diff options
Diffstat (limited to 'old/66099-0.txt')
| -rw-r--r-- | old/66099-0.txt | 2854 |
1 files changed, 0 insertions, 2854 deletions
diff --git a/old/66099-0.txt b/old/66099-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index bbb9066..0000000 --- a/old/66099-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,2854 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Girl's Own Paper, Vol. XX, No. 993, -January 7, 1899, 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. XX, No. 993, January 7, 1899 - -Author: Various - -Release Date: August 21, 2021 [eBook #66099] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -Produced by: Susan Skinner, Chris Curnow, Pamela Patten and the Online - Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE GIRL'S OWN PAPER, VOL. XX, NO. -993, JANUARY 7, 1899 *** - -[Illustration: AN ANTIQUE FÊTE. - -_From the Painting in the Salon by P. L. VAGNIER._] - - - - -[Illustration: THE GIRL’S OWN PAPER - -VOL. XX.—NO. 993.] JANUARY 7, 1899. [PRICE ONE PENNY.] - - - - -SELF-CULTURE FOR GIRLS. - - -[Illustration: ASPIRATION.] - -_All rights reserved._] - - -PART I. - -There is, perhaps, no word in the present day which has been more -frequently used and abused than “culture.” It has come so readily to -the lips of modern prophets, that it has acquired a secondary and -ironical significance. Some of our readers may have seen a clever -University parody (on the _Heathen Chinee_) describing the encounter of -two undergraduates in the streets of Oxford. One, in faultless attire, -replies proudly to the other’s inquiry where he is going— - -“I am bound for some tea and tall culture.” - -He is, in fact, on the way to a meeting of the Browning Society, and -when a Don hurries up to tell him the society has suddenly collapsed, -great is the lamentation! - -Probably the society in question deserved no satire at all; but there -is a sort of “culture for culture’s sake” which does deserve to be held -up to ridicule. - -We find nothing to laugh at, however, but a very real pathos, in the -letters that are reaching us literally from all quarters of the globe; -and we long to help the writers, as well as those who have similar -needs and longings unexpressed. “How can I attain self-culture?” is the -question asked in varying terms, but with the same refrain. - -Girls, after schooldays are past, wake up to find themselves in a -region of vast, dimly-perceived possibilities: - -“Moving about in worlds not realised.” - -More to be pitied is the lot of those who have not had any schooldays -at all worth speaking of, and who are awaking to their own mental -poverty—poverty, while there is wealth all about them which they -cannot make their own. Their case is like that of the heir to some vast -estates, who cannot enjoy them, because he cannot prove his title. - -What, then, is this much talked-of culture? - -There are several things which it is _not_. - -To begin with, it is not a superficial smattering of certain -accomplishments. - -It is not a general readiness to talk about the reviews one has read of -new books. - -It is not the varnish acquired from associating day by day with -well-educated and urbane people. - -It is not development to an enormous extent in one direction only. - -It is not attending one course of University Extension Lectures. - -It is not the knack of cramming for examinations, and of passing them -with _éclat_. - -All these elements may enter into culture, but they are not culture -itself. - -It is a harder matter to define culture than to say what it is not. -As we write these words, our eye falls on the saying of a well-known -prelate, reported in the _Times_ of the day: “General culture—another -name for sympathetic interest in the world of human intelligence.” -This sounds rather highflown and difficult, but we may add three more -definitions— - -“Culture is a study of perfection.”—_Matthew Arnold._ - -“Culture is the passion for sweetness and light, and (what is more) the -passion for making them prevail.”—_Matthew Arnold._ - -“Culture is the process by which a man becomes all that he was created -capable of being.”—_Carlyle._ - -The third of these is, perhaps, the best working definition of culture, -for it shows its real importance and significance, and also makes it -simpler to understand. - -Look at a neglected garden. The grass is long and rank; the beds are a -mere tangle of weeds and of straggling flowers that have run to seed, -or deteriorated in size and sweetness until they can hardly be called -flowers at all. It is a wilderness. - -The garden is taken in hand and cultivated, not by a mechanical -ignorant gardener, but by someone who understands the capacities of -the soil, and knows what will do well and repay his care. See the -transformation in time to come! There is everything by turn that is -beautiful in its season; the lovely herbaceous border, the standard -rose-trees, the sheltered bed of lilies of the valley, the peaches -on the warm southern wall, the ferns waving in feathery profusion -in the cool corner near the well—all that the garden can produce -for delight to the eye or for food is there. The ground is not given -over exclusively to one flower, one vegetable; it is not stocked -mechanically for the summer with geraniums and calceolarias; but it is, -as we say in homely parlance, “made the most of” in every particular, -and is a delight to behold. - -This may seem a simple illustration, and we are writing not for the -erudite, but for the simple reader. The man or woman of culture is -the man or woman whose nature has been cultivated in such a way as to -develop all its capabilities in the best possible direction; whose -education has been adapted skilfully to taste and capacity, and who has -been taught the art of self-instruction. - -It is hardly necessary to urge the value of this “cultivation.” -“Cultivation is as necessary to the mind as food to the body,” said -a wise man, and this is gradually coming to be believed. Culture is -something more by far than mere instruction, though instruction is a -means by which it may be attained. Bearing in mind our simile of the -garden, we are led on from one thought to another. - -It was a very wise man indeed who pointed out that, even as ground will -produce something, “herbs or weeds,” the mind will not remain empty -if it is not cultivated; it tends to become full of silly or ignorant -thoughts like “an unweeded garden.” - -Again, in a well-ordered, cultivated plot of ground we have what is -useful as well as what is lovely. In culture, not only the acquirement -of “useful knowledge” plays a part, but the storing of the mind with -what is beautiful, the development of taste in all directions. - -In brief, a woman of real culture is the woman who makes you -instinctively feel, when in her company, that she is just what she was -meant to be; harmoniously developed in accordance with her natural -capacity. There is nothing startling about her paraded attainments. -The extreme simplicity of a person of true culture is one of the most -marked traits, and the chief point that distinguishes spurious from -real culture is that the former is inclined to “tall talk” and the -latter is not. - -Charles Dickens can still make us smile at his caricature of an -American L. L. (literary lady) and her remarks on her introduction to -some great personage. She immediately begins— - -“Mind and matter glide swift into the vortex of Immensity. Howls the -sublime, and softly sleeps the calm Ideal in the whispering chambers -of Imagination. To hear it, sweet it is. But then outlaughs the stern -philosopher and saith to the Grotesque: ‘What ho; arrest for me that -Agency! Go, bring it here!’ And so the vision fadeth.” - -The woman of culture does not attempt fine talking, and it is only -gradually that her power and charm dawn upon her companion. “It is -proof of a high culture to say the greatest matters in the simplest -way.” - -In the same manner simplicity is a proof of high breeding. The people -who are “somebody” are, as a rule, easy to “get on” with. It is the -rich “parvenue” who is disconcerting, and who tries to drag into her -conversation the names of great people or great doings that will -impress her companion. - -When we observe this sort of thing in a woman, we always know she is -not “to the manner born.” So when we hear people declare, “I am afraid -of So-and-so because she is so clever,” we feel that, if there is -ground for their fear, there is something defective in the clever one’s -culture. - - -WHY SHOULD CULTURE BE DESIRED? - -It opens the eye and ear to the beauty and greatness of the world, -revealing wonders that could not otherwise be understood, and bringing -with it a wealth of happiness; and more, it gives an understanding -of life in its due proportion. The woman of culture is not the woman -who objects to perform necessary tasks at a pinch because they are -“menial,” or takes offence at imaginary slights, or is for ever -fussing about her domestic duties and her servants, or gets up little -quarrels and “storms in a teacup” generally, or delights in ill-natured -gossip. She sees how ineffably small such things are, and she sees them -in this light because she has the width of vision which enables her to -discern the meaning of life as a whole. Those whose eyes have once been -opened to the beauty and pathos that lie around their path, even in the -common round of daily duty, do not notice the dust that clings to their -shoes. - -Sympathy is an accompaniment of true culture; the sympathy that comes -of understanding. Ignorant people are very often hard just because of -ignorance. They cannot in the least enter into the feelings of others, -nor do they understand that there is a world beyond their own miserable -little enclosure. - -For instance, what a puzzle a clever, sensitive, imaginative child is -to people of contented matter-of-fact stupidity! One need not think of -Maggie and Mrs. Tulliver, or Aurora Leigh and her aunt, to illustrate -this—there are plenty of examples from real life. - -The girl does not take to sewing and the baking of bread and puddings; -she is always wanting to get hold of a book—never so happy as when -she is reading. Or the boy is always poring over the mysteries of -fern and flower—never so happy as when he is afoot to secure some -fresh specimen. People of culture would foresee that the one may be a -student, the other a botanist, in days to come, and, while of course -insisting that practical duty is not selfishly overlooked, they would -try to give scope for the individual taste. People without culture -would set the whole thing down as laziness and vagabond trifling and -“shirking,” to be severely repressed. Sympathetic insight is one of -the most valuable attributes of culture; valuable all through life, -especially when dealing with others. - -But we can imagine that the reader may be thinking rather hopelessly, -“It is not necessary to preach to me on the advantages of culture; I -am fully convinced of them; but all you say makes me hopeless of ever -attaining such a degree of perfection. In fact, I can see culture is -not for me at all, and I must just go on as I am.” - -The dictionary definition of culture is “the application of labour, -or other means, to improve good qualities, or growth.” This does not -sound quite like the other definitions, and a great deal of confusion -has been caused by people forgetting that the word “culture” is used -for two things—the “process” of cultivation, and the “result” of that -process. Now it is quite true that “culture,” in the last and highest -sense, is not within the reach of all our readers; but surely there is -no reader who would say she cannot “apply labour or other means” to -improve her intelligence, be it in ever so small a degree. It is better -to cultivate a garden ever so little than to leave it a wilderness. - -Culture, looked upon as a process, may begin and go on almost -indefinitely. Goethe well says— - -“Woe to every sort of culture which destroys the most effectual means -of all true culture, and directs us to the end, instead of rendering us -happy on the way.” - -In other words, it is foolish to strain miserably after “culture for -culture’s sake,” endeavouring to reach an impossible goal, and feeling -discontented and wretched because it is too remote. The wise way is to -do the best one can with the opportunities that lie within reach. Every -girl who reads these pages can do something to render herself a little -nearer her ideal of “culture,” and in the subsequent papers we shall -try to show her how she can best succeed. - - LILY WATSON. - -(_To be continued._) - -[Illustration] - - - - -CHRONICLES OF AN ANGLO-CALIFORNIAN RANCH. - -BY MARGARET INNES. - - -CHAPTER IV. - - OUR CHOICE OF LAND FOR LEMONS—THE PLANTING OF THE TREES—OUR - REMOVAL TO THE BARN. - -Meanwhile we were furiously busy at the old search again. We were -able to get more and fresh details about the whole business from a -source which we knew to be perfectly reliable; and as these facts -were encouraging, we picked up heart again. The whole surrounding -neighbourhood was driven over, generally with a pick and shovel in the -buggy with which to make careful examination of the depth and kind of -soil. - -There were plenty of ready-made ranches for sale, but they were never -just what we wanted. So we resolved that if we bought anything, it -should be untouched, uncleared land, on some of the foothills where -we could get a broad and sweeping view of the splendid ranges of -mountains. We would make our own ranch, planned after our own tastes, -and, above all, we would build our own house. - -We had determined to plant lemons. They seemed to us to have many -advantages over other fruits. The land which will produce fine lemons -must necessarily be limited in area; it must be high enough to escape -the frost. Lemons do not need the great heat which is needed to ripen -oranges. They are gathered all the year round and will keep. Deciduous -fruit ripens all at one time, and has to be gathered and sold at once, -which makes it necessary to engage outside labour. As all wages are -very high, this is a heavy expense. Even if the fruit is dried, as -in the case of peaches, pears, prunes, apples, etc., for winter use, -considerable work is involved, and as far as we can learn, yields only -a small profit for this extra trouble. Lemons too, in America, are a -daily necessity, not a luxury. Everyone uses them, and the drinking -saloons alone require a constant supply. - -These were the principal reasons which decided our choice, and at last, -after a whole year’s uncertainty, we found land in a position that we -liked—good rich land, lying high, and in a most beautiful position, -with a splendid view of the distant mountains, the tops of five ranges -standing up, one behind the other, and the different distances marked -with exquisite softness of colouring. - -It was situated about fourteen miles from San Miguel, not out of reach -of the cool breeze which blows from the sea all day and every day -during the summer. - -We went many times to examine it, and finally the great decision was -taken to buy thirty acres. At that time we found we could buy in this -neighbourhood first-class citrus land, with water, at about one hundred -dollars the acre. We knew there was no good land to be had for less. As -a matter of fact, however, the first cost of land and water bears but -a small proportion to the whole cost of the ranch up to the point of -yielding returns. - -After our long time of anxious indecision, it was a relief to have -something settled about the future, and to plan and work for the new -home, although I must confess that, as long as no definite steps had -been taken, I was conscious of a hope buried deep down out of sight, -that it might be proved wisest for us to return to the dear old -country. The home-sickness was such a hunger and pain. - -It was the month of June when we bought our land, and we were anxious -to plant as many trees as possible without delay, for the later the -summer, the drier the ground. Spring is, of course, the best time for -planting, when the earth is in beautiful condition after the winter -rains. But to wait till next spring seemed too great a loss of time. -We were very proud of ourselves that we managed to get five hundred -beautiful little lemon-trees planted before the end of July. - -Considering that the ground had to be cleared of brush and sumac and -sage, then ploughed, and the water-pipes laid from the main in such a -manner as to reach all over the ranch, and the position of the trees -carefully measured (this last all the more difficult in our case, -because the ground is up and down hill)—considering all this hard -work, we had a right to some self-satisfaction. - -We were able to find a competent ranchman who lived quite conveniently -near, for, until we had time to build, there was nowhere for him to -sleep on the ranch, although, in some cases, the conveniences for these -men are of the roughest. We heard from one man that, when he arrived at -a new place and asked where he was to sleep, the “boss” stared at him -a moment, then, giving a comprehensive glance round his enormous tract -of land, said, “Well, if you can’t find a place to suit you in seven -thousand acres, I guess I can’t help you!” However, I do not vouch for -the truth of this, although sleeping out-of-doors in the summer months -in this beautiful climate is no hardship. - -During this busy time, my husband and eldest boy drove out constantly -to the ranch for a stay of three or four days at a time, returning home -for a short rest at the little house in San Miguel, then back again -to the hard work of planting, etc. On these expeditions they started -always very early in the morning, and took with them provisions and -various odds and ends to give them some comfort in the tent in which -they slept. - -We were feeling the urgent necessity for carrying through some plan -that would enable us to