We come now to speak about the receiving and the paying away of money.
These are things which, by common consent, are always done in a certain
way. If they are done otherwise it shows either a want of sense or a
want of education.
When money owing to any person is paid, a receipt for it should always
be given—that is to say, it should be acknowledged in writing that the
money has changed hands. If the receiver merely takes it and puts it in
her pocket, she who pays will have no security, except the receiver’s
good faith and good memory, against being called on to pay the sum a
second time.
A receipt may be given in any form of words, but the following are
correct forms for business purposes—
_LONDON, 15th September, 1886._
£17 4s. 6d.
_Received from Miss Rose Hastaway, Chester, the sum of
seventeen pounds four shillings and sixpence in payment of
account rendered (or of annexed account.)_
FLORA MALCOLM.
_GUILDFORD, 12th July, 1886._
_Received from Mrs. Trundle the sum of six pounds seven
shillings and ninepence, in payment of account to this date._
£6 7s. 9d.
ELIZABETH BADGER.
On all receipts for money amounting to £2 or upwards you must put a
penny stamp. Not long ago there was a stamp sold expressly for the
purpose, but now a penny postage stamp is used, which is much simpler.
The stamp may be placed anywhere, but is best where the signature is,
the signature being written across it. If the receipt of money is
acknowledged in a letter, the stamp should be put at the end, just
where you sign your name. It is always better, however, to give a
separate and formal receipt.
The Government require that either the name or the initials of the
person giving the receipt be put on the stamp, _together with the true
date of writing_, the object being to show clearly and distinctly that
the stamp has been used. Ordinarily the date is given in a contracted
form, for instance, the two receipts given above would have “15. ix.
86” under the name of Flora Malcolm, and “12. vii. 86” under that of
Elizabeth Badger. Figures representing the amount for which the receipt
is given are often added also.
Whoever gives the receipt pays for the stamp, and the penalty for
refusing to give a duly stamped receipt in any case where the receipt
is liable to duty is £10.
When you receive money as a loan, you may acknowledge it by what is
called an I O U, which is in this form:—
_CARLISLE, 3rd October, 1886._
_To Miss Alice Golightly,
I O U three pounds ten shillings._
ANNE WINKLE.
I O U’s are not much in favour in business; they are rather friendly
documents than business ones.
An I O U does not need a stamp, whatever the amount may be, as it
is simply an acknowledgment of a debt, and neither a receipt nor a
promissory note—that is, a note giving a promise to pay at a particular
time. Suppose Miss Winkle had written, “_I O U Three pounds ten
shillings to be paid on the 2nd of January, 1887_,” she would have
changed her I O U into a promissory note, which would have required a
stamp.
But “neither a borrower nor a lender be”—which is another way of saying
that I O U’s are to be avoided. When the money is repaid, the I O U, of
course, is returned to the person who gave it.
In cases where money is received in payment of an account, and
the acknowledgment is put on the account itself, the account is
“discharged,” as it is called, in any one of the following ways.
The person to whom the account is due writes on it her own name,
and, preceding her name, the words, “_Paid_,” “_Received Payment_,”
“_Received_,” or “_Discharged_,” or—if such be the case—“_Same time
paid_,” or “_Paid by cheque_.”
Or this form may be used. Suppose the amount to be £25 10s. and the
discount five per cent.
_21st September,_
_By cash_ £24.4.6
” _Discount,_ 5% 1.5.6
------£25.10.0
MARION FEATLY.
Should you be receiving payment for somebody else, you sign as you
would a letter in similar circumstances. Thus:—
_Same time paid,
for MARGARET BELL,
ELLEN CHAPMAN._
or,
_Paid by cheque,
MARY G. GROVE,
per INA MEADOWS._
Some polite people, in discharging accounts write “_with thanks_” in
the left-hand bottom corner or under their signature. In the case of
tradespeople, it is a courteous phrase that sometimes goes a long way
towards securing another order.
Receipts of all kinds should be kept for at least six years. After that
time you may either continue to keep them or make a bonfire of them.
The reason for your being then free to please yourself is that actions
for unclaimed debt arising out of a simple contract are limited to six
years _from the date of the cause of action_. After six years you are
safe against being called on to pay the money a second time.
