You have not told me whether or not you have selected a name for the
club. If you have not done so, you might call it the Opal. The
peculiarity of the opal is that it presents a play of delicate tints.
There are precious opals, which emit a brilliant light; and fire opals,
which shine with a red and yellow flame; and common opals, which are
simply milk white. All are lovely. For a badge, each member might wear a
bit of red ribbon, with the letter O embroidered upon it in yellow silk,
and the members of the club might be styled "Opalescents." There is no
advantage in belonging to a club unless your being thus united shall
make you better, kinder, and more helpful, as young people, than you
would otherwise be. So, Miss Flossie, your question what to do at club
meetings is a very important one. Certainly you would grow tired of
meeting if you did nothing but play. I think it would be pleasant to
have one evening in the month--the first Friday, if you please--devoted
to a musical and literary entertainment. You might arrange the programme
beforehand, and then, when the evening arrived, Sue and Mollie would be
prepared with their duet, Hugh would have his violin solo, Louise her
song, and Harry his piano accompaniment, all ready for your
entertainment. John, who declaims well, might learn and recite "How Kate
Shelley Crossed the Bridge," one of the beautiful poems by Miss Mary A.
Barr which appeared in No. 102. To vary the order, you might
occasionally have tableaux or charades; and if the club could not get
these up successfully without assistance, you could press your mothers
and sisters into the service.
For the other evenings I would suggest that you try the game of authors,
confining yourselves to one author an evening, instead of playing it the
way it comes in boxes. On your Dickens evening you might select three or
four characters from one novel, as, for instance, in _Dombey and Son_,
Florence Dombey, Little Paul, Miss Cornelia, and Susan Nipper. Ascertain
all you can about each of these persons, and tell it in your own words.
Perhaps you do not feel quite old enough to enjoy Dickens. If so, take
Mrs. Whitney or Miss Alcott, select one of the books of either, and read
extracts from it. But I advise you to try Dickens, not _Dombey and Son_
in particular, but select any of his works you choose. _David
Copperfield_ is a great favorite with me.
Another charming thing for you to do would be to spend some evenings in
travelling. Bring your maps and geographies to your place of assembling.
Start from Detroit in a straight line, and see how many towns you can
touch, how many rivers you can cross, how many miles you must journey,
before you can arrive at any point in the Old World which you may
select.
I shall keep your club in mind, and when I think of anything I imagine
you would like to do, I'll give you a hint in this column. Meanwhile be
sure and send me word about the name.
* * * * *
BOTANIST.--Your questions about the herbarium are pertinent. In
collecting plants it is not necessary that all the plants should be in
flower, but when possible the whole plant, including the root, should be
taken. With large plants it is customary to select portions which shall
represent the whole--young shoots, buds, flowers, and fruit. When your
specimens are thoroughly dried, they may be rendered safe from insect
depredations by sprinkling them with an alcoholic solution of corrosive
sublimate, and keeping them between papers until it is dry. Place one
species only on a sheet, with full particulars as to genus, locality,
and interesting associations connected with its discovery. Keep your
sheets in large portfolios or in a cabinet, as you prefer, but guard
against dust.
* * * * *
A mother, for her children's entertainment, combined in a poetic form
the words assigned for sentence-making in No. 99. The Postmistress
thinks them worth publication: