness over the well-kept sledge-way,
-it seemed to me that sledging was the
-very acme of luxurious motion, and I felt almost
-sorry when Baron Max checked his
-ponies to point out the high tower, now close
-at hand, which he said formed part of the
-main building of his home.</p>
-
-<p>After passing through some fine pine-woods,
-we drove across the whilom moat, now planted
-with trees and called the Dark Walk, and,
-driving under a small archway, found ourselves
-in a spacious court laid out as a flower-garden,
-while facing us, and forming three sides of a
-hollow square, stood the schloss itself. The
-great entrance was approached by a long flight
-of steps, and upon these were several liveried
-servants awaiting our arrival, while at the
-sound of the sleigh-bells and the cracking of
-the driver’s whip, two great wolfhounds rushed
-out to welcome their master, and were followed,
-more sedately, by the daughters of the
-house, who from their striking disparity in
-height were always known by the sobriquet
-of Tiny and Tall.</p>
-
-<p>To Tiny’s care I was immediately consigned,
-and, after a brief adjournment to my room,
-was led by her into the saloon, where we
-found Tall presiding over the coffee and
-cakes, which, as I discovered later on, she
-had herself prepared.</p>
-
-<p>The Baroness had disappeared, leaving an
-apology for me that, as it was Christmas Eve,
-she had much to do, to which she must
-attend, and while we were waiting the signal
-to go and view the tree, Tiny and Tall proceeded
-to enlighten me as to many of their
-national customs in connection with this
-particular season.</p>
-
-<p>In this village, for instance, as in many
-others of the Fatherland, and especially in
-Southern Germany, a veiled woman goes up
-and down the streets after nightfall, bearing
-in her arms a child chosen for his beauty and
-goodness to represent the Infant Saviour, and
-as they pass along they find the cottage windows
-discreetly left ajar, so that the Christ-child,
-as he is called, can leave upon the sill
-some token of the day. Every good child,
-upon awakening next morning, finds gifts—oranges,
-sweeties, or some such things; but,
-alas for the child who has been naughty! for
-him are no such delights; for him there lies
-only a pliant willow or birchen rod, suggestive
-of the chastisement he deserves. Into the
-towns the Christ-child seldom comes; he is
-there replaced by the Christmas tree; and it
-was to decorate such a tree that the mother of
-the family had now disappeared.</p>
-
-<p>The room in which I was hearing all this
-was large and lofty, lighted by five windows,
-the remaining walls being hung with ancestral
-portraits; for these unassuming, domesticated
-young girls were the descendants of a noble
-and historical line, would not have changed
-their ancient barony for a modern dukedom,
-and with pardonable pride showed me
-the family portraits, and gave me slight
-sketches concerning the originals. The most
-striking of these was certainly the full-length
-picture of that old field-marshal of whom
-Carlyle thus graphically writes:—“With
-regard to Friedrich, the court-martial needs
-no amendment from the King. The sentence
-on Friedrich, a lieutenant-colonel guilty of
-desertion, is from president and all members,
-except two, death as by law.”</p>
-
-<p>From this portrait we turned to that of
-Frederic the Great himself—his own gift to
-the family; from that prince the transition
-was easy to the subject of the Seven Years
-War, and we had begun planning excursions
-to the different battlefields when a bell began
-to ring, and changed the current of our
-thoughts.</p>
-
-<p>We rushed down a long corridor, being
-joined as we went by different other members
-of the household, and reached the room from
-whence the blaze of light betrayed the presence
-of the great tree. It was, indeed, a
-giant, and formed a most imposing spectacle,
-as it stood in the centre of the large room,
-dazzling with variegated waxen tapers,
-shimmering all over with ice-like crystals, and
-decorated with gilded fruits and sweetmeats.
-The base of this wonderful member of the
-vegetable world was covered by a pyramid of
-the tempting confectionery and gingerbread
-peculiar to the province, and for which lots
-had afterwards to be drawn.</p>
-
-<p>Round the room, and overshadowed by the
-mighty branches of the central tree, stood tiny
-specimens of the same tribe, each standing
-upon a table laden with gifts, and each destined
-for a separate member of the family and
-household.</p>
-
-<p>Even I, stranger as I was, had my own little
-tree and table of presents—pieces of fine Silesian
-linen, a huge surprise ball,<a id="FNanchor_2" href="#Footnote_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a> and a pretty
-gold brooch, embossed with roses and forget-me-nots,
-which I cherish still in remembrance
-of my first happy visit to Germany. There
-were so many pretty things to admire, so many
-thanks to tender, so many good wishes to
-exchange, that it was growing quite late before
-we could make up our minds to leave
-these “halls of dazzling light” for the more
-prosaic supper-room.</p>
-
-<p>Here—as in Germany the Eve is more celebrated
-(except as regards religious services)
-than the Christmas Day itself—we found the
-traditional dishes of Germany and of England.
-In honour of Germany I had to make acquaintance
-with real black bread—“Pumpernickel,”
-as they call it in some parts of Germany,
-sauerkraut, and raw smoked ham, all of
-which at first I secretly thought odious, but
-eventually grew to like very much; and in
-honour of England we had plum pudding and
-mince pies—the former not at all badly
-cooked, the latter a dismal failure, as most
-English housewives will understand when I
-tell them that the cook, although adhering
-strictly to the proportions of an excellent recipe,
-had—for some extraordinary reasons of
-his own—pounded the whole into a paste,
-and enclosed it in a very thick crust, the shape
-and size of a small pork pie.</p>
-
-<p>We did not linger long after supper; for it
-had been a long and fatiguing day for everyone.
