The next morning was clear and bright. It was one of those mornings
that sometimes come in February to tell even Londoners that spring has
really started on her journey northward, and that she may be expected
to arrive some time soon.
The sun shone, a fresh, but not cold, wind blew from the south-west,
hurrying the soft golden clouds across the sky, and the sparrows had
actually begun their spring quarrels.
The Professor, contrary to his usual habit, took no notice of these
nice things. He felt very old and weary as he set off on his journey to
the city with the same undefined feeling of misfortune that had haunted
him all night.
He went straight to the stockbroker's office, expecting simply to have
to sign a paper or two, receive his quarterly cheque for £6 5s., cash
it at the bank, and then go quietly home again. He was surprised when
the clerk asked him to sit down.
“I think Mr. Surtees wants to see you, Mr. Crowitzski,” he said, more
politely than usual. “He will be disengaged in a few minutes, if you
don't mind waiting. Oh, he's ready now”--as an electric bell rang three
times.
The old man followed the clerk upstairs to the first floor, where they
paused outside a door marked “Private.” The clerk knocked softly.
“Come in,” said a voice, and the clerk ushered the Professor into his
master's presence.
“Good morning, Professor Crowitzski!” said the stockbroker cheerily.
“Come and sit down by the fire. You look cold. It's a fresh morning,
though the wind is sou'-west!”
He drew a leather-covered arm-chair forward as he spoke, gently pushed
the Professor into it, and stationed himself on the hearthrug with his
back to the fire and his hands behind his back.
He was a fresh-faced, kindly-looking man of middle age, with humorous
grey eyes, and gold spectacles, which gave him a benevolent expression.
He had undertaken the management of the poor Professor's small
investment for many years out of pure kindness of heart after hearing
his tragic history from a common friend, since dead; but he had a task
this morning that he did not relish.
“Have you seen to-day's paper?” he began, looking keenly at his client.
“No,” said the Professor. “I do not often see the paper. Is there any
special news?”
“Well--er--yes, I think so. News of some importance to a good many
people, I'm afraid.”
The old man looked up in a mildly inquiring way, and the stockbroker
continued--
“Fact is, those beastly South Americans are kicking up a row amongst
themselves again--quarrelsome beggars! They can't keep themselves quiet
for long! And the worst of it is, they disturb us peaceful citizens
here who only wish to lend them money to get on with!”
A faint expression of interest began to dawn in the Professor's face.
“I suppose,” he said, “you mean that the money market is influenced by
this kind of thing. Does it make any difference to my little income?”
Mr. Surtees turned round and poked the fire vigorously--an unnecessary
proceeding; but the sight of that mild old face, and the knowledge
of what he had to say, made it imperative that he should relieve his
feelings somehow.
“It's hard on the poor old chap,” he muttered to himself. “But it can't
be helped!”
He straightened himself, looked at his client, then out of the window,
then into the fire.
“Well, Professor,” he said slowly, “I am very sorry to say that all
South American stocks and securities are very low in the market just
now--in short, some of them have gone altogether. Clean gone!”
Professor Crowitzski sat upright in his chair. A mist seemed to float
before his eyes; his heart began to beat as if it would choke him. He
felt as if the room were spinning round, and he grasped the arms of the
chair tightly to try to steady himself. When, after a few moments, he
spoke, his voice sounded faint and far away.
“And--and--my--money?” he gasped, with pauses between each word.
John Surtees looked down into the fire and gave his head a little shake.
“Is it all gone?” said the old man in a kind of breathless voice.
There was silence for a few moments, broken only by the ticking of the
clock on the mantelpiece and the cries of the paper boys in the street.
Then the stockbroker turned round.
“I am exceedingly sorry to have to tell you,” he said, speaking
rather hurriedly. “It is all gone, and there is no help for it. No
one--nothing could have saved it; the panic was too sudden and too
violent. If I could have done anything, I would; but it was hopeless.
It is hard--very hard--not only on you, but on lots of other people
too. Not that that's much consolation to you!”
The Professor sat perfectly still, as if turned to stone, gazing
straight into the fire, but seeing nothing. He was so still and silent
that Mr. Surtees began to feel alarmed as to the possible results of
the shock. He moved a step forward and gently laid his hand on the old
man's shoulder.
“Look here, Professor,” he said kindly, “don't take it so much to
heart; your friends will be sure to look after you. If I can be of any
service to you in the way of a little loan for present use--no hurry as
to repayment, you know, just as between friends--I shall be most happy,
most happy.”