Bills are occasionally rendered a second time after being paid, not
the least, perhaps, from an intention to defraud, but simply from
carelessness. People omit to enter the money they receive in their
books, and forget they have got it; and to keep all receipts is a way
of protecting oneself against such a happy-go-lucky style of doing
things.
Receipts should be folded in the same way as letters, and marked on the
outside with all necessary particulars. Thus:—
_12th August, 1886.
Griffin and Constable,
Manchester.
Washing Machine_
£3 15s.
If you have a set of pigeon-holes, receipts should have a pigeon-hole
all to themselves; if not, keep them tied up in a bundle and arranged
in alphabetical order.
When you have to make out accounts always do it as neatly as possible.
A neat account has a well-to-do air, and may do as much good to one’s
credit sometimes as a handsome balance at the bank. Hard-up people are
seldom neat either in accounts, or correspondence, or anything else.
Accounts or invoices in business are usually made out on ruled and
printed forms, and are headed with the address of the seller. After
that come the names of the buyer and seller, thus:—
_MISS RACHEL O’FLINN,
Bought of LEIGH, GOLDHAWK, AND STILL._
Or the wording may be,
_MISS RACHEL O’FLINN,
To LEIGH, GOLDHAWK, AND STILL_,
which mean that Miss Rachel O’Flinn is _debtor to_ the firm named, the
word “debtor” being dropped in practice.
Below the names of the parties the terms of sale are sometimes put:
“_Nett Cash_” or “_Cash in 14 days_,” or “_Accounts rendered monthly_,”
or whatever the conditions are. Then follow the particulars of the
goods sold, the dates when they passed into the hands of the purchaser
being put in the left hand margin.
People who have any money transactions at all, and do not wish their
affairs to get into hopeless confusion, must keep books of some
sort—that is to say, they must adopt a plan of writing down their
transactions in regular order for easy reference.
It may be a primitive method or a very elaborate one—that depends on
the nature and requirements of the business—but some system there
must be, and of book-keeping in at least its general principles every
business woman should make a study. By its means we gain an exact
knowledge of how we stand, we see what comes in and what goes out,
how much we owe and how much other people owe us, and whether we are
putting any of our money into bags with holes.
There are many good books published on the subject of book-keeping, and
by all means study the best treatise you can get; but better than all
books is actual practice. The experience of keeping an account of one’s
own transactions for a week gives more insight than all the books that
have ever been written. In a book, things seem sometimes exceedingly
puzzling, whilst in reality they are simple enough.
The main fact to be grasped in book-keeping is the distinction between
debtor and creditor; you must get it well into your head that _the
person or thing represented by an account is “debtor to” what he, she,
or it receives, and “creditor by” whatever he, she, or it gives or
parts with_.
The simpler business books are the better, so long as they answer the
purpose for which they are intended. They must be clear to the person
who keeps them, and clear also to any who have to consult them. The
utmost care should be taken with them, so as to have no blotting, no
scraping out of figures, and no tearing out of leaves.
There are two ways of keeping books, known as single entry and double
entry. Single entry is called so because each item is entered only once
in the accounts of the ledger, which is the principal book. In double
entry, on the other hand, it is entered twice, to the debtor side of
one account and to the credit of some other account.
In this way, when books on the double entry system have all the sums
on the debtor side and all the sums on the creditor side added up, the
total amounts in both cases are the same. That is, if the books have
been rightly kept and no mistake has been made in addition, like that
of the man who spent a long time trying to make them come right, and
found at last he had made the slight mistake on one of the sides of
adding in the figures of the current year.
The object of double entry is to establish a series of checks so
that mistakes are not likely to occur, and in all establishments of
any importance this is the system adopted. Books kept by the other
and simpler system of single entry afford no check upon themselves.
“Errors in addition,” says Mr. A. L. Lewis, “which are as easy to make
in hundreds of pounds as in pence, errors and omissions in posting or
in carrying forward balances, any or all of which may entail serious
loss, can only be prevented in single entry books by the most careful
checking and rechecking every item, and no one, however sharpsighted,
can always avoid making an error, and even failing to discover it when
made.”
What is called _posting_ in book-keeping is the operation of
transferring items from one book to another, and arranging them there
under their proper heads. The difference between the Dr. and Cr. sides
of an account is known as the _balance_.
Transactions are entered in their books by business people at once.
They never put off making an entry till to-morrow, for they are well
aware that there is no putting any dependence on memory.
