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-The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Girl's Own Paper, Vol. VIII, No. 363,
-December 11, 1886, by Various
-
-This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and
-most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions
-whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms
-of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at
-www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you
-will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before
-using this eBook.
-
-Title: The Girl's Own Paper, Vol. VIII, No. 363, December 11, 1886
-
-Author: Various
-
-Release Date: May 18, 2021 [eBook #65373]
-
-Language: English
-
-Character set encoding: UTF-8
-
-Produced by: Susan Skinner and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at
-             https://www.pgdp.net
-
-*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE GIRL'S OWN PAPER, VOL. VIII,
-NO. 363, DECEMBER 11, 1886 ***
-
-
-
-
-[Illustration:
-
-THE GIRL’S OWN PAPER
-
-VOL. VIII.—NO. 363.      DECEMBER 11, 1886.      PRICE ONE PENNY.]
-
-
-
-
-GREEK AND ROMAN ART AT THE BRITISH MUSEUM.
-
-BY E. F. BRIDELL-FOX.
-
-[Illustration: THE BIRTH OF ATHÉNÉ.
-
-(_From a Vase in the British Museum._)]
-
-_All rights reserved._]
-
-
-PART II.
-
-THE ELGIN MARBLES.
-
-    “Abode of gods whose shrines no longer burn.”
-
-I have now to complete my account of the sculptures of the Parthenon,
-that wonderfully beautiful temple to Athéné (or Minerva), at Athens,
-which has never ceased to be the centre of attraction for all visitors
-to Greece from the time it was first built—namely, about 435 years
-B.C.—even till the present moment, when it stands a shattered wreck on
-its rocky height.
-
-My first article dealt chiefly with the long, sculptured frieze
-that ran continuously the whole length of the walls of the building
-(protected by the outer colonnade), and the ceremonials which that
-frieze represented. The present article will be devoted chiefly to the
-fragments of the external frieze, and to the figures of the eastern and
-western pediments, which represented the chief legends connected with
-the goddess.
-
-I will, before proceeding, here pause a moment to account for the
-shattered condition in which those fragments now are.
-
-In 630 A.D. the Parthenon was consecrated for use as a Christian
-church. Like the famous church at Constantinople, it was dedicated to
-Santa Sophia, the Divine Wisdom. The older temple, that stood near the
-Parthenon, called the Erecthium, which had been far more venerated by
-the early Athenians than the Parthenon itself, was about the same time
-also consecrated. This latter was dedicated to the Virgin Mary.
-
-Long before this date, Christianity had happily become the religion
-of the Roman Empire by law established—that is to say, of the whole
-civilised world. It is evident that in adapting the Pagan temple for
-Christian worship it was impossible to allow the fables of Paganism to
-remain depicted over the chief entrance, however splendid as works of
-art. Accordingly, we find that the entire centre group in the pediment
-facing the east was completely done away with, a plain surface of blank
-wall filling the space whereon, in all probability, the inscription of
-the Christian dedication was placed. The subordinate figures at the two
-extremities were left, as, without the central group to explain their
-object, they could have had no intelligible meaning.
-
-Our business for the moment is to show what means exist for restoring
-the lost central group, which was the key of the subject. The evidence
-is two-fold. There is, first, the Homeric hymn which gives the legend
-of the birth of Athéné; and, secondly, there is the description given
-of the Parthenon by the ancient author, Pausanias.
-
-Pausanias was a Greek gentleman, native of Lydia, in Asia Minor, a
-geographer and traveller, who visited noted sites in Greece with the
-express purpose of seeing and describing all that was most beautiful
-and interesting in Greek art. He lived about one hundred and fifty
-years after the Christian era. His travels or “Itinerary” has come
-down to us, and a most curious and interesting work it is. He saw and
-described the Parthenon with much enthusiasm, with all its beautiful
-statues and works of art, as “still perfect,” though they were, even in
-his day, already considered as ancient art. He refers to the Homeric
-hymn as suggesting the subject of the group on the eastern pediment
-over the principal entrance to the temple.
-
-This Homeric hymn to Athéné gives the account of her fabled birth, full
-grown and fully armed, from the head of her father, Zeus (or Jupiter).
-It describes her, first as the goddess of war, and afterwards, when she
-has thrown off her arms, as the goddess of the peaceful arts. I give
-the hymn in full.
-
-
-HOMERIC HYMN TO ATHÉNÉ.
-
-    “I sing the glorious power with azure eyes;
-    Athenian Pallas! tameless, chaste, and wise.
-    Trito-genia,[1] town preserving maid,
-    Revered and mighty, from his awful head
-    Whom Jove brought forth, in warlike armour dressed,
-    Golden, all radiant! Wonder strange possessed
-    The everlasting gods that shape to see,
-    Shaking a javelin keen, impetuously
-    Rush from the crest of Ægis-bearing Jove.
-    Fearfully Heaven was shaken, and did move
-    Beneath the might of the cerulean-eyed;
-    Earth dreadfully resounded far and wide;
-    And lifted from its depths, the sea swelled high
-    In purple billows; the tide suddenly
-    Stood still, and great Hyperion’s son long time
-    Checked his swift steeds, till, where she stood sublime,
-    Pallas from her immortal shoulders threw
-    The arms divine; wise Jove rejoiced to view.
-    Child of the Ægis-bearer, hail to thee!
-    Nor thine, nor others’ praise shall unremembered be.”
-
-Such is the famous hymn. And from Pausanias we learn that it afforded
-to the sculptor, Pheidias, the subject for his chief group on the
-eastern pediment. But, exactly how he treated it we have no precise or
-definite knowledge.
-
-THE EASTERN PEDIMENT.—“Doubtless, in this composition, Jupiter (Zeus)
-occupied the centre, and was represented in all his majesty, wielding
-the thunderbolt in one hand, holding his sceptre in the other; seated
-on his throne, and as if in the centre of the universe, between day
-and night, the beginning and the end, as denoted by the rising and the
-setting sun.
-
-“It is probable that the figures on his right hand represented those
-deities who were connected with the progress of facts and rising
-life—the deities who preside over birth, over the produce of the earth,
-over love—the rising sun; whilst those on the left of Zeus related to
-the consummation or decline of things—the god of war, the goddess of
-the family hearth, the Fates, and lastly the setting sun, or night.
-Whilst the divine Athéné rose from behind the central figure in all the
-effulgence of the most brilliant armour, the golden crest of her helmet
-filling the apex of the pediment.”
-
-I quote this glowing description from Sir Richard Westmacott’s
-“Lectures on Sculpture.”
-
-This, however, is all conjecture, for the space is a mere blank. As
-some little aid to the imagination to help to fill the blank, I give
-a sketch of the same subject, viz., the birth of Athéné, copied from
-a painting on a vase now in the British Museum. The artist may have
-probably seen the Parthenon, and may have taken a free version of the
-subject, from memory, to decorate his vase. We find the same subject
-repeated, with variations, on other vases. Zeus (Jupiter) occupies the
-centre, a small Athéné springs forth from his head, Hephaestos (Vulcan)
-stands by with his axe (with which he has split open the thunderer’s
-head to let forth the infant deity), Poseidon (Neptune), with his
-trident, behind him; and Artemis (Diana), with her bow, and a nymph,
-on the other side, look on. The figures on the vases are so extremely
-stiff and formal as compared to the grand, life-like statues of the
-pediments, that I hesitate to give my illustration. But it shows the
-probable arrangement of the group. The figures on the vase are red on
-a black ground, treated perfectly flat, without the slightest modelling.
-
-To return to the pediment of the Parthenon itself, the space
-immediately surrounding the blank, on each hand, is filled with
-different gods, who appear to look with wonder and admiration towards
-the central group. At the extreme end on the left the rising sun,
-Phœbus-Apollo, drives the car of day out of the ocean; while Seléné,
-goddess of night, plunges downward with her team of steeds, into the
-waves, at the end on the right.
-
-Of the figures referred to, we may identify the following
-fragments:—First, we note a fragment of the sun-god, his powerful
-throat and extended arms emerging from the waves, as he shakes the
-reins to urge on his prancing steeds; before him, a splendid head of
-one of the horses of his car, the head flung back, as if he tossed
-his mane in eager movement to rush up into the daylight. Next comes
-a recumbent figure, of heroic manly proportions, the most perfect of
-the Elgin collection. A lion’s skin on which he reposes, leaves little
-doubt but that it was intended to represent the youthful Hercules, the
-god of strength. It is popularly, but erroneously, known as Theseus.
-Then come two grand, matronly, seated personages. The attitude and
-beauty of proportion in these two stately figures is considered no
-less admirable than the subtle arrangement of their flowing draperies.
-They probably represent Demeter and her daughter, Persephone (the
-Ceres and Proserpine of the Roman mythology). The younger one leans
-her arm lovingly on the shoulder of her mother. The mother, Demeter,
-raises her arm, as if in astonishment at the news communicated by the
-next figure, who comes rushing towards them, her drapery flying far
-out behind her, from the rapidity of her movements. This is doubtless
-Iris, the messenger of the gods, sent to announce the wonderful events
-transacting in the central group. Three fine dignified female figures,
-on the further side of the pediment, equally distant from the centre,
-appear to have balanced this last group of Iris, Ceres, and Proserpine.
-These were the three Fates, who spun the thread of human life, named
-by the Greeks, Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropus. Two are seated, a little
-apart; the third reclines, half leaning on the lap of the second.
-These three figures are equally well preserved, and equally noble and
-beautiful with the group to which they correspond on the further side.
-
-The subject of this eastern pediment is evidently supposed to have
-taken place on Mount Olympus, the highest mountain in Greece, the
-fabled home of the gods, and the figures were intended to represent a
-conclave of the gods.
-
-THE WESTERN PEDIMENT.—The subject of the west end, on the contrary, may
-be supposed to have taken place in Athens itself, on the Acropolis. The
-subject here was the contest between Athéné and Poseidon (or Neptune)
-for supremacy in Athens. Here we find local personages, such as the
-river deities (the rivers personified), and the legendary kings and
-heroes of Athens. These statues, with the exception of Athéné and
-Poseidon, are a size smaller than those on the eastern pediment, being
-not at all more than life size. The object for which this assembly has
-met is to see which of the two deities could present the best gift to
-the Athenians. Poseidon struck the earth; the horse appeared, so the
-story runs. Athéné did the same; the olive tree grew before them. Both
-were most useful gifts; but the olive tree, on account of its fruit and
-the oil which it yields, was considered to have the higher claim.
-
-Athéné was proclaimed the victor. The gods bestowed the city upon the
-goddess, after whom it was named Athens; and Poseidon was so enraged,
-continues the legend, that he let loose the waters of the angry sea
-(which, as monarch of the waves, of course obeyed his behests), and
-straightway it overflowed its banks and deluged the plain round Athens.
-
-Such is the story, and in the times of Pausanias were shown the three
-great dents on the rock, the marks of the trident of Poseidon, where he
-had struck the earth, as well as a small pool of salt water. The Greek
-traveller mentions having seen these things.
-
-Strangely enough, these two same old-world curiosities were
-re-discovered not many years ago when excavations were being made on
-the Acropolis, in the very centre of the older temple, near to the
-Parthenon, where Athéné and Poseidon were once jointly worshipped.
-Athéné and Poseidon were the two central figures in the midst of their
-assembled votaries, the legendary kings and heroes of Athens, and the
-local nymphs and river gods.
-
-This group is terminated at each end by recumbent figures, supposed
-to represent the two streams that water the plain round Athens—the
-Illissus and the Cephissus. The figure of Illissus is scarcely second
-to the so-called Theseus for beauty of manly proportions; it is perhaps
-more graceful and less vigorous. “Half reclined, he seems, by a sudden
-movement, to raise himself with impetuosity, being overcome with joy
-at the agreeable news of the victory of Athéné. The momentary attitude
-which this movement occasions is one of the boldest and most difficult
-to be expressed that can possibly be imagined. The undulating flow
-given to every part of the drapery which accompanies the figure is
-happily suggestive of flowing water.” Next to the Illissus is a broken
-fragment of the nymph Callirrhoë, who represents the only spring of
-fresh water in Athens; while next to the Cephissus, on the other side,
-sits King Cecrops, the mythical first king of Attica, with his wife,
-Agranlos (her name means a “dweller in the fields”), and his daughter
-Pandrosus (whose name means “the dew”).
-
-Of the two heroic figures in the centre, Athéné and Poseidon, whose
-contest is the subject of this western pediment, the only fragment
-now existing is the muscular, finely-developed back and chest of the
-sea-god; and of Athéné, the upper half of the face (the sockets of the
-eyes intentionally hollow, that they might be filled in with precious
-stones), also one of her feet, and the stem of the famous olive tree.
-
-A careful model of the Parthenon in its present condition is placed in
-the Elgin Room, and by reference to that we can identify the fragments
-on the pediments, and can also see the position of the various
-sculptures. The sculptured figures on it are copied from drawings
-made from the Parthenon itself at Athens in 1674, by a French artist,
-Jacques Carey by name, before Lord Elgin had removed those which we
-now possess, and when many of the figures were far less damaged than
-they now are. The Parthenon had been used as a powder magazine by the
-Turks when they conquered the city in 1687. It was during the siege
-that a bomb from the enemy fell into the edifice, igniting the stored
-gunpowder, and the whole centre part of the ancient temple, with a
-part of its lovely frieze, was blown into the air. Again, a similar
-misfortune occurred in the Greek struggle for independence and freedom
-in 1827. Yet, in spite of the terrible gap, enough of the building
-is still left for us to admire the wonderful beauty of proportion,
-and simple, yet grand, lines of the outline; and more than enough to
-recognise the general plan and places of most of the sculptures that
-adorned its walls.