The poor Professor drew a long breath and looked up into his face with
a vacant, unseeing expression in his eyes as of one struck blind.
“Friends!” he said slowly and brokenly. “My friends are long dead. I
have no one left.”
He attempted to rise, but the stockbroker pressed him down again.
“Don't hurry away,” he said. “Stop here and rest a bit. You won't be in
my way. I'm going to give you a small brandy and soda--capital thing
for you just now.”
He went across the room to get it out of a cupboard near the window
and was taking the stopper out of the little brandy decanter when the
sound of the Professor's voice arrested him. He had risen from the big
arm-chair and stood in the middle of the room, leaning heavily on his
stick.
“I cannot take it,” he said, more firmly than he had yet spoken. “I
cannot take it! It is years since I tasted wine or spirits, and my head
is not clear enough. I must go home to rest and think--if I can.”
He moved towards the door, and the stockbroker saw it was useless to
try to detain him. However, he made one more little effort.
“You'll let me advance you five pounds for the present, at any rate,”
he said, “just as a matter of convenience, you know, till we can think
what can be done for you.”
The old man shook his head.
“I thank you for your kindly thought,” he said; “but I do not at
present see how I am to raise money to repay you. I have always kept
out of debt, and I am too old to work.”
“Oh, never mind, never mind! Don't trouble yourself about that,” began
the other, but a look of such determination came back to the old
man's face that he thought it unwise to press the matter further, and
continued, “Well, we'll speak of that some other time. You'll always
find me here and glad to see you. Can you manage to get home all right?
Shall one of my clerks go with you?”
But the Professor strenuously refused all offers of help, so Mr.
Surtees had to be contented with seeing his aged client downstairs
himself. And he stood for a moment watching his feeble progress down
the narrow court that led into busy Broad Street.
“Poor old chap!” he said to himself. “No wonder he is hard hit if
that was his whole living. I wonder why he always would keep it in
those South American stocks?” And he returned to his own room, feeling
dissatisfied with everything in general and the money market in
particular.
Professor Crowitzski got back to his little room in Green Street rather
before one. He sat down in his old chair near the fireplace, leaned
back, and closed his eyes with a sense of weariness and despair that
made him half wish the end might come then and there. He was utterly
crushed by the weight of his misfortune, and he felt quite unable to
think of any means by which he might be able to live out the small
remnant of his life outside the workhouse.
He had not taken off his old Inverness cloak, and as he put his hands
into the deep pockets to try to get them a little warm he felt a folded
sheet of paper. He drew it out mechanically and looked at it absently;
it was the programme for the next Monday's concert.
Instantly his whole mental attitude changed. Music, the ruling passion
and great love of his whole life, asserted itself once more. Cold,
hunger, the need of money, the workhouse, and starvation, all faded
from his mind, and he was in the world of glorious sound.
What a fine programme! Quartett, Beethoven in E minor, Op. 59. Ah,
what a beauty that was, with the glorious Adagio that no one could play
like Joachim. Ballade in F, Chopin: he glanced at his piano and smiled.
Who had ever written for the piano as an instrument like Chopin? Songs
by Schubert, divinest of song writers, and--last and best, the Clarinet
Quintett of Brahms. That would be a feast. His eyes shone as he went
to his pile of music and fished out a little well-worn volume of
Beethoven's Quartetts and a book of Schubert's songs. Then he went back
to his chair to enjoy himself for the afternoon, quite oblivious of the
fact that he had had no dinner. But the strain of the morning had been
too great, combined with the want of proper food: the sight and mental
sound of the music soothed him, though he could not long respond to its
stimulus. Little by little his head drooped, and he sank into a gentle
sleep.
When he woke it was dusk and he bethought himself of some tea. The
old music spell was still on him, but he remembered with a shiver the
events of the morning. He realised that he must see how much money he
really possessed, and calculate how long it would last; but he made up
his mind, should it be much or little, one shilling of it must be saved
for that concert.
He found he had ten shillings and a few coppers, five shillings being
due to his landlady for rent and sundries, and with the rest he would
have to live till Monday. He remembered that he should see Herbert
Maxwell then or on Tuesday, and he might be able to help him to
something.
