,illustration3 ,,the ,,girl',s ,,own    
,,paper    ,,vol4 ,,xx4--,,no4 #ajbe4   
,,august #ai1 #ahii4       ,,price ,,one
 ,,penny4          ,,london',s ,,future 
,,housewives ,,and ,,their ,,teachers4  
,illustration3 ,a ,,housewifery ,,class 
,,at ,,battersea ,,polytechnic4    ,all 
rights reserved4      ,if one stands at 
the entrance of a large ,board school   
either at dinner  or tea-time and       
watches the pupils trooping out1 one    
often wonders  what will become of all  
these lively children in a few years'   
time1  what they will make of their     
lives1 and how enough work is to be     
found  for them all4 ,has it ever struck
 any of my readers that1 whatever the   
boys may do in the way of work1 sooner  
or later that of the girls is  certain8 
,they are going to be the wives or      
housekeepers of these or  other boys4   
,they will be dressmakers1 tailoresses1 
servants1 factory  girls or what not for
 a time1 but their final business will  
be  housekeeping1 and housekeeping too  

on small means1 so that a great deal  of
 skill1 care and knowledge will be      
needed if they are to do it well4       
,how are the girls to be trained for    
this very important work of theirs8     
,their school life is very short2 the   
time they will have to spare  after     
leaving school will be very little1     
their leisure hours in the  evening     
being wanted for rest and recreation as 
well as for learning2  it will be small 
wonder if many of them marry without any
 knowledge of  household management and 
if the comfort and happiness of their   
home is  ruined in consequence4    ,the 
question is so serious that people      
interested in education have  given it a
 great deal of thought4 ,there is little
 doubt that1 if it  were possible1 the  
best plan would be to give a year's     
training in  housekeeping to every girl 
when she leaves school2 but alas6 since 
most girls from elementary schools are  
obliged to earn money as early  as      
possible1 this plan cannot be carried   

out4 ,the only thing that can  be done  
by the managers of elementary schools is
 to proceed on the  principle that 8half
 a loaf is better than no bread10 to    
give the  girls1 while still at school1 
weekly lessons for a certain number  of 
weeks each year1 in cookery and         
laundry-work1 and sometimes in          
housewifery generally1 and to encourage 
them to attend evening classes  after   
they have left school4 ,a great deal of 
good has been done in this  way1 but the
 children are so young and the lessons  
necessarily so few1  so far between and 
so fragmentary1 that the result is very 
far from  being all that could be       
wished4    ,seeing this1 the ,technical 
,education ,board of the ,london ,county
 ,council  five years ago began to      
establish1 one after another1 ,schools  
of  ,domestic ,economy to which girls   
should go for five months at a time     
after leaving the ordinary schools1 and 
where they should be occupied  for the  
whole school hours five days a week in  

household work1 thus  giving them an    
opportunity of really understanding     
their future  duties as housewives4 ,the
 question of enabling poor people to    
afford  this five months' extra teaching
 for their girls was a difficult one  to
 meet1 but as far as it could be done it
 has been done by giving  free          
scholarships at these schools and by    
providing the scholars with  their      
dinner and tea free of cost1 and        
providing also the material  required by
 each girl for making herself a dress1  
an apron and some  under-garment during 
her time at the school4 ,with only two  
exceptions1  these schools1 which are   
nine in number1 are held in the         
polytechnics  or in technical           
institutes1 a capital arrangement       
whereby the rooms  needed for evening   
classes for adults are used also during 
the day-time4    ,let us look in at one 
of the schools and see of what a day's  
work  consists4 ,we will choose the     
school at the ,battersea ,polytechnic1  

because a ,training ,school for         
,teachers is held there as well as a    
school for girls1 and we shall have a   
double interest in the work4  ,the      
,polytechnic is a great building        
standing back from ,battersea ,park     
,road1 and at about nine o'clock in the 
morning we shall find a stream  of      
teachers and pupils hurrying into it1   
masters and mistresses of the  ,science 
,school1 the ,domestic ,economy ,school1
 and the ,training ,school  for         
,teachers of ,domestic ,economy2 boys   
and girls of the ,science ,school2      
girls and women students of the two     
,domestic ,economy ,schools2 and a  few 
minutes later we shall find these all   
gathered in a large hall  for 8call     
over0 and prayers1 and then filing off  
to their separate  departments4    ,let 
us ask ,miss ,mitchell1 the head of the 
,domestic ,economy ,schools1 to  spare  
us a little of her time and explain the 
work to us4 ,we follow the  women and   
girls to a separate wing of the         

building1 and as they divide  off into  
the different class-rooms we enter the  
large cookery school  and watch the     
students in training settling down to   
their morning's  work1 fetching their   
pots and pans from cupboards and        
shelves1 looking  up the list of their  
work on the blackboard1 weighing out    
ingredients1  and so on4 ,we look round 
the room1 a little confused at first    
with  all the movement1 and see that it 
is large and well lighted with          
coal-stoves at one end and gas-stoves   
fixed into two large tables in  the     
centre1 with a lift1 up which provisions
 for the day are still  being sent1 and 
down which1 as we find later1 the dinner
 is to go to  the dining-room punctually
 at one o'clock2 large sinks and        
plate-racks  are fitted in one corner1  
low cupboards with shelves over them run
 far  along the walls1 and at the end of
 the room opposite the stoves is a      
stepped gallery1 where forty or fifty   
pupils can sit for demonstration        

lessons4 ,the head cookery teacher is   
busily engaged inspecting the  food     
materials bought in by the              
student-housekeeper1 criticising the    
quality and hearing the prices given1   
and ,miss ,mitchell explains to  us that
 the students take it in turns to be    
housekeepers1 and have to  buy in       
materials for dinners for some sixty    
people every day2 they  are given lists 
of what will be wanted by the teachers1 
but the whole  responsibility of        
choosing and buying the food rests with 
them1 and so  out they go every day into
 the neighbouring streets1 taking with  
them  two or three girls from the       
,domestic ,economy ,school1 to choose   
fish1  meat and vegetables from the     
shops and stalls of the neighbourhood1  
for  they are to learn how to choose and
 make the best of such provisions  as   
the working people of the neighbourhood 
are accustomed to buy1 and  capital     
training this is for them4    8,do the  
students here cook dinners for sixty    

people80 we ask in wonder2  and in      
answer1 ,miss ,mitchell takes us next   
door into a smaller cookery  room1 where
 fifteen girls are at work under the    
charge of a teacher and  a student1 also
 busy on dishes which are to be ready by
 dinner-time4  ,everything left from one
 day's dinner1 we are told1 is brought  
up to  the cookery schools again by the 
8housekeeper0 to be re-cooked and made  
into dainty dishes--no waste of any kind
 is allowed4    ,crossing the corridor  
we find two rooms given up to           
dressmaking and  needlework2 here again 
both students-in-training and girls are 
working  in separate classes4 ,one of   
the students1 who has nearly completed  
her course of training1 is helping a    
teacher with a class of girls  7fifteen 
in number again we notice71 and the     
other students1 under  the head         
dressmaking teacher1 are busy on their  
own work--this morning  they are        
drafting bodice patterns for various    
types of figures1 but  that their work  

is not confined to pattern-making is    
evident when the  cupboards are opened  
and dresses taken out for our           
inspection--dresses  made by each       
student to fit herself1 funds being     
provided as in the  case of the girls by
 the ,technical ,education ,board4 ,very
 neatly made  the dresses are1 and proud
 the students seem to be of them1 though
  their pride is tempered by anxiety as 
to what the examiner's opinion  of them 
may be when the time of examination for 
their diplomas comes4  ,each student has
 to make two dresses1 that is1 sample   
garments to show  her plain needlework1 
and to learn to patch and mend old      
dresses and  under-garments1 her pride  
culminating in a sampler of patches1    
darns1  and drawnthread work1 such as   
that hanging in a show cupboard on the  
wall4 ,the girls1 we are told1 in their 
shorter course make themselves  one     
dress1 one apron1 and an under-garment  
each1 and spend one lesson  of two hours
 each week in practical mending of worn 

garments4    ,we ask why it is that     
every class we have seen consists of    
fifteen  pupils only1 and are told that 
in all classes for practical work for   
which funds are supplied by the         
,technical ,education ,board the number 
of  pupils is limited to fifteen1 so    
that the teacher may be able to attend  
thoroughly to the practical work of each
 pupil1 instead of having to  teach her 
class somewhat in the manner of a drill 
sergeant1 as must  inevitably be the    
case when dealing with large numbers4   
,but the morning is getting on1 and we  
hurry downstairs to the laundry1        
perhaps the most striking of all the    
class-rooms1 a glass partition  shutting
 off the washing-room1 with its large   
teak troughs where a busy  set of girls 
are at work1 from the ironing-room1     
fitted with long solid  tables on which 
blouses of many shapes and colours are  
being ironed  into crisp freshness4 ,a  
special feature of the room is the      
white-tiled  screen keeping the heat of 

the ironing stove1 with its dozens of   
irons1  from the rest of the room1 while
 the height and good ventilation keep   
the room fresh and pleasant even in hot 
weather4 ,we turn away from this  vision
 of dainty whiteness to be in time to   
see the last class we are  to visit this
 morning1 the 8housewifery0 class1 which
 is conducting a  8spring-cleaning0 in  
one of the social rooms of the          
polytechnic1 which  lends itself        
admirably for the purpose of teaching   
the girls how to  turn out a            
well-furnished sitting-room4 ,the       
housewifery lessons are a  great feature
 of the ,domestic ,economy ,schools1 we 
hear1 and include  the whole routine of 
household work apart from actual        
cooking1 washing1  and dressmaking1     
these being1 as we have seen1 taught    
separately1  so that girls who have gone
 through the course ought not to find   
themselves at a loss in any department  
of housekeeping1 the whole  series of   
lessons in each department being made to

 dovetail one into  the other4    ,it is
 nearly one o'clock now1 and ,miss      
,mitchell asks us to come into  the     
dining-room1 where the tables are just  
laid for dinner1 and we find  the       
housekeeping-student in charge1 lifting 
dishes on to 8hot-plates0  as they come 
down from the cookery schools1 with the 
group of girls  who are told off to help
 her giving final touches to the tables1
  these being laid with pretty blue and 
white crockery1 and with here  and there
 bunches of flowers which have been     
brought by one or other  of the pupils4 
,the teachers aim at having the tables  
laid as nicely  as possible and at      
giving the girls a high standard of     
neatness and  daintiness to take back   
with them to their own homes4           
,presently a bell rings and the girls   
file in and take their places at  three 
long tables1 with a teacher and a       
student at the head and foot of  each1  
the other students-in-training having a 
table to themselves4 ,we  feel rather   

intrusive as we watch them take their   
places1 and1 turning  out of the room1  
ask ,miss ,mitchell to spare us yet a   
few minutes to  answer some of the      
questions that are in our minds4        
8,how many of such schools are there8   
,where are the others1 and how do  the  
girls get their scholarships8 ,can we   
help girls we know to get such  a       
chance1 and specially how are the       
scholarships for training teachers  to  
be obtained1 and what chance is there   
for these teachers at the end  of their 
two years' training80 ,miss ,mitchell   
tells us laughingly that  to answer all 
this fully would take much more than a  
few minutes1 but  this much she can say3
 that at present1 though the number of  
schools  is far from enough to give as  
many scholarships as are needed for  all
 ,london1 they are steadily increasing  
in number2 there are such  schools at   
the ,borough1 ,chelsea1 ,woolwich1      
,clerkenwell1 ,st4 ,john's  ,wood1      
,bloomsbury1 ,wandsworth and ,norwood1  

while others will be opened  in         
,holloway1 at ,globe ,road1 ,bow1 and at
 ,deptford next term3 that the  girls'  
scholarships are given on their being   
nominated by their school  mistresses   
for the approval of the ,technical      
,education ,board1 and that  therefore  
anyone interested in getting such a     
scholarship for a working  girl should  
write to the offices of the ,technical  
,education ,board of  the ,london       
,county ,council for information1 and   
then get the girl to  apply to her      
mistress for a nomination for next term4
 ,as regards the  training scholarships1
 they have to be won by passing an      
examination1  not in itself very stiff1 
but sufficient to ensure that the       
teachers  of domestic economy trained in
 the school shall possess a fairly good 
general education4 ,all particulars can 
be obtained from the offices  of the    
,technical ,education ,board4 ,as to the
 chance of employment1  the experience  
of teachers holding good diplomas from  

the ,battersea  ,training ,school has   
been very happy1 few of them having had 
to wait  long for work4 ,and so she     
wishes us good-bye1 and we leave the    
building  feeling that we have had a    
glance into a new world1 one full of    
energy  and hopefulness1 and giving     
promise of happier conditions of life   
for  future generations of citizens in  
our great city4    ,illustration3 ,a    
,,needlework ,,class1 ,,battersea       
,,polytechnic4    ,illustration         
,,the ,,house ,,with ,,the ,,verandah4  
,,by ,,isabella ,,fyvie ,,mayo1 ,author 
of 8,other ,people's ,stairs10 8,her    
,object  in ,life10 etc4      ,,chapter 
,,xxi4    ,,the ,,telegram ,,from ,,the 
,,north4    ,the days went on3 the      
mysterious 8knocks0 did not recur1 and  
as the  police inspector made no more   
inquiries1 and the ,marvels attempted no
  further intercourse with the little   
house with the verandah1 the very       
memory of them readily faded from the   
minds of the little household  there1   

and especially from that of its         
mistress1 ever becoming more            
pre-occupied with the prolonged delay of
 letters from ,charlie1 or  indeed of   
any news from the ,slains ,castle4      
,lucy's brother-in-law1 ,mr4 ,brand1    
went down to ,bath to attend ,mr4       
,bray's funeral1 and his wife ,florence 
accompanied him 8to be with the  dear   
old lady in her sorrow40 ,indeed1 ,mr4  
,brand left his wife with the  widow    
while he went to and fro between ,bath  
and ,london1 looking after  his own     
business and winding up ,mr4 ,bray's    
affairs4 ,lucy would have  liked to     
visit the old lady in the early days of 
bereavement1 but1 of  course1 in her    
circumstances any such expression of    
sympathy was out of  the question4      
,still1 every evening1 no matter how    
tired and despondent  she felt she wrote
 a loving little note to her mother's   
old friend1  so that every morning she  
might find it on her breakfast-table4   
,also1  ,lucy copied a little picture of

 the ,surrey village where she knew     
,mrs4  ,bray had first met her dead     
husband1 and she sent it to the widow as
  a tender sign of sympathy4 ,lucy did  
not wonder that ,mrs4 ,bray herself     
never acknowledged these tokens of love1
 for she knew the lady was old  and     
feeble1 and that deep grief is sometimes
 very silent4 ,she knew that  ,mrs4     
,bray received all her remembrances1 for
 ,florence wrote delivering  the old    
lady's 8thanks for all kindnesses10 and 
adding how grateful she  also was for   
,florence's companionship1 and for all  
the arrangements  8,jem0 was making for 
her welfare4    8,there is not so much  
property left as one might have         
supposed1  considering that ,mr4 ,bray  
has earned such a large income for so   
many  years10 wrote ,florence4 8,but    
then the ,brays have always lived among 
people of rank and wealth1 and naturally
 they got into the habit of  spending as
 their friends did40    8,ah10 said     
,miss ,latimer1 as ,lucy read the letter