-
-THE METOPES.—These are panels in alto, or high-relief, in the frieze
-which ran above the colonnade of the Parthenon. They pourtray the
-struggle between the youth of Athens and the centaurs—monstrous
-creatures, half horse, half man. This struggle is supposed to have been
-intended to typify the contest between intelligence and moral order
-on the one hand, against the power of lawlessness and brute force, as
-represented by the monsters, on the other—a contest, the result of
-which was in that day acutely realised.
-
-There were originally ninety-two of these Metopes, fourteen on each
-end, and thirty-two along each side wall. We possess seventeen out of
-the ninety-two. So many having been destroyed, it is impossible to
-judge with any greater certainty of the subject.
-
-THE STATUE.—My account would be incomplete did I not add a few words
-descriptive of the beautiful statue of Athéné that originally stood
-within the temple, facing the east. For, although all trace of the
-statue itself has long vanished, we know its form by copies in marble
-in several of the museums and galleries in Europe. The one at Naples is
-considered the best. We have also, in the Elgin Room, two small rough
-copies of it.
-
-The grand original, which Pausanias saw and describes as “perfect,” “a
-thing to wonder at,” was of gold and ivory. Its robes were of gold, its
-flesh was of delicately cream-coloured ivory, its eyes flashed with
-precious stones.
-
-“Lovely, serene, and grand,” its gigantic form filled the centre of the
-temple, and the golden griffins on its helmet reared themselves against
-the very roof.
-
-This statue, with that of the Olympian Jove, was undoubtedly the
-exclusive work of the master, Pheidias, who, though he may have allowed
-his pupils to assist him in some of the labours of the other figures of
-the Parthenon, assuredly hoped that his fame would be secured by these
-works. Their fame now, alas! rests solely upon copies and description.
-I give a sketch of the best of the two small rough copies in the Elgin
-Room. Like the grand original, she holds the figure of Victory in
-her extended right hand, and grasps the spear in the left, while her
-shield, together with the snake (type of the native soil of Athens) lie
-at her feet.
-
-The art of presenting figures in gold and ivory, for which Pheidias is
-peculiarly famous, is a lost art. A special name was given to these
-statues. They were called Chrys-elephantine.[2] The combined richness
-of the gold with the soft hue of the ivory must have produced a
-wonderfully fine and mysterious effect when seen in the recesses of a
-dimly-illumined temple. The golden robes of the goddess were considered
-as part of the State treasury, and were between the times of the great
-festivals unfixed from the statue, and stored in the treasure house
-at the back part of the temple. They were from time to time carefully
-weighed, and were looked upon in the light of national wealth, which
-might, in time of need, be drawn upon for the country’s requirement.
-The gold of the robes was said to have been worth as much as £100,000.
-It is supposed that this part of the goddess was melted down, and
-finally reduced to Byzantine coin about the time of the Roman Emperor
-Julian—viz., about A.D. 360.
-
-As Athens sunk from her high position among the Greek States, her
-processions and ceremonies fell into decay; but while she flourished,
-none were more brilliant.
-
-Other festivals there were in Greece besides the one at Athens in
-honour of Athéné, where similar athletic games and feats of skill were
-performed before the altars of other tutelary gods. There were the
-far-famed Olympic games in honour of Zeus (Jupiter), in which all the
-Greek States competed. The Odes of Pindar have immortalised the Olympic
-chariot races. There were also the Delphic games in honour of Apollo,
-the sun god, the god of poetry. The practice of these games lasted in
-Greece, and were in use in Rome, till long after Christian times. How
-popular they were in those times we may infer from the many references
-to them in the Epistles and Acts of the Apostles.
-
-Professor Jebb observes, in one of the admirable series of Shilling
-Primers now publishing, the one on “Greek Literature:” “The Greeks were
-not the first people who found out how to till the earth well, or to
-fashion metals, or to build splendid houses and temples. But they were
-the first people who tried to make reason the guide of their social
-life. Greek literature has an interest such as belongs to no other
-literature. It shows us how men first set about systematic thinking.”
-And, he proceeds, “neither the history of Christian doctrine, nor the
-outer history of the Christian Church, can be fully understood without
-reference to the character and work of the Greek mind. Under the
-influence of Christianity, two principal elements have entered into the
-spiritual life of the modern world. One of these has been Hebrew; the
-other has been Greek.”
-
-Of all the many beautiful things which the Greeks produced, the
-Greek language itself is considered to have been the first and most
-wonderful; and “no one,” continues the professor, “who is a stranger to
-Greek literature, has seen how perfect an instrument it is possible for
-human speech to be.”
-
-We may remember that the whole of the New Testament was given to the
-world in this beautiful and expressive language; that St. Paul was well
-versed in Greek philosophy, and that many of his Epistles were to Greek
-cities, and many of his first disciples among the Gentiles were Greeks.
-
-We can also be sure that he must often have been present at Greek games
-such as we have been describing. The frequent references and metaphors
-referring to them prove this. In the first Epistle to the Corinthians
-the references to the foot-races run in the Isthmean games, celebrated
-at Corinth, occur again and again. “Know ye not that they which run
-in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run that ye may
-obtain” (ch. ix. 24); and in the following verse, “They strive for a
-corruptible” (or perishable) “crown, but we an incorruptible”—referring
-to the fragile crowns or garlands of fresh leaves awarded to the
-victors in the games we have been describing.
-
-And again, in the Epistle to the Philippians, iii. 14, “I press towards
-the mark” (or goal) “for the prize.” In the first Epistle to Timothy,
-vi. 12, “Fight the good fight before many witnesses.”
-
-The first preaching to the Gentiles was to Greek-speaking peoples,
-either noted Greek cities, as Athens itself and Corinth, or Greek
-colonies in Asia Minor. We find (Acts xii.) how St. Paul actually
-visited this same beautiful City of Athens, whose early legends, like
-quaint fairy stories, we have been describing; how he stood on the
-Areopagus (the Hill of Mars) facing the Parthenon, and must have seen
-all its lovely statues and grand monuments still perfect; and how he
-“thought it good to be left at Athens alone,” when he there preached to
-her wise men and philosophers, and found followers and disciples from
-among them, whose hearts were opened to a higher wisdom than any that
-the worshippers of the famed Athenian goddess knew.
-
-[Illustration: THE INTERIOR OF THE PARTHENON.
-
-(_The Giving of the Prizes. Conjectural Arrangement._)]
-
-
-FOOTNOTES:
-
-[1] Born by Lake Tritonis.
-
-[2] Chrysos: gold. Elephantus: ivory.
-
-
-
-
-MERLE’S CRUSADE.
-
-BY ROSA NOUCHETTE CAREY, Author of “Aunt Diana,” “For Lilias,” etc.
-
-
-CHAPTER X.
-
-“I TRUST THEM TO YOU, MERLE.”
-
-With the early summer came a new anxiety; Joyce was growing very fast,
-and, like other children of her age, looked thin and delicate. She
-lost her appetite, grew captious and irritable, had crying fits if she
-were contradicted, and tired of all her playthings. It was hard work
-to amuse her; and as Reggie was rather fretful with the heat, I found
-my charge decidedly onerous, especially as it was the height of the
-season, and Mrs. Morton’s daily visits to the nursery barely lasted ten
-minutes.
-
-Dr. Myrtle was called in and recommended change for both the children.
-There was a want of tone about Joyce: she was growing too fast, and
-there was slight irritability of the brain, a not uncommon thing, he
-remarked, with nervous, delicately organised children.
-
-He recommended sea air and bathing. She must be out on the shore all
-day, and run wild. Fresh air, new milk, and country diet would be her
-best medicine; and, as Dr. Myrtle was an oracle in our household, Mr.
-Morton at once decided that his advice must be followed.
-
-There was a long, anxious deliberation between the parents, and the
-next morning I was summoned to Mrs. Morton’s dressing-room. I found her
-lying on the couch; the blinds were lowered, and the smelling salts
-were in her hand. She said at once that she had had a restless night,
-and had one of her bad headaches. I thought she looked wretchedly ill,
-and, for the first time, the fear crossed me that her life was killing
-her by inches. Hers was not a robust constitution, and, like Joyce,
-she was most delicately organised. Late hours and excitement are fatal
-to these nervous constitutions, if only I dared hint at this to Dr.
-Myrtle, but I felt, in my position, it would be an act of presumption.
-She would not let me speak of herself; at my first word of sympathy she
-stopped me.
-
-“Never mind about me, I am used to these headaches; sit down a moment;
-I want to speak to you about the children. Dr. Myrtle has made us very
-anxious about Joyce; he says she must have change at once.”
-
-“He said the same to me, Mrs. Morton.”
-
-“My husband and I have talked the matter over; if I could only go with
-you and the children—but no, it is impossible. How could I leave just
-now, when our ball is coming off on the eighteenth, and we have two
-dinners as well? Besides, I could not leave my husband; he is far from
-well. This late session tries him dreadfully. I have never left him
-yet, not even for a day.”
-
-“And yet you require the change as much as the children.” I could not
-help saying this, but she took no notice of my remark.
-
-“We have decided to send them to my father’s. Do you know Netherton,
-Merle? It is a pretty village about a mile from Orton-on-Sea. Netherton
-is by the sea, and the air is nearly as fine as Orton. Marshlands, that
-is my father’s place, is about half a mile from the shore.”
-
-I heard this with some trepidation. In my secret heart I had hoped that
-we should have taken lodgings at some watering-place, and I thought,
-with Hannah’s help, I should have got on nicely; but to go amongst
-strangers! I was perfectly unaware of Mr. Morton’s horror of lodgings,
-and it would have seemed absurd to him to take a house just for me and
-the children.
-
-“I have written to my sister, Merle,” she continued, “to make all
-arrangements. My father never interferes in domestic matters. I have
-told her that I hold you responsible for my children, and that you will
-have the sole charge of them. I laid a stress on this, because I know
-my sister’s ideas of management differ entirely from mine. I can trust
-you as I trust myself, Merle, and it is my wish to secure you from
-interference of any kind.” It was nice to hear this, but her speech
-made me a little nervous; she evidently dreaded interference for me.
-
-“Is your sister younger than yourself?” I faltered.
-
-“I have two sisters,” she returned, quickly; “Gay is much younger;
-she was not grown up when I married; my eldest sister, Mrs. Markham,
-was then in India. Two years ago she came back a widow, with her only
-remaining child, and at my father’s request remained with him to manage
-his household. Domestic matters were not either in his or Gay’s line,
-and Mrs. Markham is one who loves to rule.”
-
-I confess this slight sketch of Mrs. Markham did not impress me in
-her favour. I conceived the idea of a masculine, bustling woman, very
-different to my beloved mistress. I could not well express these
-sentiments, but I think Mrs. Morton must have read them in my face.
-
-“I am going to be very frank with you, Merle,” she said, after a
-moment’s thought, “and I do not think I shall repent my confidence.
-I know my sister Adelaide’s faults. She has had many troubles with
-which to contend in her married life, and they have made her a little
-hard. She lost two dear little girls in India, and, as Rolf is her
-only child, she spoils him dreadfully; in fact, young as he is, he
-has completely mastered her. He is a very delicate, wilful child,
-and needs firm management; in spite of his faults he is a dear little
-fellow, and I am very sorry for Rolf.”
-
-“Will he be with us in the nursery?” I asked, anxiously.
-
-“No, indeed: Rolf is always with his mother in the drawing-room, to
-the no small discomfort of his mother’s visitors. Sometimes he is
-with her maid Judson, but that is only when even Mrs. Markham finds
-him unbearable. A spoilt child is greatly to be pitied, Merle; he has
-his own way nine times out of ten, and on the tenth he meets with
-undesirable severity. Adelaide either will not punish him at all, or
-punishes him too severely. Children suffer as much from their parent’s
-temper as from over-indulgence.”
-
-“I am afraid Rolf’s example will be bad for Joyce.”
-
-“That is my fear,” she replied, with a sigh. “I wish the children could
-be kept apart, but Rolf will have his own way in that. There is one
-thing of which I must warn you, Merle. Mrs. Markham may be disposed to
-interfere in your department; remember, you are responsible to me and
-not to her. I look to you to follow my rules and wishes with regard to
-my children.”
-
-“Oh, Mrs. Morton,” I burst out, “you are putting me in a very difficult
-position. If any unpleasantness should arise, I cannot refer to you.
-How am I to help it if Mrs. Markham interferes with the children?”
-
-“You must be firm, Merle; you must act in any difficulty in the way you
-think will please me. Be true to me, and you may be sure I shall listen
-to no idle complaints of you. I wish I had not to say all this; it is
-very painful to hint this of a sister, but Mrs. Markham is not always
-judicious with regard to children.”
-
-“Will it be good for them to go to Netherton under these circumstances?”