-As for myself, after so many interesting
-and novel incidents, and so long and wearying
-a journey, I was only too glad to find
-myself once more in my own room, and I
-slept without pause or wakening until the appearance
-of the young ladies’ maid, Amalia, at
-my bedside next morning with a cup of coffee
-and the intimation that it was now 7.30, and
-that the sledge for church-goers would be at
-the door at nine o’clock.</p>
-
-<p>We were off punctually to the time, and
-after about half an hour’s drive over the hard-frozen
-snow, upon which the brilliant sunshine
-was streaming down, we reached the unpretending-looking
-little Lutheran church. Here,
-as the due of the Adel,<a id="FNanchor_3" href="#Footnote_3" class="fnanchor">[3]</a> we sat in a gallery all
-by ourselves, and had high-backed velvet
-chairs, surmounted by the baron’s coronet, and
-with footstools embroidered to match; and
-very strange it seemed to me to be looking
-down from this pinnacle of isolated grandeur
-upon the poorer congregation below.</p>
-
-<p>Generally speaking, these wore the costume
-of the province, and a charming costume too—a
-short skirt of red, green, or blue serge,
-with five broad bands of black velvet round
-the lower edge; black velvet bodice, laced
-over a full chemisette, and sleeves of white
-cambric; pointed velvet cap (of the Stuart
-shape), in colour matching the skirt, adorned
-with heavy gold braiding, and edged with a
-fluting of Silesian lace. Long gold earrings
-and a broad gold plaque, set with garnets and
-suspended by a slender chain round the neck,
-were the ornaments worn with this costume,
-and were, as I was afterwards told, handed
-down as family heirlooms from mother to
-child.</p>
-
-<p>The dress of the men was, of course, less
-elaborate. It consisted of dark-blue or grey
-cloth suits, much adorned with silver buttons.
-Both men and women wore long black stockings
-and buckled shoes as part of their Sunday
-garb, but on weekdays generally go barefoot.</p>
-
-<p>Those among the congregation who abjured
-these picturesque costumes and went in for
-modern fashion, wore—like the gentle folk—black;
-and I found to my astonishment that
-black was also <i>de rigueur</i> for Confirmation and
-the Holy Communion. The clergyman, a tall,
-kindly-looking old man, wore a long black
-gown and a wide box-pleated ruff. There was
-an ebony and silver crucifix upon the altar,
-which had lighted waxen tapers burning upon
-it. The musical part of the service was led
-by a full brass band; and, to complete my
-surprise, I found it was against rule to kneel
-at any time; one either sat or stood.</p>
-
-<p>All this seemed so utterly at variance with
-recognised ideas in England upon the same
-subject, that I am afraid I did not much profit
-by my first church-going in the Fatherland.
-Still, it was an interesting experience, and
-when time had familiarised me more with
-both the language and the customs, I found
-a great deal that I could honestly admire,
-though I never ceased to prefer our own
-bright and beautiful Liturgy to the somewhat
-ponderous nature of worship in the Fatherland.</p>
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_189">{189}</span></p>
-
-
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
-
-<div class="chapter">
-<h2 class="nobreak" id="NO">“NO.”</h2>
-</div>
-<p class="ph3"><span class="smcap">By</span> MARY E. HULLAH.</p>
-
-
-<div class="figcenter illowp57" id="i_p_189" style="max-width: 28.125em;">
- <img class="w100" src="images/i_p_189.jpg" alt="" />
- <div class="caption"><p class="center">“AN EMPTY CAB CAME RATTLING ROUND THE CORNER.”</p></div>
-</div>
-
-<h3>CHAPTER III.</h3>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">The</span> wind blew fiercer than ever as Embrance
-turned out of the broad avenue into a side
-path, and found herself face to face with
-Horace Meade.</p>
-
-<p>“Good afternoon, Miss Clemon.”</p>
-
-<p>“Good afternoon, Mr. Meade.”</p>
-
-<p>She put her hand into his for a second; he
-had thrown away his cigar and turned to walk
-by her side. “How fast you walk,” he said;
-“I have been watching you for the last three
-minutes.”</p>
-
-<p>“I haven’t much time to lose,” said
-Embrance, apologetically, “as a rule. The
-park gate will shut soon.”</p>
-
-<p>“Yes, to be sure. Do you like the
-Regent’s-park?”</p>
-
-<p>“Very much; don’t you?”</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_190">{190}</span></p>
-
-<p>“Oh yes, immensely, but somehow I never
-come here. No, indeed, I don’t,” in answer
-to her look of amusement; “I came to-day
-because I thought there was a chance of
-meeting you. There is something that I want
-to talk to you about. Do you know that you
-are the most difficult person in the world to
-approach?”</p>
-
-<p>“I should not have thought so,” said
-Embrance, with a smile. “I think I can guess
-what you are going to tell me.”</p>
-
-<p>He shook his head: “I’m afraid you can’t.”</p>
-
-<p>“You must not suppose that she means all
-she says; only give her time and she will take
-your advice.”</p>
-
-<p>“Ah, yes; Joan, you mean?”</p>
-
-<p>It struck Embrance that he was very absent
-and unlike himself, but she had broached the
-subject now, and she felt bound to go on with
-it. “She told me that she was very sorry that
-she had been ungracious about some suggestion
-that you made. I’m quite sure that she
-would not willingly say anything to hurt
-you.”</p>
-
-<p>“I’m quite sure she would not,” assented
-Horace, “she is much too kind-hearted.”</p>
-
-<p>“And,” continued Embrance, clasping her
-hands firmly in her muff, “I wanted to say
-(we needn’t talk about it again), if you think
-that it would be better for her to go down to
-Doveton, I will try and persuade her to go;
-it would not be for long, perhaps.”</p>
-
-<p>“No, I suppose not,” said Horace, absently;
-“but don’t you see, Miss Clemon, the question
-is not altogether about Joan’s peace of mind,
-but yours?”</p>
-
-<p>They had reached the gate, and turned into
-a dreary piece of “outer circle.”</p>
-
-<p>“Mine?” exclaimed Embrance, growing
-scarlet in the dim twilight; “there is no
-occasion to talk about me.”</p>
-
-<p>“I beg your pardon, I have a great deal to
-say. Do you suppose I don’t see what you are
-doing for my cousin, how you are helping her
-and teaching her, and taking on your shoulders
-the responsibilities that her own family ought
-to bear?”</p>
-
-<p>“I had not looked upon it from that point
-of view,” said Embrance, dryly.</p>
-
-<p>“Now you are angry at what I have said; I
-can’t help it, I can’t hold my tongue any
-longer. Joan knows what I think, but
-perhaps she has not told you all I said; she is
-a dear little girl. Don’t imagine that I am
-throwing any blame on her, but she shouldn’t
-have come to London!”</p>
-
-<p>“I have tried to do my best for her,” said
-Embrance, in a broken voice.</p>
-
-<p>“Miss Clemon,” cried Horace, “you must
-think that I am behaving like a brute! Do
-you suppose I don’t know that? You have
-done her, and are doing her, all the good in
-the world.”</p>
-
-<p>“I thought that you did not trust me,” explained
-Embrance, simply. “I’m so glad I
-was wrong; indeed, Joan is like a younger
-sister to me; don’t try to separate us.”</p>
-
-<p>The light of a feeble gaslight fell upon her
-face as she spoke; her eyes were raised
-pleadingly to his.</p>
-
-<p>“You have mistaken me altogether,” he
-said, hurriedly, “but I couldn’t expect it to
-be otherwise. You must not misunderstand
-me again. Embrance, I know I am taking
-you by surprise; I must say it. I love you.