 to her4 8,in that way1  earned incomes1
 however big1 soon break up and vanish1 
as did the clay  jar in the fable1 when 
it raced with the iron pot60    ,lucy   
resumed her reading4 8,florence goes on3
 #8,never mind2 they have both  enjoyed 
the best of everything1 and have had    
many advantages which they  might not   
have had1 if people had not believed    
them to be rich4 ,jem is  always saying 
that there's nothing so expensive as    
poverty4 ,therefore1  though there is   
not much property left1 it won't matter 
much1 for  in many ways ,mrs4 ,bray's   
spending days are necessarily over4 ,jem
 is  managing so cleverly that she will 
scarcely know she is poorer than she    
used to be4 ,she will even be able to   
afford to go on living in the same      
house1 when she returns to ,london4 ,it 
would be a great trial to her  if she   
could not hope to do that--and it can be
 managed1 for1 you see1  she is old and 
can't live long4 ,she trusts ,jem       
implicitly and leaves  everything to    

him4 ,she always says1 8,i don't want to
 know anything  about money matters2 ,i 
never have known and ,i don't wish to   
begin now4  ,i ask for nothing but my   
little comforts and ,rachel to look     
after me40  ,and then ,jem assures her  
that is quite easy1 and so she is       
satisfied4 ,i  can't think what ,mrs4   
,bray would do without ,rachel4 ,she is 
more devoted  to her mistress than      
ninety-nine daughters out of a hundred  
are to  their mothers4 ,i don't         
anticipate that my girls will be half so
 kind to  me when my dismal days        
come--and of course1 ,i hope they'll be 
married  and gone off long before ,i'm  
an old woman4 ,i should not like to be  
the  mother of ungathered wall-flowers6 
,but where am ,i likely to find a       
,rachel8 ,i'll just have to go and stay 
at an 8hydropathic0 when ,i'm an  old   
woman4 ,but old age is a long way off   
yet--and ,i devoutly trust that  ,i'll  
be dead before it comes4'0    ,those    
last words struck ,lucy4 ,she had heard 

them before--the very same              
words--spoken by a humble working woman1
 whose strenuous labours could  not     
provide for more than the wants of each 
day4    ,all that woman's year's work   
for a certain company had actually      
brought  her in less than ,jem ,brand   
got as annual dividend upon each hundred
  pounds he had invested in its shares4 
,lucy had heard that woman say1  8,i've 
only one chance to escape the workhouse4
 ,i hope ,i'll die before ,i  am old40  
,the poor overworked woman had felt thus
 for one reason1 and now the  wealthy   
idle woman felt so for another4 ,what   
did it all mean8 ,where had  life gone  
wrong8 ,of these two women1 one had all 
that the other lacked1  yet it did not  
suffice to save her from the worst      
bitterness of that  other life4 ,lucy   
remembered having read somewhere that   
,lazarus does not  perish for lack of   
aught that is good for ,dives1 but for  
lack of that  excess by which ,dives    
destroys himself4    ,but in these days 

,lucy did not think over theories and   
practices as she  had been wont to do4  
,she hardly dared to think at all1 for  
the moment  thought got a-working1 it   
seized on the terrible reality that     
still  neither word nor sign came from  
,charlie6    ,a delay so prolonged must 
mean something4 ,if it meant some       
rearrangement of plan1 or unexpected    
detention at the port of some  ,pacific 
,island1 then surely a letter would have
 come4 ,nay1 ,lucy felt  certain that if
 ,charlie knew that any suspense were   
likely to arise1  then a telegram would 
have arrived4 ,charlie and she had made 
their  thrifty little pre-arrangements  
on that score4 ,his firm had a code     
name1 and they had agreed that this1    
with the name 8,challoner0--the word    
8saw0 to stand for 8safe and well0--was 
to suffice for ,lucy in case of  any    
unforeseen contingencies4    ,but no    
letter came and no such telegram came6  
,alarm had now a wider basis than       
anxiety for ,charlie's health4 ,an      

inquiry sent to ,mrs4 ,grant in         
,peterhead promptly brought back a quite
  remarkably brief answer that she too  
had heard nothing4 ,inquiries made  at  
the ,london office of the shipping firm 
concerned with the ,slains  ,castle     
elicited that they too had no tidings1  
though they made light  of the fact1 and
 dwelt on the many delays to which      
sailing-vessels were  subject4          
,lucy's anxiety swamped all her other   
worries1 though unconsciously to        
herself those worries might still prey  
on the nerve and fortitude which        
endurance of the great trial demanded4  
,what did it matter now when the little 
china tea-set which had been one  of her
 birthday gifts to ,charlie was dashed  
to the ground and almost  every piece of
 it shivered to fragments8 ,it grieved  
her once2 now it  did not affect her at 
all1 save as a type of the general      
wreckage into  which life seemed        
breaking up4    ,she did not give much  
attention to ,clementina's              

eagerly-tendered  defence concerning the
 accident1 given thus--    8,i had      
nothing to do with it1 ma'am4 ,i was in 
the back kitchen at the  time1 and ,i'd 
left it sitting safely on the dresser4  
,then all of a  sudden ,i heard the     
crash1 and when ,i looked in1 there it  
was--all in  fragments on the floor40   
8,you must have placed it too near the  
edge of the dresser1 ,clementina10      
urged ,miss ,latimer1 8and the slight   
oscillation caused by some heavy        
vehicle passing by must have caused it  
to tilt over40    ,it was strange that  
,clementina repudiated this explanation4
    8,i didn't hear any heavy traffic10 
she answered4 8,there's never much of   
it near here1 anyway4 ,no1 ma'am1 such  
things will happen sometimes1 and       
there's no accounting for them and      
there's no use in trying to do it40     
,if ,lucy's attention could have been   
directed towards anything but the       
terrible fear which absorbed all her    
soul1 she might have noticed  that at   

this time ,miss ,latimer became rather  
anxious and observant  concerning       
,clementina4 ,the old lady was aware    
that the servant was  growing restless  
and uneasy4 ,her superstitions seemed   
all astir4 ,she  began to see omens on  
every side4 ,the tense atmosphere of the
 household  mind evidently affected her 
very much4 ,miss ,latimer could only    
hope  that it would not affect her so   
much as to cause her to 8give notice40  
,for in many ways the old lady's        
experience told her that ,clementina    
was a treasure not to be found every    
day1 since she was scrupulously  honest1
 clean and industrious1 and the very    
last person likely to have  questionable
 8followers40    ,so the dreary days    
went on in the shadow of the            
storm-cloud1 now so  lowering that it   
became too much to hope that it would   
pass over  harmlessly4    ,the monotony 
was broken at last by a telegram which  
came in late one  evening4 ,but it did  
not come to end ,lucy's agony of        

suspense1 either by  joy or sorrow4 ,it 
was simply a telegram from ,mrs4 ,grant 
of ,peterhead1  announcing that by the  
time it reached ,lucy she would be on   
her way  to ,london1 as she had         
despatched the message just as her train
 was  starting4 ,she might be expected  
by the first train reaching ,london in  
the morning4    8,what does this mean80 
asked ,lucy with white lips4    ,miss   
,latimer and ,tom strove to soothe her  
by assuring her that  naturally ,mrs4   
,grant was as anxious as herself4       
,perhaps she wanted to  seek further    
information about the ,slains ,castle1  
or possibly to  consult with ,lucy as to
 whether there were joint steps that    
they might  take in search of news4     
,lucy was not readily pacified4 ,her    
first fear  had been that ,mrs4 ,grant  
had had private word of the loss of the 
ship  and her passenger and crew1 and   
that she kindly wished to communicate   
this news to ,lucy personally4 ,it was  
comparatively easy to persuade  her that

 this was most unlikely4 ,her next      
misgiving was more difficult  to        
dislodge4 ,it was that ,mrs4 ,grant had 
at last heard from her husband  with    
some bad news of ,charlie--a private    
matter with which1 of course1  owners   
and underwriters could have nothing to  
do4 ,this foreboding could  only be     
allayed by ,mrs4 ,grant herself4    ,the
 north train arrived so early at the    
terminus not far from ,pelham  ,street  
that ,mrs4 ,challoner and ,tom were able
 to go and meet the  traveller before   
they were respectively due at the       
,institute and the  office4 ,they had   
breakfast 7as indeed they often did7 by 
gaslight1 and  then hurried off1 ,lucy  
taking ,hugh with them4 ,lucy could not 
bear him  to be out of her sight now for
 one moment more than was necessary1    
and ,hugh himself begged to be taken4   
,miss ,latimer had not yet come         
downstairs when they departed1 but      
,clementina protested that 8the         
precious darling0 might well be left    

with her--her work was so well in  hand 
that she need do nothing but amuse      
him--it was a pity he had even  been    
roused up when he might have had another
 hour's sweet sleep1 and  she wondered  
his ma wasn't afraid to take him out    
when the morning was  so dull and raw1  
an argument which would have overcome   
,lucy but for  ,hugh's plucking at her  
gown and pleading1 8,take me with you1  
mamma1  take me with you40    ,it was no
 distracted weeping woman who descended 
from the through  train4 ,mrs4 ,grant   
came out briskly1 and looking round at  
once  recognised the group awaiting her1
 though she had never before seen  more 
of them than a photograph of ,lucy4 ,the
 worthy lady had travelled  with plenty 
of comfortable wraps and a hamper of    
home-made food4  ,it gave ,lucy some    
reassurance to note this practical      
attention to  creature necessities4 ,she
 could scarcely realise that the        
sailor's  wife1 a resident in a seaport 
town1 had already stood so often1 for   

herself and for others1 in catastrophes 
of life and death1 hope and  despair1   
that she had learned that our bodies    
require adequate support  and           
consolation if they are1 ably and long1 
to serve and second our  spiritual      
nature1 above all our powers of         
endurance and initiative4    8,i've got 
no news for you1 neither good nor bad10 
she said promptly4  8,if aught has      
happened to your husband it has happened
 to my good man  too4 ,but it's my      
private belief that the office folks    
here know a  little more than they will 
admit4 ,i got a letter from them        
yesterday  afternoon saying that they   
know nothing at all1 and ,i disbelieve  
that  so much that it was this very     
letter which made me start off here     
straightway4 ,if they do know anything  
,i'll manage to get it out of them4     
8,i don't imagine they know much10 she  
hurried on1 noting the whiteness  of    
,lucy's face4 8,if they knew much we    
should hear fast enough1 never  you     

fear4 ,but whatever they know1 little or
 much1 ,i'll know too1 before  ,i go    
home60    ,as she spoke1 the cab drew up
 at the ,challoners' house4 ,in the     
dining-room the lamps were still alight1
 revealing the bounteous                
breakfast-table which ,clementina had   
spread after removing the  impromptu    
cups of tea which ,lucy and ,tom had    
hastily snatched before  going out4 ,but
 as ,tom opened the hall door with his  
latchkey he was met  by a pungent odour 
not given off by toast and ham4    8,an 
escape of gas60 he cried4    7,to be    
continued47          ,,chronicles ,,of  
,,an ,,anglo-,,californian ,,ranch4     
,,by ,,margaret ,,innes4      ,,chapter 
,,xi4        ,,hard ,,work ,,for ,,the  
,,men--,,harder ,,work ,,still ,,for    
,,the ,,women--,,the                    
,,cistern--,,rattlesnakes--,,the        
,,garden--,,homesickness--,,pipe-,,layin
g4    ,the ordinary business man at home
 in ,england would think it rather a    
mad suggestion if his friend were to    

prophesy that some day he would  have to
 set to and make his own roads1 the     
drive up to his house1 lay  his own     
water-pipes from the main1 build his own
 rain-water cistern and  cesspool1 dig  
and plant his own garden1 and fence that
 in too4    ,i think he would be equally
 surprised if he could realise how      
quickly  and easily he would adapt      
himself to such unaccustomed work1 and  
how  well he could accomplish it4    ,to
 the man who loves an outdoor life1 and 
is clever with his hands1  and has      
ingenuity1 too1 and some skill in       
creating something out of  nothing1     
8making history10 there is much zest and
 enjoyment in all  this4 ,but1 of       
course1 it is very hard work2 and when  
the sun is fierce  7which it usually    
is71 the glare and heat are most trying1
 out on the  perfectly shadeless        
stretches of land4    ,the body does not
 accustom itself easily to these new    
labours1 and the  new burden must not be
 laid upon it too heavily2 all the      

health-giving  power of ranch life      
depends largely upon this precaution4   
,therefore the  question of being able  
to pay for necessary help is a very     
important  one4 ,it is pitiful to see   
the weary1 broken struggles of men      
untrained  and unaccustomed to the heavy
 physical work of a ranch1 and unable to
  pay for help4 ,a breakdown1 more or   
less serious1 is almost certain1  when  
the work all falls behind1 and things   
become more and more  hopeless4 ,it is a
 great mistake for a delicate man1 who  
has broken  down at his office work at  
home in ,england1 to come out here to   
ranch1  thinking to recover his health  
in the open-air life1 but not having at 
the same time the means to pay for help1
 nor the capital to be able to  wait the
 necessary years till his ranch can     
yield an income4    ,of course1 ,i am   
not speaking of the man born and bred to
 such work at  home2 he will find a true
 land of promise here2 the pay he can   
command  7one dollar a day and his      

board71 will soon enable him1 if he is a
  thrifty fellow1 to buy a bit of land  
and build a home of his own1 such  as he
 could not dream of in the old country2 
and the work is what he  has always been
 accustomed to1 and for which his body  
has been trained  for generations4      
,but for the man of gentle birth and    
breeding it is a very different  story4 
,he would be better shut up in an office
 at home4    ,the life is splendidly    
healthy so long as one is not           
overdriven2 the  physical exercise of   
the different occupations1 and all in   
the open  air1 is like the training of  
an athlete4 ,hoeing round the lemon     
trees  is as good for the chest and arms
 of the labourer as for the roots  of   
the lemon trees2 but only always if the 
worker be not overtaxed4  ,indeed1 from 
our experience it is only by carrying on
 sure regular  active work in the open  
air that one gets the real benefit from 
this  climate4    ,with thirty-one acres
 planted1 we have found the help of one 

ranchman  with ,larry1 our eldest son1  
and his father to be sufficient2 so all 
our digging and piping and road-making  
went forward without too heavy  a       
strain4 ,the accepted theory is that one
 man can manage ten acres of  planted   
land1 and do justice to it2 and a       
ranchman costs from twenty to  thirty   
dollars a month1 and his keep4    ,if   
the rough work and life are hard for men
 to accustom themselves  to1 it is much 
harder still for the women1 especially1 
of course1  for delicate women1 who are 
supposed to have been brought out 8for  
their health40 ,and here is the place to
 point out what a farce it is  to       
suppose that any frail woman could      
possibly get any benefit out of  the    
finest climate in the world if1 in      
addition to the burden of her  illness1 
she has to take upon herself the onerous
 duties of cook and  housemaid and      
charwoman1 and everything combined4     
,again the important  question is       
whether the rancher has money enough to 

pay the very high  wage demanded for    
even the simplest household help during 
at least  five years1 while he is       
waiting for his ranch to yield an       
income4 ,even  then the wife must be    
prepared to work much harder than she   
was ever  accustomed to at home1 since  
one pair of hands1 even if they are the 
most talented ,chinese hands1           
necessarily leave a very great deal to  
be done4 ,in our case1 for instance1 the
 ,chinaman never touches the  bedrooms  
or drawing-room1 except to turn them out
 once a fortnight1  when he leaves them 
fairly clean1 but all topsy-turvy4      
,but this is as nothing1 when one sees  
so many ranchers' wives doing  without  
any help at all4 ,that is a cruel life  
for any man to bring his  wife to1      
unless he has absolutely no other       
choice2 it is to my mind  quite         
unforgivable4 ,let such men come without
 womenfolk4    ,we had a wearisome long 
piece of work--building the rain-water  
cistern  and the cesspool1 for they had 

to be dug out of the hard granite4 ,the 
cistern was finished1 however1 in time  
to catch part of the winter's  rain1 and
 though we feared it would become       
stagnant1 this danger was  quite        
overcome by the simple little pump used1
 which is made almost  exactly after the
 pattern of the old ,egyptian pumps1 and
 consists of  a chain of small buckets1 
which revolves1 and as one half come up 
and  empty themselves through the pump  
spout1 the other half go down into  the 
water full of air2 and thus the contents
 of the cistern are in this  way        
constantly revitalised4    ,we have     
never done congratulating ourselves on  
possessing this cistern1  for the water 
is always cool and sweet1 and as our    
roof is very large1  it soon fills the  
cistern1 which holds three hundred      
barrels1 and lasts  all the year4 ,the  
flume water1 which we use in irrigation1
 and which  is also laid on in the house
 for the boiler1 etc41 comes from the   
mountains in an open aqueduct or flume4 