-
-“There is nowhere else where they can go,” she returned, rather sadly;
-“my husband has such a horror of lodgings, and he will not take a house
-for us this year—he thinks it an unnecessary expense, as later on we
-are going to Scotland that he may have some shooting. All the doctors
-speak so well of Netherton; the air is very fine and bracing, and my
-father’s garden will be a Paradise to the children.”
-
-We were interrupted here by Mr. Morton.
-
-“Oh, are you there, Miss Fenton?” he said, pleasantly (he so often
-called me Miss Fenton now); “I was just in search of you. Violet, your
-sister has telegraphed as you wished, and the rooms will be quite ready
-for the children to-morrow.”
-
-“To-morrow!” I gasped.
-
-“Yes,” he returned, in his quick, decided voice; “you and Hannah will
-have plenty of work to-day. You are looking pale, Miss Fenton; sea air
-will be good for you as well as Joyce. I do not like people to grow
-pale in my service.”
-
-“I have been telling Merle,” observed his wife, anxiously, “that she
-is to have the sole responsibility of our children. Adelaide must not
-interfere, must she, Alick?”
-
-“Of course not,” with a frown. “My dear Violet, we all know what your
-sister’s management means; Rolf is a fine little fellow, but she is
-utterly ruining him. Remember, Miss Fenton, no unwholesome sweets and
-delicacies for the children; you know our rules. She may stuff her own
-boy if she likes, but not my children,” and with this he dismissed me,
-and sat down beside his wife with some open letters in his hand.
-
-I returned to the nursery with a heavy heart. How little we know as
-we open our eyes on the new day, what that day’s work may bring us! I
-think one’s waking prayer should be, “Lead me in a plain path because
-of mine enemies.”
-
-I was utterly cast down and disheartened at the thought of leaving my
-mistress. The responsibility terrified me. I should be at the tender
-mercies of strangers, who would not recognise my position. Ah! I had
-got to the Hill Difficulty at last, and yet surely the confidence
-reposed in me ought to have made me glad. “I trust you as myself.” Were
-not those sweet words to hear from my mistress’s lips? Well, I was only
-a girl. Human nature, and especially girl nature, is subject to hot and
-cold fits. At one moment we are star-gazing, and the majesty of the
-universe, with its undeviating laws, seems to lift us out of ourselves
-with admiration and wonder; and the next hour we are grovelling in the
-dust, and the grasshopper is a burthen, and we see nothing save the
-hard stones of the highway and the walls that shut us in on every side.
-“Lead us in a plain path.” Oh, that is just what we want; a Divine Hand
-to lift us up and clear the dust from our eyes, and to lead us on as
-little children are led.
-
-These salutary thoughts checked my nervous fears and restored calmness.
-I remembered a passage that Aunt Agatha had once read to me—a quotation
-from a favourite book of hers; I had copied it out for myself.
-
-“Do as the little children do—little children who with one hand hold
-fast by their father, and with the other gather strawberries or
-blackberries along the hedges. Do you, while gathering and managing
-the goods of this world with one hand, with the other always hold fast
-the hand of your heavenly Father, turning to Him from time to time to
-see if your actions or occupations are pleasing to Him; but take care,
-above all things, that you never let go His hand, thinking to gather
-more, for, should He let you go, you will not be able to take another
-step without falling.”
-
-Just then Hannah came to me for the day’s orders, and I told her as
-briefly as possible of the plans for the morrow. To my astonishment,
-directly I mentioned Netherton, she turned very red, and uttered an
-exclamation.
-
-“Netherton—we are to go to Netherton—Squire Cheriton’s place! Why,
-miss, it is not more than a mile and a half from there to Dorlecote and
-Wheeler’s Farm.”
-
-“Do you mean the farm where your father and your sister Molly live?”
-I returned, quite taken aback at this, for the girl’s eyes were
-sparkling, and she seemed almost beside herself with joy. “Truly it is
-an ill wind that blows no one any good.”
-
-“Yes, indeed, miss, you have told me a piece of good news. I was just
-thinking of asking mistress for a week’s holiday, only Master Reggie
-seemed so fretful and Miss Joyce so weakly, that I hardly knew how I
-could be spared without putting too much work upon you; but now I shall
-be near them all for a month or more. Molly had been writing to me the
-other day to tell me that they were longing for a sight of me.”
-
-“I am very glad for your sake, Hannah, that we shall be so near your
-old home; but now we must see to the children’s things, and I must
-get Rhoda to send a note to the laundress.” I had put a stop to the
-conversation purposely, for I wanted to know my mistress’s opinion
-before I encouraged Hannah in speaking about her own people. How did I
-know what Mrs. Morton would wish? I took the opportunity of speaking
-to her when she came up to the nursery in the course of the evening.
-Hannah was still packing, and I was collecting some of the children’s
-toys. Mrs. Morton listened to me with great attention; I thought she
-seemed interested.
-
-“Of course I know Wheeler’s Farm,” she replied at once; “Michael
-Sowerby, Hannah’s father, is a very respectable man; indeed, they are
-all most respectable, and I know Mrs. Garnett thinks highly of them. I
-shall have no objection to my children visiting the farm if you think
-proper to take them, Merle; but of course they will go nowhere without
-you. If you can spare Hannah for a day now and then I should be glad
-for her to have the holiday, for she is a good girl, and has always
-done her duty.”
-
-“I will willingly spare her,” was my answer, for Hannah’s sweet temper
-and obliging ways had made me her friend. “I was only anxious to know
-your wishes on this point, in case my conduct or Hannah’s should be
-questioned.”
-
-“You are nervous about going to Netherton, Merle,” she returned, at
-once, looking at me more keenly than usual. “You are quite pale this
-evening. Put down those toys; Hannah can pack them, with Rhoda’s help;
-I will not have you tire yourself any more to-night.”
-
-“I am not tired,” I faltered, but the foolish tears rushed to my eyes.
-Did she have an idea, I wonder, how hard I felt it would be to leave
-her the next day. As the thought passed through my mind she took the
-chair beside me.
-
-“The carriage has not come yet, Anderson will let me know when my
-husband is ready for me; we shall have time for a talk. You are a
-little down-hearted to-night, Merle; you are dreading leaving us
-to-morrow.”
-
-“I am sorry to leave you,” I returned, and now I could not keep the
-tears back.
-
-“I shall miss you, too,” she replied, kindly; “I am getting to know
-you so well, Merle. I think we understand each other, and then I am so
-grateful to you for loving my children; no one has ever been so good to
-them before.”
-
-“I am only doing my duty to them and you.”
-
-“Perhaps so; but then how few do their duty? How few try to act up to
-so high a standard. I am dull myself to-night, Merle. No one knows
-how I feel parting with my children; I try not to indulge in nervous
-fancies, but I cannot feel happy and at rest when they are away from
-me.”
-
-“It is very hard for you,” was my answer to this.
-
-“It is not quite so hard this time,” she returned, hastily; “I feel
-they will be safe with you, Merle, that you will watch over them as
-though they were your own. I know you will justify my trust.”
-
-“You may be assured that I will do my best for them.”
-
-“I know that,” returned my mistress, gently. “You will write to me,
-will you not, and give me full particulars about my darlings. I think
-you will like Marshlands; my sister Gay is very bright and winning, and
-my father is always kind.”
-
-“Mrs. Markham?” I stammered.
-
-“Oh, my sister Adelaide; she will be too much occupied with her own boy
-and her own affairs to trouble you much. If you are in any difficulty
-write to me and I will help you. Now I must say good-night. Have I done
-you any good, Merle? Have the fears lessened?”
-
-“You always do me good,” I answered, gratefully, as she put out her
-slim hand to me; and, indeed, her few sympathising words had lifted
-a little of the weight. When she had left the nursery I sat down and
-wrote a long letter to Aunt Agatha, bidding her good-bye, and speaking
-cheerfully of our intended flitting. When the next day came I woke far
-more cheerful. The bright sunshine, Joyce’s excitement, and Hannah’s
-happy looks stimulated me to courage. There was little time for
-thought, for there was still much to be done before the carriage came
-round for us. Mrs. Morton accompanied us to the station, and did not
-quit the platform until our train moved off.
-
-“Remember, Merle, I trust them to you,” were her last words before we
-left her there alone in the summer sunshine.
-
-(_To be continued._)
-
-[Illustration]
-
-
-
-
-CHRISTMAS IN A FRENCH BOARDING-SCHOOL.
-
-A Christmas morning of more than twenty years ago is breaking over a
-picturesque old town of fair France. The cold wintry sun touches upon
-the masts of the ships in her harbour and upon the crowded houses of
-the Lower Town, creeps up to the leafless trees upon the ramparts, and
-glints upon the steep roofs and stately cathedral of the Upper Town.
-
-From the dormitory windows of a large boarding-school some dozen or
-more of girlish heads are peering into the feeble light, in the hope
-of seeing across the narrow “silver streak” the white cliffs of their
-English home. In vain. A cold, grey fog is rising from the sea, and
-baffles even their strong young eyes. The casements are closed, and
-as the big school-bell sends forth its summons, the English boarders
-hasten into the class-room below. It does not look very inviting at
-this early hour; there is no fire and little light, while the empty
-benches and the absence of the usual chattering throng of schoolgirls
-serve only to make those of them who remain the more depressed. They
-gather, from force of habit, round the fireless stove, and wish one
-another a “Merry Christmas”; but they neither look nor feel as if a
-merry Christmas could be theirs. With hands swollen with chilblains and
-faces blue with cold, they stand, a shivering group, comparing this
-with former anniversaries, and increasing their discomfort by reminding
-one another of the warm firesides, the ample Christmas cheer, and the
-lavish gifts with which the day is being ushered in at home.
-
-At length the welcome sound of the breakfast-bell is heard, and our
-small party descends to the _réfectoire_. Here excellent hot coffee and
-omelettes, with the best of bread and butter, somewhat reconcile us to
-our hard lot, while the different mistresses are really very kind to
-_les petites désolées_, and do their best to enliven the meal. We are
-told that during the ten days’ holiday now begun we shall be entirely
-exempted from the necessity of talking French, and shall be allowed
-to get up and go to bed an hour later than during the school terms;
-moreover, that after service in our own church that morning (for, to
-their credit be it said, these ladies, devout Catholics themselves,
-never tampered with our belief), we should have a good fire lighted in
-the small class-room, where we could amuse ourselves as we pleased for
-the rest of the day.
-
-After such good news we set off, under the escort of the English
-governess, in revived spirits for church. It was a plain little
-building, but we always liked to go; it seemed a bit of old England
-transplanted into this foreign town; and to-day the holly and flowers,
-the familiar hymns, and our pastor’s short and telling address, made
-the service particularly bright and cheery.
-
-We were very fond of our good, gentle little clergyman, and always
-lingered a while after the services in the hope that he would speak to
-us, as he often did, especially upon any Church festivals; and to-day
-we had quite a long talk with him before, with many and hearty good
-wishes, we parted in the church porch.
-
-As usual, after service, we went for a walk on the ramparts which
-encircle the Upper Town. The view was very fine, comprising on one
-side the Lower Town, the shining waters of the Channel, and, on very
-clear days, the houses as well as the cliffs of Dover; on the other,
-the hills and valleys, watered by the Liane; if we went further still,
-and passed the gloomy old château—now a prison—we could trace the roads
-leading to Calais and St. Omer; while on a bleak hill to the left rose
-Napoleon’s Column.
-
-This rampart walk was a great favourite with us all, and we generally
-liked to make two or three turns. To-day, however, we were to have
-an early luncheon, and, besides, were yearning for our letters; so
-we contented ourselves with _le petit tour_, and hurried home. Here
-we found an ample mail awaiting us, whilst among the pile each girl
-found a neat little French _billet_ from mademoiselle, inviting us
-formally to dinner and a little dance that evening. Of course we
-sat down at once to write our acceptances, then, with a cheer for
-mademoiselle, turned our thoughts to the absorbing topic of what we
-should wear. Dinner was fixed for 5 p.m., so that after luncheon there
-was really not very much time left, especially as each girl, besides
-the difficulty of choosing and arranging her most becoming costume, had
-also to have her hair “done.”
-
-Hair-dressing was an elaborate science in those days, puffs and
-frisettes, curls and plaits, being all brought into requisition
-on state occasions, and if this—a dinner and a dance given by
-mademoiselle, the rather awe-inspiring though extremely kind
-mademoiselle, who reigned an undisputed autocrat in our little
-school-world—if this, I say, was not a state occasion, I appeal to
-every schoolgirl throughout the kingdom to tell me what was.
-
-The _dortoir_ was a gay and animated scene as we English girls repaired
-thither after luncheon to “lay out” (rather a dismal phrase, but one
-we always used) our best frocks and sashes, our open-worked stockings
-and evening shoes, and our black or white silk mittens. One of the
-girls was a capital hairdresser, as everyone else allowed, and as
-her services were eagerly entreated by the less skilful in the art,
-I can tell you her powers and her patience were put to the test that
-afternoon.
-
-Oh, the plaiting and waving, the padding and puffing, the crimping
-and curling, that we gladly underwent on that memorable occasion!
-How openly we admired one another, and—more secretly—ourselves; and
-then how very funny it seemed to be walking into the drawing-room as
-mademoiselle’s visitors!