-I am miserable when I am away from you.
-Don’t, don’t turn away!”</p>
-
-<p>A gust of wind came roaring down the
-road; she did not heed it. She walked
-quietly by his side, stricken dumb with great
-joy. She did not deceive herself for one
-instant, it was too late for that, she liked him
-too well. She could not shut her heart to the
-truth, any more than she could shut her ears
-to his words. Alas, alas! where were all her
-plans for Joan? Did Joan love him? In
-the darkness of the badly lighted road, she
-seemed to see Joan’s beautiful face, and to
-hear her say, “Embrance, have patience with
-me. Don’t think ill of me! You are the only
-one who has patience with me!”</p>
-
-<p>“My poor dear, I will do my best for you,”
-she thought, as a feeling of great tenderness
-towards Joan came over her. She had no
-answer ready for Horace Meade. Ah! he was
-strong, and did not want her pity.</p>
-
-<p>“What shall I say? What shall I do?”
-she cried at last, in desperation. It seemed as
-if hours had passed since he had spoken the
-words that made this great difference in her life.</p>
-
-<p>“Have I distressed you? I can’t help it.
-Tell me, won’t you listen to me?”</p>
-
-<p>“I, I am sorry,” she faltered, looking at
-him with a tearful glance.</p>
-
-<p>“I didn’t know. I had thought——” She
-stopped; Joan’s name must not be mentioned
-now if she loved him; if—nay, she must love
-him, and he would find it out by-and-by; he
-could not but be fond of her. Only give them
-time; he was vexed with her for the moment;
-it would all come right. Nevertheless it was
-hard to give him her answer. “Mr. Meade,”
-she said, speaking more firmly now, “it is
-very good of you. I thank you very much.
-I can’t listen to you; it is better not.”</p>
-
-<p>“Are you engaged to that man who went
-to New Zealand?”</p>
-
-<p>“My cousin? No, certainly not; why
-should you think so?”</p>
-
-<p>“Joan said something about it, that is
-partly why I determined to know my fate at
-once.”</p>
-
-<p>“You must have misunderstood her
-altogether. When did you see her last?”</p>
-
-<p>“About a fortnight ago. I can’t remember,”
-he replied, impatiently. “I believe your whole
-thoughts are wrapped up in her.”</p>
-
-<p>“I beg your pardon. I didn’t mean to vex
-you. Can’t we be friends, at least?”</p>
-
-<p>Up to the present moment she had indeed
-been thinking how she could best make a
-reconciliation possible between him and Joan.
-With a sharp pang it struck her that perhaps
-after all she was in the wrong.</p>
-
-<p>“Listen,” he said; “I am in earnest, in
-bitter earnest. You believe me, don’t you?”</p>
-
-<p>“Yes,” said Embrance.</p>
-
-<p>“Thank you. I was sure of that, at least.
-I care so much that I can’t stay here any
-longer, coming to see you like a stranger, and
-having no right to help you in any way whatever.
-I have seen enough in the last few
-months to guess a little what your work is.
-No; let me say it out to the end. Before
-I knew you I fancied that you were selfish and
-indifferent. Heaven knows how wrong I was!
-If I can’t win your love, it is my own fault.
-Embrance, don’t decide in a hurry. Think it
-over. I love you. Give me a chance.”</p>
-
-<p>They had reached the crowded thoroughfare.
-Gaslights were flaring; the road was
-thronged with cabs and carts; the people
-were pushing along the pavement, too busy to
-notice the quiet couple, or to observe that
-the plain girl in an ulster had a white face,
-and that the lines of her mouth were set with
-pain and suffering. Across the street, in a
-few minutes, they were in a dreary square. Here
-there were no loiterers. A murky grey sky;
-black trees, flinging their gaunt arms to the
-chimney pots; rows of melancholy stone
-houses, with carved heads, placidly unconcerned,
-gazing down from the lintels.</p>
-
-<p>In vain she strove to find words to tell him
-her perplexity. How could she accept this
-gift from his hands, believing as she did that
-the child at home was longing to make friends
-with him? How should she return and look
-her friend in the face, saying, “I have stolen
-your lover”?</p>
-
-<p>“Embrance, be patient with me,” Joan had
-said. “Embrance, don’t give me up.”</p>
-
-<p>Then she turned and put her hand into
-Horace’s. Her fingers were cold as ice, but
-they did not tremble. “I can’t; don’t ask
-me,” she cried under her breath.</p>
-
-<p>He strode by her side in silence. An
-empty cab came rattling round the corner.