They are constantly turning over their books, too, so as to keep their
affairs fresh in their minds, and see in a general way how they are
getting on. Then every little while they go particularly into all their
accounts and strike a balance as it is called—that is to say, make out
a statement of their assets and liabilities, and arrange things for
a fresh start. The word assets, we may as well mention, stands for
property or sums of money owing to anyone, and liabilities means just
the reverse.
There are two mistakes often made in balancing books which a business
woman must take care never to fall into. The first is to include bad
debts—debts of which you are never likely to get a farthing, or, at
best only a few shillings in the pound—on the same footing as if they
were good ones. The second is to calculate that property we possess is
worth what we paid for it, never considering that as a general rule
things decrease in value every year through use and change of fashion
and other causes. The only wise plan is to subtract from the first
cost, every time we balance, a certain sum to represent what is termed
_depreciation of property_. All such deductions should be made with a
liberal hand; no harm is done by estimating ourselves poorer than we
really are, but many a one has been ruined by mistaken calculations,
showing property to be worth a good deal more than it would fetch in
the market.
When one person acts for another in money matters, a statement, called
an account current, should be sent at regular intervals—say once a half
year or once every twelve months—showing the transactions. Here is an
example. For convenience in printing we shall place the Cr. side below
the Dr.; but in practice the two sides should be placed alongside of
each other—the Dr. side to the left, and the Cr. side to the right.
_MISS WINIFRED HOLT, EDINBURGH, in account current with
NATHANIEL EVANS, LONDON._
DR.
1885.
June 30. To balance of last account £9 4 2
Aug. 3. Cash paid M. Perry on
your account 2 2 9
Sept. 27. Cash paid J. Short on
your account 4 12 7
Dec. 12. Cash paid you 80 0 0
--------
£95 19 6
CR.
Aug. 1. By cash received from
B. Green on your
account £50 0 0
” 12. Cash received from W.
Rae on your account 35 0 0
Dec. Balance of account carried
to your debit in
new account 10 19 6
--------
£95 19 6
_Errors Excepted._
NATHANIEL EVANS.
_LONDON, December 31st, 1885._
Here on the Cr. side we have all the sums received by Nathaniel Evans
for Miss Winifred Holt, and on the Dr. side all the payments made to
her or for her by him. Instead of “_Errors Excepted_,” before the
signature, “_E. E._” might have been written, or “_E. & O.E._,” which
last means “_Errors and Omissions Excepted_.” These guarded phrases,
however, may be omitted. You may correct errors afterwards, whether
they are there or not. If accounts of this kind, or, indeed, any
accounts, are thought to be incorrect, the fact should be intimated to
the persons sending them _at once_.
Book-keeping and the making out of accounts requires ability in
calculation. Indeed, no one can succeed in getting a character for
business capacity who has not all the rules of arithmetic at her
fingers’ ends. The use of “Ready Reckoners,” “Interest Tables,” or
such-like compilations, often saves, however, a great deal of trouble,
even when people are quick at figures. Some pretend they can do
without such helps, but they would be better to use them. We ought to
avail ourselves of all the help we can get, and it is absurd to take
roundabout ways of doing things when short cuts will answer the same
purpose.
Besides understanding about the right method of keeping books and
making out accounts, the thorough business woman will know well about
the art of buying. Here we see how a knowledge of business ways may
assist in the upbuilding of happy homes. One who understands the art of
buying will return triumphant from marketing expeditions, and when she
goes shopping there will be no fear of her wasting the contents of the
family purse.
The good buyer does not spend much time in going her rounds. She has
made herself familiar beforehand with the qualities of things, the
methods by which they are adulterated, and the seasons when they are
cheapest, and if the goods shown her are not what she wants, she says
so, and no persuasive tongue can induce her to take them. “Much comment
on the part of the seller,” says an American writer, “she regards as an
incentive to be wary; and all pretences to confidential favours, unless
proved to be such by undoubted documentary evidence, as a reproach to
her understanding.”
She makes it a rule to deal with respectable people only, knowing
that by that course she is best served, and you never find her very
sharp-set on bargains. She knows better.
On the subject of bargains Mr. Charles Dickens, in his “Dictionary of
London,” has some wise remarks. They specially refer to the metropolis,
but they are applicable to all large towns over the country. Everywhere
skilfully-baited traps are set for the unwary, though it is in London
that the traps catch most victims and rogues reap the best harvest.