-
-Kind mademoiselle! how handsome she looked in her dark satin dress,
-with a little old French lace at her throat and wrists! How pleasantly
-she welcomed us all, while she gave extra care to the one child amongst
-us, who could only wear black ribbons even for Christmas Day.
-
-Of course, all the under-mistresses were there, and one or two of the
-non-resident ones. I particularly remember the pretty singing mistress,
-and the head music mistress, whose brother I hear of nowadays as the
-first organist of Europe; whilst last of all to arrive was Monsieur
-l’Abbé, who was a frequent and honoured guest, and for whose coming we
-had all been waiting.
-
-The dinner bell rang a few minutes after this important arrival, and
-we all descended to the _réfectoire_. How good that dinner was! A
-soup such as one never tastes anywhere but in France; the _bouilli_,
-which we were too English to care for; the turkey stuffed with
-chestnuts—delicious, but so unlike an English turkey; the plum pudding,
-very good again, but still with a foreign element about it somehow;
-and, as a winding up delicacy, the delicious _tourte à la crême_, a
-real triumph of gastronomy.
-
-Then our glasses were filled with claret, and we drank the “health of
-parents and relations,” a rather perilous toast for some of us, whose
-hearts were still tender from a recent parting; and finally coffee
-was served—not the coffee of everyday life, but the real _café noir_,
-which we girls drank with an extra dose of sugar, but which to seniors
-was served with a little cognac. Then, as we sat over our fruit and
-_galette_, mademoiselle and her mother, a charming old lady, with
-bright, dark eyes, and soft, silver hair, combined with Monsieur l’Abbé
-to keep us merry with a succession of amusing stories of French life
-and adventure, until the repeated ringing of the hall bell announced
-the arrival of some of the old pupils, who had been asked to join our
-dance. Tables were quickly cleared, superfluous chairs and benches
-removed, violin and piano set up a gay tune, and then we danced and
-danced away until nearly midnight, when the appearance of _eau sucrée_
-and lemonade, with a tray of tempting cakes, concluded the fun, and
-gave the signal for retiring.
-
-[Illustration]
-
-[Illustration]
-
-
-
-
-LACE-MAKING IN THE ERZGEBIRGE;[3]
-
-OR,
-
-THE RESULT OF A WOMAN’S HOSPITALITY.
-
-BY EMMA BREWER.
-
-
-Annaberg is a bright, thriving little town in Saxony, and, from its
-pleasant situation, is known to the people round about as the Queen of
-the Erz Mountains.
-
-Its attractions are enhanced by the character of its population, whose
-kindness, cleanliness, and industry are known to all.
-
-Like many another old town, it has a history, and boasts of chronicles
-which record many memorable facts concerning it, one of which is
-peculiarly interesting to us, viz., that a great service was rendered
-by a woman, in return for which a great benefit was received, and in
-its turn given out again to women, among whom it brought forth fruit a
-hundredfold; but this we will explain presently.
-
-This cheery little town is surrounded by pine forests, to which many
-of the poor inhabitants of the upper mountains come in the hot summer
-months to pick berries and gather mushrooms, and so add to their
-scant means. The highest point of the Erzgebirge is only two hours
-distant, or about six miles, and it is quite worth while to climb to
-it, for from it you get a view which does your heart good. Not that the
-character of these mountains is either romantic or wild, like that of
-the rugged rocks in the Bavarian Highlands; on the contrary, it is soft
-and gently undulating, conveying rest and peace to the heart.
-
-[Illustration]
-
-And what of the inhabitants? Are they as attractive as the mountains?
-I cannot be quite sure. Of one thing, however, I am certain, that they
-would interest you. They are simple-hearted and good tempered. By
-incessant industry they manage, as a rule, to gain a scant livelihood,
-although there are bad times when, in spite of constant toil, many
-suffer hunger.
-
-[Illustration]
-
-Potatoes, and a suspicious kind of drink which these people call by the
-name of coffee, form the chief means of support. Those dwelling high
-up in the mountains consider themselves quite happy if they are able
-to place a dish of steaming potatoes on their well-scrubbed pinewood
-table. If, however, night frosts and long rains spoil these, they have
-little else to live on than the clear water from the spring and the
-fresh air of the mountains. The result of this is that about Christmas,
-which should be a happy time, the ghost of Typhus may be seen stalking
-abroad over the mountains, pausing here and there to knock at one or
-other of the little snowed-up huts of the weaver, the toy-maker, or the
-lace-worker, and the gravedigger finds more than enough to do digging
-graves down through the ice and snow.
-
-Necessity has taught these simple people not only to live sparingly and
-to exercise self-denial, but it has given them a wonderful cleverness
-and readiness in taking up any new industry.
-
-[Illustration]
-
-Just as in great towns the fashions are continually changing, so
-the demands of the markets of the world create new trades, and give
-a variety to the occupations of even these remote dwellers of the
-mountains. In the very poor huts, with shingle roofs scattered about in
-out-of-the-way corners of this mountain district, you would scarcely
-expect to see the inhabitants working a thousand various and tasteful
-patterns of glistening, sparkling pearl articles, which, when finished,
-go forth out of those poor huts to adorn the dresses of grand ladies in
-Berlin, Paris, and London; yet this is the fact.
-
-[Illustration]
-
-In like manner and in like houses you may see the inhabitants
-busy with the beautiful art-industry of pillow lace-making, which
-brings us to the interesting fact recorded in the chronicles of
-Annaberg—interesting to us because it refers to woman and woman’s work.
-
-[Illustration]
-
-The middle of the sixteenth century was a hard time for the people of
-the Erz Mountains. Yearly the population increased, and yearly the
-means of support grew less; for the productiveness of the mines, which
-up to that time had been great, fell off to such an extent that even
-the new tin industry failed to make up the loss.
-
-It was just when the need was greatest that the good Frau Barbara
-Uttman, a rich patrician lady of Annaberg, came to the rescue of the
-inhabitants by teaching the poor women and girls[4] an entirely new
-industry—one that had never been known in Germany. It was the rare art
-of making exquisitely soft and costly texture with the hand by means of
-dexterously intertwining and knotting single threads of silk or cotton;
-in fact, to make what is known as bobbin or pillow lace.
-
-Barbara Uttman (born in 1514, died in 1575), as the story goes, learnt
-it from a fugitive Brabantine whom she hospitably received into her
-house. If this be so, then was her hospitality rich in good fruit.
-
-Although pillow lace does not hold so high a place in fashion at the
-present time as in the good old days, yet the memory of Frau Barbara
-is kept in affectionate and pious remembrance by the good and simple
-people of the Erz Mountains.
-
-A venerable avenue of lime-trees leads to her tomb in the “Gottesacre”
-of Annaberg. It is one of the most simple in style and execution. It
-points her out as the founder of the bobbin art, seated at a lace
-cushion.
-
-A good action is the most beautiful memorial, just as gratitude is the
-highest of virtues.
-
-[Illustration]
-
-[Illustration]
-
-Past neglect has been in a manner atoned for by erecting a worthy
-memorial of her exactly opposite the ancient grey town-hall in the
-market-place of Annaberg.
-
-[Illustration]
-
-[Illustration]
-
-[Illustration]
-
-There is a possibility that this memorial may be the means of reviving
-the industry which has been so good a friend to the inhabitants;
-and yet it is scarcely possible that it can ever compete with the
-machine-made lace of Nottingham, which is comparatively cheap, and, to
-the uneducated eye, scarcely to be distinguished from the hand-made
-cushion lace. During the last thirty years the poor bobbin villages
-would have starved on the ever-decreasing profits had not other
-industries sprung up to give them work.
-
-Many attempts have been made to give the pillow lace a fresh start,
-a new life; but without any permanent good result. Standing out from
-among many noble ladies who have made the attempt, is the Queen Carola
-of Saxony, who has done her utmost to keep it going.
-
-She maintains model bobbin schools, wherein children are taught the
-industry under skilful supervision. It was she who gave the order to
-the poor lace-makers for the bridal veil of the Princess Maria Josepha,
-as well as for the lace dress.
-
-It is the object in all the schools to ward off the threatened downfall
-of the hand-made lace industry, by the production of patterns full of
-taste and style; but this only goes a short way, the markets of the
-world must do the rest.
-
-Ladies might do much for the industry if they resolved to wear real
-lace instead of cheap machine lace.
-
-A committee of ladies in Vienna have already determined to do this,
-which may be the beginning of better things.
-
-Quite apart from its practical purpose of maintaining for the poor
-mountaineers a branch of business peculiarly theirs, we must remember
-that, should the cushion lace-making fail, an ancient and noble house
-industry will have its fall—an industry which is even now able to
-turn out beautiful works of art, worthy of high praise, one for whose
-success three centuries have laboured.
-
-The effect of this industry among the people who earn their bread by
-it is to make them scrupulously clean; their huts have, as a rule, but
-one floor, but the boards are always freshly scrubbed, the walls are
-spotlessly whitewashed. The kitchen utensils, which are hung on the
-walls, are like looking-glasses, so bright are they, and you would
-look in vain for dust on the poor furniture of the little room.
-
-The costly lace requires the most particular cleanliness, as well in
-the lace-maker herself as in her surroundings.
-
-The manners of these people are those bequeathed them by their
-forefathers, and their work is carried on as in former days.
-
-Even little children of four years old earn a few pence weekly at
-the cushion towards the housekeeping, by making common wool lace. To
-produce tasteful hand lace requires not only great patience, but also
-such a high perfection in the art that it must be regularly practised
-from childhood, and this explains the reason of such young children
-being placed at the cushion.
-
-The bobbin lace-making industry has never brought even a moderate
-competency to the cleverest and most industrious worker. How could it,
-when, if she work from early morning till late at night, the highest
-she can possibly earn is 5s. a week, and in less busy times not more
-than two to three shillings?
-
-In the hard winter days no morsel of meat is seen on the table; and if
-the potatoes are all consumed, then dry bread, and not much of it, is
-all the nourishment they get.
-
-How does it happen that such valuable work fails to give a fair return?
-This, with a little knowledge, is easy to answer. It takes a very long
-time indeed to produce the most simple lace, and as to costly patterns
-of rich and tasteful designs, such as we give here as a cover to a
-lady’s sunshade—well, it would require for its production six to twelve
-months, or even longer, according to the pattern and the ability of
-the worker. This lace-cover is bought in the shops of our great towns
-for the ridiculously cheap sum of £5—perhaps £7 10s.—or, at the very
-highest, £15.
-
-If you take into consideration the high duty on these articles, the
-worth of the raw material, which is generally the best silk, and
-the fee to the middle-man, you will see how much remains for the
-industrious artist at her cushion—never more than 2s. 1d. a day.
-
-Supposing that a yard of pillow lace cost 7½d. in the shops, you must
-take off quite 2½d. for the purchase of material and the fee for the
-middle-man, which leaves the worker 5d. as the price of a day’s hard
-work, for she cannot make more than a yard a day.
-
-The poverty of the pillow lace-maker is no doubt due also to the low
-market price of the lace, and this cannot be remedied, for lace being
-not an article of necessity, but only of luxury, the desire to buy will
-decrease with every rise in price, especially as the machine-made lace
-is produced so easily and in such perfection that it is difficult often
-to tell the true from the false.
-
-For the last ten years it has seemed useless to think of bettering the
-position of the lace-maker, male or female. Any effort made is rather
-to prevent an excellent and artistic industry from dying out. The
-population has turned itself to other industries which pay somewhat
-better, merely taking up the lace-work when others fail.
-
-For example, men who in summer seek their bread on the plains, either
-as bricklayers, labourers, or artisans, join the family circle in
-the winter in making lace, and it is wonderful to see what soft and
-delicate work is turned out by those hard hands. It is pleasant to see
-the wooden stools drawn round the table behind the glass globe filled
-with water, through which the lamplight falls sharp and clear on the
-spotless work, and watch the family, from the aged grandmother down
-to the toddling grandchild, take their places at their cushions or
-pillows. For those who have never seen pillow lace made, we will give a
-few words.
-
-The pillow or cushion is of cylindrical form, and tightly stuffed. On
-this a number of pins are stuck, according to the pattern to be worked.
-The threads, fastened to small bobbins, are thrown across the cushion
-and placed round these pins; the threads, traversing from left to
-right, or _vice versâ_, often weave at once the pattern and the ground.
-There is a line in one of the Volkslied which runs—
-
-    “That bobbin lace may prosper ever.”
-
-We echo the wish, but fear it will never be realised.
-
-
-FOOTNOTES:
-
-[3] Mountains between Saxony and Bohemia.
-
-[4] These wives and daughters of the miners had always worked at point
-lace, but this was a quieter and easier work which Frau Barbara taught
-them.
-
-
-
-
-“NO.”
-
-BY MARY E. HULLAH.
-
-
-CHAPTER II.
-
-“Do you like this part of London?” asked Horace, by-and-by.
-
-Embrance had taken off her bonnet and ulster, and was sitting by the
-side of the fire. It was one of her characteristics, owing, perhaps,
-to the need of rest after long hours’ work, that she could remain
-perfectly still for a considerable length of time. She had no desire to
-busy herself with fancy work or to twirl her watch-chain; she did not
-throw herself into picturesque attitudes, but sat with clasped hands,
-listening to her visitor’s easy flow of conversation. A curl of her
-dark hair had escaped from the stiff plait, and her lips were parted
-with a smile.