,it is at times full of moss and        
impurities1 and is besides quite tepid  
in the summer4    ,we had many          
discussions1 standing on our front      
verandah1 and looking  down the rough   
hill slope1 as to how the drive should  
be laid out4 ,we  meant to have an      
avenue of pepper trees on each side1 and
 once these  were planted1 the road     
could not well be altered4 ,meanwhile1  
sixteen  more acres had been cleared of 
roots and brush1 ploughed and harrowed  
for more lemon trees4 ,in the spring we 
planted seven hundred young  trees1     
which made in all one thousand five     
hundred4    ,the kitchen garden was set 
in order1 and fenced in to keep out the 
squirrels and rabbits4 ,they were a     
great nuisance that first year1 but     
have now retired to their own wild part 
of the land1 which certainly is  roomy  
enough4 ,the rattlesnakes1 too1 though  
we were constantly coming  across them  
in the beginning1 have now quietly      
withdrawn to the stony  mountain tops4  

,that first year ,i was haunted with the
 fear of those hideous creatures1  and  
the dread of an accident to one of my   
dear ranchers4    ,but all the same1 it 
was a thrilling excitement when each one
 was  caught and brought down to the    
barn to be gloated over2 and though it  
was dead1 it would still wriggle its    
ugly body1 and snap its terrible  jaws  
at anything that might touch it1 and    
with the power still of  deadly effect4 
,one of the boys brought down from the  
hill a particularly large fellow1       
hanging on a forked stick1 its frightful
 mouth gaping so wide open that  the    
whole head seemed split in two1 and big 
amber-coloured drops of the  terrible   
poison hanging to its fangs4    ,one    
certainly gets accustomed to anything2  
and here even the little  children think
 nothing of killing a rattlesnake on    
their way to school4  ,it is true they  
are easily killed1 and are always in a  
hurry to get  away4 ,the danger is1 of  
course1 that one may tread on them      

unawares1  for their skin is so like the
 colour of the ground4 ,but on the road 
they are easily seen1 and in walking    
through the brush one keeps a  sharp    
look-out4    ,the house looked terribly 
bare1 perched on the hill-top1 without a
  touch of green about it and no single 
patch of shade far or near1 so  we were 
in a great hurry to make the garden1    
which was to surround the  house1 but   
was only to be a small one1 as when once
 we had made it1  we should1 of course1 
have to keep it in order ourselves4     
,when it was  finished1 we could not but
 laugh at our cypress hedge of baby     
trees  about ten inches high1 standing  
round so valiantly1 and through which   
the smallest chicken walked with easy   
dignity4 ,however1 now it is a  thick   
green wall1 six or eight feet high1 and 
there is a fence as well  to keep out   
barn-yard intruders4    ,shade trees    
were planted1 perhaps too profusely1 in 
our eagerness for  the shade and the    
dear green for which our eyes so        

hungered4    ,among the many different  
pangs of homesickness1 a longing for the
  trees1 and the beautiful green of     
,england1 is almost as painful as the   
sehnsucht that pinches one so surely at 
times1 for the sight of an  old friend's
 face4    ,we are unusually fortunate in
 having within reach exceptionally      
charming cultivated people2 and their   
kindliness to the newcomers1 has  made  
all the difference to us in the         
happiness of our social life4    ,but   
old friends grow ever dearer to the     
exiled ones1 and ,i often think  that if
 those at home who have friends in      
8foreign parts0 knew with  what joy and 
gratitude each simple sign is received1 
which proves that  still they are       
remembered1 then1 indeed1 many an odd   
paper1 or little  book1 would be dropped
 into the post1 when time or inclination
 for  letter-writing failed4 ,the paper 
has tenfold its value1 because of the   
unwritten message it conveys from friend
 to friend4    ,after the garden was    

finished1 we cleared a piece of land on 
the  hilltop1 at the back of the ranch1 
about one acre in size1 and made a      
small plantation there of eucalyptus1   
for firewood2 it grows very fast  and   
needs little attention4 ,also six acres 
on the hill-slopes1 that  lay too high  
for irrigation1 and therefore would not 
do for lemons1 we  cleared1 and planted 
with peaches4    ,in ,april we worked   
hard1 laying more piping4 ,pipe-laying  
is the  pain and crucifixion of a       
rancher's life4 ,no part of the work is 
so  detested2 it is very back-breaking  
work to begin with1 and there are       
frantic half hours spent over screws    
that will not screw1 where the  thread  
of the pipe has been broken or injured  
in the transit1 or  faultily made2 and  
there are the bends in the land1 which  
the pipe has  to be coaxed round1 and   
there are 8elbows10 and 8tees10 and     
8unions10  and 8crosses10 and           
8hydrants10 each of which has its own   
separate way  of being exasperating4    

7,to be continued47    ,illustration    
,,diet ,,in ,,reason ,,and ,,in         
,,moderation4    ,,by 8,,the ,,new      
,,doctor40      ,,part ,,ii4    ,,the   
,,midday ,,meal4    ,englishmen fall    
into two classes as regards their diet2 
those that take  a small lunch and their
 chief meal in the evening1 and those   
who make  the midday meal the chief and 
take a small supper before retiring4    
,social position is the chief agent     
which determines to which class an      
individual belongs4 ,the working classes
 usually dine in the middle of  the day1
 and the professional and upper classes 
dine in the evening4    ,we will        
continue our remarks on the diet of the 
richer classes1 not  because it is      
better or more suitable than the plainer
 diet of the  working classes1 but      
because the rich naturally keep a more  
varied  table1 and so will give us more 
material to criticise4    ,luncheon is a
 desultory sort of meal1 and though most
 people eat  something1 many do so only 

because they think that it is the thing 
to  do1 and not because they are really 
hungry4    ,if you will accompany us1 we
 will go to see the luncheon given by   
,lord  ,x4 at his ,surrey home4 ,but we 
cannot go as guests1 for not only have  
we  not been invited1 but we are going  
to criticise many things about the      
table and the meal4 ,we must1 therefore1
 remain invisible and inaudible1  for it
 is unpardonable to make remarks at the 
table1 even if those  remarks would save
 a whole company from indigestion and a 
sleepless  night4    ,before the meal is
 served1 our eyes are offended by       
something on the  sideboard which is    
sufficient to destroy the appetite of   
any extra  delicately-minded person if  
she only knew its secrets4    ,the      
object is nothing less than a cold      
pheasant pie ornamented by  the head or 
feathers of the bird whose flesh the pie
 is supposed to  contain4 ,we want you  
to examine that ornament1 and we feel   
pretty  certain that if you do1 you will

 never again eat meat pies4    ,in order
 that the carcases of dead animals      
should not encumber the  earth1 it has  
been ordained that when an animal dies1 
its body rapidly  decomposes and becomes
 dissolved into simple gases4 ,the      
agents that  bring about the dissolution
 of the body are various4 ,the chief    
agents  which cause the decomposition of
 organic matter are microbes4 ,the      
majority of these do not produce        
diseases in man1 but some of them do1   
and some of these you might find on that
 pheasant pie if you could see  it      
through a microscope4    ,similarly     
offensive1 but to a less degree1 is the 
practice of putting  pigeons' feet      
sticking outside a steak pie to suggest 
that the  remainder of the birds is     
inside1 and putting feathers into the   
tails  of roast pheasants4    ,one of   
the chief values of cooking is to       
sterilise food1 so why foul  the food   
you have so carefully sterilised by     
sticking decaying matter  into it8      

,the first item of the luncheon consists
 of oysters1 and we notice that  only   
three out of the company of twelve      
partake of them4 ,as nearly  everybody  
who can afford them likes oysters1 there
 is probably some  special reason why   
nine out of twelve persons refuse them4 
,doubtless it  is the typhoid scare1 and
 we are much pleased to see that some   
persons1  at all events1 do occasionally
 give a side thought to preventive      
medicine4    ,the question of the       
causation of typhoid fever by oysters is
 one  of great importance1 and one that 
should be clearly understood by         
everyone4 ,that oysters are one of the  
means by which some recent  epidemics of
 typhoid fever have been spread is      
undoubted1 but the exact  part that they
 have played is not so easy to          
understand1 for the latest  commission  
upon the question found that the typhoid
 bacillus is killed  by immersion in    
sea-water1 that it did not occur in any 
oysters that  they opened1 and when it  

was injected into the oyster1 it was    
promptly  killed4    ,this seems to say 
emphatically that oysters cannot harbour
 the typhoid  bacillus1 and therefore   
cannot produce typhoid fever4 ,but      
medicine is  not as easy as that4 ,that 
the oysters they examined could not     
produce  typhoid fever is certain1 but  
their remarks do not by any means prove 
that typhoid is not spread by any       
oysters4    ,at one time there was very 
great excitement about this question1   
and a  tremendous lot of nonsense was   
talked about it4 ,some persons          
maintained  the typhoid bacillus only   
occurred in bad oysters4 ,we suppose a  
bad  oyster is eaten occasionally1 but  
,lord ,x4's guests are not likely to be 
troubled with bad oysters4    ,oysters  
cannot cause typhoid fever unless they  
contain this bacillus1  and they only   
obtain it from sewers opening into the  
sea4 ,therefore it  is only those       
oysters which have come from places     
where sewers open  into the sea that can

 cause typhoid fever4    ,of course1 as 
soon as the oyster scare was started1   
everybody who  caught typhoid fever     
attributed it to oysters she had eaten  
the day1  the week1 month1 or year      
before4 ,but the incubation period of   
typhoid  fever is from one to three     
weeks2 that means that when the bacilli 
get  into the body they do not produce  
the disease till from one to three      
weeks after infection4 ,therefore it is 
only oysters eaten from one to  three   
weeks before the onset of the fever that
 could possibly have  caused the        
disease4 ,as a matter of fact1 oysters  
are a real1 but not  very common1 method
 by which typhoid is spread4    ,we     
notice that one of the three guests who 
have taken oysters discards  one because
 it is green4 ,he is quite right to do  
so1 for though it  may be quite         
wholesome1 it may be coloured with      
copper4 ,doubtless it  would do no harm1
 but he is quite right not to risk the  
possibility of  sickness for an oyster6 

,amongst the other items of the luncheon
 we notice cold beef and salad4  ,these 
will furnish us with material for       
discussion1 for there are  several very 
important medical points in connection  
with both4    ,cold meat is a very good 
food in its way1 but like all meat it is
 a  strong food1 that is1 it is readily 
digested and furnishes a very large     
amount of nourishment4 ,if you make a   
meal entirely of beef1 you will  not    
suffer from indigestion1 because beef is
 very digestible1 but you  will eat too 
much1 you will throw too much           
nourishment into the blood1  and you    
will give your organs1 especially the   
liver and kidneys1 great  trouble to    
dispose of the superfluous nourishment4 
,although a cold joint of beef seems so 
much less rich and strong than  the same
 joint hot1 it is really very much the  
same in the amount of  nourishment that 
it contains4 ,people very rarely serve  
hot meat without  vegetables and        
surroundings1 but it is the fashion to  

serve cold meat  by itself1 with nothing
 but bread1 and most persons eat very   
little  bread indeed with their meals4  
,meat should never be served alone4     
,vegetables of some sort must be  served
 with both hot and cold meat1 and far   
more vegetable and less  meat than is   
usually served should be your aim4      
,salad is of course a vegetable or      
vegetables1 and if properly prepared    
and selected1 it is not at all a bad    
form of food4    ,we do not suppose many
 of you know much of the mysteries of   
agriculture1 for if you did1 such a     
thing as an unwashed salad would  never 
appear upon your tables4 ,salads are not
 washed half enough1 and  an unwashed   
salad is a most dangerous article of    
food4 ,all vegetables  are best when    
rapidly grown1 and to grow vegetables   
rapidly it is  necessary to supply them 
with strong manures4    ,you must       
thoroughly wash and dry any vegetables  
that you eat raw1 for1  excluding such  
harmless creatures as slugs and         

caterpillars1 they may  contain germs of
 disease4 ,typhoid fever is frequently  
caused by eating  unwashed salads1      
especially watercress4 ,this is a far   
more common  method of getting typhoid  
than is eating infected oysters4        
,another  disease almost invariably due 
to eating infected vegetables is hydatid
  disease1 a somewhat uncommon affection
 in ,england1 but one of the most       
formidable plagues in ,iceland and      
,australia4    ,there are few salads    
which are not difficult to digest4 ,corn
 salad1  ,french lettuce1 endive1       
beetroot1 and watercresses1 are the     
least  indigestible1 then come in order1
 ,cos lettuce1 chicory1 mustard and     
cress1 cucumber1 and radishes4 ,spring  
onions usually agree with most  persons1
 but some people cannot stand onions in 
any form4 ,onions always  produce the   
peculiar and decidedly unpleasant odour 
of the breath1 and  not1 as is usually  
supposed1 only in those who cannot      
digest them4 ,for  the smell is due to  

the excretion of the volatile oil of    
onions by the  breath4    ,two excellent
 salads are potato salad and cold       
vegetable salad4 ,this  morning we read 
a recipe for the latter in one of the   
back numbers  of this paper1 and it     
struck us as being a particularly       
inviting and  desirable addition to a   
dinner of cold meat4    ,the lunch is   
finished off with a savoury of herrings'
 roes on toast4  ,these were probably   
tinned roes1 or we will presume they    
were1 so as to  introduce the discussion
 of the values and dangers of tinned    
meat4    ,the dangers of eating tinned  
meats have been grossly exaggerated1 and
  if you pay a reasonable price for     
tinned provisions1 it is extremely      
unlikely that they will do you any harm4
 ,unfortunately1 many thousands  of     
8blown0 tins of putrid provisions are   
still sold in ,london yearly  in spite  
of the care and close scrutiny of the   
law4 ,but if you pay  a reasonable sum  
for your tinned provisions1 you will not