settle at the ranch altogether with as little -delay as possible. So we decided to have our barn built first and to -live in this till the house should be finished. This we carried out, -and it saved us much loss of time and vexation, both in building the -house and in working the ranch. - -It was an exciting moment when the day arrived for us to move from our -little house at San Miguel to the barn at the ranch. A removal is a -very different matter in this far-away corner from the same thing in -any more settled part of the world. Looking back to the old life in -the beloved old country, I find I have an almost sentimental regard for -the strong, well-trained men who come and help so splendidly at such -times. Here, where the rule of life is to help yourself in everything, -one has to be thankful for the most casual, untrained assistance—very -little of that too, and at a price that would make one open one’s eyes -at home. - -We had two large waggons coupled together, the one behind being called -a trailer, with six horses to pull the load; and our luggage, which -included a large iron cooking-stove and a grand piano, was packed into -these in a most casual fashion. They looked very top heavy when ready -to start, and we knew the road to be terribly rough, full of “chuck -holes” and sudden lumps. However, we waved the men a cheery farewell -as they lumbered off, and then turned to gather up the numberless -forgotten odds and ends and to pack them into the “Surrey,” which stood -waiting for us. - -It looked like part of a gipsy procession when we had finished, and -we rejoiced that our boys had gone with the waggons, for there seemed -absolutely no room for anybody inside the “Surrey.” Nevertheless, we -wedged ourselves in somehow, my husband and I and the “coloured lady” -whom I was taking out as cook, also two small dogs that had been added -to the family. Then we also lumbered off, leaving with rather mixed -feelings the little house where we had done our first housekeeping in -California. - -About a month before this, after many experiments with horses we had -bought a pair of greys, and now drove them out to the ranch, where -they were to plough and cultivate and to serve as carriage horses when -needed. - -The ordinary ranch horse is of a lighter build than his cousin the -English farm horse, having a strong dash of broncho mixed with his -peasant blood, which makes him rather lively and very tough. - -Ours were called Dan and Joe. Joe was very gentle and willing, and -Dan, who for some years had worked constantly with him, traded on his -goodness and left always the greatest strain of everything to him. -However, generally they ran along together at a good pace and gave no -trouble. - -This day we were obliged to go more slowly, as the “Surrey” was so -heavily laden, and the rough country roads bumped and lurched us -about so violently that it was difficult to keep ourselves and our -bundles from being shot into the air. With all our care, a large and -tempting piece of cheese, which had been added to the provisions as an -afterthought, disappeared, and we spent some valuable time in turning -back to hunt for it. - -We were anxious to reach the ranch as long before sunset as possible, -for we knew it would not be easy work to get our little family settled -in the barn. - -(_To be continued._) - - - - -ART IN THE HOUSE. - - -PART III. - -HOW TO STENCIL IN OIL COLOURS. - -Ordinary tube colours should be used for stencilling on your furniture -mixed with a little copal varnish and slightly thinned with turps. -Driers are put up in tubes under the names of _sacrum_ or sugar of -lead, and it is as well to mix a little with your colours as it makes -them dry off quickly. The white should be mixed up in a batch with the -varnish, driers and turps, and be of the consistency of thick cream. -Your tinting colours should be squeezed out on your palette so that you -can readily mix up your tones. - -[Illustration: FIG. 1.—_Panel of corner cupboard decorated in -stencilling. The centre panel is founded on the iris, with the daisy at -base._] - -Stencil brushes are round and short in the hair, so that they present -a flat surface on the stencil. You require three or four, two about an -inch in diameter, one five-eighths and one three-eighths or a quarter -of an inch. Two or three small flat hog brushes for touching in ties -and putting in particular parts of a stencil should be handy. We will -begin with the stiles of the door of chiffonier, which is decorated -with the ornamental stencil B, Fig. 1 in first article. We put the -corners in first and this corner I cut separately as I could not fit in -the stencil I was using. Having done this see how your other stencil -will work out, for it does not look workmanlike to start at the top -and find that you have to end it with a different spacing to what you -started with. If you begin in the centre of each stile and work to the -corners you will obtain a symmetrical result. Always remember to space -out any part of your work which is conspicuous, so that the stencil -seems to just fit in the space as though it were cut specially for -it. I find it a good plan to have some pins handy, and just tap in a -couple, one at each end of the stencil, to keep it from shifting while -you rub on the colour. Both your hands are then at liberty. Or you can -get a friend to hold the plate down on the wood, but the pinning does -almost better. If you shift the stencil before you have knocked out the -impression you will not get a sharp result. - -Having tinted your white to the desired tone spread a little of the -colour on to your palette and knock your stencil brush on to this -colour a few times, so that the brush takes up some of the colour, then -begin by gently knocking the brush on to the wood over the cut-out -portions until you have completely covered them with colour. Don’t -try to do this too quickly. Proceed gently, getting the colour out of -your brush by degrees, and take up the colour from the palette in the -same gentle manner. The reason for this caution is that if you take -up too much colour at a time in your brush and knock it violently on -the stencil plate, you will find when you lift up the same that the -impression, instead of being sharp will be blobby at the edges through -the colour having worked under the stencil. - -The art of stencilling is in getting sharp, clean impressions, and this -can only come of care and taking time. On no account get the colour -too thin. It should be of such a consistency as will enable you to -knock it out of the brush with slight exertion. If too stodgy thin it -with a drop or two of turps and linseed oil, and then mix with palette -knife, but on no account get turps into the stencil brush or you will -get very bad impressions, for the colour is sure then to run under the -stencil. Therefore again I say, don’t hurry. - -I have said nothing yet as to the tones of colour to be used. This is -a matter of taste, and is a most difficult subject to write about. -Two artists will use the same colours, and yet one with an eye for -colour will give us beautiful harmonies, and the other one wanting -this delicacy of perception will give us crudity. Form in your mind -some tone of colour suggested, say, by the warm mellow colours of -autumn, the soberer russet and greys of the winter, or the light, -fresh, delicate tints of spring, and carry these suggestions out in -your decoration. The corner cupboard, Fig. 1, we might tint in the -russet tones, and you will find that such colours as raw sienna, raw -umber, yellow ochre, _terra verte_, burnt sienna, chromes Nos. 1 and 2, -Prussian blue, French ultramarine, and light red will supply you with -a very varied palette. White tinted with yellow ochre, raw sienna or -raw umber are all good tones for stencilling in, and each of them can -be mixed or toned with one of the others. The addition of _terra verte_ -or Prussian blue will give you soft tones of green. By using such a -yellow as ochre to make greens you obtain softer, quieter tones than if -you used chromes. Suppose you have small quantities of the above three -tints mixed on your palette, you can take a little of one in your brush -and knock that out on the stencil, and then a little of the next tint -and knock that out, and so on with the third. In this way you get a -variety of tints in the stencilled border and yet a certain “tone” will -run all through, which gives one a sense of harmony, and at the same -time variety, and so lessens the hard mechanical look which stencilling -in just one colour is apt to give. Then, too, when you have knocked out -one impression before lifting off the stencil, you can take one of the -hog hair brushes or the smallest stencil brush and put in the body and -the portion of the wings around it of the butterflies B in the corner -cupboard, Fig. 1, in a little darker colour, say more raw umber or -sienna. It is very little more trouble and greatly adds to the general -effect to give these accents. The idea is to make the butterflies come -off the web, so keep the web lighter and the insects darker. In the -border B, Fig. 1, in first article the flowers might be touched in to -bring them off the lines of the background. - -The pattern on the spaces surrounding the door A, Fig. 1, can still -be in the same tones, varied as I have suggested, but the panels of -the doors being themselves more naturalesque, might be a little more -positive in colouring, _i.e._, the leaves and grass can be put in, -in quiet, soft tones of green, while the flowers could be in lemon -chrome and white or bluish purple made of rose madder and French blue -or Indian red and Prussian blue lightened with white, but don’t make -the colouring too bright, so that it is in too strong contrast to the -stiles. Greens made of blue and chrome are much cruder than if you use -yellow ochre or raw sienna. Going back now to the colouring of the -chiffonier Fig. 1 (p. 13) in first article. The plinth or bottom D can -be in low-toned greens, not too dark but darker than the leaves in the -panels, while the daisies can be in grey made of white, raw umber, and -a touch of blue, with centres in yellow. Stencil the flowers first and -then with a small brush put in the yellow centres. A slight touch of -pink at the edges of the daisies might look well, effected by using a -small hog brush and a little rose madder. The leaves around the column -keep in the quiet greens used in plinth D. The back of the upper part -of chiffonier, Fig. 2, with its shelf can be treated like the panels -in colouring, and the festoon above the shelf can have the flowers in -the grey and the leaves in russet not too dark, and the ribbon in pale -blue. As you have a white surface to decorate, be careful not to get -your colouring too strong. Use plenty of white with all your colours, -for you will find that delicate tones are much pleasanter to live with -than heavy ones. A little of the pure colours from the tubes will tint -a lot of white, so the colours will not be a great expense. Buy the -flake white in half-pound tubes for cheapness. - -In arranging stencils act somewhat on the plan I have observed, which -is to keep the more naturalesque stencils for such places as panels -or other flat, broad surfaces, and as a framing to them the more -ornamental patterns, to contrast with the natural ones. The butterfly -border on the stiles of the corner cupboard B, Fig. 1, is a good foil -to the iris panel, just as the border B, Fig. 1, is a good foil to the -daisy panel in the chiffonier. - -The conventional grass seemed a suitable pattern for the plinth, and -such a purely ornamental design as a festoon not inappropriate to the -shaped top. - -I have mentioned before that great variety can be obtained by combining -portions of different stencils. The plinth D, Fig. 1, of chiffonier, -for instance, is a combination of two, the flowers being from one and -the grass itself from another. The butterfly and sprig running border, -Fig. 1, in second article, I have shown in variation, and the border in -corner cupboard, A, Fig. 1, is made by taking the sprig portion only -and putting the root in between each impression. When you want only a -portion of a stencil cover over the rest with paper, so that you do not -get an impression of a part you do _not_ require. - -Some colours are very fugitive such as indigo, crimson lake, yellow -lake, etc.; but the colours I have mentioned may be relied upon for -permanency. - -When the stencilling is thoroughly dry it will preserve the work to -give it a coat of white hard varnish. Apply this freely with a flat hog -brush (or regular varnish brush), seeing that you miss no portion of -the surface. Keep it from the dust until dry and you will have a pretty -and useful article of furniture. Of course you may have some other -article to do up than the chiffonier I have sketched, which I took -simply because it was to my hand, but you can easily apply these hints -to your own necessities. - -When your stencils are done with you wash them thoroughly in -turpentine, both back and front, and dry them and put them away, -keeping them flat. - -While you are using your stencils wipe the back after each impression, -so that if any colour has worked there you can remove it. Have an old -board and some newspaper to lay the stencil on when you clean it. - -With the batch of stencils given with these articles endless variations -and combinations are possible. Many of the patterns too could be easily -adapted for needlework; in fact, you have only to lightly stencil your -material in water colour and work over the impressions. Use Chinese -white if a dark textile, and lamp black and Chinese white if a light -one. - -Though I have advised white paint for these two articles of furniture, -there is no reason why you shouldn’t try dark ones. Stencilling is -very effective on dark paint, and a cabinet or cupboard painted a dark -brownish green would look well with stencilling in shades of old gold. -To get a rich colour the final coat must have very little white with -it. For a brownish green use burnt sienna, black, deep chrome, and -touch of Prussian blue, with only enough white to make it light enough. - - FRED MILLER. - - - - -VARIETIES. - - -HOW TO GET ON. - -When Lord Esher took leave of the Bench and Bar recently, he made a -noteworthy utterance, which has an interest for all young people, even -though they are not lawyers or ever likely to be. - -This eminent judge, who has sat on the judicial bench with great -distinction for twenty-nine years, told his hearers that resoluteness -of purpose had been the secret of his success. - -“What I will say to all of you,” he remarked, “is this. I became a -judge because I had made up my mind and will, from the beginning, that -I would be a judge. Do not suppose I had no checks, and that there were -not occasional times when it appeared that one was being passed over. I -said, ‘Never mind the checks; I will go on, and I will get to the top, -if it is possible to do it!’ I recommend that to you all.” - - -SUCH IS FAME. - -The great Napoleon, more than a year after he had become Emperor, tried -to find out if there was anyone in France who had never heard of him. - -It was not long before he discovered a wood-cutter at Montmartre within -the walls of Paris, to whom the name of Napoleon was quite unknown, -and, more than that, the man was ignorant of the Revolution and had no -knowledge of the fact that Louis XVI. was dead. - -Another anecdote showing equally well that the trumpet of fame does -not reach the ears of everybody was told by Mr. Roebuck in the course -of a speech made at Salisbury in 1852. He told his audience that when -he mentioned the recent death of the Duke of Wellington to a “shrewd -Hampshire labourer,” the man replied— - -“I be very sorry for he. But who was he?” - - -KINDNESS AND COURAGE. - - Life is mostly froth and bubble, - Two things stand like stone: - Kindness in another’s trouble, - Courage in your own. - - -A REAL FRIEND.