-
-“Not half so alarming as I imagined she would be,” was Horace Meade’s
-thought, as he pursued his inquiries as to her liking for Bloomsbury,
-“but why, in the name of all that’s wonderful, does she wear such a
-frightful garment? It requires beauty to carry off a Cinderella garb
-of that kind.”
-
-“I find it convenient to live here,” explained Embrance, while her
-visitor’s fancy had soared far away, and was drawing her hair high on
-the top of her head, putting pearls in her ears, and a mass of crimson
-roses in the lace round her throat. “She would make a good study for
-the ‘ugly princess,’” he thought.
-
-“I know that you are one of the busy folk,” he said, “Joan has told me
-about you and your hard work. I only hope—” with a certain kindliness
-that went straight to her heart—“that you are not overdoing it. Joan
-ought to look after you.”
-
-Just for a second, Embrance’s dark eyes looked up at him with a flash
-of inquiry: could it be that this polite, soft-voiced man was making
-fun of Joan and of her? As if ashamed of her suspicion, she replied
-gently—
-
-“It is a great pleasure to me to have Joan’s company; we have been
-friends for a great many years, ever since we were little schoolgirls.”
-
-“And you helped her with her sums after hours,” said Horace, twisting
-the end of his moustache. “I have heard a great deal about you and
-your doings, Miss Clemon, but seriously, I should be glad to talk to
-you about my cousin, if you will let me.”
-
-“Please do; she has been so looking forward to your coming; will you
-be able to suggest any line for her to take up? She doesn’t much
-like teaching; she was not very happy at home, and (with a slight
-hesitation) her grandfather makes her no allowance while she is here.”
-
-“Poor girl!” exclaimed Mr. Meade, “I expected how it would be; he is
-a regular old miser. As for Joan, with all her talent, she’s had no
-proper teaching herself, and hasn’t an idea what real work means. What
-has she been doing lately?”
-
-Embrance, conscious that Joan had been spending the last fortnight in
-making herself a charming terra-cotta walking dress, looked towards
-the window, and said that there had been so many fogs, it was bad
-weather for artists. Mr. Meade nodded, then marched up to the easel,
-and examined the drawing—a study of roses, white and pink—that Joan had
-begun a month ago; but even before the roses (which had cost as much as
-a week’s rent) withered, she had got tired of the drawing, and had put
-it on one side for a copy of a landscape, intended for the good of her
-pupil, and also left unfinished.
-
-For some minutes he stood there in silence, took the drawings nearer to
-the light, and carefully replaced them on the easel.
-
-“Well?” asked Embrance, anxiously.
-
-“What do you think of them?”
-
-“I am not a judge; I know so little about it.”
-
-“Very likely, but look here” (she came closer to the easel), “you are
-accustomed to observe. Do you see the grouping of the roses is pretty
-enough, but there, look, that is quite out of drawing, and the stalk is
-an absurdity.”
-
-Embrance could not stay there any longer in mute acquiescence: “But she
-is so quick,” she remonstrated, “and has a real love”—for painting, she
-was about to say, but her sense of truth turned the sentence into: “for
-anything that is beautiful!”
-
-He turned away from the window with a sigh. “As an amateur, it is all
-very well, but otherwise, I don’t see what is to be done. Poor little
-Joan! It’s a bad business; how is she looking, Miss Clemon?”
-
-“Prettier than ever, I think.”
-
-“I am glad to hear it. She is a charming companion, and I am very glad
-that you like her. It is a comfort to know that she has got such a good
-friend in you.”
-
-Embrance blushed, feeling very uncomfortable, and half inclined to
-resent his remarks. It was rather late in the day for a complete
-stranger to interfere in such an old friendship as hers and Joan’s.
-“However,” she reflected, “I am sure he is very fond of her; I wish she
-would come in.”
-
-“Perhaps,” continued Horace Meade, “you think that I have no business
-to say this; but the fact is, that I had expected to find, at least I
-had not expected to find—that is to say——”
-
-He stopped abruptly, and Embrance could not refrain from laughing: “You
-had imagined that Joan had set up housekeeping with a strong-minded
-woman of the most extreme type, who didn’t care what became of her.”
-
-“No, no, indeed!” began Horace, but she would go on.
-
-“Please let me explain to you that I would do anything, anything in the
-world to make Joan happy. I have been looking forward to your visit; I
-hoped that between us we could find some way of helping her.”
-
-It occurred to Horace that this would be an advantageous moment to say
-something complimentary, and get himself out of an awkward predicament,
-but he did not avail himself of the opportunity. He was a person who
-believed in his own insight of character, and Miss Clemon (who was so
-widely different from his preconceived notion of Joan’s learned friend)
-interested him very much; he was quite sure that she was open and
-honest as the day. Better be straightforward, too.
-
-“Thank you very much,” he said, almost as if she had conferred a favour
-on him personally, “I will think over what you have said; we will try
-and help her; and may I come again soon?”
-
-Embrance answered that she would be very glad to see him, and when,
-after a little more chat, he took his leave, she went singing into the
-next room, feeling lighter of heart than she had done for days. She
-liked Horace Meade very much, and how pleased Joan would be to hear of
-his arrival!
-
-Joan was, indeed, delighted to welcome her cousin; Mrs. Rakely invited
-him to the hotel, and there were many happy days spent in his society.
-His own rooms and studio were in a distant suburb, but he found time to
-make himself very agreeable to the ladies, and to show them the sights
-of London. Joan was in her element, but too soon there came a period
-of reaction. Mrs. Rakely went back to the country, and Horace began to
-work regularly; he was slowly making his way as a portrait painter.
-Joan fell into low spirits again, she wrote a great many letters,
-and received bulky communications from Mrs. Rakely, about which she
-maintained a silence, strangely unlike her usual talkativeness. Now
-and then she would turn wistful glances on Embrance, as if longing for
-sympathy, but she made no confidences. And Embrance treated her with
-great tenderness, believing that some slight squabble with Horace was
-the cause of her despondency. “Better not to worry her with too many
-questions,” she thought, “she will tell me in her own good time.”
-
-Horace came to the little second floor parlour, generally timing his
-visits so as to arrive about seven o’clock. He had dined at his club.
-If he might be allowed, it suited him best to drop in at this time. He
-hoped he wasn’t in the way. Embrance bade him heartily welcome, while
-Joan would forget her melancholy, and brighten into fresh beauty under
-the influence of her cousin’s pleasant talk. More than once Embrance,
-busy as she was, had attempted to leave the cousins to themselves,
-while she laboured at a side table; but Horace had a knack of coaxing
-her back to the fireside, asking her opinion on some interesting
-topic, or referring to her laughingly as a competent authority. And
-she had been enticed away to listen to his account of his travels, or
-description of his housekeeping failures in his own rooms. He set Joan
-hard at work painting menu cards and photograph frames, saying that he
-knew a man who would dispose of them at a fair price, and now and then
-he brought a drawing for her to copy, but he showed no sign of being
-impressed with the progress that she made.
-
-“Do you expect your cousin this evening?” asked Embrance, one
-afternoon, about a month after Christmas; “he has not been to see you
-for some time.”
-
-“No,” said Joan, wearily. She was lying full length on the hearthrug,
-with her head on a pillow, while Embrance arranged the ornaments on the
-mantelpiece to her better satisfaction; “but I have heard from him.”
-
-“What did he say?” asked Embrance, fancying that in Joan’s manner she
-could trace a desire to be further questioned; “is it a secret, Joan,
-or may I know all about it?”
-
-Joan fixed her great eyes upon Embrance, and raised herself from the
-ground with one arm: “I have got a secret, but I am not to tell you.
-Did you guess that I had?”
-
-Embrance nodded. She had finished putting the ornaments to rights, and
-now came and sat on a low chair by the fire. “You would rather not tell
-me about it just yet, Joan?”
-
-“Not yet,” said Joan, excitedly. “You will know soon. Mrs. Rakely
-knows. But, but”—she hesitated, “I don’t know when Horace will come
-here again; he is very inconsiderate sometimes. What do you think he
-proposed I should do? I met him one day and asked his advice—you are
-so busy, Embrance, there seems to be no time to talk to you. He says
-that I had better go back to Doveton!”
-
-“He wants to take her away from me,” thought Embrance, with a pang;
-“perhaps he is right, and I ought never to have kept her.” She took
-Joan’s hand and patted it softly. “There is no occasion to fret about
-it,” she said. “Would you like to go back, Joan?”
-
-“I don’t know,” said Joan, half crying. “I’m sorry I quarrelled with
-Horace. I was very disagreeable to him. He doesn’t think I ought to
-stay with you much longer.”
-
-“I am sorry,” began Embrance, humbly; but Joan was too much taken up
-with her own grievance to listen. She went on: “He offered to speak to
-the head of a firm he knows where they make furniture and employ people
-(artists, Horace calls them) to decorate rooms and paint panels. He
-said I should have to be taught to do it; and, oh! Embrance, I should
-hate to be shut up all day; I should feel as if I were in a prison; so
-I said I wouldn’t go and see his friend—that I would rather go on the
-stage. And then he advised me to go back to Doveton.” Joan was sitting
-bolt upright now, and her eyes were sparkling. “Do you think I behaved
-badly?”
-
-“It was very hard for you, my poor dear; but I dare say you were not so
-disagreeable as you imagine. He would make allowance for your not being
-accustomed to keep such regular hours.”
-
-“It’s you who make allowance,” cried Joan. “You are very good,
-Embrance; and I am keeping so much back from you. But don’t think
-hardly of me; promise me you won’t. Have patience with me, whatever I
-do.”
-
-A sharp east wind was blowing across the park; the chestnut-trees
-stretched their bare branches grimly towards the sky. Embrance Clemon
-was walking home after her day’s work; the dead leaves swept rustling
-and dancing towards her. A party of noisy children were racing after
-their hoops a few yards in front of her. She had just been told by the
-mother of a pupil, with many expressions of regret, that her services
-would not be required any more after Easter. Her head was full of
-plans, by which she could contrive to manage her slender resources, so
-that Joan should not be made to feel that she was in any way increasing
-the household difficulties. In truth, she could ill afford to lose a
-lesson just now. She had heard no more of Joan’s quarrel with Horace
-Meade; she imagined that that was made up long ago; the two had met
-more than once, she knew, at a friend’s house, but he had left off
-coming to call. Embrance missed his visits; it was clear to her now,
-looking back to the last few months, that Horace Meade had brought a
-great deal of happiness into their quiet lives—hers as well as Joan’s.
-And yet, try as she would, she could not but feel hurt that he should
-be so anxious to remove Joan from her influence. “It doesn’t matter,
-after all,” she reflected, walking faster and faster in the grey
-twilight, “what he thinks of me.” Nevertheless, it mattered so much,
-that Embrance grew sad at heart; there came over her a great longing to
-throw up the present occupation and go away, anywhere, and begin again;
-to shut up her past life tight and firm and to start afresh. And Joan?
-She almost smiled at her own folly, as she recollected how impossible
-it would be to leave Joan in such an unceremonious fashion.
-
-(_To be continued._)
-
-[Illustration]
-
-
-
-
-THE SHEPHERD’S FAIRY.
-
-A PASTORALE.
-
-BY DARLEY DALE, Author of “Fair Katherine,” etc.
-
-
-[Illustration: CHAP X—A FALSE STEP.]
-
-If it had not been for his anxiety about Fairy, this would have been
-an excursion quite after Jack’s own heart. He delighted in anything
-unusual which varied the monotony of his daily life, and if it partook
-of the nature of an adventure he was all the better pleased. As he and
-his father tramped along the Oatham-road, one walking on the extreme
-right, the other on the left hand side, it was natural that John should
-beguile the way with reminiscences of other fogs.
-
-“The worst fog I ever remember was when I was courting your mother,
-Jack. It was just after Lewes sheep fair, and a Saturday night, and it
-came on quite suddenly, so that I saw it was impossible to attempt to
-get the sheep home that night, for I was on Mount Caburn, and I did not
-know the mount so well then as I do now. But I always spent Saturday
-evening and the best part of Sunday with your mother, and I did not
-feel inclined to be done out of my weekly treat by the fog, so, though
-I could not get the sheep into fold, I thought I would leave them to
-take their chance till the fog lifted, and then come after them; I knew
-I should soon find them by the help of the bell-wethers and Rover, so
-I left the sheep, and set off to try and find my way home through the
-fog. I knew there were one or two nasty places where I might fall and
-break my neck, so I went pretty carefully, you may be sure. I had no
-lantern with me, and it was a darker night than to-night, and I think
-I must have wandered round and round the top of Mount Caburn for three
-or four hours before I even began to descend. At last I found I was
-actually on a downward track, though I had not the least idea which
-side of the hill I was, and I think if I had not been in love I should
-have remained where I was till the morning, or at least till the fog
-cleared. As it was, I determined, at all hazards, to go on, though I
-guessed I should get a scolding from your mother for my pains; so on
-I went, on my hands and knees, feeling my way before me, for I was
-afraid to walk upright lest I should step over a precipice, and at last
-I reached the bottom in safety. Then I had no idea where I was till,
-luckily for me, I met a man with a lantern, and he put me in the road,
-but it was too late to go to your mother’s that night, and the greater
-part of Sunday was spent in looking after the sheep, who had wandered
-for miles. But this fog won’t last much longer, Jack; the wind is
-rising,” said the shepherd.