 get these  bad tins4 ,of course1 if you
 pay fourpence a dozen for tins of milk 
or  sardines1 you cannot expect to get  
good stuff1 and you should always  avoid
 tins reduced in price1 for it usually  
means that they are very  stale4        
,there are two ways in which tinned     
things may become poisonous1 either  the
 contents may become contaminated with  
the metal of the cans1 or the  meats    
themselves may undergo alkaloidal       
degeneration4 ,the former1 the  lesser  
evil1 can only occur in tinned meats4   
,the latter1 by far the  greater evil1  
may occur in any preserved provisions1  
and is perhaps  more common in stores   
preserved in skins or glasses than in   
those in  tins4    ,nowadays meats do   
not often become poisoned by the tins in
 which they  have been kept4 ,it used to
 be not uncommon for the solder of the  
tin  to be dissolved by acid juices in  
the contents4 ,this was especially      
frequent with tinned ,morella cherries  
and other acid tart-fruits4 ,but  now   

acid fruits are nearly always sold in   
bottles1 and only fruits  which are     
sweet and not acid are sold in tins4    
,the tinned fruits that we get from     
,california are most excellent1 and  we 
have never heard of ill-effects of any  
kind following their use4 ,the  canning 
is carried on entirely by girls on the  
,californian ranches4 ,the  tins are    
rather dear1 but they are much the best 
things of the kind  that have come      
beneath our notice4    ,the second      
method by which tinned meats may become 
poisoned is a  degeneration1 or         
decomposition if you like1 by which the 
wholesome  albumen of the contents is   
changed into intensely poisonous animal 
alkaloids4 ,alkaloids are very powerful 
bodies1 and the vegetable  alkaloids1   
such as strychnine1 quinine1 and        
morphine1 are much used in  medicine4   
,but these animal alkaloids are far more
 powerful for harm than even  the most  
deadly of the vegetable poisons4 ,so    
powerful are they that a  quantity of   

one of them found in canned fish1 which 
killed two adults  who had partaken of  
it1 was insufficient to demonstrate by  
our most  delicate chemical tests4 ,if  
these drugs are so powerful for harm1 is
  it not possible that they may be      
equally powerful for good1 when their   
actions and doses are worked out8       
,what causes this curious decomposition 
of preserved provisions is  not known4  
,in tinned meats1 at all events1 it     
cannot be ordinary  putrefaction1 for   
this cannot occur without air1 and the  
tins are  air-tight4 ,it is probably due
 to organisms1 but this is uncertain4   
,this form of decomposition of meat     
cannot be told by the flavour of the    
provisions2 and its deleterious effects 
cannot be destroyed by boiling4  ,there 
is no way to prevent it save by buying  
preserved provisions which  have not    
been kept for long4          ,,an       
,,afternoon 8,,book ,,party40           
,though book parties are not very new1  
they are not1 ,i think1 so general  but 

that the idea may be a new one to some  
readers of ,,the ,,girl',s ,,own        
,,paper1 and if they have not yet been  
at one1 they may be glad to  have some  
suggestions on the subject4 ,i think    
these book afternoons  certainly give a 
good deal of amusement to the           
participants without  trouble or        
appreciable expense to the giver4 ,for  
the benefit of such as  may feel        
inclined to entertain their friends in  
this way1 here is the  account of an    
afternoon party to which ,i was invited 
a few weeks back4  ,these gatherings    
are1 ,i might say1 most suitable for    
young people2 but  though it is a long  
time since ,i could class myself amongst
 the young1  ,i really enjoyed the merry
 afternoon we had4 ,our invitations were
 for  afternoon tea at #d4cj1 but in the
 corner was written1 8,book ,party40 ,by
  this it was understood that every     
guest should symbolise some book1 not   
necessarily by dress1 but by wearing    
some emblem or motto that would  give   

the name of the book selected4    ,the  
hostess provided as many cards and      
pencils as there were guests4  ,these   
were plain correspondence cards which   
had been decorated with  pretty or comic
 designs at the top by the daughter of  
the house4 ,each  visitor had a card    
with pencil given to him or to her on   
arrival which  was to have the titles   
and names of the other 8books0 present  
written  on it4 ,it need hardly be said 
that many mistakes are always made1     
while in some cases the emblems chosen  
are so remote that it is hardly         
possible to divine the meaning4    ,a   
few of the books represented1 and the   
symbols used1 will best explain  this1  
and may also help any girls who are     
inclined to inaugurate an  entertainment
 of this kind4    ,on the occasion of   
which ,i am writing the host and hostess
 said they1  together1 named a book1    
though they wore no badge or mark4 ,of  
course1  nearly all guessed that they   
were ,wilkie ,collins's ,man and ,wife4 

,a  young lady came in white to         
represent ,the ,woman in ,white1 while a
  lady in a silk dress and hat was meant
 for ,black's ,in ,silk ,attire4  ,then 
a gentleman wore the hostess's          
visiting-card for ,our ,mutual  ,friend4
 ,a lady wore the sign 8,gemini0 in her 
hat for ,sarah ,grand's  ,heavenly      
,twins4 ,a lucky penny fastened on the  
shoulder showing the  head with 8,i win0
 below it1 and a second penny showing   
the reverse  side1 and under that 8you  
lose10 stood for ,bound to ,win4 ,then  
#a o #j n #j e #j1 written on a card1   
and worn in a hat1 was to be read  ,one 
in a ,thousand1 while some coins on a   
string signified ,hard  ,cash4 ,a bow of
 orange and green ribbon gave ,henty's  
book ,orange and  ,green4 ,a            
neat-looking girl wore a cravat with a  
piece of the lace  hanging from it for  
,never too ,late to ,mend1 while another
 young  girl had the word 8stood0 stuck 
in her hat for ,misunderstood4 ,some    
large white wings in a hat gave ,black's

 novel of that name4 ,a little  sketch  
of a child with eyes shut and mouth wide
 open was for ,great  ,expectations4 ,a 
lad with ,n  ,s on the side of his      
jacket meant to  represent ,a ,tale of  
,two ,cities4 ,the word wedding1 written
 in red  ink1 was for ,jephson's ,pink  
,wedding1 and the musical notation of a 
chime stood for ,the ,lay of the ,bell4 
,the queen of hearts out of a  pack of  
cards was worn by a gentleman to        
represent ,wilkie ,collins's  novel of  
that name1 while 8no credit10 stuck in a
 hat1 was meant for  ,james ,payn's ,for
 ,cash ,only4 ,a girl wore her mother's 
photograph for  ,grace ,aguilar's ,home 
,influence4 ,heartsease1 yellow aster1  
and other  flowers that name books1 also
 small pictures of 8,pair of ,blue      
,eyes10  8,windsor ,castle10 8,old ,st4 
,paul's10 and others4 ,there were also  
some  books of more serious character1  
such as the ,times ,encyclopdia2 the    
twenty-five volumes were marked on a    
belt4 ,sir ,j4 ,lubbock's ,ants1  ,bees1

 and ,wasps also found a representative4
 ,it is easy to find an  endless variety
 of book names that one can symbolise in
 one way or  another1 but works of      
fiction lend themselves the most easily4
    ,on the particular afternoon of     
which ,i am writing we were all         
occupied with our cards while tea was   
being handed4 ,when all seemed  to have 
finished writing1 the hostess took all  
the cards1 and amidst  much laughter the
 names of the books were read out from  
each card1  and a prize awarded to the  
owner of the card with the most correct 
guesses on it1 and a second prize was   
given to the one who was least          
successful--the 8duffer's prize0 it was 
called4 ,this was a wooden spoon1       
which1 however1 was received with great 
good humour1 the recipient  declaring he
 had never in his life guessed anything6
    ,the first prize was a box of       
sweets1 which the winner handed round to
  the unsuccessful competitors4         
,,to ,,night4          ,come1 solemn    

,night1 and spread thy pall        ,wide
 o'er the slumbering shore and sea1     
,and hang along thy vaulted hall        
,the star-lights of eternity2      ,thy 
beacons1 beautiful and bright--         
,isles in the ocean of the blest--      
,that guide the parted spirit's flight  
,unto the land of rest4                 
,come--for the evening glories fade1    
,quenched in the ocean's depths         
profound2      ,come with thy solitude  
and shade1        ,thy silence and thy  
sound2      ,awake the deep and lonely  
lay        ,from wood and stream1 of    
saddening tone2      ,the harmonies     
unheard by day1        ,the music all   
thine own6        ,and with thy starry  
eyes that weep        ,their silent dews
 on flower and tree1      ,my heart     
shall solemn vigils keep--        ,my   
thoughts converse with thee2      ,upon 
whose glowing page expand        ,the   
revelations of the sky2      ,which     
knowledge teach to every land1          
,of man's high destiny4        ,for     

while the mighty orbs of fire           
7,so 8wildly bright0 they seem to live7 
,feel not the beauty they inspire1      
,nor see the light they give2      ,even
 ,i1 an atom of the earth--             
,itself an atom 'midst the frame        
,of nature--can inquire their birth1    
,and ask them whence they came4         
,,our ,,lily ,,garden4    ,,practical   
,,aids ,,to ,,the ,,culture ,,of        
,,lilies4    ,,by ,,charles ,,peters4   
,there are but few lilies left for us to
 describe1 and these are of very  little
 importance to the flower-grower4       
,illustration3 ,lilium ,auratum4        
,lilium ,concolor and ,lilium ,davidii  
are usually considered under the        
,isolirion group1 but they present such 
numerous deviations from that  group of 
lilies that we have decided to make a   
group of them alone4    ,lilium         
,concolor is a pretty1 little1 very     
variable lily4 ,it is more  suitable for
 a button-hole decoration than for      
anything else1 but it  has a pleasing   

effect when grown in great masses4 ,this
 species has  a very small bulb with    
few1 acute1 oblong scales4 ,the plant   
grows to  about a foot high1 and bears  
from one to three flowers about an inch 
and a half across1 and of a deep crimson
 colour spotted with black4 ,the        
flowers open very wide1 and the         
filaments are shorter than in any other 
lily4 ,of the great number of varieties 
of this lily we will describe  two4 ,the
 first1 named ,buschianum1 or ,sinicum1 
grows taller1 has  larger leaves1 and   
larger and more numerous blossoms1 which
 are of a  fine crimson4    ,the second 
variety1 ,coridion1 is by far the       
handsomest of the group1  bearing large 
flowers of a bright yellow spotted with 
brown4 ,concolor  is a native of        
,western ,asia4 ,its culture is very    
simple1 and it is  perfectly hardy4     
,of ,lilium ,davidii1 we only know that 
it was discovered by ,david in  ,thibet2
 that it grows about two feet high1 and 
bears bright yellow  flowers spotted    

with brown4 ,we also know that there is 
a plate of this  species in ,elwes's    
,monograph4 ,the plant is practically   
unknown to  everybody4    ,the last     
group of lilies1 ,notholirion1 contains 
two or1 as we  have it1 three species   
which are not very well known1 and it is
 a  little doubtful whether they are    
lilies at all4 ,formerly they were      
considered to be fritillaries1 and      
certainly they bear more superficial    
resemblance to those plants than they do
 to the lilies4    ,most authors include
 ,lilium ,oxypetalum among the          
,archelirions1  because its flowers are 
widely expanded4 ,but as in every other 
particular it differs completely from   
that group of lilies1 we have  separated
 it from ,l4 ,auratum and ,l4           
,speciosum1 and placed it among  the    
,notholirions1 to which it bears        
considerable resemblance4    ,this      
little-known lily was formerly called   
,fritillaria oxypetala1 and  bears more 
resemblance to the fritillaries than it 

does to the lilies4  ,the bulb is       
oblong1 with but few lance-shaped       
scales4 ,the stem grows to  the height  
of about fifteen inches1 and bears about
 twenty or thirty  leaves1 resembling   
those of our native snake's-head        
fritillary in  every particular4 ,one or
 two blossoms are borne on each stem4   
,they  are pale lilac1 star-like        
blossoms1 with numerous little hairs on 
the  bases of the segments4 ,the petals 
are acutely pointed4 ,the anthers are   
scarlet4    ,this plant is a native of  
the ,western ,himalayas4 ,it is very    
uncommon in  gardens4 ,we have never    
possessed it1 and know nothing of its   
culture4    ,the two lilies ,lilium     
,roseum and ,lilium ,hookeri are now    
included in  this genus1 but they have  
been referred first to the lilies1 then 
to  the fritillaries1 then back again to
 the lilies1 and so on4 ,and it is  very
 doubtful if they are even now in their 
last resting-place4    ,the bulbs of    
these lilies are invested in dense      

membranous tunics like  those of the    
daffodil4 ,lilium ,roseum grows to about
 two feet high2  ,l4 ,hookeri rarely    
reaches half this height4 ,the leaves   
are said to  bear bulblets in their     
axils4 ,six to thirty little nodding    
bell-like  blossoms of a deep lilac     
colour are produced by ,l4 ,roseum1 but 
,l4  ,hookeri rarely produces more than 
eight blossoms4 ,but little is known  of
 these lilies4 ,they are both natives of
 the ,himalayas1 and are said  to be    
somewhat tender4 ,they may be grown in a
 mixture of rubble1 old  bricks1 sand1  
and leaf mould4    ,we have never grown 
them ourselves1 as it is practically    
impossible  to obtain bulbs4 ,we have   
seen ,l4 ,roseum in blossom1 and were   
not  particularly impressed by it4      
,had we been describing roses1          
chrysanthemums1 hyacinths1 or any other 
flowers which are highly cultivated1 we 
would have dismissed the  natural       
species with a very brief description1  
and turned our chief  attention to the  

artificial varieties and hybrids4       
,but with lilies it is different4 ,as we
 have seen1 there are very many  natural
 species4 ,indeed1 the species almost   
outnumber the varieties1  and these     
latter are rarely very different from   
the parent species4 ,as  regards        
double-flowered varieties1 we have seen 
that only four lilies  bear them1       
whereas nine-tenths of the cultivated   
varieties of roses and  chrysanthemums  
are double4    ,illustration3 ,,night4  
7,from the painting by ,gabriel ,max47  
,photo by ,f4 ,hanfstaengl4    ,and when
 we pass on to consider the hybrid      
lilies1 we are likewise  astonished at  
their paucity4 ,why are hybrid lilies so
 uncommon8 ,let us  see if we can fathom
 the mystery4    ,one reason is that the
 majority of lilies never bear seed in  
,england4  ,many1 even in their native  
climes1 bear seed but rarely1 the       
natural  method of increase being by    
bulblets4 ,another reason with us is the
  exceeding difficulty of raising       

lily-seed4 ,they take so long to        
germinate that most seeds are destroyed 
before they show any sign of  life4     
,still1 we believe that there is a great
 future for the hybridisation  on       
lilies4 ,perhaps you would like to try  
it yourself4 ,then proceed as  follows4 
,let us cross ,lilium ,auratum with     
,lilium ,speciosum4 ,choose  well-grown 
specimens of each lily4 ,let the buds   
develop till they begin  to change      
colour4 ,then remove every bud except   
one--the best--from each  plant4 ,the   
remaining bud of the ,l4 ,auratum must  
then be slipped open1  and the anthers  
removed4 ,it may then be allowed to open
 naturally1 but  it must be carefully   
protected from insects of any kind1 lest
 one of  these should bring to it a     
pollen grain from another blossom of its
 own  species4 ,when the ,l4 ,speciosum 
has matured its pollen1 cut off the     
anthers1 and rub the pollen upon the    
style of the ,l4 ,auratum4    ,three    
things may now happen4 ,the first1 the  

most likely1 is that the  flower will   
die1 and will not produce seed4 ,the    
second is that the  plant will produce  
seed1 but these1 when they have been    
grown into  flowering bulbs1 will       
reproduce unaltered ,l4 ,auratum4 ,the  
third--last  and least likely           
possibility--is that the plant will     
produce seed which1  when grown and     
flowered1 will produce blossoms which   
partake of the  characters of its two   
parents4 ,in other words1 these last are
 genuine  hybrids4    ,it is extremely  
unlikely that more than one per cent4 of
 the seeds will  produce a blossom which
 bears the marks of both parents4 ,the  
majority  will either die1 or else be   
simple ,l4 ,auratum1 without anything to
  show that they are hybrids4    ,even  
with those rare plants which definitely 
show their hybrid origin1  a great      
diversity of colouring may be observed4 
,but the colour of the  parents is very 
variable1 and after a few years the     
hybrid lily looses  the characteristics 

of the ,l4 ,speciosum and becomes merely
 a reddish  variety of ,l4 ,auratum4    
,but there are two hybrid lilies which  
are quite constant1 and as they  are two
 of the finest of the whole group1 they 
are well worth growing4    ,lilium      
,alexandr1 the ,japanese 8,uki ,ure0 or 
8,hill ,lily10 is in all  probability a 
hybrid between ,lilium ,auratum and     
,lilium ,longiflorum4  ,we say 8in all  
probability10 for we are not quite      
certain that it is  not a true species4 
,there are some persons who think that  
one white lily is much like  another4   
,but put side by side ,l4 ,alexandr1 ,l4
 ,longiflorum1 and ,l4  ,candidum4 ,are 
they alike8 ,could anyone mistake one   
for another8 ,surely  not6 ,they differ 
in every detail--even in colour4 ,the   
long trumpet of  ,l4 ,longiflorum is    
delicate greenish-white4 ,the ,madonna  
lily is like  porcelain2 and the hill   
lily possesses a rich milky hue1        
somewhat  resembling the colour of ,l4  
,brownii1 which we so much admired4     