Bargains, Mr. Dickens points out, are to be met with, of course, but
only by those who know very well what they are about. The numerous
“bankrupts’ stocks,” “tremendous sacrifices,” and so forth, are just so
many hooks on which to catch simpletons.
“One of the commonest tricks of all is that of putting in the window,
say, a handsome mantle, worth eight or ten guineas, and labelled,
say, £3 15s., and keeping inside for sale others made up in precisely
the same style, but of utterly worthless material. If they decline to
sell you the actual thing out of the window, be sure that the whole
affair is a swindle. See, too, that in taking it from the window they
do not drop it behind the counter and substitute one of the others—an
ingenious little bit of juggling not very difficult of performance.
“Another very taking device is the attaching to each article a price
label in black ink, elaborately altered in red to one twenty or five
and twenty per cent. less. This has a very ingenuous air. But when the
price has been—as it commonly has—raised thirty or forty per cent.
before the first black ink marking, the economy is not large.
“Of course, if you do buy anything out of one of these shops, you will
take it with you. If you have it sent, be particularly careful not to
pay for it until it arrives, and not then till you have thoroughly
examined it.
“When a shop of this kind sends you ‘patterns,’ you will usually find
a request attached not to cut them. Always carefully disregard this,
keeping a small piece for comparison.
“There are, however, some houses where, if you at all understand your
business, real bargains are at times to be had.”
The business woman is not often to be seen at auctions either, and if
ever she does go, she makes sure beforehand that the sale is to be
conducted on strictly honourable principles, and presided over by
an auctioneer who is above suspicion. She is well aware that there
are many unscrupulous individuals who, under cover of an auctioneer’s
licence, lend themselves to transactions the reverse of honest.
For example, in company with a band of “followers,” as they
are called—back-street brokers and “general dealers” of shady
character—auctioneers of this sort take a dwelling-house, and cram
it with worthless furniture. Then, after a month or two, the whole
is seized under a fictitious “bill of sale,” to give the affair an
appearance of genuineness, and the trashy goods are disposed of by
auction to the unsuspicious public, the rogues dividing the spoil.
Another plan is to get possession of a shop in a frequented
thoroughfare, and, day after day, beguile innocent folk to enter the
premises, and then wheedle and bully them into bidding for and buying a
lot of rubbish at four or five times more than its actual worth. It is
quite a mistake to suppose that goods disposed of “under the hammer,”
as it is termed, must necessarily sell for less than their real worth.
These mock auctions are swindles pure and simple, and what the
initiated call “rigged sales” are not much better. These take place at
auction rooms of more or less legitimate position, are usually held
in the evening, and consist chiefly of articles vamped up or made
expressly for the purpose. No one should go to them who wants to get
value for her money.
In all dealings with tradespeople, a good business woman will do her
best to pay cash. As she does this, she always goes to ready-money
shops. Shops that give credit must charge higher prices, for they must
have interest for the money out of which they lie; and, besides, they
must add to the price of their articles to cover the risk that some of
their customers will not pay. Those who do pay, pay not only for the
credit they get themselves, but for the failure of others.
Now and again, however, to postpone paying one’s debts has an
advantage, as was the case with a merchant whom Southey, the poet,
once met at Lisbon. “I never pay a porter,” said this merchant, “for
bringing a burden till the next day; for while the fellow feels his
back ache with the weight he charges high; but when he comes the next
day, the feeling is gone, and he asks only half the money.” But it is
not often that one has the chance of getting a reduction in this way.
The cash buyer has many advantages, not the least being an easy mind
and a knowledge at all times of what she is worth. Let every girl,
then, keep in mind for the rest of her days the remark of the American
writer, who said, “I have discovered the philosopher’s stone. It
consists of four short words of homely English—‘Pay as you go.’” The
easiness of credit has been the ruin of many people, by inducing them
to buy what they could not hope, unless by a miracle, ever to pay for.
So much for the business woman in her dealings in a private capacity
with business people. In a business capacity, however, one must
sometimes both give and receive credit. But, it cannot be said with too
strong an emphasis, the less of it the better.
VARIETIES.
THE COMPOSER AND THE SEA-CAPTAIN.