-
-“Yes,” said Jack. “I wish it would blow those children home safely. I
-do hope nothing has happened to them; but Charlie is so careless, he
-leads Fairy into danger without thinking.”
-
-“She does not want much leading into danger; she is apt enough at
-running into that, I am thinking, Jack. But what is become of Rover?”
-said the shepherd, stopping and whistling.
-
-“Bow-wow-wow,” replied Rover, in an excited tone, from the depths of
-the fog.
-
-“Where are you, sir? Come here,” cried the shepherd.
-
-“Bow-wow-wow-wow,” answered Rover, in a still sharper key.
-
-“Come here, sir; what are you at?” cried John Shelley.
-
-“I hope he has not found the children in that chalk-pit. See, we are
-near the first one,” said Jack, crossing over to his father, and moving
-with him to the chalk-pit, which was at the side of the road.
-
-“I trust not, Jack. Here is Rover; he has found something, that is
-clear. All right, I am coming, good dog,” said the shepherd, as Rover
-now emerged from the fog, and, by dint of many barks and wagging of his
-tail, gave his master to understand that he had discovered something.
-
-The shepherd throwing the light of the lantern in the direction the dog
-indicated, followed him, while Jack, with his heart in his throat,
-dreading at every step that the next would bring him face to face with
-Fairy stretched lifeless at his feet—a picture his quick imagination
-had but little difficulty in conjuring up—brought up the rear.
-
-They were at the mouth of a large chalk-pit, but, owing to the density
-of the fog, the lantern did not enable them to see more than a yard
-before them; moreover, they were obliged to go very carefully, as huge
-pieces of chalk were scattered over the centre of the pit. Suddenly
-Jack kicked against something, and stooping, picked up a large gingham
-umbrella, which, to his joy, he saw at a glance did not belong to Fairy.
-
-“See, father, an umbrella; can this be what Rover is making all this
-fuss about?” asked Jack, handing the huge thing to his father to
-examine.
-
-“I doubt not; I am afraid we shall find the owner of the umbrella next,
-Jack, by Rover’s ways. But look, there is a name cut on the handle,
-and it looks as if it had been cut quite recently, too. See if you can
-make it out, I can’t; seems a foreign name to me,” said John Shelley,
-holding the umbrella close to his lantern for Jack to read.
-
-“D-e-t—No, it is a capital t; De Thorens, that is the name, plain
-enough. A foreign one, too, as you said. It must belong to some
-stranger, then; perhaps someone has lost his or her way and taken
-shelter in this pit. Let us shout, father, they may hear us,” and Jack
-shouted, but in vain.
-
-Rover now became more excited than ever, and seizing John Shelley by
-the skirts of his smock-frock, dragged him forward, until suddenly
-he came to a standstill, and loosing his hold of his master, sniffed
-round and round something which was lying a step or two further on.
-John Shelley stooped, and, lowering his lantern, turned the light on
-the object, and saw to his horror the apparently lifeless body of an
-old woman, which was lying huddled together in a shapeless mass. Gently
-and reverently the shepherd straightened the limbs, which were already
-getting cold and stiff, and then looking at the face, which was not
-disfigured by the fall, the old woman having fallen on her back, he
-recognised his old acquaintance Dame Hursey.
-
-“Is she dead, father?” asked Jack, in an awe-stricken voice, as he
-clutched his father’s arm, for it was a ghastly sight these two were
-gazing on in the cold, dark, foggy night, by the weird gleams of their
-lanterns.
-
-“Yes, Jack, yes; do you see who it is? Poor old Dame Hursey, the last
-person I ever thought to find here, for if anyone knew the Downs it was
-she. She is dressed in her best, too; she was not out wool-gathering,
-that is clear,” said the shepherd, slowly.
-
-“But what are we to do, father? We can’t leave her here, and we have
-not found Fairy and Charlie yet.”
-
-“We must leave her here for the present, Jack; she is dead, and must
-have been killed on the spot; I expect Rover will watch by her till we
-come back. We must separate; you go back to the police station for a
-stretcher and some men, while I go on and look for these children. I
-hope and trust they won’t come across this sight; it would give Fairy
-a terrible fright. Be as quick as you can, Jack, for if the children
-are not on the Race Hill we shall have to go in another direction. I’ll
-meet you at the police-station; I shall be back there by the time you
-have got the poor old dame carried there. Rover, stay here till Jack
-comes back.”
-
-No need to tell Rover twice; he laid down by the body at once, and
-there he would have remained till doomsday if Jack or his master had
-not returned before; and Jack, though he by no means liked his task,
-and would far rather have gone on to look for Fairy, obeyed as promptly
-as Rover.
-
-And where were Fairy and Charlie on this cold, dark November evening
-in this thick fog? They had not gone to Mount Harry after all, though
-they had set out with that intention, for as soon as they reached the
-Brighton-road Fairy had suggested they should go to Brighton instead,
-and though Charlie, who was rather lazily disposed, hesitated and
-raised objections, Fairy overthrew them all, and finally succeeded in
-persuading him to take her.
-
-The object of their walk was to pay a visit to a bird-stuffer in
-Brighton, and find out the price of an eared-grebe which had lately
-been shot in the neighbourhood, and which this man, as Jack, who had
-been over two or three times to look at the bird, had told Fairy, was
-stuffing and mounting. If only the price were reasonable, a better
-Christmas present for Jack could not be thought of. He would be wild
-with joy at possessing this bird, which Fairy described to Charlie from
-a picture Mr. Leslie had of it. Charlie did not care much what the
-price was, but he was curious to see this wonderful grebe with the ruff
-round its neck, so he consented to take Fairy.
-
-“How much do you think it will be, Charlie?” asked Fairy, as they
-trudged along the muddy road in the mist.
-
-“I don’t know; Gibbons will let us have it ever so much cheaper than
-anyone else, because Jack so often gives him birds and eggs, and all
-manner of curiosities. How much can you afford, that is the question?”
-
-“Well, mother will give me something, and John and Mr. Leslie will give
-me five or ten shillings, and I have got seven myself; I think I can
-afford a sovereign altogether. You must give something, too, Charlie,
-you know.”
-
-“That’s all the money I have,” said Charlie, putting his hands into
-his pockets and producing twopence halfpenny. “That won’t go far,” he
-added, ruefully.
-
-“Never mind, it will help. I do hope Gibbons will let us have it for a
-pound,” answered Fairy; and buoyed up with this hope, she walked into
-Brighton, a good eight miles, without once complaining of being tired.
-
-The bird-stuffer, who knew Charlie well, showed them the grebe with
-pride; but, alas! Fairy soon learnt that the price was far beyond her
-means, and feeling very much disappointed, for Jack’s sake, she half
-repented having taken such a long walk, especially as by the time they
-left the shop the fog had come on very thick, and the short November
-day was coming to a close. In spite of this, Charlie insisted on going
-to the beach to look at the sea for a few minutes, though it was quite
-out of their way, and Fairy, tired as she was, could not refuse to
-oblige him when he had come so far to oblige her. Happily a very brief
-peep at the dull, grey sea in this deepening fog satisfied Charlie,
-but, nevertheless, it was five o’clock before they started on their
-eight miles walk back to Lewes, and by the time they were quite clear
-of the town, which in those days was very much smaller than at present,
-and on the Lewes-road it was so dark they could not see the road before
-them, and were obliged to walk slowly in consequence; moreover, Fairy
-was so tired she hardly knew how to drag one leg before the other.
-
-“There is one comfort,” said Charlie, “it is a straight road; we can’t
-lose our way, and perhaps we shall meet someone who will give us a
-lift.”
-
-“I wish we could. How dark it is, Charlie. Are we half way yet, do you
-think?” asked poor Fairy, whose little feet were so sore she could not
-keep up with Charlie.
-
-“Half-way? No, not a quarter yet. You are tired, I know, though you
-won’t own it. I told you it was too far for you; here, take hold of my
-arm, and I’ll help you along,” said Charlie.
-
-Thus encouraged, Fairy plodded on for another mile or so, during which
-time one or two carts passed them, but either could not or would not
-hear their requests for a lift, and one so nearly ran over them in the
-darkness that they ceased to wish for any more to pass. But before they
-were half-way home Fairy declared she must stop and rest a little, and
-Charlie, who knew if anything happened to her he would get all the
-blame, began to get frightened lest she should faint or be taken ill on
-the road, far away as they were from any village.
-
-“Will you let me try and carry you, Fairy?” he asked.
-
-“You?” laughed Fairy, in spite of her fatigue; “you carry me? Why, I
-doubt if Jack could, even. No, thank you; let me rest a little on this
-tree I nearly fell over, and then I’ll go on again.”
-
-“Very well, but you must not rest long, or you’ll catch cold; besides,
-we shan’t get home to-night at this rate. Now, when I have counted up
-to a hundred, I shall haul you up,” said Charlie, beginning to assert a
-little gentle authority under the circumstances.
-
-Thus they went on, Fairy walking about half-a-mile at first, and then
-stopping to rest, but each rest grew longer and each walk shorter, and
-Charlie, who had never had a very high opinion of girls in general,
-much as he admired Fairy in particular, came to the conclusion that
-they were all pretty much alike, and that there was not much to choose
-between them. Poor, weak things, they got tired directly, and could
-not even walk sixteen miles without making a fuss!
-
-At last, when they were about a mile and a half from the shepherd’s
-house, and Fairy now could only walk if Charlie supported and led her,
-they saw a lantern coming towards them, and to their joy found it was
-John Shelley.
-
-“Oh, John, I am so glad,” cried Fairy, as the shepherd turned the
-lantern full on her.
-
-“Fairy! Why, my pretty one, where have you been?” cried John.
-
-“To Brighton; and, oh! John, I am so tired; I shall never get home.”
-
-“To Brighton? Charlie, what do you mean by taking her to Brighton?
-But we will get home first, and talk about that afterwards. Take the
-lantern, Charlie, and lead the way. The child is dead beat; I must
-carry her.” And without another word the shepherd took Fairy up in his
-strong arms and carried her home, stopping now and then to rest, but
-declaring he was not tired, as she was so light, and he was used to
-carrying lambs; and was not she his pet lamb?
-
-This was one of his names for Fairy, and finding he did not seem to
-mind carrying her, she submitted gratefully, for she was so tired she
-did not care how she got home, as long as she got there somehow.
-
-Mrs. Shelley was at the gate wrapped up in a shawl, and feeling
-dreadfully nervous about them, although John had not told her of Dame
-Hursey’s terrible end when he came in an hour ago to say, just as Jack
-had started off to Mount Caburn to look for the children, he had heard
-they had been seen in Brighton that afternoon.
-
-“Here they are, Polly, quite safe, only Fairy is tired out,” said John,
-as he carried Fairy into the house, and placed her in his own chair
-before the fire.
-
-“Thank God! Children, children, where have you been? But I must tell
-Jack first; he has just come in, and was going to have some supper and
-then start off after you, John. Jack, where are you? They are safe,”
-cried Mrs. Shelley to Jack, who was upstairs.
-
-Down rushed Jack to see for himself that it was true. He looked pale
-and anxious, for besides the shock of Dame Hursey’s death, he was tired
-out with his search for Fairy after his day’s work on the downs.
-
-“Well, a pretty chase you have given father and me, Mr. Charlie,
-dragging Fairy to Brighton in this cheerful weather. If you are not
-ashamed of yourself, you ought to be.”
-
-“I did not drag her there; I dragged her home, and a pretty tough job
-it was, I can tell you,” said Charlie.
-
-“It was my fault, Jack, not Charlie’s; I won’t have him scolded; and we
-had all our walk for nothing, and as John is not angry, I don’t mean to
-be scolded either,” said Fairy.
-
-“No, John never is angry with you; if he were sometimes you would not
-be half so much trouble; but come, it is no use making a fuss about
-it; they are home safely, thank God, so let us have supper,” said Mrs.
-Shelley.
-
-But somehow, in spite of their fatigue and long fast, no one was hungry
-except Charlie, whose appetite seldom failed him. Fairy was much too
-tired to eat, and Mrs. Shelley too glad and thankful to have them all
-safe around her, while the shepherd and Jack could not forget poor Dame
-Hursey’s fate, which they were only waiting till Fairy and Charlie were
-gone to bed to discuss with Mrs. Shelley.
-
-Fairy soon asked to be excused, as she was so tired, and Charlie,
-having been sent off with a huge piece of bread and cheese to consume
-at his leisure, John and Jack told Mrs. Shelley of the accident.
-
-“Oh dear! oh dear! and to think it might have been that child, Fairy,
-or Charlie, instead of poor old Dame Hursey! I shall tell them both
-to-morrow, and I hope it will be a lesson to them to be more careful
-in the future. Poor old woman! there will have to be an inquest, of
-course,” said Mrs. Shelley.
-
-“Yes, the inquest is to-morrow, but there is no one to give evidence
-except father and me,” said Jack.