—Account her your real friend who desires your good -rather than your good-will. - - * * * * * - - -ANSWER TO TRIPLE ACROSTIC (p. 63). - -(_Extra Christmas Part._) - - 1. E ver G ree N - 2. L E A - 3. I st H mi A - 4. S o l A nu M - 5. H u Z z A - 6. A nd I ro N - - Elisha—Gehazi—Naaman. - - - - -“OUR HERO.” - -BY AGNES GIBERNE, Author of “Sun, Moon and Stars,” “The Girl at the -Dower House,” etc. - - -CHAPTER XV. - -FROM OVER THE WATER. - -Lucille, turning to go, made a little sign to Roy to follow her. Ivor -opened the door, moving mechanically, as if his mind were far away; and -Roy, with a show of reluctance, went in her rear. - -“But, Mademoiselle, I want to know about them all at home. Molly most! -And Den can tell me.” - -“Yes; soon. But would you not leave Monsieur to read his letter in -peace? Would not that be kind?” - -“Are you more sorry for Den than for the rest of us?” demanded Roy, -his frank grey eyes looking Lucille in the face somewhat laughingly. -The question took her by surprise; and afterwards she recurred to it, -wondering at the boy’s unconscious penetration. At the moment she met -his glance readily enough. - -“I do not know. I am sorry for you all. But Captain Ivor—yes, perhaps -most. I am not sure. He is more changed by his imprisonment than any. -Cannot you perceive? _Mais non_—you are a boy—you do not look.” - -“I do, though,” protested the injured Roy. “That was why I wouldn’t go -on playing chess. And then for you to say that I don’t _look_. But I -can’t see that Den is changed—not a scrap. What do you mean? He’s the -best old fellow that ever lived—just as he always was, you know.” - -“Old!” repeated Lucille, with a lifting of her eyebrows. - -“O, that’s only—that means nothing. At least, it means that I like him -better than anybody else—except Molly. No, he isn’t old really, of -course—he was twenty-five his last birthday.” Roy laughed to himself. - -“Something that you find amusing, Roy!” - -“It’s only the letter. Do you know, that’s from the girl he is going to -marry some day. It’s from Polly.” - -“Oui.” Lucille had already conjectured as much. “Mademoiselle Pol-ly. -C’est un peu drôle, ce nom-là.” - -“But ’tis not Mademoiselle Po-lee. ’Tis just Polly. You do say names so -drolly—so French! Den says I’m not to cure you of talking as you do, -because ’tis pretty. But her name really and truly isn’t Polly. She is -Mary Keene—only no one ever calls her Mary.” - -“Mademoiselle Marie Keene—ah, oui. And is this Mademoiselle Keene -pretty—gentille?” - -“I should just think she was. The prettiest girl that ever was,” -declared Roy. “Though I like Molly best, you know, and she’s not -pretty. But Polly’s nice, too. May I go back now? Den has had lots of -time.” - -“I would wait—ten minutes—why not? You have not yet unpacked for -monsieur.” - -Roy murmured one impatient “Bother! Plague take it!” and then his -face cleared, and he complied. Ivor did not know how much he owed to -Lucille, in being thus left to the undisturbed enjoyment of his letter. - -He forgot all about both Lucille and Roy, when once he had it in -possession. The very touch of that thick paper, with its red seals, -did him good. As he unfolded it, the weight on his brain lessened, -and sight became more clear. If Polly only wrote to say that she was -growing tired of waiting and could not promise to wait indefinitely, -still even that would be better than not hearing at all—even to know -the worst at once would be better than absolute uncertainty. And -meanwhile it was her own handwriting. - -There was one sheet, square-shaped, written well over. Polly’s letter -came first, and another from somebody else followed it. Ivor did not -trouble himself as to the authorship of the second, till he had read -through the first. He scarcely vouchsafed it a glance. - -The early part of Polly’s effusion, which bore a date many weeks old, -was written in a strain of studied archness and badinage, such as in -those days was greatly affected by young ladies. Towards the end a -little peep into Polly’s heart was permitted. She had apparently just -received one of Ivor’s many epistles, the greater number of which never -reached their destination. - - Bath. November 7, 1803. - - “MY DEAR CAPTAIN IVOR,—So you consider that I have been too slow - in writing to you, and you make complaint that I leave you too long - without Letters. But how know you that I have not sent at least - _one_ for every single one of yours to me? In truth, I cannot boast - of any vast correspondence on _your_ side, my dear Sir, since the - letter which is now arriv’d is but the second in——O in quite - an interminable length of time. And were it not that I have an - exceeding Aversion to the writing of Letters, as indeed you ought - to be aware, since I am sure I have told you as much, I _might_ - feel Regrets at hearing so seldom—but that it means the less toil - on _my_ part, you understand. If it were not that in your last you - give a delicate hint that Silence on my part might be construed to - mean something of the Nature of Indifference, why even now I should - be greatly disposed to indulge my Dislike to driving the Quill, and - wait till another day. - - “But since doubtless you will expect to hear, and since we never - may know which letters have gone astray, I will so far overcome my - inclinations—or my _dis_inclinations—as to sit down and endeavour - to entertain you with the best of Bath News. - - “My letter which was writ from Sandgate you have, I trust, already - received, and thus you know all about the scare which took place, - when the French fleet was descried by somebody of not very good - sight—or so I suppose!—and when signals went wrong, and the - Soldiers and Sea-fencibles and Volunteers were all called out, and - when General Moore galloped the whole distance from Dungeness - Point to be in time, and when Mrs. Bryce’s heart failed her. But - not _Polly’s_, Captain Ivor—of that you may be sure! For _Polly_ - is to be one day the wife of a soldier! And also Polly knew that, - if she were to be taken prisoner, as Mrs. Bryce dolefully foretold, - why—why—that might mean that she could hope to be sent to where - Somebody is, whom she would not be greatly sorry to see once again. - - “Mrs. Bryce insisted on coming hither in hot haste, lest Napoleon - should please to land at Sandgate, where General Moore waited to - receive him; and now she is in doubt what to do next, since some - think London is the safer place to be in. But General Moore does - not now think that Napoleon will make any effort till spring, since - any day winter storms in the Channel may begin; and Jack scorns - the notion that, when he does come, he will ever advance beyond - the sea-beach. ’Tis said that, if Mr. Pitt comes into power again, - he will speedily _start_ some new ideas for our Preservation; and - my Grandmamma says, therefore, that we may not _start_ any new - expenses till we know to what length Taxation will allow us to run. - But for which I wanted much a new frock. - - “Last week I was in Bristol for three days, with our Grandmother’s - old friends, Mr. and Mrs. Graham. I was asked to a dance with them, - and I went, but without the smallest idea of dancing, having been - assured that beaux were scarce, and strangers seldom asked. So I - determined to enjoy seeing others more fortunate, and to pass a - quiet stupid evening, meditating on an absent Somebody—can you by - any possibility guess Whom, my dear Sir? - - “But matters turned out otherwise. I had entered the room only a - few minutes, when a most genteel handsome young Man advanced, and - with such sort of speeches as you all make solicited the honour of - my hand. To tell you the honest and plain truth, I had seen him - before, and I therefore graciously assented. I left the ladies that - accompanied me—Mrs. Graham and Mrs. Graham’s sister—to look out - for themselves; and I began thereupon to enjoy myself. Now, if you - want to know his name, you must wait till I choose to tell you. He - contributed to my passing a very agreeable evening; and so far I - am obliged to him, for he knew many who were present, and he took - good care that I should be in no lack of partners; but whether I - ever see him again does not seem to be of any sort of consequence. - Everyone was astonished at my great good luck in dancing, for - the Gentlemen were, as usual, idle. There were some sad Coxcombs - present, I regret to say, who found it too much exertion even - to come forward and shawl a lady, when she was departing. But I - forget—I am writing to one who knows not the meaning of the word - ‘trouble,’ and who would never leave any woman, not if she were - the _least_ Bewitching of her Sex, to stand neglected, if he could - put matters right. So you see, my dear Sir, what my opinion of you - is. - - “Having related thus much, I really am bound to go farther, and - to inform you that the young man’s name was Albert Peirce, that - he is a nephew of the good Admiral, that he is an officer in His - Majesty’s Army, and that I saw him at Sandgate, the evening before - our great scare about the Invasion. After all his civilities in the - way of getting me Partners, he also handed me down to the vastly - elegant Supper, which was provided; and by that time, there’s no - doubt, I needed it. - - “You may perhaps be thinking that I do very well without you, on - the whole; yet I cannot say that I do not miss my absent friend. - Indeed I do, and my Spirits are lower since you went away. ’Tis - said too that my Roses are much diminished, and that I must e’en - take to the use of Painting and Cosmetics, if I would preserve - my charms; but this, I confess, I am loath to do. So come home - again, my dear Denham, I entreat of you, as soon as ever you may, - for in truth I am longing to see you again. Is there no Exchange - of Prisoners ever to be brought about by the two Governments? The - present state of things is sad and dolorous for so many. I think - of sending this letter to your old address in Paris, in a cover - addressed to M. de Bertrand, who so kindly took in Roy, when he - had the Small-pox. It appears that few letters which are posted, - arrive safely; and ’tis at least worth while to try this mode. And - now I must write no more, for my Grandmother craves a part of the - sheet for a letter on her own behalf, that she may give suitable - particulars about Molly, who begs me to send her Duty to her - Parents, and her Love to Roy. I have begged only that the Letter - may be writ to yourself, that so the whole sheet may be yours. - - “So at present no more, from - “Yours faithfully and Till Death, - “POLLY KEENE.” - -Denham held the signature to his lips. Would he ever again be tempted -to doubt sweet Polly’s constancy? - -The letter following, on the last page, was much shorter and different -in style. Mrs. Fairbank wrote— - - “MY DEAR CAPTAIN IVOR,—I am desirous to let Colonel Baron and his - wife know that Molly is in good health, and Behaves herself as she - ought. I have therefore requested the use of one page in Polly’s - letter, since she assures me that she has nought else to say that - is of great Importance. You will doutless kindly give my message to - Colonel and Mrs. Baron. - - “I am greatly Indebted to Coonel Baron for the money which has - been sent to me by his Bankers regularly, in conformity with his - orders given many months ago. Expenses are increasingly heavy, - as Prices continue steadily to arise, in consequence of the - long-continued Wars; and I shou’d find it tru’ly difficult to - manage, as things are now, but for his Seasonable and generous - Help. I am thankful to have it in my power to do all that is needed - for Molly, and the help to myself is not small. Bread and every - necessary are rising. - - “Molly has a Governess who comes in every day; and I am pleased - to be able to report that she makes good advance in her Study’s, - as much as one cou’d expect. The young Governess is of French - Extraction, her father having lost his life in the French - Revolution, and her mother having fled with this daughter to - England. She will therefore be able to impart to Molly the correct - Pronunciation of French terms, which few Britishers manage to - Acquire. Molly is growing fast, and though she will never be - handsome, she is gaining a Pleasing expression of countenance; her - manners are Genteel; and she behaves with Candour and Propriety. - - “Serious fears have been Entertain’d of a French Invasion of this - Country, but I trust, thro’ the Mercy of God, that the danger is - averted for this autumn. Mr. and Mrs. Bryce have fled to Bath for - greater Safety, in accordance with my Advice; and indeed I was - heartily glad when Polly had left Sandgate. If the french Army - shou’d land, and shou’d advance to Lon^{n}, God forbid they shou’d - molest the good Citizens, who I hope will be enabled to drive the - french by thousands into old Thames.[1] People seem now, however, - greatly to relax in their fears. - - “You will dou’tless be glad to hear that Polly is well, though she - has not quite her usual bloom. Indeed, I am convinc’d that she has - suffered greatly from your prolonged Absence, although, having a - high Spirit, she does not readily betray her feelings. - - “Believe me, my dear Sir, - “Yours sincerely, - “C. FAIRBANK.” - -“Den, is it from Polly?” cried Roy, bursting into the room. - -“Yes. And Molly is quite well, and sends you her love. Come, we must -tell your mother that I have heard.” - -“I’ve done your unpacking. Mademoiselle wouldn’t let me stay. She said -I ought to leave you to read your letter in peace.” - -“Rather hard upon you, eh?” suggested Ivor. “Come along!” and Roy, -forgetting all else, sent a shout in advance to prepare his mother for -what was coming. - -They had to make the most of this letter. None could guess how long a -time might pass before they would hear again. Every detail was eagerly -dwelt upon, and on the whole Polly’s report was counted satisfactory. -Naturally it awoke fresh memories, fresh regrets, fresh longings; yet -Denham at least seemed the better for his “medicine.” The look of -weight and strain was gone from his face next morning, and he appeared -to be in much his usual spirits, when he proposed a walk with Roy to -explore the neighbourhood. He and the Colonel had just returned from -_appel_; all détenus and prisoners having at stated intervals to report -themselves at the _maison de ville_. - -“Will you have to sign your names every day?” Mrs. Baron asked, on -hearing particulars. - -“At present, no. Den and I and a few others are excused from doing -so more often than once in five days. But the greater number have to -show themselves every day—unless they can send a medical certificate, -forbidding them to go out, on account of illness.” - -“Remedy worse than disease,” murmured Ivor. - -“And if one stays away, without sending such a certificate, the -gendarmes promptly make their appearance, expecting a fee for the -trouble.” - -“How much?” - -“Three francs—so I am told.” - -“What a shame!” - -“General Roussel does not seem to be a bad sort of fellow. Civil -enough. But they mean to be strict.” - -“Good many escapes of late, sir.” - -“Why, Den—escapes when they’ve given their parole!” cried Roy. - -“No; only when they have not given their parole. That makes all the -difference.” - -“And may you and papa go wherever you like?” - -“Within stiff limits. Five miles from the town—no more without leave.” - -“I foresee that we shall have to pay pretty liberally for that leave,” -added the Colonel. - -“Did you see many friends there, George?” - -“A good many coming and going. All of course who were at Fontainebleau -are here, and numbers from Valenciennes and Brussels. We came across -Mr. Kinsland, and General Cunningham and Welby, Greville, Franklyn and -others.” - -“Den, I say, do come along,” urged Roy, who had already been for a run, -but who greatly preferred a companion. - -“All right—if you don’t mind paying a call by the way.” - -Roy declared himself ready for anything, and they went first toward -the lower part of the town, on a level with the river. Roy, full as -usual of ideas and talk, poured out for his companion’s edification -some items of information, which he had gained from Mademoiselle de St. -Roques. - -“She says Verdun is an awfully old place—goes back to almost the days -of Charlemagne. When _did_ Charlemagne live? And only a little while -ago it was a French border town—frontier town, I mean—but it isn’t -now, because Napoleon has conquered such a lot of Europe. And do you -know, the Prussians took it from France only just a few years ago, -after quite a short siege. And the French Governor killed himself.” - -“Saved Napoleon the trouble, I suppose.” - -“Does Napoleon kill his generals when they are beaten? Oh, let’s go -up on the ramparts! Look, there are trees all along, just like a -boulevard. Mademoiselle says the ramparts are three miles long. Are -they, do you think? What is the business you have to do on the way? Are -you going to see somebody?” - -(_To be continued._) - -FOOTNOTES: - -[1] See footnote, p. 162. - - - - -[Illustration: THE LESSON.] - - - - -SONG. - -BY L. G. MOBERLY. - - - If only I might hear the larks again - Upon the downs in spring, - And linger in the copses, as of yore, - To hear the thrushes sing, - - If I might see again the wide clear sky - That stoops to meet the hills, - And catch the golden gleam of sun that lies - Upon the daffodils, - - And watch, just once again, the shadows pass - Across the uplands sweet, - And feel the springy sweetness of the grass - Growing beneath my feet; - - I think that I could learn at last to bear - My life in this great town; - If I might feel Spring’s breath again—and hear - The larks—upon the down! - -[Illustration] - - - - -THE RULING PASSION. - - -CHAPTER I. - -Among the crowd in the top gallery at St. James’s Hall was one very -remarkable figure who was an object of speculation to most of his -fellow-listeners at the Monday Popular Concerts. He was a regular and -unfailing attendant for many, many years, but not very long ago he -disappeared suddenly in the middle of the season, and his place knew -him no more. - -He was an old man, apparently between seventy and eighty, very tall, -thin almost to emaciation, with a magnificent head, white hair that -was still thick and rather long, a short white beard and moustache, a -fine straight nose, and very sad, kindly grey eyes. His hands, though -old and shrunken, with their veins standing out in relief, were well -shaped, and still had the trained, capable look that only those people -possess who, having been taught to use and develop the muscles of their -hands while young, keep them in constant use and practice afterwards. - -That he was very poor was certain, for year by year he appeared in -the same clothes. A very old, threadbare, but well-brushed Inverness -cape, a white woollen comforter, and a soft felt hat that had once been -black, but was now of the indescribable greenish-brown tint that black -hats assume in their last stages of existence. He also wore grey cloth -gloves and carried a thick blackthorn walking-stick with a knob handle. - -He came alone to the concerts and sat on the extreme right-hand of -the gallery, close against the wall, in the third row from the front. -Sometimes he was joined by a young man, who was the only person he was -ever seen to converse with at length, though he would answer politely -any chance question about the music or the artists, on both of which -subjects he appeared to have considerable knowledge. - -His English was perfect and fluent, but the impression prevailed in the -gallery that he was foreign. - -One Monday evening a few years ago he came to the gallery at seven -o’clock and took his usual place. It happened to be the first -appearance of Joachim that season, and it was not unreasonable to -suppose that there might be a crowd. The old gentleman looked round -anxiously as each new-comer opened the