-“Stop it,” whispered Embrance. He obeyed
-her, opened the door, and told the man where
-to drive. He lifted his hat, standing on one
-side, and waiting for the cab to drive off. At
-last she raised her eyes to his. “Forgive me,”
-she whispered; “do forgive me. God bless
-you, Horace.”</p>
-
-<p>He turned away without a word. What
-should he say more than he had said? She
-could not love him. There was nothing more
-to be done. She was no coquette to say
-“No” when she meant “Yes.” Fate was hard
-on him. The one woman in the whole world
-whom he longed to call his wife had rejected his
-love. He must bear his grief as best he could.</p>
-
-<p>Embrance sank back into a dark corner of
-the cab, shuddering as she recalled his look of
-misery. She had none of the spirit of a
-heroine or a martyr to support her; she had
-tried, struggling against her own self, to act
-uprightly by one friend; suppose that her very
-love of honesty had caused her to be cruel to
-another? Now that it was all too late, she
-longed to have the last five minutes over again.
-No, a thousand times, no! Let her only get
-home and have time to think, and she would
-leave off being sorry. Whether rightly or
-wrongly, she had done what seemed honest and
-fair; she would not reproach herself, and he
-would soon get over it. “Men forget sooner
-than women,” she reflected, falling back on
-one of her aunt’s numerous truisms. Then she
-almost laughed in scorn at her own insincerity.
-“You don’t believe it; you know he loves
-you, and your ridiculous behaviour will make
-him think worse of all womanhood from this
-day forth.” “Oh! I hope not. I hope
-not!” she sobbed aloud, with her head against
-the cushion of the cab.</p>
-
-<p>The sound of her own voice roused her to
-the consciousness that she was getting very
-near home; she sat up, dried her eyes and
-smoothed her hair. It would not do to alarm
-Joan; what had happened this afternoon must
-be kept a secret from her at all events. She
-had her own latch-key. She opened the door
-and stole upstairs. The landlady and her
-daughter were chatting in the back parlour,
-but Embrance did not want to exchange
-civilities with them just now. Outside her
-own door she paused for a moment, then
-opened it, saying: “Well, Joan, are you waiting
-for your tea?”</p>
-
-<p>There was no answer. The lamp was
-lighted, the tablecloth was laid, but Joan was
-not there. Her chair was in a corner by the
-window; there were no signs of her drawing
-or scraps of millinery about.</p>
-
-<p>“Joan!” cried Embrance, nervously.
-“Where are you?”</p>
-
-<p>No answer. She ran to the door of the
-next room and looked in; all was dark and
-silent. “I suppose it is not so late as I
-thought,” she said to herself. “She will be
-in soon, I daresay.”</p>
-
-<p>She took off her bonnet, and sat down to
-wait with a book, but she could not fix her
-attention. She was very, very tired, and
-rather lonely; she did wish that Joan would
-come. The longing to speak to somebody was
-so great, that after a short time she put out her
-hand and rang the bell. Annie came running
-upstairs at the summons; her eyes were round
-with excitement; she hardly waited to hear
-Miss Clemon’s question.</p>
-
-<p>“Did Miss Fulloch leave any message for
-me when she went out?”</p>
-
-<p>“No, miss; she’s been gone ever since ten
-o’clock, half an hour after you left. I heard
-the door bang, and I said to myself, ‘What’s
-that?’ And it was Miss Fulloch; she had
-on her new bonnet, with the pink feather, that
-she was making.”</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_191">{191}</span></p>
-
-<p>“Never mind the bonnet, Annie; did she
-say when she would be in to tea?”</p>
-
-<p>“No, miss; and I expect she won’t be back;
-she took her bag.”</p>
-
-<p>“Very well. I will wait half an hour, and
-then, please, bring tea.”</p>
-
-<p>“There’s something wrong upstairs,” was
-Annie’s report in the kitchen. “Miss Clemon
-looks as if she see a ghost. She isn’t half the
-lady she was.”</p>
-
-<p>Seven o’clock struck; eight o’clock, nine
-o’clock, and no Joan appeared. Embrance
-drank a cup of tea, but she could not eat anything.
-In vain she told herself that very
-likely Mrs. Rakely had made one of her flying
-visits to London, and had persuaded Joan to
-spend the day with her; it was absurd to be
-anxious; of course she would be back
-directly; nevertheless she could not read,
-write, or rest. The late postman brought a
-letter for Miss Clemon. Annie, having
-studied the envelope on the way upstairs, saw
-that the postmark was Brighton.</p>
-
-<p>Embrance took the letter. The handwriting,
-firm and neat, was quite strange to
-her. She opened it hastily.</p>
-
-<p>“Dear old Embrance” (it began). “I had
-not the courage to say good-bye to you this
-morning, but I told you that I had a secret,
-and I think you guessed it; you are so clever.
-I was afraid you would be disappointed, you
-meant me to be a painter’s wife, didn’t you?
-but I was happily married to Alfred Brownhill
-this morning, and we are spending our
-honeymoon at Brighton. We must come and
-see you before we go to Doveton. Alfred
-sends his kind regards; he remembers you
-quite well. You will be glad to hear that I
-am so happy; I hope you won’t miss me too
-much, you busy old dear.—Your loving, <span class="smcap">Joan
-Brownhill</span>. P.S. Alfred likes the bonnet very
-much. He wrote the address; were you
-mystified?”</p>
-
-<p>A little bunch of sweet smelling violets
-dropped out of the letter and scented the room—Joan
-always loved flowers. She liked everything
-that was pleasant and good to look upon.</p>
-
-<p>Alfred Brownhill! he was a staid, middle-aged
-man, with a comfortable home and a
-prosperous income. No wonder that old Mr.