,and in shape how different they are4   
,one is a long and regular trumpet1     
another is a shallow cup1 and the lily  
we are specially considering  is widely 
opened with its segments slightly       
curved1 the whole blossom  resembling a 
gigantic white star4    ,lilium         
,alexandr is not a big lily4 ,it grows  
about two feet high and  bears from one 
to four blossoms4 ,these blossoms are   
very large1 of a  rich milky white1     
resembling in shape those of ,l4        
,auratum4 ,the pollen  is chocolate     
colour4 ,the fragrance of this lily is  
very great4 ,on the  evening of a hot   
day in the middle of ,august last year  
we could detect  the scent of a bed of  
these lilies1 then in full bloom1 at the
 distance  of over one hundred yards4   
,its scent is rich and full1 something  
between that of jasmine and vanilla4    
,the culture of this hybrid is not      
difficult4 ,it is best grown in pots1   
for it is very sensitive to rain at its 
flowering period4 ,in rigorous          

districts this lily should be grown in a
 cool greenhouse1 but in the  south of  
,england it will grow to perfection out 
of doors4 ,the soil  should consist of  
equal parts of peat1 very finely broken1
 leaf-mould1  and sharp sand4 ,it wants 
a very large quantity of water4    ,few 
lilies have given us greater pleasure   
than ,l4 ,alexandr4 ,it is  one of those
 plants which are so striking that it is
 impossible to  forget them when you    
have once seen them4 ,it is so very     
delicate1 so  pure and so fragrant4     
,doubtless most of our readers are      
acquainted with the old ,nankeen lily4  
,this is a very old favourite1 and is   
usually thought to be a true  species1  
but for all that it is almost for       
certain a hybrid between ,l4  ,candidum 
and ,l4 ,chalcedoniam4 ,this plant      
rejoices in a goodly number  of names1  
of which ,l4 ,testaceum1 ,l4            
,isabellinum1 and ,l4 ,excelsum  are the
 commonest4    ,this lily is unknown in 
the wild state1 and its origin is very  

obscure4  ,it is an ,english garden     
hybrid1 but who first raised it or      
possessed it  is unknown4    ,yet it is 
a very striking lily1 growing to the    
height of four or five  feet and        
producing a great cluster of            
buff-coloured blossoms4 ,in  general    
features it resembles its parent ,l4    
,candidum1 but the flower  shows a      
distinct connection with the ,martagons4
 ,its colour certainly  is not derived  
from either of its parents4 ,a mixture  
of scarlet and  pure white should give  
pink2 but ,l4 ,testaceum is of a        
yellowish-buff  colour4 ,the lily which 
it most nearly resembles is ,l4         
,monodelphum2  but though very fine1 it 
is nothing like so splendid as that     
queen of  the ,martagons4    ,this lily 
is distinctly a cottage-garden flower4  
,except in that  situation it is never  
seen4 ,yet it is common enough in old   
cottage-gardens1 and a more befitting   
flower can scarcely be imagined4  ,it   
looks old--in keeping with the place    

which it enhances by its  presence4     
,the cultivation of this lily is the    
same as that of ,l4 ,candidum4 ,it  does
 not do well until it is well           
established1 and it has a particular    
objection to growing in modern gardens4 
,lilium ,parkmanni is the hybrid between
 ,l4 ,auratum and ,l4  ,speciosum4      
,genuine specimens bear blossoms        
somewhat intermediate  between the      
parent species4    ,there is also a     
hybrid between ,l4 ,hansoni and ,l4     
,martagon  ,dalmaticum1 called ,lilium  
,dalhansoni4    ,these four hybrids are 
the only ones which deserve to be       
mentioned1 and  of these only the first 
two are worth a place in the            
flower-garden4    7,to be concluded47   
,,chocolate ,,dates4      ,have you ever
 tasted chocolate dates8 ,if so1 these  
directions will be  almost needless to  
you1 for ,i fancy that you will not have
 stopped at  a taste1 but will have     
tried and found out a way to manufacture
 them  for yourself4 ,but so far as ,i  

know1 these dates are1 as yet1 quite a  
home-made sweet1 and they are so        
delicious and so wholesome that they    
ought to be more widely known4 ,here    
then is the recipe4 ,any sort of  dates 
and any sort of chocolate may be used1  
but the best results are  got from the  
best materials in confectionary even    
more than in other  work4 ,take then a  
pound of ,tunis dates1 either bought in 
the familiar  oblong boxes or by the    
pound4 ,leave out any which are not     
perfectly  ripe2 the soapy taste of one 
of these paler1 firmer dates is enough  
to  disgust anyone with dates for ever4 
,wipe the others very gently with a     
damp cloth 7dates are not gathered by   
the ,dutch671 slit them lengthwise  with
 a silver knife1 but only so far as to  
enable you to extract the  kernel       
without bruising the fruit4 ,then       
prepare the chocolate4 ,grate a  quarter
 of a pound of best ,french chocolate1  
add an equal weight of  fresh icing     
sugar1 two tablespoonfuls of boiling    

water1 and mix in a  small brass or     
earthenware saucepan over the fire until
 quite smooth1  only it must not boil2  
last of all add a few drops of vanilla4 
,then put your small saucepan inside a  
larger one half filled with  boiling    
water1 just to keep the chocolate fluid 
until all the dates  are filled4 ,take  
up a little of the mixture in a         
teaspoon1 press open  the date1 and pour
 it neatly in4 ,there must be no smears 
or threads of  chocolate if your        
confectionary is to look dainty4 ,when  
about a dozen  are filled1 gently press 
the sides together1 and the chocolate   
should  just show a shiny brown ridge in
 the middle of the date4 ,place on a    
board in a cool place to harden2 they   
may be packed up next day4    ,almost as
 nice as chocolate dates are nougat     
dates4 ,the foundation  for the nougat  
is the same as for ,american candies3   
the white of one  egg and an equal      
quantity of cold water to half a pound  
of sifted  icing sugar1 all mixed       

perfectly smoothly together4 ,then chop 
equal  quantities of blanched walnuts1  
almonds1 ,brazils1 and hazel nuts       
together1 mix with the sugar in the     
proportion of two thirds of nut to  one 
of the sugar mixture1 and leave until   
next day in the cellar4 ,by  that time  
the nougat will be firm enough to form  
into kernels by gently  rolling between 
the hands2 if it sticks1 your hands are 
too warm4 ,it is  best to do this part  
of the work in the cellar4 ,having      
stoned and first  wiped your dates1 put 
in the nougat kernels1 gently pressing  
the sides  together2 they will harden in
 a short time1 and very pretty they look
  packed alternately with the chocolate 
dates in fancy boxes4 ,tunis dates  do  
not keep good much longer than two      
months1 the grocer tells me2 we  have   
never been able to keep them half that  
time to try6 ,of course1 you  can use   
the commoner dates1 which are very good 
to eat1 but hardly so  nice to look at  
as the others1 because on account of    

their more sugary  consistency it is    
impossible to fill them so neatly as the
 moister  ,tunis dates4 ,tafilat dates  
are somehow too dry and solid to combine
  well either with nuts or chocolate4   
,,how ,,we ,,managed ,,without          
,,servants4    ,,by ,,mrs4 ,,frank ,w4  
,w4 ,,topham1 ,author of 8,the ,alibi10 
8,the ,fateful  ,number10 etc4          
,,chapter ,,iii4    ,the hot ,july days 
brought us such good news from ,cannes  
that our hearts  were all light with the
 hope of soon welcoming our parents     
back1 and  ,cecilly was especially happy
 at being promised several more pupils  
after the summer holidays were over4    
,mrs4 ,moore1 the old lady to whom ,i   
read1 had hinted that she might require 
more of my time in the autumn1  so we   
had every reason to be light-hearted and
 to forget the hardness  of our work    
with so much to be thankful for4 ,only  
poor old ,jack looked  graver as the    
days went by1 and my heart ached for him
 with his secret  trouble4    ,it was   

nearly the end of ,july that one morning
 ,cynthia came tapping at  the kitchen  
door1 where ,i was surrounded with      
materials for dinner4    8,where is     
,cecilly80 she asked1 and on my telling 
her ,cecilly was out1  giving music     
lessons1 she told me she had tickets for
 a concert that  afternoon1 and she knew
 how much she would like to go4    ,i   
knew so too1 and at once said ,i would  
leave my cooking till the  afternoon and
 finish a smart blouse ,cecilly had been
 making for herself4    8,do let me do  
the cooking while you sew10 ,cynthia    
asked1 but ,i said she  had better not  
as the dinner was to be what the boys   
called a triumph  of 8mind over matter10
 meaning a dinner was to be made out of 
scraps1  which was always tiring work4  
,but ,cynthia insisted on being cook4   
,i had already sent ,beatrice ,ethel1   
the little boot-girl1 out for a  quart  
of skimmed or separated milk which      
,cecilly made into ,sago ,soup3  ,take  
three or four onions and boil them in   

the milk till soft enough to  run       
through a sieve4 ,boil six large        
potatoes and rub through sieve4 ,put    
all back into milk with pepper and salt4
 ,add a teacup of sago1 tapioca1  rice1 
or some macaroni4 ,but sago is best4    
,send up fried bread with this4    ,our 
meat course was to be breakfast pies1   
and as there were some  scraps over1    
,cynthia made a mulligatawny pt1 which  
would come in for  breakfast4    ,our   
pudding was a ,german ,pudding3 #a lb4  
flour1 #a teaspoonful of  carbonate of  
soda rubbed into the flour1 #f oz4 of   
scraped fat1  lb4  treacle melted in    
milk4 ,to be boiled for three hours4    
,this would have  been sufficient for   
our dinner1 but ,cynthia begged to make 
a few jam  tarts1 as she 8loved making  
pastry40 ,whey they were finished1 she  
had  a piece of pastry over1 which she  
turned into ,cheese ,puffs4 ,she  rolled
 out her paste1 sprinkled it thickly    
with cheese and 8,paisley  ,flour10     
repeating the process several times4    

,she brushed them over with  a little   
egg1 and baked them at once4 ,i         
suggested1 as we were well  off for     
milk1 she might make a custard to eat   
with our pudding1 with  8,bird's        
,custard ,powder10 but only on condition
 that she asked leave to  come back with
 ,cecilly to help us eat such a grand   
dinner4 ,lately ,i had  noticed that she
 had been allowed to accept our         
invitations for the  evening1 and       
although it seemed a mistake for ,jack  
to be in her company  too often1 it was 
such a delight for him to find her with 
us when he  returned home1 ,i could not 
resist asking her4    ,cecilly had of   
course accepted ,cynthia's invitation to
 the concert with  much delight1 and ,i1
 having locked up the house1 had spent a
 pleasant  afternoon with dear ,aunt    
,jane1 who had given me a great bunch of
  beautiful white lilies1 and a basket  
of gooseberries for the boys4    ,i was 
only just back when ,i heard ,cecilly's 
knock1 and finding her  alone ,i asked  

if ,cynthia were not coming to dinner4  
8,yes1 indeed she is10 answered         
,cecilly1 8and what do you think8 ,mr4  
,marriott has invited himself also60    
8,oh1 ,cecilly10 ,i cried4 8,you must go
 at once and get some fish and some     
fruit10 but ,cecilly interrupted me1    
saying--    8,no1 he stipulates that we 
make no change4 ,he is coming to eat    
,cynthia's cooking1 and ,i promised him 
we would have nothing extra1  except    
some coffee40    ,of course ,i brought  
out our best table linen and china1     
rubbed up  our silver and glass1 and    
with ,aunt ,jane's lilies for decoration
 our  dinner-table looked as nice as    
possible4 ,cecilly ran up the road to   
meet ,jack to tell him the news as soon 
as she saw him1 and we had to be  quite 
determined not to be over-ruled1 so     
anxious was he for various  additions to
 our meal4    8,could you not run to    
,aunt ,jane and ask her to lend us her  
maid10 he  asked1 but ,i insisted on no 
change being made4    8,mr4 ,marriott is

 coming to see how clever ,cynthia is1  
and not to  quiz us10 ,i replied1 so    
,jack had to be content4 ,the soup was a
 great  success4 ,we turned the         
,mulligatawny pie into an entre1 and    
added the  jam tarts to the pudding     
course4 ,cecilly and ,bob fetched and   
carried  the dishes1 though ,i slipped  
out during the cheese course to make the
  coffee for dessert4    ,we were a very
 merry party at dinner1 and ,cynthia had
 many  congratulations from us all4     
,jack and ,mr4 ,marriott were a long    
time  before they joined us in the      
drawing-room1 but when they came the    
evening was one of the pleasantest we   
had spent since dear father's  illness4 
,jack was so much more like his old     
self1 and ,mr4 ,marriott so  positive of
 father's recovery that every doubt and 
perplexity of life  fled1 and it seemed 
to me that all the pain of separation   
and the grave  anxieties of the past    
were now fled for ever4 ,cecilly and the
 boys had  gone up to bed while ,i      

waited for ,jack to return from walking 
back with  ,cynthia and her father1 and 
when he came in ,i saw at once he had   
good  news for me4    8,oh1 ,kitty10 he 
cried1 in his old boyish manner1 8you   
can never guess  what ,mr4 ,marriott has
 said to me this evening4 ,he said he   
always knew  a good son would make a    
good husband1 but that he felt his      
little girl  would never make a good    
wife for a poor man4 ,but1 ,kitty       
,mavourneen1  he says you and ,cecilly  
have shown her the way1 and if1 when she
 is  twenty-one1 ,i like to ask her to  
be my wife1 he won't send me away40     
,i was obliged to run upstairs to call  
,cecilly to hear these good  tidings1   
and ,cecilly in her dressing-gown1 with 
her hair streaming down  her back1      
rushed down the stairs at a bound to hug
 ,jack in a way she  had not dared to do
 since he had grown 8so cross and old40 
,it was but a few weeks afterwards that 
we were welcoming father and  mother    
back once more--father1 older-looking   

certainly than before his  illness1 but 
no longer an invalid1 while mother      
looked stronger and  rosier than any of 
us could remember her4 ,they were both  
surprised to  find how well we could    
manage the housework1 though father     
insisted on  our keeping ,beatrice      
,ethel all day to do the heaviest work4 
8,as soon as ,i am in work again10 he   
said1 8we must find a strong  servant   
once more10 and on our protesting he    
answered1 8,my darlings1  you were      
perfectly right in doing without        
servants as you have done4  ,now there  
is really no necessity1 and it is wiser 
for ,cecilly to spend  her time over her
 music1 to enable her to teach others4  
,you1 dear  ,kitty1 we will gladly spare
 to ,mrs4 ,moore1 knowing you can help  
her  in her infirmity4 ,this work you   
are both fitted to undertake1 and you   
can then conscientiously leave the      
housework to those other girls1  who1   
not having had the education ,god has   
permitted you to have1 can  only labour 

with their hands and hearts4 ,your      
experience will make you  better        
mistresses1 ,i am convinced4 ,you will  
be more competent to teach  and more    
sympathetic over failures and           
shortcomings1 and will never in  all    
your life regret that all these months  
you have managed without  servants40    
,,varieties4      ,,some ,,gaelic       
,,proverbs4    ,most shallow--most      
noisy4    ,the eye of a friend is an    
unerring mirror4    ,oft has the wise   
advice proceeded from the mouth of      
folly4    ,as a man's own life1 so is   
his judgment of the lives of others4    
,god cometh in the time of distress1 and
 it is no longer distress when  ,he     
comes4    ,the fortunate man awaits and 
he shall arrive in peace2 the unlucky   
hastens and evil shall be his fate4     
,,life ,,and ,,death4        ,i live1   
and yet ,i know not why1      ,unless it
 be ,i live to die3      ,i die--and    
dying live in vain1      ,unless ,i die 
to live again4      ,,an ,,absolute     