door, fearing evidently that -some stranger would take the seat next him. His fears, however, were -vain ones on that night, and at about twenty minutes before eight, -looking round as the door opened, his face lighted up with joy as his -friend, a rather good-looking, dark young man, pushed his way across -the gallery to his side. - -“Dear Professor Crowitzski,” he said affectionately, “I am sorry to be -so late. I knew you would be anxious, but I have come straight from -Grignoletti’s house in the Avenue Road.” - -“My dear boy—my dear boy,” returned the old man tremulously, “I -have been anxious about you for several reasons. I have thought much -about your interview with Grignoletti and its possible result, and I -also began to fear you would not get here in time to hear the Brahms -Sextett, which is placed first upon the programme to-night. I would not -have you miss it if you could possibly help it; you should hear Brahms -as often as you can. Do not neglect the other masters of course. Hear -and study the works of all; but especially those of that great trinity, -Bach, Beethoven, Brahms. Now, however, tell me about yourself. Did -Grignoletti hold out any hope to you?” - -“Indeed he did,” said the young man, “almost too much, for I do not -quite see how the hope is to be realised. He spoke in high terms of -my voice, said I had a career before me, and advised my entering the -Royal Academy at once, saying he should not let me study with anyone -but himself.” - -“That is a high compliment,” said the Professor. “Grignoletti is the -finest teacher of singing in London. Moreover, he is a true artist and -an honest man. He will say nothing to you he does not mean. But tell me -what difficulties stand in your way.” - -Herbert Maxwell sighed. It was so hard to see the bright pathway of his -highest wishes shining in the distance, and to realise that between him -and the beginning of it lay a dark stream that could only be crossed by -means of golden stepping-stones. - -“I’m afraid money is the chief difficulty,” he said rather sadly. “The -Academy fees are ten pounds a term. The half-term examination is next -Monday, and I have not the means of raising five pounds. You know my -mother and I depend entirely on my weekly wage, and it is not a very -large one.” - -“I know—I know,” replied the old man; “but supposing this amount could -be found, how would you support your mother and yourself when you give -up your present work? If you mean to adopt singing as your profession, -you must give your whole time to the study of music.” - -“It was in that matter that Grignoletti showed himself so very kind,” -said Herbert. “He asked me how I lived, and promised, if I were -admitted to the Academy, he would find work for me by which I could -earn at least as much as I do now, and which would also increase my -musical knowledge. He——” - -A sudden storm of applause interrupted him, in which he joined -vigorously, as Joachim, followed by the other artists, emerged from -the curious little well at the end of the platform, where those of the -players and singers who are not performing assemble to listen to those -who are, sitting on the stairs or on the settee just inside. - -Nothing more was said by the old Professor or Herbert himself on the -subject of his musical education. The concert absorbed them both -entirely, and in the intervals between each item on the programme no -other subject was discussed by them but the music and the performers. - -It was a shorter concert than usual, and as they were slowly making -for the door with the rest of the crowd, the old man said to his young -friend, “Can you come home with me to-night, my dear boy? I have -something more to say to you, and I cannot say it here. I do not think -it will make you very late.” - -“I shall be very glad to,” replied Herbert, “and very glad to hear -anything from you. You are the only person in the world to whom I can -go for advice about music. It is very good of you to take so much -interest in me.” - -At Piccadilly Circus they got into that red omnibus which is -affectionately called by those who use it constantly “The Kennington -Lobster,” and travelled over Westminster Bridge some little distance -down the wide Kennington Road. - -“Green Street,” said the Professor after a time, and the conductor -stopped the omnibus almost immediately. - -They got down and turned into a little street on the right-hand of the -main road; one of those streets still to be found here and there in -some of the older parts of London, though they are fast being swept -away by the remorseless builder to make room for the huge piles of -model dwellings that are springing up on every side. - -It was a narrow street of small but still respectable-looking houses, -not detached. Each had a tiny square of garden in front of its one -window, and a path of flagstones led from the gate to the front door. - -The old man stopped at No. 9, opened the door with a latch-key, and led -the way up a narrow staircase to the second floor. - -“Wait a moment till we have a light,” he said; “you may fall over -something in my tiny room.” - -It was a tiny room indeed that Herbert found himself in when the -Professor had lighted the lamp, and, as might have been expected, not -a luxurious one; but it was as neatly arranged as a ship’s cabin, and -everything was scrupulously clean. - -On one side of the room stood a very narrow bed covered with a -patchwork quilt, at its foot a tiny square washstand of painted deal. -An old-fashioned mahogany chest of drawers piled high with books, a -small deal table in the middle of the room, an old stuffed chair by the -fireplace, and a low wooden one by the head of the bed completed the -tale of furniture, with the exception of—a piano! - -It was of the small, old-fashioned, cottage kind, with a square lid and -faded green silk fluting for its front. It looked thin and worn like -its master; but there it was. It proved, too, that its owner must be a -musician, for there was nothing on the top of it. There was not much -room anywhere, save on the little table, to put anything down; but the -Professor would have been horrified at the idea of using the piano as a -resting-place for anything. He would not even let Herbert put his hat -on it. - -“I should like to hear you sing,” he said, going to a large square pile -of something by the piano covered with an old cloth. “Do you know the -‘Elijah’?” He lifted the cloth as he spoke and disclosed a quantity -of music; sheet music, loose and bound, and scores of many famous -works—all old, all worn, but still his treasures. He picked out a -vocal score of the “Elijah” and put it on the piano desk. - -“Yes,” said Herbert. “Shall I try ‘If with all your hearts’?” - -The old man nodded with a smile, and, sitting down on the crazy music -stool, laid his aged hands upon the aged keys. - -It needed but two bars to show Herbert that his old friend was a real -artist. The piano’s tone was like a tone ghost; but it was in perfect -tune. The Professor saw to that himself. And his touch seemed so to -caress the yellow keys that they gave him the very best they still had -in them. - -As the song proceeded, the old gentleman smiled and nodded gently to -himself, as if he, too, were pleased and satisfied with what he heard. -He had good reason. Herbert’s voice was of that rare delicious quality -given perhaps to one singer in a generation. Full, rich, intensely -sympathetic, without a trace of that metallic hardness in the upper -notes so often found in tenor voices. He sang the great solo with the -utmost simplicity, but with a beauty of expression that would have gone -straight to the heart of any audience, musical or unmusical. - -“My boy, you have a gift—a great gift,” said the Professor solemnly -at the end. “See that you use it well. You may, if you choose, be one -of the singers of the world; but it will mean more than three years at -the Academy, and then to sing at ballad concerts. Aim at the highest, -and make up your mind that it must be your life work. You must let me -help you put your foot on the lowest rung of the ladder. You can climb -yourself afterwards.” - -He went to the bed and drew from underneath it a small old-fashioned -box covered with skin with the hair on and studded with brass nails. -This he unlocked, and took from it a small yellow canvas bag. - -“I have here,” he said, “a kind of nest egg which I have managed to put -by from time to time out of my little income. It is the exact sum you -need just now, and you must pay your first fees with it.” - -“My dear Professor,” stammered Herbert, completely taken aback, -“indeed, I cannot! I should never forgive myself for taking money that -you might possibly want for all sorts of things before I had a chance -of paying it back again!” - -“Nonsense!” replied the old man, rather sternly. “You must take it! -I will have it so. I should never forgive _myself_ if I allowed your -young life and precious talent to be wasted because you were in want of -what I had lying idle! You can repay me some day when you can spare it.” - -“But what will you do in the meantime?” asked the young man rather -diffidently, for he felt a delicacy about inquiring too closely into -the old man’s circumstances. - -“My dividend falls due to-morrow,” was the reply. “There is not the -smallest reason for your refusing to take this. Go home to your mother, -tell her everything is decided, and take care of your voice for the -next week. Shall you be at the concert next Monday? Perhaps not, if you -are kept late at your work. If I do not see you there, will you come -here the next day and tell me about it all?” - -His young friend promised this gladly; and in order to cut short his -expressions of thanks, the Professor took up the lamp and lighted him -downstairs, giving him a last warning against taking cold or overtiring -his throat as he let him out. - -“He is a good boy,” he said to himself as he went back to his little -room. “I am very glad I was able to do it. It is for the young ones to -carry on the world. We old ones who have served our time must stand by -and encourage the others.” - -He set about preparing his frugal supper—a small loaf and a pennyworth -of milk, which he took from a cupboard in one corner of the room. He -put the milk into a tiny tin saucepan, and, as of course there was no -fire in the grate, he lighted a little spirit lamp, set the saucepan -over the flame, and sat down to watch till it boiled. - -His mind was still running on Herbert Maxwell and his probable career, -and from that it wandered back to his own young days. Gradually he -seemed to live through the whole of his past life. He recalled the -early home life in the comfortable house at Clapham; his kind Polish -parents who had been driven like so many others from their own -country; his childish passion for music which had caused him so often -to be laughed at by his English schoolfellows, and the decision of -his parents that he should adopt it as a profession. Then came those -happy student days at Leipzig, with the growing consciousness of his -own powers and the encouragement of his teachers and fellow students, -his _début_ at the Gewandhaus, with the applause and laurel wreaths, -succeeded by his first concert tour in Germany. He remembered his -return home, to his parents’ joy, and his success in London as a player -and teacher, with constant tours on the Continent, during one of which -he met that lovely girl he afterwards wooed and won, to spend those few -happy years with him till her sudden death abroad. - -Then followed a ghastly blank, with isolated memories of being in some -great building with many other people, who were all waited on by kindly -men and sweet-faced women, and he could remember the feeling of having -been ill and not knowing how. Till one day, when he had grown stronger, -the knowledge came to him that, for a time, his mind had left him. - -He vividly recalled his return to England, to find himself forgotten -and eclipsed by others who had sprung to fame during his long absence, -his failure to obtain either engagements or pupils, and, finally, the -collapse of the bank in which almost all his savings had been placed. - -At this point, as if in sympathy with his thoughts, the spirit-lamp -went out with a little “fuff,” and the milk, which was on the verge of -boiling over, collapsed too. - -This recalled him from his sad memories, and he tried, as he ate -his bread and milk, to put them out of his mind and to think of the -pleasanter events of the evening—of the fine concert, how splendidly -Joachim played, and of his young friend, whose mother would be so glad -at her boy’s good fortune. - -But he could not rid himself of them, and even through the night his -broken sleep was haunted by harassing dreams and vague feelings of some -impending evil. - -(_To be concluded._) - - - - -ABOUT PEGGY SAVILLE. - -BY JESSIE MANSERGH (Mrs. G. de Horne Vaizey), Author of “Sisters -Three,” etc. - - -CHAPTER XIV. - -Robert did not make his appearance next morning, and his absence seemed -to give fresh ground for the expectation that Lady Darcy would drive -over with him in the afternoon and pay a call at the vicarage. - -Mrs. Asplin gathered what branches of russet leaves still remained in -the garden and placed them in bowls in the drawing-room, with a few -precious chrysanthemums peeping out here and there; laid out her very -best tea cloth and d’Oyleys, and sent the girls upstairs to change -their well-worn school dresses for something fresher and smarter. - -“And you, Peggy dear—you will put on your pretty red, of course!” -she said, standing still, with a bundle of branches in her arms, and -looking with a kindly glance at the pale face which had somehow lost -its sunny expression during the last two days. - -Peggy hesitated and pursed up her lips. - -“Why ‘of course,’ Mrs. Asplin? I never change my dress until evening. -Why need I do it to-day just because some strangers may call whom I -have never seen before?” - -It was the first time that the girl had objected to do what she was -told, and Mrs. Asplin was both surprised and hurt by her tone in -which she spoke—a good deal puzzled too, for Peggy was by no means -indifferent to pretty frocks, and as a rule fond of inventing excuses -to wear her best clothes. Why, then, should she choose this afternoon -of all others to refuse so simple a request? Just for a moment she -felt tempted to make a sharp reply, and then tenderness for the girl -whose mother was so far away took the place of the passing irritation, -and she determined to try a gentler method. - -“There is not the slightest necessity, dear,” she said quietly. “I -asked only because the red dress suits you so well, and it would have -been a pleasure to me to see you looking your best. But you are very -nice and neat as you are. You need not change unless you like.” - -She turned to leave the room as she finished speaking; but before she -had reached the door, Peggy was by her side, holding out her hands to -take possession of twigs and branches. - -“Let me take them to the kitchen, please! Do let me help you!” she said -quickly, and just for a moment a little hand rested on her arm with a -spasmodic pressure. That was all, but it was enough. There was no need -of a formal apology. Mrs. Asplin understood all the unspoken love and -penitence which was expressed in that simple action, and beamed with -her brightest smile. - -“Thank you, my lassie, please do! I’m glad to avoid going near the -kitchen again, for when cook once gets hold of me, I can never get -away. She tells me the family history of all her relations, and indeed -it’s very depressing, it is” (with a relapse into her merry Irish -accent), “for they are subject to the most terrible afflictions! I’ve -had one dose of it to-day, and I don’t want another!” - -Peggy laughed and carried off her bundle, lingered in the kitchen -just long enough to remind the cook that “Apple Charlotte served with -cream” was a seasonable pudding at the fall of the year, and then went -upstairs to put on the red dress, and relieve her feelings by making -grimaces at herself in the glass as she fastened the buttons. - -At four o’clock the patter of horses’ feet came from below, doors -opened and shut, and there was a sound of voices in the hall. The -visitors had arrived! - -Peggy pressed her lips together and bent doggedly over her writing. She -had not progressed with her work as well as she had hoped during Rob’s -absence, for her thoughts had been running on other subjects, and she -had made mistake after mistake. She must try to finish one batch at -least to show him on his return. Unless she was especially sent for she -would not go downstairs; but before ten minutes had passed, Mellicent -was tapping at the door and whispering eager sentences through the -keyhole. - -“Peggy, quick! They’ve come! Rosalind’s here! You’re to come down! -Quick! Hurry up!” - -“All right, my dear, keep calm! You will have a fit if you excite -yourself like this!” said Peggy coolly. - -The summons had come and could not be disregarded, and on the whole she -was not sorry. The meeting was bound to take place sooner or later, -and, in spite of her affectation of indifference, she was really -consumed with curiosity to know what Rosalind was like. She had no -intention of hurrying, however, but lingered over the arrangement of -her papers until Mellicent had trotted downstairs again and the coast -was clear. Then she sauntered after her with leisurely dignity, opened -the drawing-room door, and gave a swift glance round. - -Lady Darcy sat talking to Mrs. Asplin a few yards away in such a -position that she faced the doorway. She looked up as Peggy entered and -swept her eyes curiously over the girl’s figure. She looked older than -she had done from across the church the day before, and her face had a -bored expression, but, if possible, she was even more elegant in her -attire. It seemed quite extraordinary to see such a fine lady sitting -on that well-worn