ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS.

Allegro.—The madrigal (a pastoral song) and the glee are not the same. The musical phrases in the former, complete in themselves, seldom went together in the different voice parts. One phrase began before the ending of the other, as it were over-lapping one another. It was usually sung in chorus, whereas glees were sung in single voices. A catch is of old English origin, as remote as the early days of the Tudors. Several voices are engaged, one catching up the words of the other in a whimsical and burlesque fashion.Claire Elliot.—We think we must refer you to our numberless valuable articles on music, which run all through the seven volumes, “Evenings with Our Great Living Composers,” in vol. iv., especially. The dress you mention would not be too handsome and full dress to wear in London, but we do not know for what kind of a concert you require it. There are concerts and concerts, you know.An old Maid of 24.—The verse you quote is from a song called “Rock me to Sleep, Mother.” Of course, if young ladies call on other young ladies and do not make acquaintance with the lady of the house, be she mother or sister-in-law, there is no need of inviting them (the visitors) to the house as guests. But a girl of any tact will avoid this trouble by being very particular that her young friends be introduced to the elders of her family. In England, few mothers like their daughters to go out without them; if in society at all, they must have a chaperon.Brownie M. C. B.—The names of all the best of the new songs are given in the reviews in the G.O.P., to which you must refer for information. There is a valuable article by Miss Mary Davies in vol i. on “How to Improve the Voice.” She thinks an egg beaten up with a little milk and sugar and taken an hour before singing is good.

Claire Elliot.—We think we must refer you to our numberless valuable articles on music, which run all through the seven volumes, “Evenings with Our Great Living Composers,” in vol. iv., especially. The dress you mention would not be too handsome and full dress to wear in London, but we do not know for what kind of a concert you require it. There are concerts and concerts, you know.

An old Maid of 24.—The verse you quote is from a song called “Rock me to Sleep, Mother.” Of course, if young ladies call on other young ladies and do not make acquaintance with the lady of the house, be she mother or sister-in-law, there is no need of inviting them (the visitors) to the house as guests. But a girl of any tact will avoid this trouble by being very particular that her young friends be introduced to the elders of her family. In England, few mothers like their daughters to go out without them; if in society at all, they must have a chaperon.

Brownie M. C. B.—The names of all the best of the new songs are given in the reviews in the G.O.P., to which you must refer for information. There is a valuable article by Miss Mary Davies in vol i. on “How to Improve the Voice.” She thinks an egg beaten up with a little milk and sugar and taken an hour before singing is good.

An Art Student.—Copies from old masters have a very limited sale, and picture dealers are generally shy of buying them. The best exhibitions for their display are the agricultural shows held during the summer months in various country towns. These shows have a special exhibit of art work, and a class to which copies are admitted. Should your own promise as an artist be very decided, and your means permit, you would do well to go to Rome, Dresden, or to Belgium, where copies of the old masters can be made, which find a sale amongst English and American visitors to the galleries, and a fair price is obtained. Standing for long periods of time at an ordinary easel is very injurious to girls. Easels are constructed so as to be raised or lowered at will, and enable the artist to sit while at work.A Reader.—The materials mentioned in the articles upon photographine are stated correctly, and can all be obtained in Regent-street.

A Reader.—The materials mentioned in the articles upon photographine are stated correctly, and can all be obtained in Regent-street.