On the Monday he was at St. James's Hall at seven o'clock, but it took
him much longer than usual to climb the gallery stairs. He had to stop
to get his breath several times on the way up, and when he reached his
seat he could only sink down into it, close his eyes and remain in a
state of half stupor till the music began. He had not even the energy
to look round for Herbert, who, however, did not come.
The first notes of the Quartett roused him to his general state of
keen, nervous, interest; indeed it seemed to him that his musical
perceptions were more sensitive than usual, and he felt as if he were
some fine instrument that was being played on, that throbbed and
vibrated in response to every chord sounded by the players on the
platform.
The performance of the Brahms Quintett was a magnificent one, led by
that great German clarinet player Mühlfeld, who comes to England too
seldom; and at its close the players received an ovation in which the
Professor joined with all his old fire and energy: he felt quite strong
and himself again.
It was not until he got out of his omnibus that he realised his
weakness. It was a bitter night, with a strong north-east wind blowing,
bringing with it blinding showers of sleet and hail, though the moon
shone brightly between the storms. A furious gust almost blew the frail
old man off his feet as he alighted, and the icy air made him gasp
painfully for breath, and pierced through his worn clothing to his
bones as he crawled slowly to the door of No. 9.
He dragged himself wearily up to his room; his body felt numbed and
sluggish, but his brain was still vibrating with the music he had just
heard. He threw his hat and stick on the bed and sank down into the
little chair beside it: he must rest a little before undressing; no
need to light the lamp, the moon would break through directly--she
always shone into his room.
Ah, that Brahms Quintett! What a heavenly thing it was. He could hear
it still; how haunting the Adagio with its mournful, pleading melody,
and then that wild fantasia for the clarinet--why--surely they are
playing it in the room beneath. Yes, there can be no mistaking the tone
of the clarinet, no one but Mühlfeld can play like that. Louder and
louder grows the passionate strain, like some agonised cry, with the
dull wailing of the muted strings beneath it. The sound fills the whole
house--louder and still louder.
* * * * *
“Yes, sir, the Perfesser is at 'ome, sir, though I don't rightly know
if 'e's got up yet,” said a plump, kindly-faced woman in answer to
Herbert Maxwell's question the next morning. “My daughter took 'is milk
up at nine o'clock and he wasn't movin' then. Will you walk up, sir?
Top floor on the right 'and.”
Herbert went gaily upstairs. He felt in exuberant spirits. Things had
gone well with him beyond his wildest dreams. His career was pretty
well assured. The great singing master had undertaken to make himself
responsible for his Academy fees, to find him means of earning money
during his years of study and to help him in every possible way.
Professor Crowitzski's five pounds had not been needed, and Herbert had
it with him to return to the old man.
He knocked softly at the door without receiving any answer, so he
knocked again a little louder, and yet again; but all was still.
“He must sleep soundly,” thought Herbert, “or----”
A sudden cold fear shot through him, and he opened the door and looked
in.
The Professor was dressed in his ordinary clothes and Inverness, and
sitting on the low wooden chair at the head of his bed, which had not
been slept in. His right arm was flung across the pillow, his head
rested on his arm, his left hand lay on his knee.
At the first glance Herbert thought he was asleep, but the stillness
of the figure and the marble whiteness of the face filled him with an
awful dread. He went swiftly across the room and gently touched his old
friend's hand, only to find the dread was a reality: he was too late.
[THE END.]
ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS.
[Illustration: RULES.
_I. No charge is made for answering questions._
_II. All correspondents to give initials or pseudonym._
_III. The Editor reserves the right of declining to reply to any of the
questions._
_IV. No direct answers can be sent by the Editor through the post._
_V. No more than two questions may be asked in one letter, which must
be addressed to the Editor of THE GIRL'S OWN PAPER, 56, Paternoster
Row, London, E.C._
_VI. No addresses of firms, tradesmen, or any other matter of the
nature of an advertisement, will be inserted._]
MEDICAL.
EILEEN.--Your troubles maybe due to any number of causes. The great
number of symptoms having but little connection with each other, which
you describe, strongly suggest that a large part, if not the whole,
of your trouble is due to nervousness. There is a disease which, from
the number and complexity of its symptoms, is called the protean
disease, or, in common parlance, hysteria. This affection varies from
the slightest forms of nervousness to absolute mental and physical
perversion. It is in the slighter grades of this affection that you
will find your own malady. Whether there is anything else besides this
the matter with you is impossible for us to tell. It has been our
experience that cocoa is quite as indigestible as tea or coffee, though
it produces a form of indigestion differing considerably from that
produced by tea. Drink nothing but warm milk, and take a liberal diet
of easily-digestible food.