sofa, instead of the sober figure of the Vicar’s wife. - -Peggy flashed a look from one to the other—from the silk dress to the -serge, from the beautiful weary face to the cheery loving smile—and -came to the conclusion that, for some mysterious reason, Mrs. Asplin -was a happier woman than the wife of the great Lord Darcy. - -The two ladies stopped talking and looked expectantly towards her. - -“Come in, dear! This is our new pupil, Lady Darcy, for whom you were -asking. You have heard of her——” - -“From Robert. Oh, yes, frequently! I was especially anxious to see -Robert’s little friend. How do you do, dear? Let me see! What is your -funny little name? Molly—Dolly—something like that I think—I forget -for the moment!” - -“Mariquita Saville!” quoth Peggy blandly. She was consumed with regret -that she had no second name to add to the number of syllables, but she -did her best with those she possessed, rolling them out in her very -best manner and with a stately condescension which made Lady Darcy -smile for the first time since she entered the room. - -“Oh—h!” The lips parted to show a gleam of regular white teeth. -“That’s it, is it? Well, I am very pleased to make your acquaintance, -Mariquita. I hope we shall see a great deal of you while we are here. -You must go and make friends with Rosalind—my daughter. She is longing -to know you.” - -“Yes, go and make friends with Rosalind, Peggy dear! She was asking -for you,” said Mrs. Asplin kindly, and as the girl walked away the two -ladies exchanged smiling glances. - -“Amusing! Such grand little manners! Evidently a character.” - -“Oh, quite! Peggy is nothing if not original. She is a dear, good girl, -but quite too funny in her ways. She is really the incarnation of -mischief, and keeps me on tenter-hooks from morning until night, but -from her manner you would think she was a model of propriety. Nothing -delights her so much as to get hold of a new word or a high-sounding -phrase.” - -“But what a relief to have someone out of the ordinary run! There are -so many bores in the world, it is quite refreshing to meet with a -little originality. Dear Mrs. Asplin, you really must tell me how you -manage to look so happy and cheerful in this dead-alive place? I am -desolate at the idea of staying here all winter. What in the world do -you find to do?” - -Mrs. Asplin laughed. - -“Indeed, that’s not the trouble at all; the question is how to find -time to get through the day’s duties! It’s a rush from morning till -night, and when evening comes I am delighted to settle down in an -easy-chair with a nice book to read. One has no chance of feeling dull -in a house full of young people.” - -“Ah, you are so good and clever, you get through so much. I want to -ask your help in half-a-dozen ways. If we are to settle down here for -some months there are so many arrangements to make. Now tell me, what -would you do in this case?” The two ladies settled down to a discussion -on domestic matters, while Peggy crossed the room to the corner -where Rosalind Darcy sat in state, holding her court with Esther and -Mellicent as attendant slaves. She wore the same grey dress in which -she had appeared in church the day before, but the jacket was thrown -open and displayed a distractingly dainty blouse, all pink chiffon, -and frills, and ruffles of lace. Her gloves lay in her lap, and the -celebrated diamond ring flashed in the firelight as she held out her -hand to meet Peggy’s. - -“How do you do? So glad to see you! I’ve heard of you often. You are -the little girl who is my bwothar’s fwiend.” She pronounced the letter -“r” as if it had been “w,” and the “er” in brother as if it had been -“ah,” and spoke with a languid society drawl, more befitting a woman of -thirty than a schoolgirl of fifteen. - -Peggy stood motionless and looked her over, from the crown of her -hat to the tip of the little trim shoe, with an expression of icy -displeasure. - -“Oh dear me, no,” she said quietly, “you mistake the situation. You -put it the wrong way about. Your brother is the big boy whom I have -allowed to become a friend of mine!” - -Esther and Mellicent gasped with amazement, while Rosalind gave a trill -of laughter, and threw up her pretty white hands. - -“She’s wexed!” she cried. “She’s wexed, because I called her little! -I’m wewwy sowwy, but I weally can’t help it, don’t you know. It’s the -twuth! You are a whole head smaller than I am.” She threw back her -chin, and looked over Peggy’s head with a smile of triumph. “There, -look at that, and I’m not a year older. I call you wewwy small indeed -for your age.” - -“I’m thankful to hear it! I admire small women,” said Peggy promptly, -seating herself on a corner of the window seat, and staring critically -at the tall figure of the visitor. She would have been delighted if -she could have persuaded herself that her height was awkward and -ungainly, but such an effort was beyond imagination. Rosalind was -startlingly and wonderfully pretty; she had never seen anyone in real -life who was in the least like her. Her eyes were a deep, dark blue, -with curling dark lashes, her face was a delicate oval, and the pink -and white colouring, and flowing golden locks gave her the appearance -of a princess in a fairy tale, rather than an ordinary flesh and blood -maiden. Peggy looked from her to Mellicent who was considered quite a -beauty among her companions, and oh dear me! how plain, and fat, and -prosaic she appeared when viewed side by side with this radiant vision! -Esther stood the comparison better, for though her long face had no -pretensions to beauty, it was thoughtful and interesting in expression. -There was no question which was most charming to look at; but if it -had come to a choice of a companion, an intelligent observer would -certainly have decided in favour of the Vicar’s daughter. Esther’s -face was particularly grave at this moment, and her eyes met Peggy’s -with a reproachful glance. What was the matter with the girl this -afternoon? Why did she take up everything that Rosalind said in that -hasty, cantankerous manner? Here was an annoying thing—to have just -given an enthusiastic account of the brightness and amicability of a -new companion, and then to have that companion come into the room only -to make snappish remarks, and look as cross and ill-natured as a bear! -She turned in an apologetic fashion to Rosalind, and tried to resume -the conversation at the point where it had been interrupted by Peggy’s -entrance. - -“And I was saying, we have ever so many new things to show -you—presents, you know, and things of that kind. The last is the -nicest of all; a really good, big camera with which we can take proper -photographs. Mrs. Saville—Peggy’s mother—gave it to us before she -left. It was a present to the schoolroom, so it belongs equally to us -all, and we have such fun with it. We are beginning to do some good -things now, but at first they were too funny for anything. There is -one of father where his boots are twice as large as his head, and -another of mother where her face has run, and is about a yard long, and -yet it is so like her! We laughed till we cried over it, and father has -locked it away in his desk. He says he will keep it to look at when he -is low-spirited.” - -Rosalind gave a shrug to her shapely shoulders. - -“It would not cheer me up to see a cawicature of myself! I don’t think -I shall sit to you for my portrait, if that is the sort of thing you -do, but you shall show me all your failures. It will amuse me. You will -have to come up and see me vewwy often this winter, for I shall be so -dull. We have been abroad for the last four years, and England seems so -dark and dweawy. Last winter we were at Cairo. We lived in a big hotel, -and there was something going on almost every night. I was not out, of -course, but I was allowed to go into the room for an hour after dinner, -and to dance with the gentlemen in mother’s set. And we went up the -Nile in a steamer, and dwove about every afternoon, paying calls, and -shopping in the bazaars. It never rains in Cairo and the sun is always -shining. It seems so wonderful! Just like a place in a fairy tale.” She -looked at Peggy as she spoke, and that young person smiled with an air -of elegant condescension. - -“It would do so to you. Naturally it would. When one has been born in -the East, and lived there the greater part of one’s life, it seems -natural enough, but the trippers from England who just come out for a -few months’ visit are always astonished. It used to amuse us so much to -hear their remarks!” - -Rosalind stared and flushed with displeasure. She was accustomed to -have her remarks treated with respect, and the tone of superiority was -a new and unpleasing experience. - -“You were born in the East?” - -“Certainly I was!” - -“Where, may I ask?” - -“In India—in Calcutta, where my father’s regiment was stationed.” - -“You lived there till you were quite big? You can remember all about -it?” - -“All I want to remember. There was a great deal that I choose to -forget. I don’t care for India. England is more congenial to my -feelings.” - -“And can you speak the language? Did you learn Hindostanee while you -were there?” - -“Naturally. Of course I did.” - -A gasp of amazement came from the two girls in the window, for a -knowledge of Hindostanee had never been included in the list of Peggy’s -accomplishments, and she was not accustomed to hide her light under -a bushel. They gazed at her with widened eyes, and Rosalind scented -scepticism in the air, and cried quickly— - -“Say something then. If you can speak, say something now, and let us -hear you.” - -“Pardon me!” said Peggy simpering. “As a matter of fact I was sent home -because I was learning to speak too well. The language of the natives -is not considered suitable for English children of tender age. I must -ask you to be so kind as to excuse me. I should be sorry to shock your -sensibilities.” - -Rosalind drew her brows together and stared steadily in the speaker’s -face. Like many beautiful people she was not over gifted with a sense -of humour, and therefore Peggy’s grandiose manner and high-sounding -words failed to amuse her as they did most strangers. She felt only -annoyed and puzzled, dimly conscious that she was being laughed at, and -that this girl with the small face and the peaked eyebrows was trying -to patronise her—Rosalind Darcy—instead of following the Vicar’s -daughters in adoring her from a respectful distance, as of course it -was her duty to do. She had been anxious to meet the Peggy Saville of -whom her brother had spoken so enthusiastically, for it was a new thing -to hear Rob praise a girl, but it was evident that Peggy on her side -was by no means eager to make her acquaintance. It was an extraordinary -discovery, and most disconcerting to the feelings of one who was -accustomed to be treated as a person of supreme importance. Rosalind -could hardly speak for mortification, and it was an immense relief when -the door opened and Max and Oswald hurried forward to greet her. Then -indeed she was in her element, beaming with smiles, and indulging a -dozen pretty little tricks of manner for the benefit of their admiring -eyes. Max took possession of the chair by her side, his face lighted up -with pleasure and admiration. He was too thoroughly natural and healthy -a lad to be much troubled with sentiment, but ever since one winter -morning five years before, when Rosalind had first appeared in the -little country church, she had been his ideal of all that was womanly -and beautiful. At every meeting he discovered fresh charms, and to-day -was no exception to the rule. She was taller, fairer, more elegant. In -some mysterious manner she seemed to have grown older than he, so that -though he was in reality three years her senior, he was still a boy, -while she was almost a young lady. - -Mrs. Asplin looked across the room, and a little anxious furrow showed -in her forehead. Maxwell’s admiration for Rosalind was already an old -story, and as she saw his eager face and sparkling eyes, a pang of fear -came into his mother’s heart. If the Darcys were constantly coming down -to the Larches, it was only natural to suppose that this admiration -would increase, and it would never do for Max to fall in love with -Rosalind! The Vicar’s son would be no match for Lord Darcy’s daughter; -it would only mean a heart-ache for the poor lad, a clouded horizon -just when life should be the brightest. For a moment a prevision of -trouble filled her heart, then she waved it away in her cheery, hopeful -fashion— - -“Why, what a goose I am! They are only children. Time enough to worry -my head about love affairs in half-a-dozen years to come. The lad would -be a Stoic if he didn’t admire her. I don’t see how he could help it!” - -“Rosalind is lovelier than ever, Lady Darcy, if that is possible!” she -said aloud, and her companion’s face brightened with pleasure. - -“Oh, do you think so?” she cried eagerly. “I am so glad to hear it, -for this growing stage is so trying. I was afraid she might outgrow -her strength and lose her complexion, but so far I don’t think it has -suffered. I am very careful of her diet, and my maid understands all -the new skin treatments. So much depends on a girl’s complexion. I -notice your youngest daughter has a very good colour. May I ask what -you use?” - -“Soap and water, fresh air, good plain food—those are the only -cosmetics we use in this house,” said Mrs. Asplin, laughing outright -at the idea of Mellicent’s healthy bloom being the result of “skin -treatment.” “I am afraid I have too much to do looking after the -necessities of life for my girls, Lady Darcy, to worry myself about -their complexions.” - -“Oh, yes. Well, I’m sure they both look charming; but Rosalind will go -much into society, and of course——” She checked herself before the -sentence was finished, but Mrs. Asplin was quick enough to understand -the imputation that the complexions of a Vicar’s daughters were but -of small account, but that it was a very different matter when the -Honourable Rosalind Darcy was concerned. She understood, but she was -neither hurt nor annoyed by the inferences, only a little sad and -very, very pitiful. She knew the story of the speaker’s life, and the -reason why she looked forward to Rosalind’s entrance into society with -such ambition. Lady Darcy had been the daughter of poor but well-born -parents, and had married the widower, Lord Darcy, not because she loved -him or had any motherly feeling for his two orphan boys, but simply -and solely for a title and establishment, and a purse full of money. -Given these, she had fondly imagined that she was going to be perfectly -happy. No more screwing and scraping to keep up appearances; no more -living in dulness and obscurity; she would be Lady Darcy, the beautiful -young wife of a famous man. So, with no thought in her heart but for -her own worldly advancement, Beatrice Fairfax stood before God’s altar -and vowed to love, honour, and obey a man for whom she had no scrap -of affection, and whom she would have laughed to scorn if he had been -poor and friendless. She married him, but the life which followed was -not by any means all that she had expected. Lord Darcy had heavy money -losses, which obliged him to curtail expenses almost immediately after -his wedding; her own health broke down, and it was a knife in her heart -to know that her boy was only the third son, and that the two big, -handsome lads at Eton would inherit the lion’s share of their father’s -property. Hector, the lifeguardsman, and Oscar, the dragoon, were for -ever running into debt and making fresh demands on her husband’s purse. -She and her children had to suffer for their extravagances, while -Robert, her only son, was growing up a shy, awkward lad, who hated -society, and asked nothing better than to be left in the country alone -with his frogs and his beetles. Ambition after ambition had failed -her, until now all her hopes were centred in Rosalind, the beautiful -daughter, in whom she saw a reproduction of herself in the days of her -girlhood. She had had a dull and obscure youth; Rosalind should be the -belle of society. Her own marriage had been a disappointment; Rosalind -should make a brilliant alliance. She had failed to gain the prize for -which she had worked; she would live again in Rosalind’s triumphs, and -in them find fullest satisfaction. - -So Lady Darcy gloated over every detail of her daughter’s beauty, -and thought day and night of her hair, her complexion, her figure, -striving still to satisfy her poor, tired soul with promises of future -success, and never dreaming for a moment that the prize which seemed -to elude her grasp had been gained long ago by the Vicar’s wife, with -her old-fashioned dress and work-worn hands. But Mrs. Asplin knew, and -thanked God in her heart for, the sweetness and peace of her dear, -shabby home; for the husband who loved her, and the children whom they -were training to be good servants for Him in the world. Yes, and for -that other child too, who had been taken away at the very dawn of his -manhood, and who, they believed, was doing still better work in the -unseen world. - -Until Lady Darcy discovered that the only true happiness rose from -something deeper than worldly success, there was nothing in store for -her but fresh disappointments and heart-hunger, while as for Rosalind, -the unfortunate child of such a mother—— Mrs. Asplin looked at the -girl as she sat leaning back in her chair, craning her throat, and -showing off all her little airs and graces for the benefit of the two -admiring schoolboys, gratified vanity and self love showing on every -line of her face. - -“It seems almost cruel to say so,” she sighed to herself, “but it -would be the best thing that could happen to the child if she were to -lose some of her beauty before she grew up. Such a face as that is a -terrible temptation to vanity.” But Mrs. Asplin did not guess how soon -these unspoken words would come back