A Constant Reader.—1. The whole account of the royal mummies recently discovered in Egypt appeared, and with illustrations, in one of the numbers for August of theIllustrated London News. Neither of these was the Pharaoh who was drowned in the Red Sea. But even had it been so, what insuperable obstacles would have necessarily existed to the recovery of the king’s body, and its being embalmed and buried! 2. We do not believe England to be the worst country in the world for drunkenness.Silver Threadshould recommend her friends to read a recent article of ours on the care of the hair; and should read that by Medicus on “Lissom Hands and Pretty Feet,” besides continual answers to similar questions in our correspondence.Nil Desperandum.—1. It would be cheaper and more satisfactory to buy a sixpenny bottle of lemon kali, than attempt to make it yourself. 2. An account of all the old castles in England could be obtained by your bookseller.Highland Lass.—1. To cover a bedroom mantelpiece, you can employ the ordinary furniture brocade sold for that purpose. A yard and a half will suffice. They have a woven flower design in the centre, and are finished with a fringe of the same material. The colours are rich in hue, and gold threads are usually run through the pattern. 2. Dec. 3rd, 1873, was a Wednesday.Phœbe.—1. The sect of the Epicureans (according to St. Gregory of Nyssa) believed that all things moved on accidentally, without any Providence. A very remarkable regularity, we must admit, of times and seasons, causes and results, are for mere accidents! Such accidents are as full of apparent method as there was in Hamlet’s madness. Alas! there are many silly epicureans in the present day, only known by a different name. 2. The name Shiloh means the peacemaker, and Messiah the anointed. The word catechism is derived from the Greek, signifying to instruct by oral teaching.A Subscriber’s Brother.—You will spoil your gaselier if you attempt to lacquer it yourself. Send it to a lamp shop.Nymphæ Alba.—You might procure botanists’ portable collecting presses at Swiss wood-carving shops. For drying and preserving flowers refer to vol. iii., page 80.R. E. W.—You say that, when you pray, you seem to speak to the air, and feel quite discouraged. You probably think of your Heavenly Father as far away above the heavens, instead of close at your side and in your chamber, knowing all your thoughts and desires before you utter them. Try to realise this. See Psalm cxxxix., and all our Lord’s words as to being in the midst of two or three praying in His name, etc. Then, again, you pray amiss even when asking for such spiritual grace and such temporal mercies as are agreeable to His will, because you do not fulfil all the conditions He has imposed on you. “When ye pray, believe that ye have the things, and ye shall have them.” “If ye shall ask anything in My name, I will do it.” If you ask in His name, therefore, and do not accept and believe in His promise, you cannot expect to receive what you need with any degree of confidence. “All things are possible to him that believeth.” “Ask and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.” “Him that cometh unto Me I will in no wise cast out.”Mary.—1. We regret that we cannot promise any special competitions. The time they exact from an editor is far greater than our competitors can realise. 2. It is very ungrammatical to divide the verb from the preposition “to.” You should not say “to accordingly act,” but “to act accordingly.” There is no such verb as “to accordingly.” The adverb should end the sentence.New Zealand, An English Girl.—We think your friends should get on anywhere. You do not give address; but you can write to the London office of the United Englishwoman’s Emigration Association, Mrs. Reeves, 13, Dorset-square, Baker-street, W., for information and advice on all subjects connected with the emigration of women.NatalieandBerea.—1. A kind of pancake feast preceding Lent was observed in the Greek Church, from whom we may probably have borrowed it, together with the Pasch-eggs, and other suchlike things, so we are informed in Brand’s “Popular Antiquities.” 2. Anyone who exchanges any kind of goods to receive old used postage stamps in exchange does so to defraud the Government. Such stamps are submitted to a process which makes them appear like new, and are privately issued. Thus, we warn you of aiding and abetting swindlers. We are already provided with a very full staff of writers, and regret we cannot invite you to write for us.Little Buttercup.—Hot mineral springs boil up from volcanic action under ground, and which become impregnated with mineral substances. The hot springs at Bath were known to the Romans in the first century, who had a station there calledAquæ Solis, orAquæ Calidæ, and to the English conquerors as Bathan. But the discovery of the healing properties of the Bath waters dates back to the time of Bladud, the father of King Lear, who consequently built the city, one of the wells of which was called Bladud’s Well. Any little handbook of Bath will give you the whole history of his discovery of them, and the cure of the diseased swine from drinking and bathing in the waters.

Silver Threadshould recommend her friends to read a recent article of ours on the care of the hair; and should read that by Medicus on “Lissom Hands and Pretty Feet,” besides continual answers to similar questions in our correspondence.

Nil Desperandum.—1. It would be cheaper and more satisfactory to buy a sixpenny bottle of lemon kali, than attempt to make it yourself. 2. An account of all the old castles in England could be obtained by your bookseller.

Highland Lass.—1. To cover a bedroom mantelpiece, you can employ the ordinary furniture brocade sold for that purpose. A yard and a half will suffice. They have a woven flower design in the centre, and are finished with a fringe of the same material. The colours are rich in hue, and gold threads are usually run through the pattern. 2. Dec. 3rd, 1873, was a Wednesday.