,,certainty4--,amid the mysteries which 
become the more  mysterious the more    
they are thought about1 there will      
remain the one  absolute certainty that 
man is ever in presence of an ,infinite 
and  ,eternal ,energy from which all    
things proceed4      ,,passing ,,an     
,,examination4    ,here is how          
,professor ,william ,james of ,harvard1 
in his student days1  passed an         
examination before the late ,dr4 ,oliver
 ,wendell ,holmes4    ,the first        
question put to him was as to the nerves
 at the base of the  brain4 ,it so      
happened that ,mr4 ,james was well up in
 the subject1 and he  promptly gave an  
exhaustive reply4    8,oh1 well1 if you 
know that you know everything10 said    
,dr4 ,holmes  cheerfully4 8,let's talk  
about something else4 ,how are all your 
people  at home80          ,,sheila',s  
,,cousin ,,effie4    ,a ,,story ,,for   
,,girls4    ,,by ,,evelyn               
,,everett-,,green1 ,author of           
8,greyfriars10 8,half-a-dozen           

,sisters10 etc4      ,,chapter ,,xx4    
,,the ,,storm ,,breaks4    8,it is      
simply disgraceful4 ,you have made      
yourself the talk of the  hotel4 ,i am  
ashamed that you belong to my party2 and
 you shall go home  on ,monday in the   
mail4 ,i will not have the              
responsibility any longer of  a girl who
 has no sense of obedience or of the    
fitness of things4 ,back  you shall go  
at once4 ,your uncle will telegraph1 and
 somebody shall  meet you at the other  
end4 ,but stay here any longer to behave
 in this  way you most certainly shall  
not60    ,sheila stood white-faced and  
almost terrified before her aunt4 ,she  
was  still in her riding-habit4 ,she had
 come in so happily from her scramble   
with ,ronald down by the shore2 and with
 never a misgiving had run  upstairs and
 entered the sitting-room before going  
to dress for dinner4    ,there she found
 her aunt alone1 waiting for her as it  
now seemed2 and  without warning the    
tempest had broken over her head4 ,she  

scarcely  knew even now of what she     
stood accused4 ,it seemed as though     
every sin  of every sort had been laid  
at her door4 ,she could at first        
scarcely  get at the gist of what her   
angry aunt could mean2 but as ,mrs4     
,cossart  proceeded it gradually dawned 
upon ,sheila that she was being accused 
of  having carried on a bare-faced      
flirtation with ,ronald ,dumaresq1 and  
of  having made herself the talk of the 
hotel in so doing4    ,it was like a    
stinging blow in the face to the        
sensitive girl4 ,she was  almost stunned
 by the rush of feeling that came over  
her4 ,a few weeks  ago she could have   
borne it better--she would have been    
more angry1 but  less overwhelmed with  
pain and shame4    ,the wakening        
womanhood within her made the accusation
 almost  intolerable4 ,the very looks   
and words which had passed between them 
that day seemed to rise up before her in
 a bewildering mist4 ,could  it possibly
 be true what her aunt was saying8 ,had 

she been forward1  unwomanly1 fast8 ,had
 she made people remark upon her--got   
herself talked  of as a flirt8--hateful 
title that ,sheila recoiled from as from
 a  blow4 ,she had liked to be with     
,ronald1 she had thought he liked being 
with her4 ,but her aunt had said it was 
she who was always entrapping           
him--those were the very words4 ,oh1 how
 cruel1 how cruel and unjust6 ,but  it  
was not true1 no1 it was not6 ,only if  
such things were being said1  she could 
never1 never1 never see ,ronald again   
all her life6    ,a wave of sudden      
desolation seemed to sweep over ,sheila4
 ,a rush of hot  tears flooded her eyes4
 ,she burst into sobs and flung herself 
down on  the sofa1 crying--    8,oh1 how
 can you say such cruel things8 ,how can
 you80    8,i say them for your         
good--because they are true10 answered  
,mrs4  ,cossart1 her anger in no way    
appeased by the sight of ,sheila's      
grief2  8and there is the less excuse   
for you1 because you have always had    

,effie's example before you4 ,you will  
never find her lowering herself by      
running after young men as you have been
 doing2 and ,i tell you1 ,sheila1  that 
nothing so disgusts those very young men
 as seeing girls do this4  ,they humour 
them at the time for their amusement1   
and because their  vanity is flattered2 
but in the end they despise them4 ,mr4  
,dumaresq has  been very kind to you1   
but he must know perfectly well that you
 are  trying to get him for a husband40 
,sheila suddenly started up1 her face   
suddenly grown white4    8,aunt         
,cossart1 you shall not say that again6 
,i will not bear it from  you4 ,yes1 ,i 
will go away4 ,i would not stay after   
this4 ,where is my  uncle8 ,let me talk 
to him1 but please do not say another   
word4 ,i cannot  bear it60    ,there was
 something in the girl's sudden change  
of manner that half  frightened ,mrs4   
,cossart4 ,she did not particularly want
 ,sheila and her  uncle to meet just    
now4    8,your uncle has gone           

downstairs10 she answered uneasily1 8you
 can see  him after dinner40    8,i     
shall not go down to dinner10 said      
,sheila1 putting up her hand to  her    
head in a dazed way4 8,my head aches4 ,i
 shall go to bed4 ,if ,i am  going away 
on ,monday1 ,i think ,i won't come down 
to meals any more40    8,well1 ,i think 
you had better go to bed10 said ,mrs4   
,cossart4 8,you  have had a tiring day1 
and you don't look yourself4 ,i don't   
mean to  be unkind1 ,sheila1 but you    
have no mother1 and it is my duty to    
speak  plainly sometimes40    8,then ,i 
am sure you have done your duty1 ,aunt  
,cossart10 said ,sheila1  giving one    
direct look at her aunt1 and then the   
wave of bitterness  surged over her once
 more4 ,the tears rushed to her eyes2   
she felt as  though she were choking1   
and in a blind sort of way she darted   
from the  room1 dashed into the one she 
shared with ,effie1 and flinging herself
  upon her bed broke into wild weeping4 
,effie had just finished her toilet1 her

 face was rather flushed1 and  she      
looked uncomfortable and displeased4    
,the maid was putting the room  to      
rights1 and cast a compassionate glance 
at the prone figure on the  bed4 ,she   
had received orders to pack up ,sheila's
 things in readiness  for the mail on   
,monday1 and as this was ,saturday      
evening and no word  had been spoken    
previously of such a thing1 she divined 
that there had  been a 8row40 ,probably 
she had a shrewd guess as to the cause1 
but of  course she made no remark1      
finished her task and went away4        
,effie came and stood by ,sheila4       
8,don't cry so10 she said4 8,it's a pity
 it has happened1 but nobody will       
remember anything about it when you are 
gone4 ,the ,barretts are going  in the  
mail on ,monday4 ,they will take care of
 you1 and be pleased to  have you4 ,you 
always get on with people4 ,and it's    
better to go than to  have bothers all  
the time40    ,effie was half glad1 half
 sorry to be rid of ,sheila4 ,in a way  

she was  fond of her cousin1 but she had
 become rather jealous of her too4 ,and 
then her foolish mother had fostered in 
her the belief that ,ronald  ,dumaresq  
would certainly pay his addresses to her
 if only ,sheila would  let him alone1  
and not be perpetually attracting him   
off to herself4  ,effie had been taken  
by ,ronald from the first1 and was      
flattered at  being told of his         
preference4 ,she had begun to fancy     
herself more or  less in love with him1 
as girls with nothing better to think   
about are  rather disposed to do4 ,she  
liked to picture herself the mistress of
 an  establishment1 with a handsome     
young husband to take her about4 ,if it 
were true that ,ronald admired her1 it  
was a thousand pities he should  not    
have a fair field4 ,effie did not pause 
to consider that he had an  excellent   
opportunity as it was for prosecuting   
his wooing1 and that if  he let himself 
be turned from his purpose by ,sheila's 
8machinations0--as  her mother called   

it--his love could not be very deep or  
true4 ,she was  accustomed to be led by 
her mother's opinions2 and she had      
become very  jealous of the way in which
 people 8took up0 ,sheila1 and left her 
out  in the cold4    ,as ,sheila made no
 answer1 ,effie moved away1 and joining 
her mother in  the next room remarked-- 
8,you have upset her very much1 but ,i  
suppose she will get over it4  ,i think 
she won't come down to-night1 her face  
will be all red and  swollen4 ,what     
shall we say to people8 ,shall you tell 
them she is going  to be sent home80    
,mrs4 ,cossart looked a little taken    
aback4 ,she had overlooked the fact     
that some explanation would have to be  
given of this exceedingly sudden        
arrangement4 ,she looked at her         
daughter1 and then said slowly--        
8,well1 we won't say anything to-night1 
only that ,sheila has a headache  and   
cannot come down4 ,you will have a      
chance of talking to ,mr4 ,dumaresq  at 
table now1 ,effie4 ,i am quite tired of 

the sound of ,sheila's laugh1  and her  
way of getting his notice all for       
herself40    ,but ,effie found ,ronald  
rather abstracted1 and she did not make 
much way  with him4 ,after he heard that
 ,sheila was not coming down he seemed  
to  go off into a brown study2 and it   
was only when ,mr4 ,cossart suddenly    
seemed to drop a bomb in their midst    
that he took note of what was  passing4 
8,yes1 she is to go home on ,monday1 my 
wife has decided10 ,mr4 ,cossart        
remarked to ,miss ,adene1 all           
unconscious of his wife's warning looks4
  8,we brought her out for a little     
holiday and amusement2 and now she  will
 go back home to another uncle of hers4 
,oh1 yes1 we shall all miss  her4 ,she  
is a merry little puss4 ,but we think   
she has been here long  enough4 ,mrs4   
,barrett has kindly promised to take    
care of her on the  voyage home40       
,ronald's eyes had fixed themselves upon
 ,mr4 ,cossart's face4    8,are you     
speaking of ,miss ,cholmondeley8 ,surely

 it has been arranged  rather suddenly80
    8,well1 we have talked of it often10
 said ,mrs4 ,cossart interposing4       
8,sheila only came out for a time1 not  
for the whole season4 ,it is the  chance
 of sending her back with such a good   
escort that has settled the  matter4    
,she will be very happy with the        
,barretts4 ,they have made such         
friends1 she and the girls40    8,it is 
strange she said nothing all day1 when  
we were making all sorts  of plans for  
the future10 said ,ronald2 and both ,mr4
 and ,mrs4 ,cossart  looked so          
uncomfortable that ,lady ,dumaresq      
changed the subject4    ,there was no   
walking up and down the corridor or     
verandah with ,ronald  that evening1 for
 he followed his party direct into their
 private  sitting-room at the end of the
 ground-floor passage1 and appeared no  
more that night4    8,what does it      
mean80 he asked1 with a note of         
indignation in his voice4    ,miss      
,adene and ,lady ,dumaresq exchanged    

glances4 ,they had seen perfectly       
through the clumsy manuvre4 ,their eyes 
had been observing the turn  affairs    
were taking for some while4 ,they were  
not altogether unprepared  for some such
 development4    8,now1 ,ronald10 said  
,lady ,dumaresq quietly1 8it is no use  
your putting  yourself into a fume and  
fret about this4 ,it is very evident    
that ,mrs4  ,cossart is jealous of      
,sheila1 because she so entirely        
eclipses ,effie4  ,it is not a very     
surprising thing that it should be so4  
,we must allow  for a mother's weakness4
 ,perhaps you have yourself helped to   
bring  about the crisis by a rather too 
visible admiration for the little  girl4
 ,you were not quite wise to-day1 for   
instance2 and she is too much  the child
 to be on her guard2 and if people do   
talk----0    8,let them10 answered      
,ronald rather proudly4 8,i am not      
afraid of having  my name coupled with  
that of the girl ,i intend to make my   
wife60    ,they all smiled at him4 ,they

 were all in sympathy with his bold     
declaration4 ,lady ,dumaresq held out   
her hand1 and ,sir ,guy laid an         
affectionate arm over his shoulder4     
8,so it has come to that1 has it1       
,ronald8 ,well1 ,i am glad to hear it4  
,but a little patience will not hurt    
either of you2 and you will know  better
 after a separation whether she cares   
for you in the way you  wish40          
8,after a separation60 repeated ,ronald 
rather blankly4 8,but ,i mean to  come  
to an understanding before they send her
 away4 ,i may even be able  to stop it  
if she is my----0    ,but ,lady         
,dumaresq laid a gentle hand upon his   
lips4    8,ronald10 she said1 8that     
would not be wise4 ,indeed it would     
scarcely  be fair and right to her40    
8,what do you mean80 he questioned      
quickly4    8,i mean that the question  
you have to ask ,sheila is too solemn   
and  serious a one to be put when she is
 in a mist of bewilderment1 sorrow1  and
 indignation1 which is sure to be the   

case4 ,you would come to her  then as a 
sort of champion and deliverer1 and she 
would very likely  accept you in that   
impulse of gratitude1 whether or no her 
heart be  deeply stirred4 ,do not win   
her in that impetuous way1 ,ronald4 ,it 
will  not hurt either of you to bear the
 yoke for awhile--to learn what         
patience has to teach4 ,her character   
will develop in the school of  life's   
discipline1 as it has not done when all 
has been sunshine4 ,let  her go now1    
,ronald4 ,prove your own heart first1   
then if you find it  unchanged1 seek her
 out later1 and win her if you can4     
,believe me1 it  will be best so4 ,i do 
not know what has passed between ,sheila
 and her  aunt1 but whatever it is1 ,i  
would not have you seek an interview    
now40    ,and indeed1 had ,ronald       
desired it1 it is doubtful if he could  
have  obtained sight of ,sheila4 ,she   
remained in bed most of ,sunday with a  
violent headache4 ,miss ,adene and ,lady
 ,dumaresq stole up to see her1 to      