-Fulloch had wished for the marriage. He
-would be surprised, too, and would wonder
-that his grand-daughter had not returned to
-his roof, as she was prepared to follow his
-advice at last. But Embrance saw clearly
-enough that Joan would never have done that.
-A runaway wedding, and a triumphant return
-to Doveton, would be much more to her taste.
-She looked at Joan’s unused cup and saucer
-on the table, and she shivered as she realised
-the truth; her friend would never come back.
-While she had been rejecting the pleadings of
-a good man who loved her, Joan had perhaps
-been telling her husband that “Embrance
-wished her to marry a painter.”</p>
-
-<p>“I will write to him,” she said, turning to
-the little table where she had so often sat
-when he and Joan talked together over the
-fire. She never swerved from her intention;
-he had been cruelly treated; he might not
-care to accept her apology, that did not
-matter. She must see him once more, and
-explain to him that she had been deceived—mistaken,
-that was a more gracious word.
-She would write no more than she could help.</p>
-
-<p>“Dear Mr. Meade,—Please come and see
-me. I have made a mistake.—Yours truly,
-<span class="smcap">Embrance Clemon</span>.”</p>
-
-<p>She knew his address, she had written to
-him before, asking him to do various little acts
-of kindness for Joan. Once she had been to
-tea at his rooms, with Mrs. Rakely and Joan,
-he had shown her his sketches and asked her
-opinion about his pictures. It was all long
-ago. It had been a bitterly cold day, Joan
-had caught a bad sore throat, and was ill for a
-week afterwards; she had been an impatient
-invalid, and Horace had called to inquire after
-her very often, and had left fruit and flowers.</p>
-
-<p>Embrance could no longer endure the loneliness
-of the little parlour; she missed Joan
-terribly, her laugh and her many coaxing ways.
-She longed for air; it was a good excuse for
-posting the letter herself. As she tied her
-bonnet-strings before the glass, she shrank
-back aghast at the sight of her pale face. She
-put on a thick veil and threw a shawl over her
-shoulders; she would feel happier when the
-letter was once in the pillar-box. A hundred
-times she had been up and down the crooked
-staircase in the dark; to-night, it might be
-that she was tired, or that her eyes were full
-of tears, but her foot slipped, she clutched
-instinctively at the banister, missed it, and
-fell down into the darkness below.</p>
-
-<p>So it came about that the letter to Horace
-Meade was left unposted till the following
-morning.</p>
-
-<p>Some days passed before Embrance could
-leave her room; the doctor, whom the landlady
-had summoned in her fright, said that she
-had sprained her ankle badly, and ordered
-perfect rest. The people in the house were
-good to the solitary invalid; the first-floor
-lodger brought her knitting and a great many
-dull stories of her own youth, and experiences
-of sprained ankles and broken limbs, and came
-and sat by her sofa, while the landlady and
-Annie were unceasing in their attentions.
-Some of Embrance’s pupils called, and Joan
-wrote sheets of sympathy, crossed and recrossed.
-Her husband sent his kind regards
-and hoped that Miss Clemon would come
-down to Doveton and stay there till she
-was quite convalescent. However, Embrance
-refused the invitation, she would rather stay
-at home for the present; later on, she would
-like to visit Joan.</p>
-
-<p>Mrs. Brownhill, in the snug breakfast-room
-in her new home, fretted a little over this
-refusal; then she recovered her spirits and laid
-plans for summer excursions; it would be
-better to have Embrance, after all, when the
-roses were in bloom. Alfred Brownhill was
-very much in love with his young wife, and
-considered her interest in the welfare of her
-sick friend the prettiest trait of character
-imaginable.</p>
-
-<p>“Poor old Embrance,” exclaimed Joan, with
-her hand in his; “I should die of loneliness
-in that pokey room all by myself, but she has
-so much strength of will; I don’t believe she
-minds a bit. I shall never be like her!”</p>
-
-<p>“Heaven forbid!” murmured he devoutly.
-He was prepared to be kind to the lady for his
-wife’s sake, but he had a virtuous horror of a
-strong-minded woman wrapped up in herself,
-and his principles (which he held sacred) did
-not allow him to disguise his feelings.</p>
-
-<p>In the meantime Embrance recovered slowly
-and went back to her work, but she received
-no answer to her letter.</p>
-
-<p class="center">(<i>To be concluded.</i>)</p>
-
-
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
-
-<div class="chapter">
-<h2 class="nobreak" id="ANSWERS_TO_CORRESPONDENTS">ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS.</h2>
-</div>
-
-
-<h3>EDUCATIONAL.</h3>
-
-<div class="blockquot_ans">
-
-<p>L. M. D. (Suisse).—We have no charge whatever to
-make against the moral or intellectual training given
-in Swiss schools, having had opportunities for making
-ourselves well acquainted with some of them. But
-we speak advisedly in stating that, on the score of
-diet, and certain other matters, English habits differ
-from those of foreign countries, and many English
-constitutions cannot bear so great a change with
-impunity, especially young growing girls. Thus it
-is better that they should be educated at schools in
-their own country; or, if abroad, should attend day
-schools, or engage visiting masters, and sleep and
-board at home. We have many Swiss friends, and
-are partial to them and their country. We are glad
-you like our paper, being one of “our girls.”</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Young Antiquary.</span>—The word “cromleac” is a compound
-of two Irish words—viz, <i>crom</i>, “to adore,” or
-“worship,” and <i>leac</i>, “a stone.” <i>Crom</i> was likewise
-one of the Irish names of the supreme God.