Phœbe.—1. The sect of the Epicureans (according to St. Gregory of Nyssa) believed that all things moved on accidentally, without any Providence. A very remarkable regularity, we must admit, of times and seasons, causes and results, are for mere accidents! Such accidents are as full of apparent method as there was in Hamlet’s madness. Alas! there are many silly epicureans in the present day, only known by a different name. 2. The name Shiloh means the peacemaker, and Messiah the anointed. The word catechism is derived from the Greek, signifying to instruct by oral teaching.

A Subscriber’s Brother.—You will spoil your gaselier if you attempt to lacquer it yourself. Send it to a lamp shop.

Nymphæ Alba.—You might procure botanists’ portable collecting presses at Swiss wood-carving shops. For drying and preserving flowers refer to vol. iii., page 80.

R. E. W.—You say that, when you pray, you seem to speak to the air, and feel quite discouraged. You probably think of your Heavenly Father as far away above the heavens, instead of close at your side and in your chamber, knowing all your thoughts and desires before you utter them. Try to realise this. See Psalm cxxxix., and all our Lord’s words as to being in the midst of two or three praying in His name, etc. Then, again, you pray amiss even when asking for such spiritual grace and such temporal mercies as are agreeable to His will, because you do not fulfil all the conditions He has imposed on you. “When ye pray, believe that ye have the things, and ye shall have them.” “If ye shall ask anything in My name, I will do it.” If you ask in His name, therefore, and do not accept and believe in His promise, you cannot expect to receive what you need with any degree of confidence. “All things are possible to him that believeth.” “Ask and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.” “Him that cometh unto Me I will in no wise cast out.”

Mary.—1. We regret that we cannot promise any special competitions. The time they exact from an editor is far greater than our competitors can realise. 2. It is very ungrammatical to divide the verb from the preposition “to.” You should not say “to accordingly act,” but “to act accordingly.” There is no such verb as “to accordingly.” The adverb should end the sentence.

New Zealand, An English Girl.—We think your friends should get on anywhere. You do not give address; but you can write to the London office of the United Englishwoman’s Emigration Association, Mrs. Reeves, 13, Dorset-square, Baker-street, W., for information and advice on all subjects connected with the emigration of women.

NatalieandBerea.—1. A kind of pancake feast preceding Lent was observed in the Greek Church, from whom we may probably have borrowed it, together with the Pasch-eggs, and other suchlike things, so we are informed in Brand’s “Popular Antiquities.” 2. Anyone who exchanges any kind of goods to receive old used postage stamps in exchange does so to defraud the Government. Such stamps are submitted to a process which makes them appear like new, and are privately issued. Thus, we warn you of aiding and abetting swindlers. We are already provided with a very full staff of writers, and regret we cannot invite you to write for us.

Little Buttercup.—Hot mineral springs boil up from volcanic action under ground, and which become impregnated with mineral substances. The hot springs at Bath were known to the Romans in the first century, who had a station there calledAquæ Solis, orAquæ Calidæ, and to the English conquerors as Bathan. But the discovery of the healing properties of the Bath waters dates back to the time of Bladud, the father of King Lear, who consequently built the city, one of the wells of which was called Bladud’s Well. Any little handbook of Bath will give you the whole history of his discovery of them, and the cure of the diseased swine from drinking and bathing in the waters.

RULESI.No charge is made for answering questions.II.All correspondents to give initials or pseudonym.III.The Editor reserves the right of declining to reply to any of the questions.IV.No direct answers can be sent by the Editor through the post.V.No more than two questions may be asked in one letter, which must be addressed to the Editor ofThe Girl’s Own Paper,56, Paternoster-row, London, E.C.VI.No addresses of firms, tradesmen, or any other matter of the nature of an advertisement will be inserted.

RULES

I.No charge is made for answering questions.II.All correspondents to give initials or pseudonym.III.The Editor reserves the right of declining to reply to any of the questions.IV.No direct answers can be sent by the Editor through the post.V.No more than two questions may be asked in one letter, which must be addressed to the Editor ofThe Girl’s Own Paper,56, Paternoster-row, London, E.C.VI.No addresses of firms, tradesmen, or any other matter of the nature of an advertisement will be inserted.

I.No charge is made for answering questions.

II.All correspondents to give initials or pseudonym.

III.The Editor reserves the right of declining to reply to any of the questions.

IV.No direct answers can be sent by the Editor through the post.

V.No more than two questions may be asked in one letter, which must be addressed to the Editor ofThe Girl’s Own Paper,56, Paternoster-row, London, E.C.

VI.No addresses of firms, tradesmen, or any other matter of the nature of an advertisement will be inserted.