whisper a few kind words and then       
retire4 ,and when ,monday came she was  
nothing but a little white-faced1       
woe-begone creature1 so unlike the      
,sheila of the past weeks that her      
friends would scarcely have known her4  
,she would not say good-bye to anybody4 
,she shrank from the thought of  what   
they might have been told as to her     
sudden departure4 ,every nerve  was     
tingling with pain1 and shame1 and      
misery4    ,the boat was in early1 and  
whilst the rest of the people were at   
lunch1 ,sheila got her uncle to take her
 down to the quay and see her on  board1
 for she felt she would sink into the   
ground if ,ronald were to  come out and 
see her1 and say good-bye before the    
rest of the people4    8,well1 ,i am    
thankful she went off so quietly10 said 
,mrs4 ,cossart1 as  they discussed the  
matter together before descending to    
dinner4 8,i was  afraid there might be a
 scene1 but there is no accounting for  
,sheila4  ,she did not even want to say 

good-bye to the ,dumaresq party1 and if 
some of them hadn't come up here1 she   
would have gone off without even  that4 
,girls are the queerest1 most capricious
 creatures6 ,well1 it's all  happily    
over2 and1 ,effie1 you will have        
,sheila's place now at table1  and      
nobody to interfere with you4 ,mr4      
,dumaresq----0    ,but ,effie tossed her
 head rather defiantly4 ,she had not got
 much change  out of ,mr4 ,dumaresq     
these last few table d'hte meals4    8,i
 don't care for ,mr4 ,dumaresq so mighty
 much4 ,i'm not going to put  myself out
 of the way for him4 ,i don't think ,i  
care so particularly  for fashionable   
young men4 ,i don't mind him1 but ,i'm  
not going to  put myself out of the way 
just to amuse him4 ,i think he's very   
dull  sometimes4 ,i don't know what you 
all see in him to make such a fuss60    
,mrs4 ,cossart rather felt as though she
 had taken an infinity of trouble  for a
 chimera of her own brain1 and when she 
reached the dining-room  her jaw almost 

dropped4 ,she had pictured the          
amalgamation which would  take place    
between ,effie and the ,dumaresqs now   
that ,sheila had gone2  but what did she
 see8    ,the whole ,dumaresq party had 
moved bodily to the side table1 hitherto
  occupied by the ,barretts1 who had    
left to-day4 ,some new arrivals from    
the ,cape had been given the seats next 
to the ,cossarts--loud-voiced  colonials
 with rather bad manners1 who talked    
amongst themselves and  seemed not to   
desire the acquaintance of their        
neighbours4    ,mrs4 ,cossart sat in    
dismayed silence through the meal1 and  
when she  went into the drawing-room    
afterwards1 she fancied that all the    
people  looked coldly at her4 ,nobody   
spoke either to her or to ,effie1 and   
they  soon retired to their own rooms4  
,was this a sample of what would result 
from her laborious attempt to  promote  
her daughter's popularity8    7,to be   
continued47    ,illustration            
,,things ,,in ,,season1 ,,in ,,market   

,,and ,,kitchen4    ,,by ,,la           
,m,,nagere4      ,september1 the        
hunter's moon1 brings us such an        
abundance in our  markets that it is    
difficult to say just what is peculiar  
to the month4  ,undoubtedly the most    
prominent feature is moor game1 and now 
is the  time when even moderate purses  
may safely indulge in this4 ,hares1     
rabbits1 grouse1 partridges1 and wild   
duck give an excellent choice1  and     
poultry also is prime and not dear4     
,fresh-water fish come in this month1   
and are often most useful to  country   
hostesses1 as well as affording sport to
 her guests4 ,the  orchards are laden   
now with fast-ripening fruit1 and if    
this harvest  is a fairly plentiful one 
we may indeed be glad4 ,nuts will find  
an  excuse for many delightful nutting  
parties among the children1 and  the    
storing of fruits and vegetables from   
the garden will keep the  housekeeper   
busy4 ,damsons should be plentiful      
towards the end of this  month1 and will

 want making into jam and cheese1 and we
 expect also to  gather                 
blackberries--another excuse for        
picnicking--nor must we leave  mushrooms
 out of the list4 ,indeed1 ,september is
 the harvest-month in  many senses1 for 
we have the wild crops ready for        
garnering1 as well as  the cultivated   
ones of garden and field4    ,the       
poorest country-dweller may make a      
profit now who has the wit and  the     
energy to seek for nature's bounty1 as  
these wild things invariably  meet with 
a ready sale in towns4    ,besides these
 we have other things provided by a     
bountiful providence  which we ought to 
appreciate better than we do4 ,see the  
glorious  colouring that the leaves of  
the hedgerow trees take on2 note the    
rushes swaying in the brook1 the berries
 of the mountain-ash1 as well  as of the
 dog-rose2 all these are profitable to  
town florists1 who will  generally pay a
 fair price for such things4 ,to the    
home decorator all  these are very      

valuable--or will be in the days that   
will come all too  soon1 when no flowers
 are to be had for the table4 ,if       
slightly dried  and brushed over with a 
very weak solution of gum arabic1 then  
dried  again1 these will keep for a long
 time without losing their colour4      
,some of the very prettiest table       
decorations ever seen have been made    
with coloured leaves and berries4 ,for  
tall jars in the corners of  rooms1     
purple thistles1 white honesty1 brown   
bulrushes1 copper beech  boughs1 and    
scarlet ash-berries combined1 make a    
truly lovely show4    ,in the garden we 
have dahlias and sunflowers defying the 
wane that  seems to make everything else
 look dreary1 and by and by we shall    
have chrysanthemums in all their brave  
glory to brighten house and  greenhouse4
 ,what a glory do these give to the last
 days of the dying  year4    ,but the   
year is far from ending in ,september2  
we have many things yet  to enjoy1 and  
possibly many guests to entertain1 and  

always much to see  to1 as prudent      
housewives4    ,a plentiful crop of wild
 mushrooms proves a great help to us    
now1 and  we are glad to remind         
ourselves of different ways of using    
them4 ,for  instance1 with bacon or eggs
 at breakfast1 au gratin at dinner1 on  
toast at all times1 they are acceptable4
 ,with field mushrooms we have  need to 
be very careful lest we inadvertently   
give ourselves some that  are poisonous 
and unfit for food4 ,dr4 ,badham1 author
 of the ,esculent  ,funguses of         
,england1 enumerates no less than       
forty-eight species  of edible fungi1   
all of which are good to eat4 ,according
 to him the  majority of fungi are      
harmless1 but his account of the effects
 of the  poisonous minority is enough to
 alarm the most trustful4    ,the       
easiest way to detect whether fungi are 
wholesome or not is to  insert a silver 
spoon into the stew in which they are   
present1 and if  poisonous it will      
quickly turn black2 a peeled onion will 

also turn  blue or bluish-black1 and is 
an even easier test4 ,if either of these
 on  being withdrawn shows their own    
natural colour1 the mushrooms may be    
regarded as harmless4    ,mushroom      
ketchup is regarded by all housewives as
 one of the treasures  of the           
store-cupboard1 and that which is       
home-made is generally better  than any 
that can be bought4    ,it is best when 
made of the large flap mushrooms1 fresh1
 but fully  ripe4 ,they must be gathered
 during very dry weather1 if the ketchup
  is to keep properly4 ,do not wash or  
peel them but wipe them clean1  and     
remove all decayed pieces and part of   
the stalks4 ,put them into a  gallon    
stone jar1 and strew salt liberally over
 them4 ,let them remain  a night1 and   
the next day stir them up1 and repeat   
this for two or  three days4 ,at the end
 of the third day put the jar into the  
oven and  let them stew a short time1   
then gently pour off the liquid1 but do 
not squeeze them at all4 ,to every quart

 put an ounce of ,jamaica and  black    
peppercorns1 two or three pieces of rase
 ginger1 and a blade of  mace4 ,boil    
again for perhaps half an hour1 let it  
stand aside until  cold1 then put into  
dry bottles1 and cork it up tightly4 ,it
 is well to  use small bottles1 so that 
when one has been opened it may be used 
up  before it has time to lose its      
virtues4      ,,menu ,,for ,,september4 
,rabbit ,pie4      ,cold ,roast ,goose4 
,salmi of ,partridges 7hot74            
,fillets of ,beef with ,mushrooms 7also 
hot74      ,cold ,pressed ,beef4        
,potato1 ,beetroot1 ,tomato and ,endive 
,salads4      ,hot ,potatoes4           
,quince ,jelly4 ,damson ,cheese4        
,apple and ,blackberry ,tart4 ,cream4   
,cheddar and ,gorgonzola ,cheese4       
,oatcake and ,butter4    ,our menu this 
month might be one suited for a luncheon
 party1 where the  chief dishes would be
 required cold1 with two or three hot   
ones as a  set-off1 and all others      
placed on the table at the same time4   

,luncheon  parties are generally very   
common during this month in the country1
 and  the guests who come to partake of 
them are not noted for their small      
appetites4    ,salmi of                 
,partridges4--,put the birds into the   
oven as for roasting1 and  partially    
cook them4 ,when about half done cut    
them into neat pieces1  and remove the  
skin and sinews1 and place them in a    
clean saucepan4 ,in  another pan put a  
quarter of a pound of uncooked ham      
minced finely1  with a good piece of    
butter2 add a dozen small mushrooms1    
three or four  minced shallots1 a grated
 carrot1 a spoonful of chopped parsley1 
a few  sprigs of savoury herbs and some 
pepper and salt4 ,cover closely and let 
them cook on the top of the stove1      
shaking the pan to prevent burning2     
when cooked dredge a little flour over  
them1 let it brown a little1  and pour  
in about a pint of good brown stock4    
,add also a glassful of  sherry4 ,stir  
until the gravy has thickened nicely1   

then put in the  pieces of the birds1   
and let them slowly simmer1 but not     
boil1 for at  least half an hour4 ,dish 
the game in a pile on a hot dish1 strain
 the  sauce1 and see that it is well    
seasoned and of a nice brown colour1    
then pour over all4 ,garnish with fried 
sippets of bread4    ,fillets of ,beef  
with ,mushrooms4--,these should be cut  
from the undercut  or fillet of beef1   
and be neatly shaped4 ,fry them quickly 
on both  sides1 but only enough to      
slightly brown them1 then place in a    
stewpan  and cover with peeled          
mushrooms1 one or two shallots1 some    
pepper and  a glassful of red wine with 
also a small lump of butter4 ,stew these
  for quite an hour in a rather slow    
oven1 then lift out the meat and  the   
mushrooms1 and thicken the gravy with   
fcule1 also add salt and a              
tablespoonful of sharp sauce1 then pour 
boiling hot over the dish4    ,quince   
,jelly and ,damson ,cheese are both     
preserves that should be  found in      

readiness in the store cupboard4 ,for   
the first1 take a quart  of quince juice
 obtained by boiling the fruit with a   
very little water  and then straining it
 through a bag2 add a pound of lump     
sugar to every  quart1 and then an ounce
 of gum arabic previously soaked in     
water4 ,boil  well for quite half an    
hour1 then put into moulds4    ,damson  
,cheese4--,put several pounds of        
freshly-gathered damsons into  a stone  
jar with a very little water4 ,stand    
this on the top of the  stove to stew   
gently for some hours1 or until the     
fruit is perfectly  soft4 ,while still  
warm turn out the damsons into a        
wide-meshed sieve  or colander1 rub     
until nothing but skins and stones are  
left4 ,put half  a pound of loaf sugar  
to every pound of pulp1 and boil        
together into a  stiff paste4 ,some of  
the stones should be cracked and the    
kernels taken  out1 as these give a very
 pleasant flavour to the cheese4 ,put   
into  shallow dishes or moulds1 and     

cover with brandied papers4 ,this cheese
  is usually cut into fancy shapes and  
put into glass dishes to serve at       
dessert4          ,,answers ,,to        
,,correspondents4      ,,study ,,and    
,,studio4    ,,irene ,,foy1 #cb1        
,osborne ,terrace1 ,clapham ,road1      
wishes to sell 8,,onyx0 a  ,greek       
grammar1 written by ,,irene',s father in
 ,english and ,greek4 ,will  8,,onyx0   
please write8    ,,lem4--,you will find 
the poem from which you quote an extract
 in ,ezekiel  and ,other ,poems1 by ,b4 
,m4 7,nelson and ,sons74 ,it is there   
entitled 8,the  ,sea of ,sorrow40       
,,constance4--#a4 8,auf ,wiedersehn10   
means 8till we meet again10 like the    
,french 8,au revoir40--#b4 ,we always   
recommend ,dr4 ,lemmi's ,italian        
,grammar1  published at #es4 by ,messrs4
 ,oliver  ,boyd1 ,edinburgh2 and        
,messrs4  ,simpkin1 ,marshall  ,co41    
,london4 ,it is quite simple enough to  
be  studied alone4    ,,soror4--,we are 
sorry you have had to wait so long for a

 reply1 but  owing to the time at which 
we go to press1 we cannot promise an    
answer  speedily4    ,,nurse            
,,petra4--,the ,jugend-,gartenlaube1    
#es4 a year1 might suit you2  but we    
advise you to write for a full list of  
,german periodicals to  ,hachette  ,co41
 #ah1 ,king ,william ,street1 ,charing  
,cross1 ,london4    ,f4 ,e4             
,,bartram4--,books on entomology appear 
rather costly2 but you might  begin with
 ,british ,butterflies1 ,moths and      
,beetles1 by ,w4 ,f4 ,kirby1  published 
at #as42 or ,sir ,john ,lubbock's       
,origin and ,metamorphoses of  ,insects1
 #cs4 #f;d4 ,order at any bookseller's4 
,,nydia4--,it is not wonderful that a   
8first attempt10 especially as you  have
 8never learnt how to set down music10  
and are only sixteen1 should  be full of
 mistakes1 too many to specify4 ,it is  
absolutely impossible  for you to hope  
to succeed without seriously studying   
the rules of  harmony4 ,at the same time
 we should judge from your pleasant and 

modest  letter that such study would be 
by no means thrown away4    ,a          
correspondent directs our attention to  
the fact that 8foolscap10  concerning   
which a question was lately answered in 
8,study and ,studio10  is a corruption  
of the ,italian foglio-capo1 a          
folio-sized sheet4 ,the  error is an    
ancient one1 for from the thirteenth to 
the seventeenth  century the water mark 
of this size paper was a fool's head    
with cap  and bells4    ,b4 ,e4 ,m4--#a4
 ,we are constantly mentioning ,reading 
,societies in this  column4 ,try the    
,national ,home ,reading ,union1 ,surrey
 ,house1 ,victoria  ,embankment1        
,london1 or write to ,mrs4 ,walker1     
,litlington ,rectory1  ,berwick1        
,sussex4--#b4 ,do not try or wish to    
8become pale40 ,sufficient  exercise1   
and strict attention to clothing and    
diet1 are the best cure  for a faulty   
circulation4    ,a ,,lincolnshire       
,,girl4--#a4 ,the lines you quote1      
8,howe'er it be1 it seems to me         