-These ancient remains are therefore very clearly
-those of altars or places of worship. You would
-learn all that is known of them by reading Higgins’
-rare work on the round towers, etc., in the British
-Museum.</p>
-</div>
-
-
-<h3>WORK.</h3>
-
-<div class="blockquot_ans">
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Duchess.</span>—To tan a tennis net, soak it in boiled oil,
-and let it dry under cover, hung up in the air. Your
-writing is too full of flourishes.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Young Mother, Helen C.</span>—Get a shilling manual
-with knitting and crochet patterns. Our space cannot
-be occupied by them.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence Gobbler.</span>—We thank you for your communication
-about hat cleaning.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Courts.</span>—Clothing for Ceylon should consist of what
-we here call summer clothing—white and pale-coloured
-cambrics, tussore and Surah silks, very
-thin cashmere, silk gauze webs for undervests, etc.
-Go to an Indian outfitter’s, and you will be shown
-the materials which are the most suitable.</p>
-
-<p>T. A. and C. M.—The best dress for tricycle-riding is
-a tailor-made short habit, or tight short jacket, and
-a plain narrow cloth skirt, without any trimmings,
-festooning, and draping.</p>
-
-<p>C. C.—Table centres are much used for dinner parties,
-but not of gathered up plush. They are made of
-straight pieces of silk, German canvas, or satin
-sheeting, ornmented with an appliqué of plaited
-straw, or plush edged with fine cord or tinsel.</p>
-</div>
-
-
-<h3>MISCELLANEOUS.</h3>
-
-<div class="blockquot_ans">
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Maud.</span>—Go to the police office and inform the inspector
-of your trouble and the cruel treatment to
-which you are subjected, and he will take you to
-the proper quarters, where you may obtain a separation
-and an allowance. Do nothing rashly and
-nothing wrong, be your trials and provocations
-what they may. What you suggested to us would
-be very wrong indeed, and we think and hope you
-must have done so under great excitement. If
-by word or act you thoughtlessly gave cause for
-jealousy, you might not obtain the separation and
-allowance, to which otherwise you could lay just
-claim. Pray God to guide you and preserve you
-from evil.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Blush Rose.</span>—<i>Requiescat in pace</i> means “Rest in
-peace.”</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Lotta.</span>—Try to live much in prayer during each day
-while at your business, or in little intervals of leisure.
-The responsibility of either turning to God and
-accepting or “neglecting so great salvation” lies on
-you. You are not a mere puppet, but a reasonable
-being, and have been given to distinguish between
-good and evil. “Ye <i>will</i> not come unto Me,” not
-“Ye <i>shall</i> not come.” “Why will ye die?” etc.
-Do not let anyone deceive you with the idea that
-you have no free will. God does not unjustly
-“gather where He does not strew.” He had already
-given the one pound to the idle servant, and thus
-supplied the means for trading, or would not have
-expected any return. May He guide you aright.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Kittie.</span>—Perhaps some glycerine or vaseline might
-remove the roughness from your face and neck.
-Get some nice nursery hairwash and apply it to the
-skin of your head with a small sponge.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Harry’s Wife.</span>—We sympathise with you in your
-trouble and your sister in her sufferings. Certainly,
-the prayer offered in faith, resting on God’s promises,
-will certainly be answered. He who bestows faith
-will accept His own gift with favour. It is He who
-is drawing your heart towards Him.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Emma Walker.</span>—There is the Royal Free Hospital
-in Gray’s-inn-road, W.C., for the relief of the sick
-poor of all nations, without any letter of recommendation
-or other claim beyond sickness and
-destitution. Write to the secretary, James S. Blyth,
-Esq. About 2,000 in-patients and 25,000 out-patients
-are annually under its care.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_192">{192}</span></p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Beatrice Marie.</span>—1. The 16th July, 1869, was a
-Friday. 2. A series of articles on girls’ pets was
-given in vol. iv., pages 83, 274, 602, and 731.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">A Dark Lady</span> and <span class="smcap">Sussex</span>.—When a married man
-dies intestate, having children, the widow can claim
-one-third of his property, and the remaining two-thirds
-are divided between his children in equal
-portions. If he die without children, the widow can
-claim one-half of his property, and the rest is divided
-in equal portions between his nearest of kin.
-“Sussex” is quite wrong in his ideas respecting a
-brother’s claims taking precedence of those of the
-widow and the children, and it would be most unjust
-if such were the law. The “Dark Lady” writes
-well.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Priscilla.</span>—Your digestion needs attention, and perhaps
-your diet and mode of life. If you get a bad
-headache whenever you read for long at a time, why
-do you attempt it? Read a little from time to time,
-and rest your eyes and the feeble nerves connected
-with the brain.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Adelaide.</span>—What you name are designed as acts
-expressing respect and veneration for Him whom we
-worship on bended knee. We cannot enter more
-fully into the subject of your letter. We have no
-remembrance of any letter signed “Ade.”</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Antoinette R.</span> informs us that “she is pretty,” and
-that gentlemen whom she serves in her father’s shop
-“stare at her as if she were an unseen object.” (?)
-We fail to understand what that means. She should
-resolutely try to forget herself, and give her whole
-attention to selling her father’s gloves, etc.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Julia F. E.</span> must count the feet of her verses, so
-as to get them even. It will not do to have
-nine feet in one line and eight in another.
-“Heaven” and “driven” do not rhyme, and
-in the poem to a “Skylark” here are many
-mistakes in the length of the feet. But, after
-all, to an invalid the pleasure of writing
-down the “thoughts that oppress” and “the
-words which burn” is very great, and the
-relief is excellent both for brain and the
-feelings.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">An English Voice from Ireland.</span>—We
-certainly could not advise you to marry under
-the circumstances that you “neither love nor
-respect” the man to whom you have promised
-your hand. Perhaps you do not know your
-own mind, and had better ask to wait a year
-before you decide finally.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Marion, Newcastle.</span>—The new volume of the
-G. O. P. begins with the November part. You
-could improve your writing by crossing your
-“t’s” and dotting your “i’s.”</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Rilly.</span>—The Malvern Home of Rest might suit
-you. Particulars may be had from the Hon.