J. Noel.—The origin of the word “ostracism” is Greek, and the founder of this arbitrary law was Clisthenes, the leader of an advanced Democratic party in Athens. It provided for the banishment of any individual, however innocent of crime, who was obnoxious to the citizens, because too influential in their estimation, or disposed to restrict their own liberty of action. Their votes for his exile were recorded by the inscription of his name on the shells. The “biter bitten” was demonstrated in the case of this demagogue, as Clisthenes was himself the first on whom his own law was put in force.Plural Nounsent us the following riddle some time since, which is said to have been written by the Hon. George Canning. Some of our readers may like to try their skill on divining it:—“A noun there is of plural number,Foe to peace and tranquil slumber;Now any noun that you may takeBy addingsyou plural make;But if you add ansto thisStrange is the metamorphosis!Plural is plural now no more,And sweet what bitter was before.”Hawthorn.—We thank you for your recipe for a plain cake, and thank you for your kind wishes. Poem mislaid. May yet find it.Inquisitive.—The name Sevenoaks does not refer to trees, but to the founder of the grammar school there, which was foundedA.D.1418 by Sir William de Sevenoke, or Sennocke. In 1675 Lady Margaret Boswell founded a school for poor children. It was at Sevenoaks that Sir Humphrey Stafford was unhappily defeated by the rebel army under Jack Cade, and fell in the action, June 27th, 1450,temp.Henry VI.A. M. W.—1. You might perhaps repair your waterproof by making the following solution:—Dissolve an ounce of isinglass in a pound of soft water, and a quarter of an ounce of soap in one pound of water, all separately. Strain the solutions, mix them, and let them simmer for some time. Brush the preparation while hot over the worn spot, and when dry brush it well and lay on a little more. In a day or two you may wear the garment. 2. Yes, seals can hear very well, and, what is more, they enjoy music, and they have been known to follow a ship for miles to listen to the playing of a violin on board.Emma.—A list of nine prayer unions and Scripture-reading societies is given in the little shilling manual of girls’ clubs just published by Messrs Griffith and Farran, corner of St. Paul’s-churchyard, E.C. The most considerable is that of the Rev. T. Richardson. We recommend the manual.Patsy.—1. In calling on a newly-married couple for the first time, both husband and wife should call in person. After that the wife may leave her own card, should the lady be out, and two of her husband’s. As “Patsy” is the diminutive of “Patrick,” we presume our correspondent to be a man. 2. The harp is not a difficult instrument to play, provided you have a good ear, as it has to be tuned continually. You should go to a shop for musical instruments, and, if economy be essential, you might procure a secondhand one.A Lover of the G. O. P.—1. At one time there was no intercourse between the people of Coventry and the soldiers garrisoned there, and hence arose the phrase being “sent to Coventry,” where the soldiers were doomed to know nobody, and a woman seen speaking to one of them was immediately tabooed. 2. Canaries are kept in wire cages. See that yours be a large one, and keep the wooden perches well scraped.Yttria Laver.—Have you ever read the “Boston Monday Lectures,” by the Rev. Joseph Cook (Ward and Lock, Warwick House, Salisbury-sq., E.C.)? The vols. “Life and the Soul” and “God and the Conscience” are admirable, and well suited for the sceptical. A supreme divinity could not be created, as then he would not be supreme. He must be self-existent. The arguments you name are very feeble. Being omnipresent, of course He is in every corner of His dominion. See the 139th Psalm, 8th verse.A. J. B.—September 18, 1864, was a Sunday. Unless intimate, bow only.

Plural Nounsent us the following riddle some time since, which is said to have been written by the Hon. George Canning. Some of our readers may like to try their skill on divining it:—

“A noun there is of plural number,Foe to peace and tranquil slumber;Now any noun that you may takeBy addingsyou plural make;But if you add ansto thisStrange is the metamorphosis!Plural is plural now no more,And sweet what bitter was before.”

“A noun there is of plural number,

Foe to peace and tranquil slumber;

Now any noun that you may take

By addingsyou plural make;

But if you add ansto this

Strange is the metamorphosis!

Plural is plural now no more,

And sweet what bitter was before.”

Hawthorn.—We thank you for your recipe for a plain cake, and thank you for your kind wishes. Poem mislaid. May yet find it.

