The Girl's Own Paper, Vol. VIII, No. 354, October 9, 1886
TextBITS ABOUT ANIMALS
A Sagacious Colt
A gentleman whose pretty garden adjoined a park in which a number of young colts were grazing, was much annoyed by the inroads of these animals. He took every precaution to prevent their entrance, but to no purpose. Fences were examined and found intact, the gate was kept shut, and yet one or more of the colts would soon be found devastating flower-beds, or browsing in the kitchen garden. The provoking part of it was that no one could discover how the creatures obtained an entrance.
At length men were hidden in the trees to watch, and the problem was speedily solved. A colt trotted up to the gate and inserted its head between the bars, with the evident intention of raising the latch. He made several vain attempts, but had not mastered the trick. The latch remained in its place, and the colt outside.
For a few moments the animal stood cogitating, then trotted rapidly back to the spot where he had left his companions. He singled out one of the most frequent visitors to the garden, and, by some language peculiar to colts, made known his difficulty. The other at once returned with his companion to the gate, inserted his head below one of the bars, and by a dexterous movement displaced the latch, and the gate swung open. Then, throwing back his head as if to say, "See how easy it is when one knows how," he went back whilst the other entered the garden.
It was noticed by the watchers that this last had not previously been seen within the forbidden precincts, but the one that opened the gate for him had been particularly troublesome. The fact that he was specially selected for the office of porter showed no little sagacity in the would-be visitor to the garden. But, much as the cleverness of the animals might be admired, care was taken to render its exercise useless for the future.
Ruth Lamb.
VARIETIES
A French Conversation
Voltaire once said, "It is not clear, therefore it cannot be French." This is only partially true, for the French language furnishes abundant material for puns and misunderstandings, intentional or otherwise. The following amusing instance may serve as an illustration:—
Two sportsmen met together on their way home.
"Where do you come from?" the first asked the second, who was trembling with fright.
"I come—I come—from the forest of Bondy."
"And why are you so excited?"
"I have been attacked by robbers."
"How many were there?"
"Sept."
"What did you say?"
"Je dis sept."
"Dix-sept?"
"No; sans dix."
"Cent dix?"
"Oh, dear! no. Sans dix, sept."
"Good gracious! Cent dix-sept?"
"Nonsense. Sept sans dix-sept."
"Sept cent dix-sept."
"You don't understand me. Je te dis sept sans dix!"
"Dix-sept cent dix."
"You will drive me mad! Je te dis sept sans dix-sept!"
"Dix-sept cent dix-sept! I can understand your being frightened with such a number."
To Preserve Cut Flowers.—An important rule in preserving cut flowers is never to cram the vase with flowers. Many will last if only they have a large mass of water in the vase and not too many stalks to feed on the water and pollute it. Vases that can hold a large quantity of water are to be preferred to the spindle-shaped trumpets that are often used. Flat dishes covered with wet sand are also useful for short-stalked or heavy-headed flowers; even partially-withered blooms will revive when placed on this cool moist substance. Moss, though prettier than sand, is to be avoided, as it soon smells disagreeably, and always interferes with the scent of the flowers placed in it for preservation.
The Way of the World.—The world deals good-naturedly with good-natured people, and I never knew a sulky misanthropist who quarrelled with it but it was he and not it that was in the wrong.—Thackeray.
Mothers' Thoughts
To a goose one day a gosling came.
As she surveyed it duly,
She said, "No swan in all the world
Is half so pretty, truly."
In words like these all mothers' thoughts
This wise old goose expressed;
For of all babies in the world,
Each thinks her own the best.
Ungrateful Gratitude.—There are minds so impatient of inferiority that their gratitude is a species of revenge, and they return benefits not because recompense is a pleasure, but because obligation is a pain.—Dr. Johnson.
Double Acrostic
Dissatisfied with their appointed lot,
These both aspir'd to seem what they were not;
Foil'd in their schemes, they recognis'd, too late,
The folly of attempts to shake the state.
The first became, t' avoid a harsher doom,
A menial, baser than the lowest groom;
The second paid a far more heavy tax;
Tried and condemn'd, he perished by the axe.
1. So fair and flatt'ring, and so bright of hue,
Will it betray us? or will it be true?
2. Friend of two great philosophers, this youth
Boasted himself yet more, the friend of truth.
Throughout a long career he strove to scan
The wondrous working of great Nature's plan,
And taught his pupils, strolling at their ease,
'Neath pleasant shelter of umbrageous trees.
3. The glorious witness to the living faith,
In tortures passing unto life through death.
4. How many bow'd their heads to meet this thing!
Priest, warrior, noble, princess, e'en a king.
5. The good old man, whose tender, loving heart,
Unfitted him to act the sterner part
Of curbing his rebellious children's will;
His mild reproof they disregarded, till
There fell the doom that had been prophesied,
And in one day the sons and father died.
6. Oft melted and then pour'd into a mould,
Translucent and inodorous when cold,
Useful, abundant, and of little cost,
Mis-spelt, miscall'd by those who use me most.