PRISCILLA.--Trichinosis is a very rare disease produced by eating
underdone pork. One of the tapeworms (_Tænia solium_) is far more
commonly obtained from the same cause. Both diseases are uncommon in
England, for the English eat little pork, and always cook it well
first. There is no danger of either disease from eating well-done pork.
Where pork is eaten raw--as it is in some hams and sausages--the danger
of tapeworms and trichinosis is very considerable; but it must always
be remembered that sound meat cannot produce either disease.
INDIGESTION.--You are on the right track to treat indigestion, but you
have made one or two errors. You should not drink “plenty of water.”
The less water you drink the sooner you will be well again. You must
not take anything to digest your meals for you. Of course you are
referring to pepsin, etc. These may be taken by dyspeptics only when
they are incurable or gradually starving to death. Dyspeptics are
rendered worse by their use in the long run. You must relieve your
constipation. A teaspoonful of liquorice powder will do this very well.
Six miles daily is quite sufficient exercise.
ANXIOUS.--If you suffer from flatulence you must attend very carefully
to your digestion and guard against constipation. The pain of wind may
often be relieved by taking half a teaspoonful of spirit of ginger or
compound tincture of cardamom in a little water.
IN NEED OF ADVICE.--Nothing save the surgeon's knife will remove moles
from the face without great danger. The operation for removing moles
is practically free from danger; but it is not always advisable. The
best way to remove the hair which grows upon moles is to shave it off
or bleach it with peroxide of hydrogen. Electrolysis is sometimes used
to destroy hairs on moles, but it is infinitely inferior to, and more
dangerous than, excision of the whole mole. Moles very rarely grow
quickly; indeed, usually they grow less rapidly than does their bearer.
If you have a mole which suddenly begins to grow rapidly, go to a
surgeon at once, for in all probability it has altered its character
and become a serious disease.
BRUNETTE.--Dandruff and falling hair are usually present together, for
the former is one of the commonest causes of the latter. Wash your head
once a week in warm water and borax (one teaspoonful of borax to a pint
of water). Wash the scalp particularly well, and thoroughly dry both
the scalp and the hair afterwards. When the hair is quite dry, rub a
very little sulphur ointment into the scalp. It is no good applying
this to the hair itself. It is the scalp and hair-roots which need the
ointment. Use a hair-wash of cantharides and rosemary.
IRIS.--1. If you use peroxide of hydrogen to bleach your hands, do
not put it in the water you wash in. Get from your chemist “hydrogen
peroxide 10 vols.” Dilute this with three parts of water, and dip your
hands in the solution once a day. This can do you no harm. Whether it
will do what you want it to do is another question. Sometimes it serves
its purpose; usually it fails.--2. Orris-root is the root of the iris,
and not of the violet as is so commonly thought.
M. O.--You suffer from the double complaint of indigestion and feeble
circulation. You must be very careful what you eat, avoid excess of
starchy foods, sugar, alcohol, tea, coffee, and cocoa. But take a good
nourishing diet. The pills will do you good; but you must be very
careful to guard against constipation. Take a fair amount of exercise.
Take a small dose of bicarbonate of soda when you are troubled with
fulness after meals.
AN OLD READER.--We think it quite improbable that your brother will
derive any benefit from smoking. In fact, we think that it will simply
make him worse.
EMILY.--It is very difficult for us to advise you what to do, for
the information that you give us is too scanty to enable us to form
a just idea of your condition. You should have told us your age, and
occupation, and habits of life, for it is necessary to know these
before treating any complaint. The stiffness in your arms may be due
to rheumatism or it may not. You might try gentle massage and friction
with camphor or soap liniment over the joints of your arms. For your
other troubles we cannot help you without information as to what they
are and how they originated.
GLADYS.--The chief causes of somnolence are overwork, insufficient
sleep, underfeeding, overfeeding, indigestion, anæmia and other forms
of physical weakness; and lastly hysteria and nervous exhaustion.