When Haydn, the composer, was in London, he had several whimsical
adventures, and the following is one of them:—A captain in the Navy
came to him one morning, and asked him to compose a march for some
troops he had on board, offering him thirty guineas for his trouble,
but requiring it to be done immediately, as the vessel was to sail next
day for Calcutta.
As soon as the captain had gone, Haydn sat down to the pianoforte, and
the march was ready in a few minutes. Feeling some scruples, however,
at gaining his money so very easily, Haydn wrote two other marches,
intending first to give the captain his choice, and then to make him a
present of all the three, as a return for his liberality.
Next morning the captain came and asked for his march.
“Here it is,” said the composer.
The captain asked to hear it on the pianoforte; and having done so,
laid down the thirty guineas, pocketed the march, and walked away.
Haydn tried to stop him, but in vain—the march was very good.
“But I have written two others,” cried Haydn, “which are better—hear
them and take your choice.”
“I like the first very well, and that is enough,” answered the captain,
pursuing his way downstairs.
Haydn followed, crying out, “But I make you a present of them.”
“I won’t have them,” roared the seaman, and bolted out at the street
door.
Haydn, determined not to be outdone, hastened to the Exchange, and,
discovering the name of the ship and her commander, sent the marches on
board, with a polite note, which the captain, surmising its contents,
sent back unopened.
The composer tore the marches into a thousand pieces, and never forgot
this liberal English humourist as long as he lived.
TABLE-TALK.—_Welsh rabbit_ is a genuine slang term, belonging to a
large group, which describes in the same way the special dish or
product or peculiarity of a particular district. For example, an _Essex
lion_ is a calf; a _Fieldlane duck_ is a baked sheep’s head; _Glasgow
magistrates_ or _Norfolk capons_ are red herrings; _Irish apricots_ or
_Munster plums_ are potatoes; and _Gravesend sweetmeats_ are shrimps.
A FOOLISH INVESTMENT.—It is foolish to lay out money in the purchase of
repentance.—_Franklin._
RULING AND SERVING.
I am ashamed that women are so simple....
To seek for rule, supremacy and sway,
When they are bound to serve, love, and obey.—_Shakespeare._
A HARD TASK.—It is often difficult to control our feelings; it is still
harder to subdue our will; but it is an arduous undertaking to control
the contending will of others.—_Crabb._
THE ART OF AUTHORSHIP.—The great art of a writer shows itself in the
choice of pleasing allusions.—_Addison._
AFFECTATION.—Affectation is an awkward and forced imitation of what
should be genuine and easy, wanting the beauty that accompanies what is
natural.—_Locke._
THE HAPPY AND THE DISCONTENTED.
Some people, not to be copied, live in a perpetual state of fret. The
weather is always objectionable; the temperature is never satisfactory.
They have too much to do, and are driven to death, or too little, and
have no resources. If they are ill they know they shall never get well;
if they are well they expect soon to be ill. Their daily work is either
drudgery, which they hate, or so difficult and complex that they cannot
execute it.
In contrast to these, we meet sometimes with men and women so bright
and cheery that their very presence is a positive pleasure. They
discover the favourable side of the weather, of their business, of home
surroundings, of social relations, even of political affairs. They
will tell you of all the pleasant things that happen and give voice
to all the joy they feel. Of course, they are sometimes annoyed and
worried by petty troubles, but the very effort they make to pass them
over silently diminishes their unpleasant effect upon themselves and
prevents the influence from extending.
THE GOOD-TEMPERED WIFE.
A man in Sussex whose wife was blessed with a remarkably even temper
went over the way to a neighbour one evening and said—
“Neighbour, I just should like to see my wife cross for once. I’ve
tried all I know, and I can’t make her cross no way.”
“You can’t make your wife cross?” said his neighbour. “I wish I could
make mine anything else. But you just do what I tell you, and if that
won’t act nothing will. You bring her in some night a lot of the
crookedest bats you can get, them as won’t lie in no form, and see how
she makes out then.”
The bats (or pieces of wood) were accordingly brought in, as awkward
and crooked and contrary as could be found. The man went away early to
work, and at noon returned to see the result of his experiment. He was
greeted with a smiling face and the gentle request—
“Tom, do bring me in some more of those crooked bats if you can find
them; they do just clip round the kettle nicely.”—_Rev. J. C. Egerton._
CHOOSING A WIFE.—Benjamin Franklin recommends a young man in the choice
of a wife to select her “from a bunch,” giving as his reason that when
there are many daughters they improve each other, and from emulation
acquire more accomplishments, and know more than a single child spoiled
by parental fondness.
WITHOUT RELIGION.—Friends who have no religion cannot be long our
friends.—_Mozart._
REFRESHING SLEEP.—“Sound sleep” is usually considered a healthy state
of repose; but it is an observation of Dr. Wilson Philip that “no sleep
is healthy but that from which we are easily roused.”
MASTERS AND SERVANTS.—There is only one way to have good servants; that
is, to be worthy of being well served. All nature and all humanity will
serve a good master and rebel against an ignoble one.—_Richter._
BEWARE OF BAD HABITS.—Let players on musical instruments beware of bad
habits. Mozart, speaking of a girl whom he heard at Augsburg in 1777,
says, “She will never master what is the most difficult and necessary,
and, in fact, the principal thing in music—namely, time; because from
her infancy she has never been in the habit of playing in correct time.”
CULPABLE CARELESSNESS.—It is more from carelessness about truth
than from intentional lying that there is so much falsehood in the
world.—_Dr. Johnson._
MARRYING FOR MONEY.—A strong-minded woman was heard to remark the other
day that she would marry a man who had plenty of money though he was so
ugly she had to scream every time she looked at him.
A FOOLISH MOUSE.
A mouse that always trusts to one poor hole
Can never be a mouse of any soul.
—_Pope._
RECEIVED FOR THE PRINCESS LOUISE HOME.
MONA and Mila, 2s.; Lizzie Smith, 2s.; Mary, Maggie, and Ada, 3s.
Work for the bazaar to be held (D.V.) next summer, from Miss E. N.
Nixon, Fanny Gough Pope, Caroline M. M. Hog (second contribution),
Little Dot, Gretta, E. G., E. Morgan, E. Stroud, Cornie Trevena, Lucy,
Madge S., Mona and Mila, A Servant in Torquay, A Welsh Maiden, A
Village Maiden; W. C. Newsam, 100 pieces of music.
For the Home, The South Hampstead High School for Girls, 22 valuable
articles of clothing; Anon, a parcel of books.
A WIFE’S WELCOME.
BY RUTH LAMB.
At last thou art come, and I once thought to tell thee,
How I mourned in thine absence and longed for thy voice;
How I thought of thee, looked for thee, prayed for thy coming,
Yet now thou art here I can only rejoice.
When the bright sun is hidden by dark clouds o’erhanging,
All Nature seems mournful and weeps at the sight;
But when they are passed she resumes all her gladness,
And, forgetting his absence, she smiles with delight.
It is thus with my heart. All my sorrow forgotten,
The memory has fled with the cause of my pain;
I think not, I speak not of aught save the present,
And rejoice that at last thou art with me again.
[Illustration: THE INCORRIGIBLE.
POL. “If at home, sir,
He’s all my exercise, my mirth, my matter:
Now my sworn friend, and then mine enemy;
My parasite, my soldier, statesman, all;
He makes a July’s day short as December;
And, with his varying childness, cures in me
Thoughts that would thick my blood.”
_Winter’s Tale_, Act 1, Scene 2.]
THE BIRDS.
_Words by J. T. COLERIDGE._ DUET. _Music by C. A. MACIRONE._
[Music:
Do you ask what the birds say? Do you ask what the birds say?
You ask what the birds say, the Sparrow, the Dove,
The Linnet, the Thrush, say, “I love, and I love!”
You ask what they birds say,
You ask what the birds say,
“I love, and I love!”
In the winter they’re silent,
In the winter they’re silent, the wind is so strong.
The wind is so strong,
What it sings, I don’t know, but it sings a loud song.
But green leaves and blossoms,
And sunny warm weather,
And singing and loving,
All come back together.
But green leaves and blossoms,
And sunny warm weather,
And singing and loving,
All come back together.
But the Lark is so brimful of gladness and love.
The green fields below and the blue sky above.
That he sings, he sings, he sings, and forever sings he,
“I love my love, and my love loves me!” he sings,
And forever sings he,
“I love my love, and my love loves me!” he sings,
and forever sings he, “I love my love, and my love loves me!”]
MERLE’S CRUSADE.
BY ROSA NOUCHETTE CAREY, Author of “Aunt Diana,” “For Lilias,” etc.