',tis only noble to be good10    are    
certainly by ,tennyson1 from the poem   
8,lady ,clara ,vere de ,vere40--#b4     
,the allusion1        8,her who clasped 
in her last trance        ,her murdered 
father's head10    is to ,margaret      
,roper1 the daughter of ,sir ,thomas    
,more4 ,this devoted  daughter obtained 
possession of her father's head after   
his execution1  kept it in a leaden     
casket1 and left directions that it     
should be  buried with her4 ,for the    
whole story1 see ,,the ,,girl',s ,,own  
,,paper for  ,february1 #ahih1 where we 
answered the question at length4        
,,bluebottle4--,the reference you quote 
is probably ,professor ,e4 ,curtius1 a  
distinguished ,german authority on      
etymology4    ,a4 ,n4 ,d4--#a4 ,the     
lines 7which you misquote7 are as       
follows--        8,oh1 wad some power   
the giftie gie us      ,to see oursel's 
as others see us6      ,it wad frae     
monie a blunder free us          ,and   
foolish notion40    ,they are by ,robert

 ,burns1 and you will find them in any  
edition of his  poems4--#b4 ,write to   
the office of ,,the ,,boy',s ,,own      
,,paper1 in which magazine  8,the       
,bishop and the ,caterpiller0 first     
appeared4      ,,international          
,,correspondence4    ,,florence is very 
sorry1 but circumstances have occurred  
which  unfortunately prevent her from   
opening a correspondence with a little  
girl reader of the 8,g4 ,o4 ,p40 as she 
wished4 ,among the many readers of  our 
paper1 perhaps someone else will kindly 
volunteer4    8,,madge10 who lives in   
the country1 and works with her hands1  
would  very much like to correspond with
 8,,nellie10 so would ,,robina ,j4      
,,gibson1  ,ferneycleuch1 ,lochmaben1   
,dumfriesshire 7a farmer's daughter71   
and  ,b4 ,e4 ,m41 ,the ,rectory1        
,barnow1 ,co4 ,wexford4    ,m4 ,d4      
,,lewis1 ,sabia1 near ,smyrna1 ,asia    
,minor1 would be very glad to  write to 
any of our readers who would like to    
hear a little about  the remote and     

uncivilised region where she lives1 and 
the curious  superstitions and customs  
that prevail4 ,she adds1 8,if any of    
your  readers wish to correspond with me
 in ,greek1 ,i shall be very much       
pleased40    ,,miss ,,frances ,,white1  
,yaverland ,manor1 ,brading1 ,isle of   
,wight1 would  be pleased to exchange   
stamps with girls living abroad2 she    
would  send twenty ,british stamps in   
exchange for the same number of the     
nationality of her correspondent4       
,,maud ,m4 ,,baughan1 ,vernon ,villa1   
,james ,street1 ,oxford1 would like to  
correspond in ,english with ,,miss      
,,ruby ,,tizarel and ,,miss ,,nelly     
,,pollak4 ,as  ,,miss ,,baughan is a    
teacher1 she would also like to         
correspond with any  teachers across the
 sea4    ,,miss ,r4 ,m4 ,,cooke1 ,oxford
 ,villa1 ,gordon ,road1                 
,southend-on-,sea1 wishes to  correspond
 with some girls of her own age 7#bj7   
living abroad4 ,she is an  enthusiastic 
collector of view post-cards1 and would 

like to exchange  ,english cards for    
those of other countries4    ,will ,o   
,,mimosa ,,san exchange illustrated     
post-cards with ,,madame ,,gaston       
,,cantin1 ,rue de ,saujon1 ,la          
,tremblade1 ,charente ,infrieure1       
,france1  whom we thank for her pleasant
 words1 describing the delight of her   
correspondence with an ,english reader  
of the 8,g4 ,o4 ,p40    8,,bertram10 a  
girl fond of out-door exercise1 would   
like to correspond  with a ,french girl 
about sixteen years of age4    ,,miss   
,,sofie ,,abelsberg1 ,budapesth1        
,hungary 7#aa1 ,nagy ,jnos ,street71    
wishes for a well-educated ,english or  
,american girl correspondent of  her own
 age 7#ah7 who would write in ,german or
 ,english1 ,miss ,abelsberg  in         
,english4    ,,florida would like to    
correspond with a ,spanish1 ,dutch1     
,norwegian1  ,swedish or ,russian girl  
of good family about #bj years of age4  
,she would  help them in ,english if    
they would help her in their languages4 

,will  any girls of these nationalities 
send addresses here8      ,,girls'      
,,employments4    ,a ,,farmer',s        
,,daughter 7,choice of                  
,employment74--,are there not rather    
many kinds of work which you dislike8   
,you 8would not think of entering  into 
domestic service at all40 ,you 8would   
not care for shop business  either40    
,you think1 however1 that you might like
 to act as a clerk1 or  a lady's        
companion4 ,now1 we are obliged to tell 
you that companions are  very little    
wanted1 and that clerks1 if they are to 
receive moderately  good salaries1 must 
be well educated4 ,you tell us1 however1
 that  your parents would not be        
disposed to spend anything further on   
your  education or training4 ,this makes
 the position somewhat difficult4 ,it   
compels you to regard home as your      
school4 ,but there are many useful      
things that a girl can learn on a farm4 
,you might learn dairy-work  thoroughly 
and earn something by the sale of       

butter4 ,later1 if you  could master the
 newest methods1 from studying the      
appliances used  by your most successful
 farming friends1 you could seek a      
position  as superintendent of some     
gentleman's private dairy4 ,people who  
can  make butter and cheese well never  
go a-begging4 ,then you should also     
study the best and most remunerative    
methods of rearing poultry and of       
marketing eggs4 ,something1 even1 might 
be earned from your garden1 if  you have
 one1 and the soil is favourable for    
bulbs--as in many parts of  ,ireland it 
is4 ,the secret of comfort in farmers'  
households is for the  family to remain 
together1 and for each member--father   
and mother1 sons  and daughters1 to     
contribute their share of work4 ,but    
where families  break up1 the trouble   
comes1 for each person then wants a     
separate  house1 and consequently larger
 earnings4    ,,twentieth ,,volume 7,art
 ,teachership74--,your friends have     
unfortunately  been only too well       

acquainted with the facts1 when they    
told you that  it would be extremely    
difficult to obtain a situation as      
teacher of art  in a school4 ,drawing is
 taught in a good many girls' schools1  
but by  no means in all4 ,the           
head-mistresses of many ,high ,schools  
are disposed  to give most of the time  
allowed to general ,english subjects and
  languages1 which count in             
examinations1 and to leave girls of     
artistic  tastes to study drawing later 
at a regular school of art4 ,evidently  
you  draw well1 or you could not have   
obtained so much success in the ,south  
,kensington examinations4 ,but the      
question arises1 can you not earn       
something by your own drawings8 ,could  
you not draw illustrations for  stories1
 or make designs for some commercial or 
advertising purpose8  ,in all directions
 of this kind there is much work to be  
done and money  to be earned4 ,or have  
you thought of trying some handicraft   
such as  lace-making1 silk-weaving1 or  

cane basket-making8 ,perhaps1 as you    
live  in the ,midlands1 you could some  
day visit the ,birmingham ,municipal    
,school of ,arts and ,crafts and observe
 the many kinds of beautiful work  done 
by girls there4 ,such a visit might give
 you useful ideas4 ,in                  
chromo-lithography1 too1 there is       
constantly a demand for good designs4   
,there are some large                   
chromo-lithographic firms in            
,birmingham4 ,the other  matter you     
speak of is not one in which we can help
 directly1 but you  might make the      
cottage known to the railway authorities
 so that they  could include it in the  
lists of country lodgings which they    
publish4    ,f4 ,w4 ,g4 7,hospital      
,nurse74--,you would not be required to 
know much  arithmetic in order to be    
admitted to a hospital2 but at the same 
time  you ought to know something of the
 subject1 otherwise your notions of  the
 portions of drugs to administer1 and   
other such matters in which  an accurate

 mind is essential1 will be very hazy4  
,during the period  which must yet      
elapse before your admission you had    
better be trying to  improve your       
arithmetic4 ,your writing1 about which  
you ask our opinion1  is sufficiently   
legible and clear1 but it would be      
improved with  practice4 ,there is a    
slight disposition to make the letters  
slope too  much4    ,,independence      
7,nurse-,companion1 etc474--,a          
nurse-companion is usually  expected to 
have been trained at a hospital4 ,the   
training need not have  been sufficient 
to qualify a woman for regular hospital 
employment1  but it ought to have       
covered a period of six months at all   
events4 ,you  do not mention that you   
have been in any hospital1 and we       
therefore  think you had better give up 
the idea of becoming a nurse-companion4 
,perhaps1 as music appears to be your   
best accomplishment1 you would  do most 
wisely to seek employment as nursery    
governess4 ,your general  education we  

judge by your letter to be fairly good4 
,but try to improve  yourself by every  
means within your power1 as you cannot  
long remain a  nursery governess2 and   
you must either advance so as to become 
a fully  qualified governess1 when you  
are older1 or devote your attention to  
the practical duties of looking after   
young children4 ,in the latter  case you
 would1 of course1 term yourself a      
children's nurse4 ,it is  possible that 
you might be well advised to advertise  
yourself as  a children's nurse from the
 first1 seeking a subordinate position  
to begin with1 in order to gain         
experience4 ,your handwriting is        
satisfactory4    ,a ,,clydesdale        
,,lassie 7,hospital ,nursing74--,paying 
probationers are  received commonly for 
a period of three months at a time1 for 
which  thirteen guineas is paid in      
advance4 ,you could not enter a general 
hospital on these terms just at present4
 ,twenty-two is customarily the  lowest 
age for admission4    ,,wee ,,wifie     

7,fancy ,work74--,it is almost          
impossible to obtain a sale for  fancy  
articles which are only made at home and
 in small quantities4  ,little novelties
 which can be produced cheaply and in   
large numbers  may often be sold direct 
to wholesale and retail dealers in      
bazaar and  fancy articles4 ,we should  
recommend a lady who must live at home  
either  to do work on these lines and   
treat her home as a small manufactory1  
or else devote her time to the making of
 fine underclothing1 which she  could   
sell to the drapers and outfitters4     
,shops where embroidery is  sold usually
 keep their own workers on the premises1
 for the simple  reason that orders have
 to be executed promptly and in exact   
obedience  to the demand of the moment4 
,it is not possible for work of this    
kind  to be sent to workers who can only
 be reached by correspondence4          
,,miscellaneous4    ,,fruit             
,,farmer4--,no1 strawberries are not    
indigenous to ,england1 according  to   

,haydn1 in his ,dictionary of ,dates1   
where he says that they were  brought to
 this country from ,flanders in #aecj4  
,against this date1 we  refer to        
,shakespeare's ,richard ,,iii41 in which
 we find them spoken of  as growing in  
the ,bishop of ,ely's garden in         
,holborn1 which shows it  was cultivated
 as early as the latter part of the     
fifteenth century4 ,a  hundred years    
subsequently four kinds of this fruit   
were cultivated in  the garden of a     
barber-surgeon1 ,gerard by name1 also in
 ,holborn4    ,,deaf4--,had you not     
better consult some missionary1 or the  
friend whom  you have out in ,china1 so 
as to find out what the children in     
,china  may be likely to want8 ,have you
 seen the small scrap-books made of old 
post-cards1 or of cards the same size1  
and tied together at the side1  so as to
 form a small long book8 ,pictures are  
pasted on the back and  front of each   
card4 ,perhaps you could make these2 but
 we think you will  do well to inquire  

about it4    ,w4 ,m4 ,b4 ,d41 ,,heather1
 ,,lauria1 etc4--,we have seen several  
copies of  this snow-ball letter from   
,new ,south ,wales4 ,the addresses in   
each  are rather different1 and we1 like
 you1 cannot imagine what the           
philanthropist wants with so many       
stamps1 nor do we understand why the    
,government should give an endorsement4 
,we should let it alone1 and  return the
 letters4 ,the address seems            
insufficient1 and we have failed  to    
find any one of the places mentioned in 
the most recent ,gazetteer4  ,these     
philanthropic people who require a      
million of stamps are often  difficult  
to find2 and they might as well give the
 money at once4    ,c4 ,,brown4--,to fix
 prints upon wood1 and remove the paper1
 care must be  taken that the surface of
 the latter be perfectly smooth4 ,then  
moisten  a piece of thick drawing-paper1
 and apply a layer of thin glue on its  
surface2 leave it to dry2 give it two or
 three more coats1 leaving each  to dry 

separately4 ,coat the paper then with   
several layers of spirit  varnish1 and  
prepare the wood in the same way2 and   
then apply the  print4 ,we should have  
said that the wood must be previously   
prepared  by a slight coat of glue1 and 
when dry1 rubbed with glass-paper1 and  
a white alcoholic varnish applied4 ,when
 dry1 about five or six more  coats of  
the same will be required4 ,cut the edge
 of the print closely  round1 lay it on 
a table face downwards1 and moisten the 
back with a  wet sponge1 and then place 
between two leaves of blotting-paper4   
,apply  another coat of varnish to the  
wood1 and1 before it is dry1 lay the    
face of the print down upon it1 wiping  
the back in such a way as to  drive out 
the air so as to form no blisters4 ,lay 
a sheet of dry paper  upon it1 and pass 
a soft linen cloth over it to press it  
firmly down4  ,then leave it to dry1 and
 when thoroughly so1 moisten it with a  
sponge1  and roll off the paper with    
your fingers4 ,great care must be taken 

in this process not to remove any part  
of the paper upon which the  impression 
is taken4 ,after this rubbing it must be
 left to dry4 ,when  dry1 one more coat 
of varnish must be given over the       
delicate film of  paper left1 and it    
will be left perfectly transparent4     
,when quite dry1  polish with ,dutch    
rushes1 steeped for three or four days  
in olive oil1  which latter must be     
removed with a fine linen cloth1 and    
then sprinkle  with starch or           
hair-powder4 ,rub this off with the     
hand1 and apply three  or four more     
coats of varnish1 leaving each to dry as
 before1 and in  three or four days     
polish with a fine woollen cloth with   
whiting of the  finest kind4    ,,mercy 
,b4--,the names of the hospitals for    
which you ask are as                    
follows3--,newcastle ,hospital1 ,hull   
,royal ,infirmary1 ,leeds ,general      
,infirmary1 ,leeds ,fever ,hospital1 and
 ,lincoln ,county ,hospital4 ,for the   
last-named1 over four hundred           

applications are refused yearly1 and    
about fourteen are accepted4 ,address   
the matron in all cases4 ,we could  not 
give any idea of the time you would have
 to wait1 of course4    ,,unhappy       
,,maude4--,we think you will be really  
unhappy if you do not take  your        
father's and brother's advice1 and give 
up a foolish attachment4  ,do you think 
that any man who drinks could love you  
dearly and  devotedly8 ,would he not    
love drink far better8 ,gather all your 
strength  together and go away for a    
change1 and try to turn your thoughts to
  some other subject4 ,if you managed to
 break off with your lover once1  you   
can do so again1 and at twenty-one you  
will soon forget4           99       99 
99       99       99    ,illustration3  
,,the ,,laundry1 ,,battersea            
,,polytechnic4    ,illustration3 ,,the  
,,cookery ,,school1 ,,polytechnic4      
,,students ,,at ,,work4           99    
99       99       99       99           
,transcriber's ,note--the following     

changes have been made to this text4    
,page #gej3 flower to flour--8dredge a  
little flour04