-
-However, when Fairy was told the next morning what had happened, it
-was found she was able to throw a little light on the matter, knowing,
-as she did, that Dame Hursey had gone to meet her son George the day
-her death occurred. She had evidently lost her way in the fog after
-leaving him, and the coroner’s jury brought in a verdict of accidental
-death without any hesitation. Some little discussion was raised as
-to the umbrella with the name De Thorens cut on the handle, but as
-it was remembered the last time George Hursey was heard of in Lewes
-he was living in France, the coroner suggested the umbrella was his,
-and that he had perhaps given it to his mother to help her home. This
-theory satisfied everyone but Jack, and he, for reasons of his own,
-kept his ideas on the subject to himself. He always had thought Dame
-Hursey knew more about Fairy than anyone, and somehow he could not help
-thinking this word De Thorens had something to do with the child. He
-was certain the coroner’s theory was untrue, because he had seen Dame
-Hursey with this identical umbrella over and over again; moreover, the
-name was recently cut, and as he knew the old woman could not have
-done it herself, he guessed her son George did, but why or wherefore
-he could not determine; only he suspected it had something to do with
-Fairy. But though he turned the subject over in his own mind again
-and again as he followed his sheep on the lonely downs, he could make
-nothing of it, though he felt sure he held the key to the solution of
-the mystery of Fairy’s origin in his hand, if he only knew how to use
-it. On the whole, curious as he was about it, he was not sorry to be
-unable to solve the puzzle since he feared its solution would lead to
-his separation from Fairy.
-
-If he could have known how that one false step of poor old Dame
-Hursey’s prevented Fairy from being restored to her parents, shocked
-as he had been at her terrible death, it is doubtful if he could have
-regretted her sad end as sincerely as he did.
-
-(_To be continued._)
-
-
-
-
-VARIETIES.
-
-
-A WORD TO PRIDE.
-
-    Say to thy pride, “’Tis all but ashes for the urn;
-    Come, let us own our dust, before to dust we turn.”
-
-
-THE SILENT LOVER.
-
-    Silence in love bewrays more woe
-      Than words, though ne’er so witty;
-    A beggar that is dumb, you know,
-      May challenge double pity.
-            —_Raleigh._
-
-
-MUSICAL CRITICISM.—There are two kinds of people who ought to give
-their opinions about music; those who know enough about it to give an
-opinion which is really valuable, and those who simply say what they
-like and what they don’t like, and no more.
-
-
-A STRENGTHENING MEDICINE.
-
-A Parisian chemist recently advertised his strengthening medicine for
-delicate people in the following terms:—
-
-“Madame S. was so weak at the time of her marriage that she could
-hardly stand upright at the altar. Now, after using several bottles
-of my medicine, she is capable of throwing the smoothing iron at her
-husband without missing him once.”
-
-
-A GENEROUS NATURE.—Generosity is in nothing more seen than in a candid
-estimation of other men’s virtues and good qualities.—_Barrow._
-
-
-SAVING HABITS.—Take care to be an economist in prosperity; there is no
-fear of not being one in adversity.
-
-
-THE MIND’S SWEETNESS.
-
-      Let thy mind’s sweetness have his operation
-    Upon thy body, clothes, and habitation.
-            —_George Herbert._
-
-
-BY FITS AND STARTS.
-
-    The rogue and fool by fits is fair and wise,
-    And even the best by fits what they despise.
-            —_Pope._
-
-
-WHAT IS WIT?
-
-    True wit is nature to advantage dressed,
-    What oft was thought but ne’er so expressed.
-            —_Pope._
-
-
-SELF-KNOWLEDGE.—It is not until we have passed through the furnace that
-we are made to know how much dross is in our composition.
-
-
-FLUENT SPEECH.—The common fluency of speech in most men and most women,
-says Dean Swift, is owing to a scarcity of matter and scarcity of
-words; for whoever is a master of language, and hath a mind full of
-ideas, will be apt, in speaking, to hesitate upon the choice of both;
-whereas common speakers have only one set of ideas and one set of words
-to clothe them in, and these are always ready at the mouth. So people
-come faster out of church when it is almost empty than when a crowd is
-at the door.
-
-
-AN OBJECTION TO HATRED.—Plutarch says, very finely, that a man should
-not allow himself to hate even his enemies; for if you indulge this
-passion on some occasions it will rise of itself on others.—_Addison._
-
-
-AMUSEMENT FOR THE WISE.
-
-Amusement is not an end, but a means—a means of refreshing the mind
-and replenishing the strength of the body; when it begins to be the
-principal thing for which one lives, or when, in pursuing it, the
-mental powers are enfeebled, and the bodily health impaired, it falls
-under just condemnation.
-
-Amusements that consume the hours which ought to be sacred to sleep,
-are, therefore, censurable.
-
-Amusements that call us away from work which we are bound to do are
-pernicious, just to the extent to which they cause us to be neglectful
-or unfaithful.
-
-Amusements that rouse or stimulate morbid appetites or unlawful
-passions, or that cause us to be restless or discontented, are always
-to be avoided.
-
-Any indulgence in amusement which has a tendency to weaken our respect
-for the great interests of character, or to loosen our hold on the
-eternal verities of the spiritual realm, is so far an injury to us.
-
-
-FISH AGAINST FRY.
-
-The following _jeu d’esprit_ was suggested by an action at law some
-years ago, in which the parties were a Mr. Fry and a Mr. Fish:—
-
-    “The Queen’s Bench Reports have cooked up an odd dish,
-    In action for damages _Fry_ versus _Fish_;
-    But sure, if for damages action could lie,
-    It certainly must have been _Fish_ against _Fry_.”
-
-
-WISE WORDS ON READING.
-
-One of the common errors of the day is indulgence in indiscriminate
-reading. The greater the number of books the more careful readers ought
-to be in the choice of them, and as a guide to their value nothing
-could be better than the following wise words of Southey:—
-
-“Young readers, you whose hearts are open, whose understandings are not
-yet hardened, and whose feelings are neither exhausted nor encrusted
-with the world, take from me a better rule than any professors of
-criticism will teach you.
-
-“Would you know whether the tendency of a book is good or evil, examine
-in what state of mind you lay it down. Has it induced you to suspect
-that what you have been accustomed to think unlawful may after all be
-innocent, and that that may be harmless which you have hitherto been
-taught to think dangerous? Has it tended to make you dissatisfied and
-impatient under the control of others, and disposed you to relax in
-that self-government without which both the laws of God and man tell us
-there can be no virtue, and consequently no happiness? Has it attempted
-to abate your admiration and reverence for what is great and good, and
-to diminish in you a love of your country and of your fellow creatures?
-Has it addressed itself to your pride, your vanity, your selfishness,
-or any of your evil propensities? Has it defiled the imagination with
-what is loathsome, and shocked the heart with what is monstrous? Has it
-distracted the sense of right and wrong which the Creator has implanted
-in the human soul?
-
-“If so—if you have felt that such were the effects it was intended to
-produce—throw the book into the fire, whatever name it may bear upon
-the title-page. Throw it into the fire, young man, though it should
-have been the gift of a friend; young lady, away with the whole set,
-though it should be the prominent furniture in the rosewood bookcase.”
-
-
-TAUGHT BY A ROBIN.—I am sent to the ant to learn industry, to the dove
-to learn innocence, to the serpent to learn wisdom, and why not to the
-robin redbreast, who chants as delightfully in winter as in summer, to
-learn equanimity and patience?
-
-
-HANDS AND FEET.
-
-Hands are no more beautiful for being small than eyes are for being
-big; but many a modern girl would ask her fairy godmother, if she had
-one, to give her eyes as big as saucers and hands as small as those
-of a doll, believing that the first cannot be too large nor the last
-too small. Tiny hands and feet are terms constantly used by poets and
-novelists in a most misleading manner. It cannot be possible that
-they are intended by the writers to express anything but general
-delicacy and refinement; but a notion is encouraged that results in the
-destruction of one of the most beautiful of natural objects—the human
-foot.
-
-This unfortunate notion, that the beauty of the foot depends upon
-its smallness, leads to the crippling of it, till it becomes in many
-cases a bunch of deformity. It is a most reprehensible practice, alike
-revolting to good taste and good sense, to put the foot of a growing
-girl into a shoe that is not only too short, crumpling the toes into
-a bunch, but, being pointed, turns the great toe inwards, producing
-deformity of general shape, and, in course of time, inevitable bunions,
-the only wonder being that steadiness in standing or any grace of
-movement at all is left.
-
-
-GIRLS AND THEIR MOTHERS.—A writer in a contemporary calls attention to
-the very objectionable sharpness with which some girls speak to their
-mothers. “In a railway carriage on our journey north,” she says, “the
-window seats at one end were occupied by two ladies, evidently mother
-and daughter. The latter appeared to be out of temper. The former
-mildly remarked, ‘Do you not think we had better have the window up?’
-the reply was, ‘Most certainly not,’ delivered in F sharp key. If I
-were a modern Cœlebs in search of a wife, I should very carefully
-observe the young lady’s manner to her mother before asking the
-momentous question, for a girl must be vixenish at heart and unamiable
-indeed, when she can address her own mother with such careless rudeness
-as one too often hears.”
-
-
-MODESTY.—Modesty is the appendage of sobriety, and is to chastity, to
-temperance, and to humility, as the fringes are to a garment.—_Jeremy
-Taylor._
-
-
-
-
-ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS.
-
-
-EDUCATIONAL.
-
-MACACO and F. S. D.—“Macaco” recommends a correspondence class,
-conducted by a Miss Macarthur, 4, Buckingham-street, Hillhead,
-Glasgow. We have before drawn attention to a little useful shilling
-manual called “A Directory of Girls’ Clubs,” chiefly educational, and
-including religious studies and unions for prayer (Messrs. Griffith and
-Farran, St. Paul’s-churchyard, E.C.). By procuring this a choice can be
-made, as the rules and terms of most of them are given. “F. S. D.” had
-better try again, by all means, when we give another competition. It
-will be found, as you say, to do good, even to those who do not prove
-winners.
-
-ELLA.—You might find the first instruction books in history, geography,
-and grammar at a secondhand bookstall for a mere trifle. Later on, you
-may have the means to obtain the more advanced.
-
-ALTA.—See our answers under the above heading, so continually repeated
-in reference to your questions. You are too young to be received as a
-nurse. See our reply to “L. N.,” page 31, vol. vi. (part for October,
-1884).
-
-ICIPLE.—We do not recommend teachers and Board-school mistresses to
-look for engagements in the colonies, however well supplied with
-certificates. Nevertheless, to render the matter more certain you had
-better obtain information and advice at the Women’s Emigration office,
-in Dorset-street, Portman-square, W.
-
-JEMIMA.—1. We can only say to you what we have had to say to many—you
-must accept what terms you can get as a governess, your youth being
-against you: a “fault that will mend.” The trainer and caretaker,
-morally and physically, of children and young people under age is paid
-for her experience and extensive knowledge of many kinds, not merely
-for her acquirements in science and art. 2. “The Flowers of the Field,”
-by the Rev. C. A. Johns, is a nice book of the kind you require (43,
-Piccadilly, W.).
-
-S. B. O. F. W.—We think your writing would pass for the examination
-you name; but if rounded a little it would be prettier. If you wish to
-know how you may serve Christ, read His own words (in the four gospels)
-and those of His apostles. Be much in prayer for the aid of the Holy
-Spirit, and try to perform the daily duties of life as in His sight.
-Deny yourself for others, control your temper, and set a good example.
-
-
-MUSIC.
-
-DINAH begs us to give her “a great ‘hunch’ of advice” as to the kind of
-instrument she may purchase for ten shillings, because, having rather
-limited means, amounting to “tenpence per week,” she “could not give a
-high price.” She thinks “a bango would suit her, because much like a
-nigger,” etc. We advise her to go to a musical instrument shop and see
-what she can get for the price she names.
-
-ROB ROY.—One of the largest organs in the world is, we believe, that
-which you may see in the Royal Albert Hall, South Kensington. It is by
-Willis. It contains 111 sounding stops, and nearly 8,000 pipes. Next
-to it is the organ in St. George’s Hall, Liverpool, which has 5,739
-pipes; and the Crystal Palace organ has 4,568 pipes. The organ may be
-splendidly played by a woman, but, on account of the foot pedals, it is
-by no means suitable for her. The strain upon the back and lower part
-of the frame is very apt to result in physical injury.
-
-MARY BIRD.—There is no reason why you should not play the flute, if
-you have one, excepting that it distorts the shape of the mouth—at
-least, for the time—and it is, we suppose, on this account unusual as
-an instrument for female culture. The clarionette would be equally
-objectionable for some faces, yet it is not unfrequently adopted by
-women. The oldest tune or piece of music in existence is of Hebrew
-origin—_i.e._, the “Blessing of the Priests,” which is used in the
-Spanish and Portuguese synagogues, and was sung in the Temple at
-Jerusalem from very remote times.
-
-
-MISCELLANEOUS.
-
-SISTER TO “CAGED BEAUTY.”—Your request will be considered. We have a
-special interest in our girls and other readers scattered over our
-far-off colonies. Your letter is well expressed, and your handwriting
-is legible and fairly good.