-Mrs. Hewett, Barnard’s Green, Great Malvern.
-There is also Fern House, Coleshill, Warwickshire,
-standing high, having a large garden,
-etc. Apply for terms to Miss Price, Fern House,
-Coleshill, Warwickshire. We think that one
-of these might suit you. If a boarder were
-willing to share a bedroom, the charge would
-be 17s. per week, everything included except
-washing, which would be 9d. a dozen.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Annie.</span>—The office of the Poor Clergy Relief
-Corporation, an institution intended to give
-aid in temporary distress to them, their
-widows, or orphans, is at 36, Southampton-street,
-Strand, W.C.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Thyra</span> and <span class="smcap">Cassy</span>.—There is no “usual time”
-for giving answers. There is very little space
-allowed for putting them in. In reference to
-your question, the use of tweezers and pumice-stone
-is all that we can recommend.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Auntie Laurie.</span>—Your parents’ objection to
-an engagement with the man you name is
-fully justified by his conduct. The fact that
-he has endeavoured to induce you, a minor,
-to rebel against them and “marry him secretly,”
-shows him to be devoid of all honour and
-right principle. He is taking a disgraceful advantage
-of your youth, weakness, and inexperience.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Maude Scott.</span>—1. When a cemetery is closed it is
-generally because the neighbourhood has become
-overcrowded near it. We never heard of a cemetery
-being re-opened. 2. The colours of the hoods worn
-by clergymen and their linings show the university
-or college from which they come.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">A Perplexed One.</span>—We know of no remedy so good
-as golden ointment. But why not consult a doctor,
-as your house and its surroundings must be in
-fault?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">A Scotchwoman.</span>—“Edward Garrett” is the <i>nom de
-plume</i> under which Isabella Fyvie Mayo has written
-several popular works, amongst others, “Occupations
-of a Retired Life,” and “Premiums Paid to Experience.”</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Virginia Maud.</span>—We could not answer your letter at
-the length you desire, as we have no space in our
-columns. We should advise you to write to the
-secretary, Girls’ Friendly Society, central office, 3,
-Victoria Mansions, Victoria-street, Westminster,
-S.W., with a view to joining the Girls’ Friendly
-Society, which will offer you all the aid and information
-you may require.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Lily.</span>—Ten extra summer and Christmas numbers have
-now been published.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hermon’s Servant.</span>—Ember Week is a corruption
-of <i>Quatuor tempora</i>, through the Dutch <i>Quatemper</i>
-and German <i>Quatember</i>. The four times are after
-Quadragesima Sunday, Whit Sunday, Holyrood
-Day (September), and St. Lucia’s Day (December).
-The ancient belief that persons sat in embers or
-ashes on those days is without foundation.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Rance</span> and <span class="smcap">Gypsy</span>.—Canaries’ claws when too long
-can be cut with a small pair of sharp scissors, but
-it is a very delicate business to perform.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Portia.</span>—Your sending out cards of thanks for kind
-inquiries is an intimation that you are prepared to
-receive the visits of the friends who made them.
-That will decide the time for you. Until you send
-the cards, they would be most indiscreet and intrusive
-in calling, unless the very nearest relations,
-or an exceptionally intimate and privileged friend.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Rowena.</span>—It is a fixed and general rule that for a girl
-to ride out only with a riding master is very far
-from expedient. Of course, if he were an uncle or
-brother, or a very old and respectable married man,
-the objection would be lessened, especially if riding
-up and down the sea sands in full sight, instead of
-taking a country ride out of sight. There should
-always be a second lady or a brother, though quite
-young.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Jerboa</span> is thanked for her kind letter, and the Editor
-feels much obliged to those who proposed his health
-at the dinner party “Jerboa” attended. She makes
-the tails of her letters too long below the lines.
-Those above are of a suitable and prettier length.
-Make them correspond.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Priscilla</span> may probably outgrow her headaches, as
-she is so young. They may arise from various
-causes. Thus, we could not prescribe without due
-acquaintance with her constitution and many surrounding
-circumstances.</p>
-
-<div class="figcenter illowp54" id="i_p_190" style="max-width: 21.875em;">
- <img class="w100" src="images/i_p_190.jpg" alt="" />
- <div class="caption"><p class="center">A COQUETTE.</p></div>
-</div>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Louie.</span>—Your informant was right, and probably
-drew his information from Major A. B. Ellis’s work,
-entitled “West African Islands,” published last year.
-Canaries have no song in their wild state; it is of
-artificial origin, and the song our birds give us in no
-way resembles their natural shrill chirp. They are
-placed in cages near those of birds already trained to
-sing, and when accustomed to imprisonment they
-strive hard to imitate the notes of their educated
-fellows. The natives of the Canary Islands keep a
-large stock on hand in process of training. The
-young of those trained and taught naturally learn
-from the parent birds.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ella Brown.</span>—The statue of the Venus de Medici is
-only 4 feet 11½ inches in height. It is believed to
-be the production of Cleomenes, of Athens, of the
-second century. It was exhumed in the seventh
-century near Tivoli, in the villa of Hadrian, and
-was removed in 1680, by Cosmo III., to the Imperial
-Gallery at Florence, from the Medici Palace at
-Rome. It was broken into eleven pieces when discovered,
-all in a perfect state, one arm only missing,
-which has been added.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Twin Sisters.</span>—The 5th of June, 1876, was a Monday.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">C. of Rudolstadt</span>, <span class="smcap">Ida</span>, and <span class="smcap">Stella</span>.—We are inundated
-with verses from girls, young and untaught;
-and, as a rule, the same opinion and criticism would
-be suitable for all alike. But in the case of “Ida’s”
-verses there is some promise of better to come; as,
-at least, she has a good ear for rhythm. Our young
-friend with the long name should count the feet and
-make each line correspond with its fellow, observing
-where the beat falls in every line, and placing it
-uniformly on the same syllable in each verse. Those
-that follow her first verse neither correspond with it
-in feet nor in the beat. Though quite incorrect,
-there is some little poetic feeling in “Stella’s”
-lines.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Vevey.</span>—We are much obliged for your article, but
-are unable to give it a place in our columns owing to
-lack of space.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Lulu.</span>—Consult our series of articles on “Good Breeding,”
-and “The Habits of Polite Society.” At page
-314, vol. ii., you will find “Dinners in Society,” and
-from this you can glean all the information you
-require. You only show your good sense in making
-inquiries when unacquainted with any subject.