From which of these are you suffering? Seven and a half hours' sleep
daily is sufficient; but, if you could, we advise you to give yourself
another hour. Do you eat properly? Do you eat sufficient, or do you eat
inordinately? Do you have indigestion or fulness after meals? All these
make you feel sleepy. Are you in any way unwell? Do you feel the cold
severely, or have any symptom which would suggest that your circulation
was not what it should be? Are you at all nervous, or do you belong
to a nervous family? This last more commonly causes wakefulness than
sleepiness. Lastly, are you worse in the morning or the evening? If you
are all right in the morning, but tire and get sleepy as the day wears
on, then we must look for a physical cause of your trouble. If you are
worse in the morning than you are later in the day, then the cause is
probably nervous. To cure yourself of your trouble you must find out
and remove the cause. Take an extra hour's sleep if you can manage it.
Look carefully to your digestion; many forms of dyspepsia give rise to
scarcely any symptoms except sleepiness.
ALICE.--Read the advice we gave to “Anxious.” You must be very careful
about your digestion, and take the minimum amount of fluid that you
can. Let your diet be as solid but as digestible as possible.
SUFFERER.--You had far better see a physician, for you may be
seriously ill, and it is quite beyond our power to help you. As regards
hot-bottles, they should never be filled with boiling water, and should
always be provided with jackets or wrapped in flannel. You are not the
only person whose legs have been burnt through ignorance of the proper
use of hot-bottles.
STUDY AND STUDIO.
COUNTRY LASS.--By far your best course would be to enter some small
ladies' school, where you would associate with well-educated women.
We do not think the scheme you mention would be very feasible. It is
difficult for us to mention any one school; the fees (unless under
special arrangements) would vary from £50 to £100 a year. Would you
like to go on the Continent? If so, we should advise Lausanne. Perhaps
you can give us a few more particulars.
IRIS.--1. You might procure Creighton's _First History of France_,
published at 3s. 6d., or Smith's _Student's History_, published at
7s. 6d. There is a book by Charlotte Yonge--_Aunt Charlotte's Stories
from French History_--but we do not know it.--2. A thunderbolt, in
the sense of a metallic substance, or bolt, hurled through the air
by a thunderstorm, does not exist. The term is properly applied to
the stream of electrical fluid passing from the clouds to the earth.
Aërolites, or meteoric stones, have no connection with thunderstorms.
Two questions are our limit.
EMERALD.--We are sorry we cannot tell you of a good grammar of the
Irish language. Perhaps some correspondent, noting your wish to obtain
one, may help you.
PATEETH.--1. Write to the publishers of any of Jerome K. Jerome's
works, and inquire for the recitation in question.--2. We do not know
of any way of disposing of silver paper. Inquire at a confectioner's.
DOROTHY will find the poem “Nothing to Wear” in Alfred Mile's American
Reciter, price 6d.
“THE ELDEST GIRL.”--Certainly we do not object to our girl-readers
“writing about the articles and stories in the paper, saying what they
like and dislike in them,” so long as the letters are as pleasant and
courteous as your own.
FELICIA.--Your quotation--
“The mighty master smiled to see
That love was in the next degree,”
is from _Alexander's Feast_, by Dryden.
ARITHMETICIAN.--Many thanks for your solution of the problem in our
August number.
AMATEUR SOCIETY.--We have received a notice of “The Budget” Manuscript
Magazine Club; subjects optional; good criticism; two prizes yearly.
Address, Miss Louise M. Larner, 22, Ladbroke Road, Notting Hill, W.
ZINGARA.--1. We do not recommend books on fortune-telling by cards.--2.
We have observed in one or two of the larger weekly illustrated ladies'
papers that character is described in the correspondence column from
handwriting. A glance through these papers at any public library will
inform you where to apply.
BESSIE MATTHEWS.--Your letter is beautifully written, and the white ink
on the blue paper is very pretty, if a little too dazzling for ordinary
use. We thank you for your information, which we repeat elsewhere.
CISSIE (Southend).--You do not give us your Christian name, which we
require for International Correspondence. “R.” is not enough.
PHŒBE WILSON.--There is a picture in the National Gallery, we believe,
of the first title you mention, but it is quite impossible for us
to tell you either the painter or the value of your pictures by the
names alone. You should let a local picture-dealer see them in the
first instance, and if they are thought to be of value, you might send
photographs or a rough sketch of them to “Christie, Manson & Woods,” or
“Agnew's,” New Bond Street, London, asking for information.
MERCIA.--We do not consider you at all too old to begin to study at a
school of art. With perseverance and diligence you will doubtless make
rapid progress. These are the great requisites; a very youthful age is
a secondary consideration.