-
-“A BOTHERING GIRL.”—The books of Esdras are in the collection called
-the “Apocrypha,” and this may be had from any library. These books are
-not inspired, though much that is good is to be found in them, together
-with curious fables and traditions. The books of the Maccabees are
-much thought of as historical works of great antiquity. A list of the
-canonical books of both the Old and the New Testaments is to be found
-in all Bibles, and that of the Lamentations of the Prophet Jeremiah is
-included amongst them.
-
-EMMA.—The reason that some words are printed in italics in the Bible
-is simply this: that there are no corresponding words in the original
-language from which the translation was made; but the English words
-supplied were necessary to give the meaning, which could not be
-understood without them. Perhaps when we give the following example you
-will understand what we mean. We all know what is meant when people
-say, “How do you do?” but translate it into French, word for word, and
-the meaning would be lost.
-
-DEARIE should learn to spell better. She speaks of the word “desert,”
-which denotes a barren, uncultivated waste of arid sandy land, but by
-which she says she means the last course at dinner, that of fruit,
-ice, and sweetmeats. Now this course is called “dessert,” and the
-emphasis in its pronunciation is placed on the second syllable, and as
-if spelt with a “z” (“de-zert”), whereas in the word “desert” it is on
-the first, as “dez-ert.” “Bivouac” is pronounced as “biv-oo-ak.” Her
-writing is very pretty, and we thank her for her kind letter.
-
-ANGLICAN CATHOLIC.—We do not give private addresses. St. Augustine was
-sent over to this country by Pope Gregory the Great as a missionary,
-Christianity having been nearly exterminated by the invasions with
-which it was so terribly harassed. He found a Christian church at
-Canterbury (St. Martin’s), where Queen Bertha worshipped, having
-Luithard as her priest and director. She was a French princess, and
-brought him over with her. At that early time the Roman Church had not
-evolved nor promulgated many of her modern dogmas.
-
-MARY M.—It is not essential that you should send your address in
-writing to the Editor, as in many cases it might hinder the expression,
-feelings, and difficulties with the full freedom necessary to ensure
-satisfactory advice.
-
-EDMUNDA YORKE.—You had better write and tell him that, having so
-forgotten himself and taken undue advantage of the intimacy involved
-in the relations between a doctor and his patient on the occasion of
-your last visit, your self-respect compelled you, with much regret, to
-forego the benefit of his treatment, and you would be obliged if he
-would return your book and send in his account.
-
-E. M. TRILL.—You will receive what you require by attending to the
-directions given at the end of every article by the “Lady Dressmaker.”
-The Editor cannot attend to that department.
-
-ONE SEEKING LIGHT.—1. We recommend you to join the Odd Minutes Society,
-of which the secretary is Miss Powell, of Luctons, Buckhurst-hill,
-Essex. She will send you all particulars about it, and we think it is
-exactly the useful work that you require. 2. Read Isaiah i. 16, 17, 18,
-lv. 7, and Ezekiel xxxiii. compared with St. John vi. 37, and Hebrews
-vii. 25.
-
-VIOLET.—1. Place the steel ornaments in oil, and leave them there
-for some time to soak off the rust, and then rub well with a soft
-toothbrush and chamois-leather. 2. Your handwriting is not formed.
-Spell “truly” without the “e.” Final “e’s” in adjectives are dropped
-when they are formed into adverbs.
-
-ALLEGRO, MAB, GIPSY.—There is Miss Mason’s Home of Rest for Christian
-Workers, 7 and 8, Cambridge-gardens, Kilburn, N.W.; seaside branch,
-Burlington-place, Eastbourne. Terms, from 7s. to £1 per week. There is
-also The Cottage Home of Rest, 2, Tilsey Villas, King’s-road, Norbiton
-(close to Richmond Park). Apply for form of admission to Mrs. J. M.
-Pearson, The Grange, Kingston-hill. Also see our answer to “Daisy.” We
-think that Cobham, Surrey, would suit you.
-
-IDALIA (Demerara).—We read your nice letter with interest, and tried to
-realise the sketch you give of your surroundings. How we wish we could
-see the “pink and red morning glory,” the “Hushfalia,” “Waxplant,”
-and Stephanotis “running all up to the banisters on both sides,” etc.
-Accept our thanks for the kind wish expressed to send us some of them.
-We do “take the will for the deed.” By some means your silver bracelet
-has become oxidised, and your only plan will be to send it to a
-silversmith. Your writing, if sloped a little from right to left, would
-be excellent.
-
-OMNIA VINCIT AMOR.—The form of speech, in such common use, to which you
-refer, is perfectly understood (in the real meaning assigned to it) by
-the visitors to whom it is addressed. Thus it is not a deception. There
-are “at home days,” and “not at home days.” On the former your mistress
-will be found in her reception-room; on the latter, she will not be
-found awaiting visitors there. If persons in society agree together
-to adopt a certain phrase to signify a certain thing, and not as a
-deception, you may use that phrase, at the orders of your mistress, in
-the sense in which she meant, and her visitors will receive it. Your
-letter and the verses, though incorrect in composition, do you credit,
-and we wish you God-speed!
-
-HOPE.—We recommend you to get a small sixpenny manual on canaries and
-their treatment. Your bird has probably been in a draught. See our
-article at page 775, vol. iii. Our correspondents are as numerous as
-ever, and the difficulty is to find space for all the answers written.
-Your handwriting is not formed.
-
-MARIAN.—The Jewish year begins with Tisri, which month follows
-immediately after the new moon following the autumnal equinox; but the
-ecclesiastical year begins with the seventh month—viz., Nizan or Abib.
-The following is the entire list:—Tisri, Marchesvan, Chislev, Thebet,
-Sebat, Adar, Nisan, Tjar, Givan, Thammuz, Ab, and Elal.
-
-MISCEL.—When reading or reciting to a public audience, it is usual to
-stand, unless the piece to be read be very long. You should (or might)
-hold the letter. “If you were to see So-and-so painted by so poor a
-painter, and bad _at that_” (bad event for a bad attempt). This is the
-meaning of the Americanism.
-
-INQUIRER.—Chemists have signs of their trade like other tradesmen.
-The hairdresser has a striped pole, the publican chequers, or a bush,
-etc. Divide your ancient from your modern coins, and let each of these
-be sub-divided according to size and age. Have little trays with a
-succession of shallow circular cells lined with coloured paper to
-receive them, deep enough to preserve them from any touch of the tray
-that lies on it.
-
-IGNORAMUS.—You could clean the large white skin hearthrug by means of
-powdered plaster of Paris. There is no difficulty in making a small
-copy of a large picture; the difficulty would be in enlarging.
-
-[Illustration: SHE STRETCHETH OUT HER HAND TO THE POOR;
-YEA, SHE REACHETH FORTH HER HANDS TO THE NEEDY.
-
-PROV. XXXI, 20.]
-
-M. W. A.—On a liberal computation, the cost of keeping a pony varies
-from £10 to £20 per annum. The grazing will cost less than that of a
-cow, and £4 or £5 would cover it. You may give him turnips and carrots,
-and scraps from the house of vegetables and bread. Oats would cost
-about 10s. a month; but they are really quite unnecessary. A cartload
-of hay at a corn-merchant’s price would be about £5, more or less,
-and this should last one pony from the end of a summer’s grass (about
-the end of October) till the beginning of May next year, when grass
-would be resumed. But unless the animal were groomed and harnessed by
-yourself, you must also take the expense of a groom into your account,
-and the cost and repair of a trap.
-
-KATHLEEN.—Rest your foot for a couple of days, and if inflamed poultice
-it a few times; then cut the nail quite straight at the top, and scrape
-(with a penknife or scrap of glass) down the centre to thin the nail
-in the middle, and so dispose the sides to rise up instead of bending
-downwards and inwards, from the convex (or rounded) shape of the nail.
-It might be best at first to cut the nail rather in a “u” or “v”
-shape in the middle, instead of quite straight across, as you may do
-afterwards.
-
-PERPLEXED ONE.—The only wrong we see about the whole matter is that you
-did not confide all to your mother. A girl should keep no secret of her
-own from her. She is the adviser and the protector of her daughter, and
-if desirable that you should renew your acquaintance with him, she will
-know best what steps to take. Never let her find out by chance what
-concerns you so seriously, more especially when anyone else has been
-made a confidant.
-
-GUINEVERE.—1. The term “furniture” is too vague to enable us to give
-you advice. You do not even say whether it be wood, stuff, or leather.
-It is very hard to remove inkstains, but if you refer to our indexes
-you will find more than one recipe for removing them. The probability
-is that in taking them out you extract the dye of the material
-likewise. 2. Break up a small stick of chocolate into a cup, and pour
-the least drop of boiling water upon it. When dissolved, pour boiling
-milk upon it, stirring all the time.
-
-LANGE.—Sponge the oil-cloths with milk and water, and rub them dry;
-then rub over with beeswax, dissolved in a little linseed oil. We
-“thing” your handwriting is not formed, but promises well. We think
-little girls ought to be “shy.” It will wear off quite as much and as
-soon as it will be desirable for you to get rid of it.
-
-CHRISTABEL.—Probably the letter may be returned to your friend through
-the Dead Letter Office. You write a curious hand, but it is very
-legible, which is the great object to be gained.
-
-SHARP does not always merit her nickname. She says: “A gentleman said I
-have dreamy Southern eyes. I am as a rule treated kindly. Perhaps it is
-because I have such pure blue orbs.” Now, little lady, you have made a
-blunder—sharp as you may be—for Southern eyes are black, not blue. 2.
-Weymouth is a very nice place, and while there we advise you to write
-copies and learn the correct spelling of what you call “Wensday.” For
-all particulars respecting clerkships in the Telegraph Department, you
-must apply to the Civil Service Commissioners, in Cannon-row, W.C.
-
-A. M. H.—Gainsborough’s “Duchess” was at Agnew’s when it disappeared.
-
-R. S. V. P.—Clean your white wool shawl with flour, or rinse it in a
-lather of soft tepid water and curd-soap, or in bran and water. We are
-glad that you found our recipe for apple pickle so satisfactory. We
-congratulate you on your writing.
-
-T. C. S.—Have you consulted your mother’s wishes respecting your
-leaving home to be a missionary? Remember that however excellent a
-profession may be, your first duty is to your parents. You are only
-in your teens, and, even were you of age, God’s providence might have
-other work for you to do. Your prayer should be “Lord, what wouldst
-Thou have me to do?” and He will probably answer you through the voice
-of your parents. “Requite” them; and if they approve of your desire,
-write to Miss Lloyd, 143, Clapham-road, S.W., secretary of the Mission
-Training House for Ladies, The Poplars, Addlestone, Surrey.
-
-CLARRIE.—The author of “John Halifax, Gentleman,” is Mrs. Craik, _née_
-Muloch.
-
-DEEPLY ANXIOUS.—Be at peace. You have confessed to God and a sister,
-and have truly repented and made restitution. There is no occasion for
-your telling anyone else, nor of doing more than making the little
-present you propose to give. Sin under all these circumstances is sin
-forgiven.
-
-POSSIE.—The edelweiss is an Alpine flower. It resembles a star, with
-irregular rays, cut out of frosted velvet, of a cream colour, and
-there is a pretty centre to it. So many travellers have carried away
-the roots of this plant, that the Swiss Government has issued an order
-prohibiting it under a penalty.
-
-STAR.—We have many times warned inquirers that those who advertise
-for used English postage stamps do so for nefarious purposes—that is
-to say, they obliterate the postmarks and defraud the Government by
-selling them for use a second time. For felony like this the severest
-punishment is due. Do not lend yourself to such evil doings.
-
-GWEN.—The little roll or piece of bread used at dinner is generally
-placed within the folds of the napkin or at the right of the plate.
-
-VENTNOR LASSIE.—You should take the prescription to a good chemist.
-He will understand all about it, and give further directions; but our
-advice is, leave nature alone, and do not mind the quizzing. If they
-saw you were quite indifferent to it they would desist.
-
-MARGARET.—There is a swimming club held in the Queen’s-road, Bayswater,
-just beyond Whiteley’s, besides at 309, Regent-street, W., and
-elsewhere.
-
-MAYFLY.—There is a Home of Rest at Malvern, where girls in business,
-ladies of small means, and servants may be received at from 7s. to
-£1 per week. Members of the Girls’ Friendly Society are taken at the
-lowest rate named, and any respectable girls recommended by two members
-or two associates of that society will be eligible and received, room
-permitting.
-
-GRANDPAPA’S WORRY.—1. We must refer you to advice already given in
-our pages respecting the constitutionally damp condition of either
-hands or feet. There is no such thing as “fate.” 2. There is a Divine
-Providence, and we are told that evils threatened, and even prophesied
-by God’s command, may be averted through repentance and prayer. Nothing
-happens by chance, and not only this world, but the whole universe, is
-ruled and sustained with a regularity and method like that of the most
-perfect clockwork.
-
-SMIKE.—The 29th of February, 1865, was a Wednesday.
-
-SCOTCH NELL.—We should prefer the Shetland pony, if well trained and
-sure-footed, for our own use.
-
-LUCY must take the pebbles to a lapidary and have them drilled.
-
-       *       *       *       *       *
-
-[Transcriber’s note—the following changes have been made to this text.
-
-Page 176: Dittograph “not” corrected—“does not always merit”.]
-
-
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-363, DECEMBER 11, 1886 ***
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