-There is nothing to be ashamed of in so doing.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Bulb.</span>—You should put out a good-sized barrel or tub
-to catch any rainfall in a garden, backyard, or on the
-leads, where accessible, and use it at least for the
-face and hands.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Lily Leaves.</span>—To prevent moths from eating your
-clothes in the summer, keep them constantly brushed
-and aired. Camphor, Keating’s powder, or sandal-wood
-shavings should be placed about all clothing
-that is kept in boxes and cupboards. The 23rd of
-September, 1867, was a Monday.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Millicent Leigh.</span>—St. Catharine was a virgin martyr,
-who suffered at Alexandria under Maximin in 307,
-and whose relics were said to have been miraculously
-conveyed to Mount Sinai, where they
-are preserved in a monastery. The celebrated
-Duchess of Devonshire was the youngest
-daughter of John, Earl of Spencer, born, June,
-1757; died, March, 1806. Her beauty, wit, and
-audacity made her one of the most celebrated
-women of her day.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">A Ward in Chancery.</span>—Rice thrown at a bride
-is a relic of the <i>panis farreus</i> in the most
-honourable form of marriage amongst the ancient
-Romans, and it was called <i>Confarreatio</i>.
-Orange blossoms were first worn by Saracen
-brides, but the modern custom of wearing them
-is a fashion introduced by dressmakers, and
-is referrable to the “language of flowers.”</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Armistice.</span>—The redness of the scar can only
-be removed by time. Nature has produced
-a new skin, but, like that of a new-born infant,
-it is tender and red. Leave it alone.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Maud Kinsley.</span>—<i>Au revoir</i> is the French for “to
-see again,” and is pronounced as “o-rev-voir,”
-and <i>retroussé</i> means “turned up,” or “tucked
-up,” and is pronounced as “re-troo-say.”</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Anahuac</span> (Mexico).—The individual who is
-desirous of being naturalised as a British subject
-should have resided seven years in Great
-Britain. Did the applicant do so when being
-educated in England? Children belong to the
-father’s nationality, not the mother’s. The
-British consul would give all necessary instructions
-and assistance.</p>
-
-<p>T. M. B.—Your nice letter deserves a kindly
-acknowledgment. You may send as much as
-would fill a sheet of notepaper as a specimen
-of your style and originality of ideas, and
-we shall hope to give you our opinion, as you
-desire.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Will’s Darling.</span>—We do not know how to
-advise you, save to marry and live with your
-aged grandmother. You cannot possibly leave
-her, and in all probability she will be glad to
-have you comfortably settled with a kind husband
-before she is called away. Your writing
-is rather careless.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Shiny Face.</span>—It is not the so-called working
-men whose wives enter learned professions and
-neglect home duties. They enter public-houses
-instead. The complete monopoly of almost
-all occupations for bread-earning for such a length of
-time by men could not continue amongst an ever-increasing
-population; so many suitable fields of
-intellectual and manual work have been shut out
-from women by their “natural protectors.” It is
-sad to see the latter selling tapes and ribbons
-behind counters. They can be clergymen, schoolmasters,
-soldiers, sailors, emigrants to prepare new
-settlements, lumberers, navvies, engine-drivers,
-stokers, mechanics, chimney sweepers, masons, etc.,
-and the women will leave all such work to them.
-But dairy, fruit, flower, poultry, and other farming
-may be very suitably directed by women; also printing,
-binding, engraving, designing, china painting,
-and very many other ways of bread-earning should
-be equally open to them as to men.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Roseleaf.</span>—An ell (cloth measure) was fixed at 45
-inches by Henry I., <span class="allsmcap">A.D.</span> 1101. The word is derived
-from <i>ulna</i>, “the arm,” although much longer than
-that member; but even now measurements are made
-by it.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Lady Adelaide.</span>—Edelweiss is pronounced as “A-dle-vice.”</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Anxious One.</span>—Lessons can be had to cure stammering.
-Fill your lungs well with air, and consider
-what you wish to say before you speak. Make
-your sentences very short, and open your mouth
-well. When alone, read aloud, and beat time with
-your foot or hand regularly at every second
-syllable.</p>
-</div>
-
-<hr class="chap" />
-
-
-<div class="footnotes"><p class="ph3">FOOTNOTES:</p>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_1" href="#FNanchor_1" class="label">[1]</a> A lofty chain of mountains lying to the south of the
-province of Silesia.</p>
-
-</div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_2" href="#FNanchor_2" class="label">[2]</a> A ball of this kind is a favourite gift in Germany.
-It looks like a very unskilfully-wound ball of knitting
-wool. You are bound in honour to knit it up, and as
-you do so you disclose, one by one, a variety of gifts,
-the most precious being generally the innermost of all.</p>
-
-</div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_3" href="#FNanchor_3" class="label">[3]</a> Nobility.</p>
-
-</div>
-</div>
-
-
-<hr class="chap" />
-
-<p>[Transcriber’s note—the following changes have been made to this text.</p>
-
-<p>Page 180: flocked to flock—“with his washed flocked”.]</p>
-
-
-<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE GIRL'S OWN PAPER, VOL. VIII, NO. 364, DECEMBER 18, 1886 ***</div>
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