E. W. H.--The teacher who trains your voice will tell you whether it
is a contralto, mezzo, or soprano. We should consider that F or G was
about the lowest note for a contralto; but it is for the master who
teaches you to judge of the compass of your voice, not for you to
inform him of its range.
OUR OPEN LETTER BOX.
MISS DOROTHEA KNIGHT, Keswick Old Hall, Norwich, wishes us to say that
if any reader of THE GIRL'S OWN PAPER who collects postage stamps cares
to send her some duplicates, she will send some in exchange by return
of post.
BRIAR ROSE informs “Last Hymn” that the recitation of that name is in
one of Buchanan's “Penny Pathetic Readings,” and is also published
under another title--“The Haven”--in the _Victorian Reciter_, edited by
Bernard Batigan, of Hull, price 1s.
BESSIE MATTHEWS, 3, High Street, Cheltenham, offers to send “Last
Hymn” a copy of the poem on application, and informs SAXIFRAGA that
“The False Light of Rosilly” is in the _Prize Reciter_ for May,
1897, to be obtained from the office of _Great Thoughts_. It is also
contained in Childe Pemberton's Poems, published by Messrs. Ward, Lock
& Co. We commend this information to BRIAR ROSE.
GIRLS' EMPLOYMENTS.
MARGARET MARSHFIELD (_Civil Service_).--Please read our reply to
“Wood Violet” last week. The examination fee is only a shilling, so
there is no obstacle in that part of the matter. But there are other
difficulties. You could only now offer yourself for appointment as a
female sorting clerk, or telegraph learner in the provinces; and to do
this you must obtain a nomination from a local postmaster to be sent to
the Postmaster-General. You have then to pass the examination. You ask
what we think of your writing and composition. The writing is very neat
and clear, but composition is a trifle shaky. To say “mother's helps
(our only other resource) seems to be so overstocked” is not first-rate
English, though we understand what is meant. But why should your only
other resource be to become a mother's help? Can it be because you
think it would be derogatory to you to fill one of the more recognised
positions in household service? If so, we would persuade you to reflect
on the superior advantages enjoyed by a children's nurse, a cook and
a parlourmaid. All these persons, as soon as they have obtained a
fair amount of experience, can command good wages and an ample choice
of situations. No doubt there is some little trouble in obtaining a
first place; nevertheless, many ladies are willing to teach an active,
hardworking woman, if the latter, on her side, will accept a small
amount of payment during the period of apprenticeship. It really seems
to us best that you should turn your thoughts towards domestic service;
though, if you could afford to spend a little time and money, we should
also have recommended you to learn laundry-work.
AZALEA (_Teaching in France or Germany_).--It is almost impossible for
an English teacher to obtain employment in France; but in Germany there
is less difficulty, provided that the teacher has high qualifications.
We recommend you to apply to the Foreign Registry of the Girls'
Friendly Society, 10, Holbein Place, Sloane Square, S.W.; Miss Nash,
Superintendent of the Home for British and American Governesses, 22,
Kleinheerenstrasse, Berlin, might also be able to advise you, but you
ought to furnish the fullest account of your general education and
professional training.
SINCERITY (_Rural Nursing_).--If you could go to a large London
hospital training-school and remain there a year, so as to qualify you
to become a Jubilee District Nurse, you would, from a professional
point of view, be doing the best for yourself; but we think the work
of cottage nurse on the Holt-Ockley system would probably be quite as
congenial to you, and the likelihood of your obtaining an engagement
would be greater. You should apply for further particulars to the Hon.
Secretary, Mrs. Lee Steere, The Cottage, Ockley.
FREDA (_Evening Employment_).--Such work, especially if it is only
addressing envelopes, is peculiarly hard to obtain. You might consult
the Secretary for Promoting the Employment of Women, 22, Berners
Street, W., but we fear she will only be able to say the same.
ANXIOUS TO KNOW (_Missionary Work_).--You had better make known your
wish to become a missionary to the Women's Mission Association, 19,
Delahay Street, Westminster, S.W., or to the Society for Promoting
Female Education in the East, 267, Vauxhall Bridge Road. You would
probably be required to undergo a course of preparation. Missionaries
are supported by the societies which employ them, but only of course in
a simple manner.
MISCELLANEOUS.