Inquisitive.—The name Sevenoaks does not refer to trees, but to the founder of the grammar school there, which was foundedA.D.1418 by Sir William de Sevenoke, or Sennocke. In 1675 Lady Margaret Boswell founded a school for poor children. It was at Sevenoaks that Sir Humphrey Stafford was unhappily defeated by the rebel army under Jack Cade, and fell in the action, June 27th, 1450,temp.Henry VI.

A. M. W.—1. You might perhaps repair your waterproof by making the following solution:—Dissolve an ounce of isinglass in a pound of soft water, and a quarter of an ounce of soap in one pound of water, all separately. Strain the solutions, mix them, and let them simmer for some time. Brush the preparation while hot over the worn spot, and when dry brush it well and lay on a little more. In a day or two you may wear the garment. 2. Yes, seals can hear very well, and, what is more, they enjoy music, and they have been known to follow a ship for miles to listen to the playing of a violin on board.

Emma.—A list of nine prayer unions and Scripture-reading societies is given in the little shilling manual of girls’ clubs just published by Messrs Griffith and Farran, corner of St. Paul’s-churchyard, E.C. The most considerable is that of the Rev. T. Richardson. We recommend the manual.

Patsy.—1. In calling on a newly-married couple for the first time, both husband and wife should call in person. After that the wife may leave her own card, should the lady be out, and two of her husband’s. As “Patsy” is the diminutive of “Patrick,” we presume our correspondent to be a man. 2. The harp is not a difficult instrument to play, provided you have a good ear, as it has to be tuned continually. You should go to a shop for musical instruments, and, if economy be essential, you might procure a secondhand one.

A Lover of the G. O. P.—1. At one time there was no intercourse between the people of Coventry and the soldiers garrisoned there, and hence arose the phrase being “sent to Coventry,” where the soldiers were doomed to know nobody, and a woman seen speaking to one of them was immediately tabooed. 2. Canaries are kept in wire cages. See that yours be a large one, and keep the wooden perches well scraped.

Yttria Laver.—Have you ever read the “Boston Monday Lectures,” by the Rev. Joseph Cook (Ward and Lock, Warwick House, Salisbury-sq., E.C.)? The vols. “Life and the Soul” and “God and the Conscience” are admirable, and well suited for the sceptical. A supreme divinity could not be created, as then he would not be supreme. He must be self-existent. The arguments you name are very feeble. Being omnipresent, of course He is in every corner of His dominion. See the 139th Psalm, 8th verse.

A. J. B.—September 18, 1864, was a Sunday. Unless intimate, bow only.

The Editor offers his best thanks to the undermentioned correspondents for their kindly sending him Christmas and New Year’s Cards.—“Old School Girl,” “A Dumpling,” Snowdrop, A Delicate Country Lassie, “Waitakerei” (Auckland, N.Z.), R. C. R., for Dora Hope; Viola Heath (a cheque on the Bank of Providence for 365 days of health and prosperity), Florence and Gertrude Farrier (Melbourne, Aus.), Violet, A Brighton Seagull, Pecksy and Flopsy, A Reader, Bessie, A Lover of the G.O.P.; Auntie Jessie, for “M.E.E.,” “Medicus,” and the Editor; L. A. L., Hilda Mesnard, Anonymous, from Stockport; Emily Agnes C., for Medicus and the Editor; Alice E. Howes, R. Stephens, “A Midsummer Daisy,” “Bee” and “Angels,” “Faust,” “Iris,” H. A. W. (Jamaica), “Idalia,” One of the Editor’s Colonial Girls; “Topsy” (Jamaica), “Four Jamaica Girls,” Gladys Maurice-Pendarves, C. E. Biggs, “Clericus,” Dayfie, Rita, “Calcutta Lizzie,” Susan H. Hunter, Elodie, “Michaelmas Goose,” M. T. W., Children of the Scholars’ News Club (Fairfield Endowed Schools), Constance, for Editor and Medicus; Mary and Ada Levestan (two Russian Girls), Emmie Buchanan, Julia Mary Pollock.

FOOTNOTES:[1]Bride means a betrothed one. German women cease to be brides when they marry.[2]From Lord Brougham’s “Statesmen of the Time of George III.” Third Series, page 91.

FOOTNOTES:

[1]Bride means a betrothed one. German women cease to be brides when they marry.

[2]From Lord Brougham’s “Statesmen of the Time of George III.” Third Series, page 91.

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