to her memory, or what bitter -cause she would have to regret their fulfilment. - -(_To be continued._) - -[Illustration] - - - - -ALL ABOUT OATMEAL. - -BY DORA DE BLAQUIÈRE. - - -The native land of the common oat seems to be absolutely unknown, but -as in many other cases, the best authorities have given it an origin in -Central Asia. The wild oat from which it descends is found in Europe, -in North Africa, Siberia, Japan, and the North-West Provinces of India; -and it was well known to the Greeks and Romans, though it is not one -of the cereals that are mentioned in the Bible. But the common oat, as -we know it, is an improved form (says Professor Buckman) derived by a -continued and selective cultivation from the aboriginal wild oat, of -which I have been speaking. The word oat or oats is from an old English -word _ata_, from the verb _etau_, to eat; and it means anything in -the way of food which can be eaten. The botanical name of the genus -is _avena_, and there are upwards of forty species in it, which are -generally natives of cold or temperate climes. It can be grown in a -wider range of climatical differences than wheat, but in a less range -than barley, while in every temperate region it has become recognised -as a food for horses. In the more northerly parts, where less wheat is -grown, it has formed the staple food for man, under the two well-known -forms, _i.e._, of porridge and oatcake. - -A drug has been distilled from it under the name of _Avena Sattisa_, -which is supposed to give the qualities of cheerfulness and spirit; the -same qualities, in short, which the oat is considered to give to horses. - -In the returns of 1894, for the United Kingdom, we find that oats are -more cultivated than wheat, but it is much to be regretted that the use -of oatmeal as food is becoming unfashionable amongst the poorer classes -in England, who consider that wheat is a more refined food, and who -leave off oatmeal when possible. The Highlanders of Scotland are an -example of muscular vigour, and also of the clear intellects which are -fostered under its regimen; one of the old Edinburgh reviewers says, -“We cultivate literature on a little oatmeal,” and, at some time of the -day, in Scotland, the native consumes oatmeal under some form or other. -Porridge for breakfast is known in other lands as well as in Scotland, -and is quite as well liked, particularly when a generous larder affords -cream in thickness and plenty. But to be a true son of Scotland you -must be above such frivolous additions. The kernels or grain of the -oat, deprived of the husks, are called groats, or grits; and in old -days they were used entire in broths and soups, like hot barley. When -bruised you will recognise them very well, as forming part of a sick -folk dietary. _Sowans_, known also as seeds or _flummery_, is made from -the thin pellicles or inner scales which adhere to the groats in the -process of shelling. These are steeped in water for a few days, till -they ferment and become sourish. They are then skimmed and the liquid -boiled down so much, that when cold it will become of the thickness of -gruel. In Wales this is known as _Sucan Budrum_, and is prepared in the -same manner; but it is boiled down even more, to become, when cold, a -firm jelly, like blanc-mange. It has a high reputation as a nutritious, -light food, for weak stomachs. Chemically speaking, in this change, -the starch has been converted into dextrin and sugar, the latter -passing at once into acetic fermentation. - -Sowans is used as a light supper dish, with milk, cream, or butter, and -sweetened with sugar to taste. - -Bread is made of oatmeal mixed with pea-flour in parts of Lancashire, -as well as in Scotland. A peck of oatmeal and another of peameal may -be mixed thoroughly together, and sifted through a sieve to which add -three or four ounces of salt, and make into dough with warm water. -Then roll into thin cakes or flat rolls, and bake on a hot plate or in -the oven. This, of course, is unfermented bread. In Scotland the thick -cakes of oatmeal are called bannock, and the thin ones cakes, and in -the farm-houses a great number are made at once and stored on a rack -close to the ceiling, where they will keep for a long time if quite -dry. When needed, they are crisped before the fire and slightly browned. - -Bread is also made of oatmeal and wheat flour; also oatmeal and rice. -Take a peck each of flour and oatmeal and half a peck of potatoes, -peeled and washed and boiled. Knead into a dough with yeast, salt, and -warm milk. Make into loaves and bake as usual. Rice is made in the same -manner. - -In the early centuries oatmeal was eaten almost altogether raw by the -Scot, as indeed was the flour of wheat, and I daresay every other kind. -In Mrs. Stone’s delightful book, _Teneriffe and its Seven Satellites_, -she gives an account of the food of the population of the islands, -and says that it was undoubtedly a primeval usage derived from the -mysterious Guanches, the first inhabitants of the Isles, a civilised -people who embalmed their dead, but have long since ceased to exist -as a separate people. This flour is prepared by first roasting the -wheat itself, then grinding it, and afterwards storing it in bags for -carriage. It is eaten simply mixed with cold water, and is not only -palatable, but delicious, with a sweet and nutty flavour, caused by the -previous wasting of the grain. Even now, in many parts of Scotland, -oatmeal is eaten uncooked and stirred simply into hot or cold water, -with salt, mixed together in a basin. This is called brose, a word -derived from the Anglo-Saxon, and the same as breuis and broth, the -word meaning the liquor in which meat or anything else is boiled and -macerated. Kail brose is made of green vegetable, mixed with the -oatmeal, and it may have meal or broth as well. Plain brose is called -often “sojer’s brose,” as it was made in haste, and “crowdy” is also -a Scotch word, used to describe any food of the porridge kind, or a -mixture of oatmeal and any liquid at hand, which might be milk, or even -something far stronger. - -The cooking of oatmeal marks an advance in civilisation, I suppose. -Even the very word porridge is more recent, and marks an epoch when the -Scotch received some instructions from one of the Latin nations; the -original word being either from the Latin _porrus_, a leek, or the old -French _porree_, or a pottage, made of beets with other pot herbs, a -kind of food made by boiling vegetables in water with or without meat. - -The person who taught me to make the best of porridge was an -Irishwoman, and her method was to stir the oatmeal into the pot -containing the boiling water, which must be bubbling fiercely, and must -also have been salted. The oatmeal she sprinkled in with her left hand -(having the oatmeal close to her) and stirring all the time busily with -her right hand. Long experience will tell you how thick to make it, -and it wants at least half an hour’s boiling to cook it properly. - -But the most delightful form of gruel is that made by a Scotchwoman -with milk and not water; and this needs well boiling too. Many people, -however, prefer the gruel made by steeping the oatmeal in water for -some hours, and pouring off the water and boiling that. The best gruel, -I consider, is to be obtained on an Atlantic steamer; especially if -it should happen to be of Scotch extraction, and to have a Scotch -stewardess. There is some consolation in your sorrows at sea, if you -can get some of the chicken broth they make on the Cunard steamers, -which is quite too good to be forgotten. They put barley into it, I -think, or perhaps rice; but whatever the flavour is, I have never -succeeded in obtaining the same on shore, and I am inclined to think it -is the long boiling that is the secret. When cold it forms a solid and -nearly clear jelly. - -There is plenty of oatmeal, too, in haggis, that essentially Scottish -dish, which Robert Burns called “The great chieftain of the pudding -race.” The component parts of a haggis are a sheep’s head and liver, -boiled, minced, mixed with suet, onions, oatmeal and seasoning, -moistened with beef gravy, and put into a haggis bag and boiled. A -haggis will keep for some time, as it is quite firm, and may be packed -for a journey. But in that last event the onions must be omitted in the -making of it. Both black and white puddings are indebted to oatmeal -for some of their filling, but few people, unless educated up to it, -appreciate either of these delicacies. - -Cock-a-leekie is a Scotch name for a very ancient English dish, that -was known as long ago as the 14th century by the name of Malachi. “Ma” -is the old name for a fowl, and Malachi means sliced fowl. So, though -the modern rendering seems to promise that the leeks in it would be -too prominent for most people, it is a mistake. The fowl is first half -roasted, then boiled in broth, then cut up, and served with a quantity -of vegetables, mostly onions. Spices were added, and the broth was -thickened with fine oatmeal. - -There are some English recipes in which oatmeal plays a part, and the -first that I remember is what is called tharfe cake, in Yorkshire, -which is baked for the fifth of November. I give a very old family -recipe for it. Take four pounds of fresh oatmeal and rub into it one -pound of butter, one pound of brown sugar, a quarter of a pound of -candied lemon peel, and two ounces of caraway seeds well bruised. Mix -the whole with three pounds and a half of treacle. When the cake is -baked, which should be in a slow oven, pour over it a little flavouring -while hot. - -Parkin is also a Yorkshire cake, which resembles tharfe cake, but is -not so good. The following is also an old recipe for it, and both of -these cakes will be found very good for children’s use. Rub half a -pound of butter into three pounds of fine oatmeal, add one ounce of -ginger, and as much stiff treacle as will make it into a stiff paste. -Roll it out in cakes of about half an inch thick, lay these on buttered -tins and bake in a slow oven. The tops may be washed over with milk, -if you prefer it, as it has a more appetising effect perhaps. All the -modern recipes for parkin contain baking powder and sugar, but for the -first there is no need at all, as all these Yorkshire cakes are not -at all of the light order, and are both heavy and stiff, nor are they -intended to be very sweet. - -One of the dishes in which oatmeal plays a part, is in the savoury -or sweet porridge seen in Derbyshire and the north of England. It is -made as follows: Oatmeal two or three tablespoons, onions two or three -ounces, milk one pint, butter a quarter of a pound, pepper and salt -one teaspoonful. Boil the onions in two waters; when tender shred them -finely, and add them to the boiling milk, sprinkle in the oatmeal, add -the butter, pepper and salt, boil during from ten to fifteen minutes, -pour into soup plates and serve with sippets. Instead of onions, grated -cheese may be stirred in with the oatmeal. - -To make sweet porridge proceed in the same manner. Take the same -quantity of oatmeal, but instead of onions and pepper put in two or -three ounces each of sugar, sultanas and currants, and candied peel if -you like it, and serve in the same manner. This is a very excellent -porridge for children’s suppers. - -In America, the coarse oatmeal is used for frying oysters. They are -rolled in it—instead of either in flour or crackers—before frying, -and a very good addition it makes. The oatmeal may also be used for -chops or cutlets, if you have no crumbs. - -I had nearly omitted a Persian dish, of oatmeal and honey, which is a -kind of porridge made by beating up a tablespoonful of oatmeal and the -same quantity of honey with the yolk of an egg, and then pouring on it -a pint of boiling water and boiling the mixture for a few minutes. - -The following is an oatmeal pudding. Take of oatmeal one pint, of -boiling milk two pints, of eggs two and of salt a little. Pour the -boiling milk over the oatmeal and let it soak all night. Add the eggs, -well beaten; butter a basin that will just hold it, cover it tightly -with a floured cloth and boil it an hour and a half. Eat it with cold -butter and salt. When cool it may be sliced and toasted and eaten as -oat-cake buttered. - -A porridge of rice and oatmeal was once very popular amongst -vegetarians. It was made by boiling eight ounces of rice in a pint of -water, and as the water was absorbed, gradually adding two quarts more, -also add half a tablespoon of sugar and some salt, and lastly stir in -eight ounces of oatmeal, and let the whole boil for twenty minutes. If -it be liked sweet, add two ounces of sugar, but if savoury add pepper, -salt and some onions boiled and chopped. - -Our forefathers were very fond of oatmeal flummery, but it has quite -gone out of fashion, though an excellent dish. Put a pound and a half -of fine white oatmeal to steep for a day and a night in cold water, -and pour it off clear, adding as much more water, and let it stand for -the same time; then strain it through a fine hair sieve, and boil it -till as thick as hasty pudding, stirring it slowly all the time, and -being most careful to prevent its burning. When you first strain the -water off, put to it one large tablespoonful of white sugar and two -tablespoonfuls of orange-flower water; then pour it into a bowl and -serve. It is eaten cold, and with new milk, or cream, and sugar. I am -sure my readers will have heard very often of “flummery,” and perhaps -may like to try it for themselves. - -An oatmeal hasty pudding also comes from Yorkshire. Beat the yolks of -two eggs with half a pint of new milk, cold, and a little salt. Thicken -this with fine oatmeal, and beat to a very smooth batter. Set a pint -and a half of new milk on the fire, and when it is scalding hot pour in -the batter, stirring it well that it may be smooth and not burn. Let it -be over the fire till it thickens, but do not permit it to boil, and -the moment you take it from the fire pour it into a dish. It is eaten -with cold butter and sugar, and either a little lemon juice or vinegar. - -In that delightful book, _The Chemistry of Cookery_, by Mr. W. Mathieu -Williams, the well-known scientist and lecturer, a book that ought to -be studied by every housekeeper, I find that he advocates the idea of -porridge being made for some days before it is required, then stored in -a closed jar, and brought out and warmed for use. The change effected -in it is just that which may theoretically be expected, _i.e._, a -softening of the fibrous material, and a sweetening, due to the -formation of sugar. This may be called an application of the principle -of ensilage to human food; for ensilage is a process of slow vegetable -cookery, a digesting or maceration of fibrous vegetables in their own -juices, which loosens the fibre, renders it softer and more digestible; -and not only does this, but, to some extent, converts it into dextrine -and sugar. - -“Although in many respects,” says a recent writer, “oatmeal and flour -are very similar, the effect produced by them upon the system is very -different. Oatmeal is richer in oily, fatty matter than any other -cultivated grain, and its proportion of proteine compounds exceeds -that of the finest wheaten flour. Although so nutritious, it cannot be -used as a substitute for flour; the peculiar character of its gluten -preventing the meal being made into fermented bread. But in other -forms it may be made into very pleasant food, such as biscuits, gruel, -oatcake and porridge. Oats are a natural grain in England, and are -cultivated at less expense than wheat. This last is better adapted for -making good fermented bread, and so is more in request. But perhaps the -time may come when we shall return to the use of unfermented bread, -and shall think that bread made from other grains, and unfermented, -is quite as good, or even better, than the fermented bread of flour. -At the present time, however, wheat is more consumed than any other -grain,” and with this long quotation I will conclude. - - - - -[Illustration: G.O.P. ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS] - - -STUDY AND STUDIO. - -H. M. I.—1. Your hymn tune shows the need of instruction in harmony. -There are several consecutive fifths in it, and other faults which -study would enable you to avoid. We should advise you to take -lessons.—2. Dr. Lemmi’s Italian Grammar is published at 5s. by Messrs. -Oliver & Boyd, Edinburgh, and by Messrs. Simpkin, Marshall & Co., -London. - -WHEELBARROW.—If you write to the office of _The Boy’s Own Paper_, -56, Paternoster Row, we believe you will find that a chart of the -colours peculiar to the different colleges of each University has been -published. At all events, we refer you to the Editor. - -TOPSY.—We should prefer the Senior Cambridge and the Cambridge Higher -Local out of the four examinations you mention. - -IN our September part we informed RUBY that the couplet - - “Crabbed age and youth - Cannot live together.” - -was from “The Passionate Pilgrim,” by Shakespeare. In so saying -we handed on the information of three recognised authorities on -“quotations,” and observed that “The Passionate Pilgrim” appears -without note or comment in numerous editions of Shakespeare’s works. -“The Passionate Pilgrim,” a miscellany of twenty “Songs and Sonnets,” -was first published in 1599, and the words “By W. Shakespeare” are -on the title pages of the 1599 and 1612 editions; but of the twenty -poems only five are certainly by Shakespeare, and the poem in question -(No. xii. of the series) is not one of these. Its author, in fact, is -unknown, although it appears now, and appeared three centuries ago, -under Shakespeare’s name. - -WILD ROSE.—1. In bar seven of your composition you have the second -inversion of a chord, which should not be followed by the first -inversion of another chord. It is, however, an interesting attempt, and -we should urge you to persevere.