INQUISITIVE.--You should read Charles Kingsley's _Heroes_. That would
give you all information about the heathen mythology, or system of
myths, and ancient hallucinations respecting their false gods. Apollo
was the reputed son of Jupiter and Latona, also called Phœbus, supposed
to be the god of the fine arts and originator of poetry, music, and
elocution. Besides the names already given, he was called Delius,
Cynthius, Pæan, and Delphicus. He is represented as a handsome young
man, with an almost feminine face, and beardless, holding a bow from
which an arrow has been discharged. This refers to the fable that the
Serpent Python had been destroyed by his arrows. Evil foreboded is
represented by the “Sword of Damocles,” who was set down to a splendid
banquet by the tyrant Dionysius (the elder), a sword being suspended
over his head by a hair or thread. Thus the miserable courtier dared
not to stir lest the slightest draught or vibration should bring it
down upon his head.
ANXIOUS MARIA.--Because you may be full of faults, and weak in times
of temptation, feeble in faith and too lukewarm in love and zeal, you
would not be thereby justified in adding a fresh act of disobedience by
drawing back from the Lord's Table and neglecting to obey one of His
last commands. If you were to wait till really worthy in reference to
sanctification, you would “draw back to perdition,” it is to be feared.
Remember that, however faulty you may justly feel yourself to be, you
can go to your divine Redeemer, “washed, sanctified, and justified” in
His Name.
“All the fitness he requireth
Is to feel your need of Him,”
and with that feeling to pray for His grace, and to “strive to enter in
by the straight gate.” A battle has to be fought. Do not forget that.
CARNATION inquires, “Are tomatoes healthy?” We fancy but very few of
them are diseased. Those that lie long on the ground during wet weather
do not remain so long. That, as an article of food, they conduce to our
health is absolutely proved. Few vegetables are more wholesome. Ladies
do not rise, if seated, when men address them.
DOT.--You should say, “It is I” (not “me”). The former is used in the
nominative case, and the latter the accusative. But you should not say,
“between you and I,” but “between you and me.” If you wish to speak
correctly, be careful how you employ adjectives. You misapply the word
“beautiful” when you say “beautiful butter,” or jam, or fat; but you
may use it very correctly as regards a landscape, a flower, a rainbow,
or any work of art. Also the word “delicious” is often unsuitably
employed, such as when applied to a joint of meat, or a book. To apply
it to fruit would be more suitable. The words which should often be
employed as a substitute for “delicious” are “excellent,” “nice,” or
“good.” The word “beautiful” is correctly used with reference to form,
and colouring, and combinations of the latter. Another very commonly
misused word is “expect,” “I expect she is,” etc. The word “expect” has
reference to the future, and the speaker's anticipations in connection
with it; “she is,” denotes the present and already existing condition,
and the two cannot be used together. This misapplication of the term
has come from over the Atlantic. You will find much to assist you as
to right and wrong employment of words in that useful book _Enquire
Within_. See pages 163-174.
IGNORAMUS.--All invitations are given by the mistress of the house,
though she should include her husband's name in giving them; and all
replies should be directed to her, although, inside, you thank for
their united invitation. The house is the woman's domain, and she
“guides” it.
JOAN.--The beneficial influence, or the reverse, of allowing ivy to
grow over the walls of a house has been a question of difference
of opinion. Formerly it was condemned as harbouring moisture, and
liable to injure the health of the occupants. Now it is said that the
overlapping leaves preserve the walls from the rain, and they are found
to be quite dry beneath them. It is also said that it renders a house
cool in summer, and warm in winter. But there is a drawback, and that
is that it brings insects of all kinds into the rooms--spiders, flies,
earwigs, and woodlice. Whatever you may prefer to do in reference to
its growth on your house, it is an unmitigated evil on trees, and it
should always be sawn through, and then rooted up.
MORA.--Much depends on the species of palm, as to the watering they
require. Also, they must not be exposed to a draught. Perhaps yours
is not one that would grow tall under any circumstances. As we know
nothing about it (for you give no particulars), we cannot help you.
BROWNIE.--We cannot do better than refer you to the articles on the
care of the hands by “Medicus.” See vol. xiii., page 358. Doubtless
you have been out without gloves, and the sun has tanned them. The
very narrow rim of insensible skin that surrounds the nail preserves
the true skin from being torn and made sore at its termination at the
quick. Of course it will not bear rough usage, for if cut or cracked,
the tender skin behind it, which it is designed to protect, will
naturally become sore. Wear gloves until quite healed.
* * * * *
[Transcriber's note.--The following changes have been made to this text:
Page 253: crépes changed to crêpes.]