—2. Your writing is rather too small -and crabbed, and seems to us as though in childhood you had not learned -to “turn” your letters well. Copy any model you admire, and you will -soon improve. - -DONOVAN and TILLY WHIM.—We can direct you to three amateur reading -societies, mentioned in this column during the past year or so, but -can take no responsibility whatever with regard to them. Address—The -Half Hour Reading Society, 2, Headingley Terrace, Headingley, Leeds; -The Queen Reading Society, secretary, Miss Isabel G. Kent, Lay Rectory, -Little Abington, Cambridge; Miss E. L. Tangye, The Elms, Redruth, -Cornwall. The National Home Reading Union, Surrey House, Victoria -Embankment, is being continually recommended by us. - -SISTER HARRIET.—Your most satisfactory plan is to write to the -publisher of the books you name, asking your questions, and enclosing -a stamped envelope for reply. Unless the authoress objects to the -particulars being known, you are sure to receive an answer. - -ANONYMOUS.—You give no name nor pseudonym in your inquiry about the -Civil Service. - - -OUR OPEN LETTER BOX. - -A. MARTIN wishes to find a poem called “Voices at the Throne,” beginning - - “A little child— - A little meek-eyed child, - Sitting at a cottage door.” - -“SWEET MARIE” is informed that her quotation, - - “Laugh and the world laughs with you, - Weep and you weep alone,” - -is from one of Ella Wheeler’s poems of Passion—“Solitude.” We thank -our masculine correspondent for his help and his very kind letter. - -ETHEL RIMMER has more replies from SOLDIER’S DAUGHTER, ALICE NIMON, -and C. PERKINS, whom we thank. KLONDYKE, in answering Ethel Rimmer, -requests a recipe for “the American Harlequin Cake,” and inquires the -name of the English agent, Gold Coast. These queries are scarcely -literary; but as they occur in a letter concerning a literary subject, -we print them here. - -CAN anyone direct “DOUBTFUL” to the verses beginning - - “The woman was old, and ragged, and gray, - And bent with the chill of a winter’s day”? - -MABEL ENTWISTLE sends a reply to La Marguerite’s question concerning -painting on panel, which we copy verbatim:— - - “Surely she refers to chrystoleum painting. Chrystoleums are - photographs taken from Academy pictures and then painted on. It - is possible to affix these (whether painted on convex or flat - glass) on to a panel. If this is what La Marguerite means, if she - will write to me, I shall be pleased to send full particulars and - give her any help I can, as I have had considerable experience in - chrystoleum painting. But if she refers to the painting on the - surface of photographs in water-colours, that is something I have - wanted to learn for some time, and shall be equally glad to obtain - information upon. This art requires a special medium and treatment - of photo, I know, but I cannot get to know exactly. Trusting this - may be of some use, - - “I remain, - “Sincerely yours, - “MABEL ENTWISTLE.” - - 1, William Street, - Darwen. - - -MEDICAL. - -A. Z.—Mussels form a food of considerable value, but they are by -no means free from danger. As a food they are fairly nutritious and -digestible, though far inferior in both these points to oysters. The -dangers of eating mussels are very real, although they have been -grossly exaggerated. They depend in part upon whether the mussels have -been feeding upon sewage. Mussels taken from the mouths of rivers or -elsewhere where they can come into contact with sewage matter should -never be eaten. The danger is much greater when the mussels are eaten -raw. If they are boiled first the likelihood of harm resulting is -considerably less. Practically all germs are destroyed by boiling, so -that there is little fear of contracting typhoid from eating boiled -mussels. Indeed the danger of catching typhoid is far less from eating -mussels than it is from eating oysters, because the latter are nearly -always eaten raw, whereas the former are usually cooked. But besides -the dangers of contamination with sewage, there is another danger -in eating mussels, that is, that mussels are very liable to quickly -decompose, and in their decomposition to set free animal poisons of -the most virulent description. This is the chief cause of the numerous -deaths which occur from partaking of mussels. But when we consider the -vast number of mussels eaten in England, especially in the North, it is -no wonder deaths should now and then occur. - -ARIEL.—If you wish your daughter to become a physician you must send -her to a hospital where lady students are taken. She cannot by any -possibility learn medicine without clinical instruction. The medicine -which can be learnt from books is of no value without practical -instruction. There is not such a thing as an amateur medical man or -woman. A person is either a qualified and registered medical man, or -else he is a quack, or a “medicine man” if you like. The law has lately -shown its objection to such persons in very strong terms. - -ANXIOUS ONE.—There are two causes of double chins, age and obesity, -and they usually operate together. We cannot, alas! mitigate the -effects of advancing years. We cannot prevent Father Time from -meddling with us. The treatment of obesity we have over and over again -described. The chief points to attend to are to reduce the amounts of -starchy or sugary food taken; to take liquids only in great moderation; -to forego alcohol in any form, and to take plenty of exercise daily. -Tight lacing and wearing tight collars are also said to produce double -chins. - -VIOLET.—In an article called “Diet in Health and Sickness,” published -in this magazine the year before last, you will find information about -the treatment of obesity. The chief points to attend to are:—reduce -the quantity of farinaceous and sweet food; avoid alcohol in all -forms, and only take liquids of any kind in moderation; take plenty of -exercise and avoid all drugs and nostrums. - -LADICE.—1. One attack of eczema does predispose to others; but it -is quite possible, indeed it is probable, that you will completely -overcome the disease in time. The application that you are using is -good, but the following is better, viz.:—lime water, olive oil and -oxide of zinc, equal parts of each, shaken up into a cream. This forms -a very soothing application. Is your hair free from scurf? Eczema of -the face often follows from seborrhœa.—2. April 8, 1868, was a Sunday. - -“AN OLD READER.”—We are sorry to say that we can give you but little -help. The description of your illness is not sufficiently lucid for -us to come to any conclusion as to what is wrong with you. And your -account of the present trouble with your legs is also so incomplete -that we can make nothing out of it. It may be due to flat-foot or -sciatica, or one of a vast host of conditions. You had far better see -the doctor who attended you during your last illness, as what you have -now may be only a sequel to that disease. - -CAT TONY.—Eustachian obstruction sometimes ends in complete deafness. -More often partial deafness ensues. It is a very difficult complaint to -treat. Complete cure is the exception rather than the rule; but some -improvement is usually gained by medicinal measures. Sometimes it gets -better of its own accord; but it is foolish to rely upon its doing so. -Though certainly dangerous to hearing, it is not of itself of any vital -danger. - -SYBIL.—You tell us that you weigh 9 st. 12 lb., but you neglect to -state your height. How is it possible for us to know whether you are -stout or not? 9 st. 12 lb. is certainly rather heavy for a girl of -seventeen; but then everything depends upon your height. The weight -is nothing extraordinary; and as you say that your health is perfect -you had far better take no notice of your condition. Unless really -necessary, it is better for stout persons to remain as they are than to -attempt to reduce their weight by means which must of themselves injure -the health. - -A SUBSCRIBER TO THE “G. O. P.”—Obviously you must be careful not to -overtire yourself or get wet, since these bring on the attacks of -neuralgia. During the attacks cover the course of the nerve with cotton -wool, and take ten grains of citrate of caffeine. A small blister or -other form of counter-irritation may give you relief; but it must not -be used when the attack is acute. - - -GIRLS’ EMPLOYMENTS. - -WOOD VIOLET (_Civil Service_).—A well-educated girl, such as the one -you describe, is wise to try to enter the Civil Service at the age of -sixteen. Under the new rule she is eligible from sixteen to eighteen -for one of the posts of girl clerks. These girl clerks receive a salary -of £35 the first year, £37 10s. the second and £40 the third. They can -afterwards be promoted to the rank of Female Clerks, if they have shown -themselves to be possessed of superior intelligence, otherwise they -become sorters. The advantage of entering the Service young is, that -a girl understands the routine of office work by the time she is old -enough to hold a clerkship, whereas women entering for a clerkship as -outsiders have their duties to learn. A Female Clerk begins at a salary -of £55, and may eventually obtain a maximum of £100, and further may be -promoted. A Female Sorter, in London, receives 12s. to £1 a week, and -in the provinces 10s. to 21s. 6d. a week. There are also prospects of -promotion for sorters. The examination is held in the ordinary English -subjects, together with French and German. Edinburgh would be the -nearest examination centre for you. The examinations are advertised in -the principal papers on a Thursday some weeks before the date fixed. -You would doubtless see the announcement by watching the pages of -_The Scotsman_. Having seen the advertisement, write at once to the -Secretary, Civil Service Commission, London, S.W., asking for a form -of application. This you return, with the necessary details respecting -yourself filled up, and you will then be informed the precise address -of the place of examination and the other particulars you require to -know. We think we have now told you all that is necessary. We have -only to add that a girl who intends entering this examination should -now occupy herself more particularly in acquiring a neat clerical -handwriting, in studying English composition, and in perfecting herself -in arithmetic and geography. - -LA COMTESSE (_Dairy Work_).—You would expend £5 very wisely, it seems -to us, in taking a month’s course of training at the Reading Dairy -Institute. You had better wait till the spring, as you suggest, and -then devote your attention as closely as possible to the practical -dairy work and cheese-making. From renewed inquiry which we have made -on the subject we still learn that women licensed at such schools as -this obtain excellent posts as dairy-maids and managers of dairies, and -receive salaries of about £25 with board and lodging. You should try on -the completion of the course to get an appointment in the dairy of some -large landed proprietor, and you might be willing to forego something -in wages at first in order to work under a competent superintendent. -The Principal of the Dairy Institute, we imagine, must constantly be -asked to recommend trained pupils. In any case you should consult him -as to the whole question of your suitability and prospects before -engaging to take the course of tuition. - -ANXIOUS (_Suggestions_).—If the sight of your one eye is thoroughly -strong and satisfactory, you had better learn dressmaking. But if -the eye is at all weak, it would be unwise to try it, and in this -event cookery or laundry-work would be better. In the end we believe -you will not be sorry that you have been considered ineligible as a -shop-assistant. It is only in youth that a shop-assistant can be sure -of obtaining employment; whereas the skilled worker at any trade can -always earn her living. - -LAUNDRESS (_Superintendentship or Opening for Laundry_).—If you have -received a thorough training in laundry work, by which we mean not -less than a year spent in learning the business, then by all means -advertise for a post as superintendent or manageress. The National -Laundry Association has lately fully corroborated all that has been -said on the subject in the “G. O. P.” by drawing the special attention -of educated women to the prospects that this business now offers under -the steam laundry system. We hear continually of places where a laundry -is required. Harringay, in the north of London, is one of those most -recently mentioned to us. Requests have reached us also from Lichfield, -Elstree and Richmond-on-Thames to recommend laundresses to establish -themselves in those localities. - -H. A. T. (_Training in a Children’s Hospital_).—At nineteen you are -too young to be admitted as a probationer to any London children’s -hospital. But when you are twenty you would be eligible, so far as -age is concerned, for the East London Hospital for Children, Glamis -Road, Shadwell, E. The vacancies there, however, are extremely few in -proportion to the number of applications. No premium is required, and -a salary of £10 is given the first year, £12 the second, and £20 the -third, with laundry and uniform. - -TEACHER.—We infer from your letter that the school in which you taught -two years ago was a National School. It ought not then to be difficult -for you to obtain employment of the same kind again. _The Guardian_, -_The Church Times_ and _The Schoolmistress_, are the most likely papers -in which to find advertisements of vacancies. - -A “G. O. P.” READER (_Hospital Nursing_).—You can certainly apply to -the matron of any of the chief London hospitals for admission as a -probationer. You should enclose a stamp in order that the matron may -reply to you. - - -MISCELLANEOUS. - -E. SAUNDERS.—The receipt you name is legal, and we think you need feel -no uneasiness. If properly stamped, dated, and signed, no names of -witnesses are required. - -PETITE.—Your letter does you much credit. The secret of preserving -the colour of the flowers is to change the sheets of blotting-paper -frequently; between which you lay them for the pressing. Your writing -is very legible, but you reverse the rule for making light and heavy -strokes. The copperplate copies employed for teaching to write would -show you what we mean. - -ORTHODOX.—The mistake of the so-called “Peculiar People” consists in -their overlooking the divine injunction to “obey them that have the -rule over you.” They are guilty of a breach of the law in not sending -for a medical man to give an opinion of the case, and offer his advice -and assistance, whether they avail themselves of his skill or not. We -are speaking of adults. In the case of infants and children, of course, -parents are bound to give them the benefit of medical aid; and in both -cases a true and undoubting faith in the promises—in connexion with -prayer—may be exercised _with_ the use of means nowhere forbidden in -the Bible. The danger of the spread of any disease has to be provided -against by the law—an act of mercy, not of cruel persecution, as these -well-meaning but misguided people imagine it to be. - -DELTA.—To preserve peas, fill some wide-necked, dry bottles with good -corks, place them in a pan of cold water, with a little hay at the -bottom, and set it on the fire, raising the temperature very gradually -to 160°. Keep it at this point for twenty or thirty minutes. As the -peas will shrink, fill each bottle, as far as the commencement of the -neck, with peas from another bottle, taking care not to bruise them. -When all the bottles are filled, remove the pan from the fire, take -out each bottle separately, fill it to within an inch of the cork with -boiling water; cork immediately, avoid shaking, and tie down the cork. -Cover well with wax, and replace the bottles in the pan, where they -should be left to cool gradually till cold. Then place the bottles in a -dry, cool place, lying on their sides, turn them partially round twice -a week during the first couple of months, and once or twice a month -afterwards. - -MOTHER.—Your question is one often raised. Should you desire to add -a name to those already registered for your child (born in England), -you must make application to the registrar who entered its name within -seven days of its baptism. We mean to say—supposing that, six months -after its registration, you wished to add a name at its baptism, go to -the same registrar and state your wish within a week after the baptism. -Procure the certificate of the latter from the clergyman (for a fee -of one shilling), take it to the registrar, and pay a second fee of a -shilling for the insertion of the name in the original registration. - -MARGOT.—The honour of having been the first navigator who sailed round -the world was earned by a Portuguese—_i.e._, Sebastien del Cano, -who accomplished the voyage in the ship _Vittoria_. The unfortunate -leader of the expedition was Ferdinand Magellan, who passed through the -Straits November 28th, 1520, and was killed on one of the Philippine -Islands the next year. The first attempt to discover the North-west -passage was made by Corte Real in about 1500; also a Portuguese. -But the first expedition correctly so-called was made by Sir Hugh -Willoughby in 1553, who wished to discover a North-west passage to -China. But he was blocked up by ice and frozen to death on the coast of -Lapland. - -A. CROSS.—There are “Y.W.C.A.” Homes in London. Amongst them, -Cloudesley Home, 34, Barnsbury Street, Islington, 17, Aubert Park, -Highbury, Seymour House, Portland Place, Lower Clapton, Ealing House, -Uxbridge Road, Ealing, Kent House, 89, Great Portland Street, Princess -House, Brompton Road, besides restaurants. Probably a communication -of your arrangements in regard to letting rooms to young women at -a reduced rate during the summer months, board as well as lodging -supplied, at from 14s. a week, would bring your visitors from town. We -are not acquainted with Corrymore, near Warminster, Wiltshire; but from -what we have seen of Wiltshire, we can imagine the country to be pretty -and the downs attractive. - -E. DE M.—All girls who take our paper, and look to us for advice and -instruction, we consider to be “our” girls. You are quite right in -saying that you have more blessings than crosses. Sometimes the eyes of -people are blind to this great truth. The great love of our heavenly -Father towards us and His unerring wisdom in the trial of our faith and -patience is but little realised. We hope your marriage will be for your -happiness. - -ETHELINDA.—Your hand is formed, and well formed. The French phrase, -“_Au revoir_,” is an abbreviated one. In full it should be, “_Au -plaisir de vous revoir_”—“to the pleasure of seeing you again.” As we -have so often told our readers, French pronunciation cannot be given by -English letters—at least, not often. The first word “_au_” (“to”) is -an exception, for the sound is that of the letter “_o_.” - - * * * * * - -[Transcriber’s note: the following corrections have been made to this -text. - -Page 238: Yorkskire changed to Yorkshire—these Yorkshire cakes. - -Page 239: crakers changed to crackers—flour or crackers.] - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE GIRL'S OWN PAPER, VOL. XX, NO. -993, JANUARY 7, 1899 *** - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the -United States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm -concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark, -and may not be used if you charge for an eBook, except by following -the terms of the trademark license, including paying royalties for use -of the Project Gutenberg trademark. If you do not charge anything for -copies of this eBook, complying with the trademark license is very -easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose such as creation -of derivative works, reports, performances and research. Project -Gutenberg eBooks may be modified and printed and given away--you may -do practically ANYTHING in the United States with eBooks not protected -by U.S. copyright law. Redistribution is subject to the trademark -license, especially commercial redistribution. - -START: FULL LICENSE - -THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE -PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK - -To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free -distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work -(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project -Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full -Project Gutenberg-tm License available with this file or online at -www.gutenberg.org/license. - -Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works - -1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to -and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property -(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all -the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or -destroy all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your -possession. If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a -Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound -by the terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the -person or entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph -1.E.8. - -1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be -used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who -agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few -things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works -even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See -paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this -agreement and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works. See paragraph 1.E below. - -1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the -Foundation" or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection -of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual -works in the collection are in the public domain in the United -States. If an individual work is unprotected by copyright law in the -United States and you are located in the United States, we do not -claim a right to prevent you from copying, distributing, performing, -displaying or creating derivative works based on the work as long as -all references to Project Gutenberg are removed. Of course, we hope -that you will support the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting -free access to electronic works by freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm -works in compliance with the terms of this agreement for keeping the -Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with the work. You can easily -comply with the terms of this agreement by keeping this work in the -same format with its attached full Project Gutenberg-tm License when -you share it without charge with others. - -1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern -what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are -in a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, -check the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this -agreement before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, -distributing or creating derivative works based on this work or any -other Project Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no -representations concerning the copyright status of any work in any -country other than the United States. - -1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: - -1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other -immediate access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear -prominently whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work -on which the phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the -phrase "Project Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, -performed, viewed, copied or distributed: - - 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. - -1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is -derived from texts not protected by U.S. copyright law (does not -contain a notice indicating that it is posted with permission of the -copyright holder), the work can be copied and distributed to anyone in -the United States without paying any fees or charges. If you are -redistributing or providing access to a work with the phrase "Project -Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the work, you must comply -either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 or -obtain permission for the use of the work and the Project Gutenberg-tm -trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. - -1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted -with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution -must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any -additional terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms -will be linked to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works -posted with the permission of the copyright holder found at the -beginning of this work. - -1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm -License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this -work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. - -1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this -electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without -prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with -active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project -Gutenberg-tm License. - -1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, -compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including -any word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access -to or distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format -other than "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official -version posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm website -(www.gutenberg.org), you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense -to the user, provide a copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means -of obtaining a copy upon request, of the work in its original "Plain -Vanilla ASCII" or other form. Any alternate format must include the -full Project Gutenberg-tm License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. - -1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, -performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works -unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. - -1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing -access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works -provided that: - -* You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from - the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method - you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is owed - to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he has - agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the Project - Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments must be paid - within 60 days following each date on which you prepare (or are - legally required to prepare) your periodic tax returns. Royalty - payments should be clearly marked as such and sent to the Project - Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the address specified in - Section 4, "Information about donations to the Project Gutenberg - Literary Archive Foundation." - -* You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies - you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he - does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm - License. You must require such a user to return or destroy all - copies of the works possessed in a physical medium and discontinue - all use of and all access to other copies of Project Gutenberg-tm - works. - -* You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of - any money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the - electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days of - receipt of the work. - -* You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free - distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. - -1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic work or group of works on different terms than -are set forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing -from the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the manager of -the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the Foundation as set -forth in Section 3 below. - -1.F. - -1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable -effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread -works not protected by U.S. copyright law in creating the Project -Gutenberg-tm collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may -contain "Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate -or corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other -intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or -other medium, a computer virus, or computer codes that damage or -cannot be read by your equipment. - -1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right -of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project -Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all -liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal -fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT -LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE -PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE -TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE -LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR -INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH -DAMAGE. - -1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a -defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can -receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a -written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you -received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium -with your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you -with the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in -lieu of a refund. If you received the work electronically, the person -or entity providing it to you may choose to give you a second -opportunity to receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If -the second copy is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing -without further opportunities to fix the problem. - -1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth -in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS', WITH NO -OTHER WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT -LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. - -1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied -warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of -damages. If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement -violates the law of the state applicable to this agreement, the -agreement shall be interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or -limitation permitted by the applicable state law. The invalidity or -unenforceability of any provision of this agreement shall not void the -remaining provisions. - -1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the -trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone -providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in -accordance with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the -production, promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works, harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, -including legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of -the following which you do or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this -or any Project Gutenberg-tm work, (b) alteration, modification, or -additions or deletions to any Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any -Defect you cause. - -Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm - -Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of -electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of -computers including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It -exists because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations -from people in all walks of life. - -Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the -assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's -goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will -remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure -and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future -generations. To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation and how your efforts and donations can help, see -Sections 3 and 4 and the Foundation information page at -www.gutenberg.org - -Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation - -The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non-profit -501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the -state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal -Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification -number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent permitted by -U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. - -The Foundation's business office is located at 809 North 1500 West, -Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email contact links and up -to date contact information can be found at the Foundation's website -and official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact - -Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg -Literary Archive Foundation - -Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without -widespread public support and donations to carry out its mission of -increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be -freely distributed in machine-readable form accessible by the widest -array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations -($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt -status with the IRS. - -The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating -charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United -States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a -considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up -with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations -where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To SEND -DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any particular -state visit www.gutenberg.org/donate - -While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we -have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition -against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who -approach us with offers to donate. - -International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make -any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from -outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. - -Please check the Project Gutenberg web pages for current donation -methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other -ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. To -donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate - -Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works - -Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project -Gutenberg-tm concept of a library of electronic works that could be -freely shared with anyone. For forty years, he produced and -distributed Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of -volunteer support. - -Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed -editions, all of which are confirmed as not protected by copyright in -the U.S. unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not -necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper -edition. - -Most people start at our website which has the main PG search -facility: www.gutenberg.org - -This website includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, -including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to -subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. |