7. A butcher's son, who rose to eminence
In legal circles by his clear good sense;
For public service he was made a peer,
And held the woolsack twice for many a year.
8. The Roman youth, to prove his hardihood,
Thrust his right hand into the fire that stood
Before the king; shrivel'd his hand remained,
And he this surname by that act obtain'd.
9. A bird of Africa, that shows the way
To where wild bees their stores of honey lay;
Then perch'd aloft, content t' await his share
Of honey which the hunters leave him there.
10. The elder daughter, offer'd as a bride
To him who foes successfully defied.
With conquest flush'd, the low-born victor came,
The fair princess's promis'd hand to claim,
But only came to disappointment; since
She had already wed a pow'rful prince.
11. A jutting cape, which, when the Northmen spied,
A fanciful resemblance they descried
To human features; so they gave a name
To mark that cape, and still it bears the same.
12. How do you call that line, which, year by year,
Traces the sun's course round the pictur'd sphere?
13. In Scandinavian fables I am nam'd
"Destroyer," and as evil genius fam'd;
Interpolate one letter, and 'tis strange
That I become preserver by the change.
Ximena.
ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS
EDUCATIONAL
Ediscenda.—The highest mountain known has been found in New Guinea, and is called Mount Hercules. It is said to be 32,786 feet high, or 3,786 feet higher than Mount Everest, of the Himalayan Range.
Violet.—The best examination to pass would be either the Oxford or Cambridge; but if you do not wish to do so much, that of the College of Preceptors would perhaps be sufficient for your purpose.
A Lonely Girl.—We think there is too much science and too little history and literature in your list of books, and we should recommend a course of poetry also, as well as some works on art.
A, B, C, D, etc.—In the chronicles of Robert of Gloucester the age of Brutus is purely legendary. The whole chronicle is partly taken from the fabulous history of Geoffrey of Monmouth.
DORA (Bradford).—"How to Form a Small Library" was at page 7 and 122, vol. ii. Clean your hair-brushes with flour or bran, rubbing them well together with it as if you were washing them dry. You should write copies daily to improve your handwriting.
A. and M.—We are inclined to believe that governesses are not in demand anywhere in the colonies unless they be willing to turn their hands to help in the household, just as a daughter of the house might do. If you and your sister be willing to do this, and are both capable and industrious, you might do well in Queensland. Write to the secretary of the Woman's Emigration Society, New Buildings, Carteret-street, Queen Anne's-gate, London, S.W.
E. C. G.—We believe you can obtain grammars and dictionaries in most of the Eastern tongues at Messrs. Trübner's, Ludgate-hill, E.C. We cannot say what progress you would make without a master, as we do not know your capabilities.
Macaw.—We have great pleasure in giving the address of the correspondence class from which you have derived so much advantage, and which you sought through our advice. Miss MacArthur, 4, Buckingham-street, Hillhead, Glasgow. So well managed, as it appears to be from your account, we hope our notice may prove of much use to our readers.
Miss Mackay.—We thank you for the particulars which you send us of your essay club, called The Rookery, and willingly give your invitation to our readers to join it. There is no charge made for these answers to correspondents. We are glad to give help and promote all useful efforts, and believe we shall do so by giving your address as Hon. Secretary, Governor's House, H.M. Prison, Lincoln.
Leona Woodfield.—Candidates for hospital training are generally required to be from twenty-five to forty years of age. They may enter the Children's Hospital, Great Ormond-street, at twenty-one.
Union Jack.—The English language is a compound of three different dialects spoken for two or three centuries after the Norman Conquest. That of the East Midland was the speech of the metropolis, in which Chaucer, Gower, and Wyckliffe wrote, and was spoken in East Kent and Surrey. There were also the Northern and Southern dialects, which, blending with the East Midland, formed the basis of modern English. But these three dialects are likewise compounds of the Saxon, Celtic, Danish, and Norman tongues. To get rid of the smell of paint, sprinkle some hay with chloride of lime and leave it in the rooms; also a basin of water, to be changed night and morning. You will perceive traces on the surface of what it has absorbed.
T. C. S.—Why do you not read our answers under this heading? You will find that there are several societies for training female missionaries and catechists.
Mary Commander.—Astronomers measure the distances between the earth and the stars by means of mathematical calculations. You should procure some work on astronomy. There is a nice little book published in our office called "The Heavens and the Earth," and another, rather larger, called "The Midnight Sky;" both are illustrated.
Mary Williams.—If you refer to any volume of the G. O. P. and read our answers under the above heading, you will see all we can tell you about telegraph clerks. We must decline to full up space by continually repeating old answers.
White Tulip must do as we have directed "Mary Williams," and find all the addresses of societies where young women are trained for zenana and other missionary work. It is very wrong not to go to church on Sunday mornings merely because of "feeling shy." That is rubbish. Attend to your book and your prayers, and not to your neighbours. Nobody will notice you.
I. D. L. E.—Write to the secretary, Deaconesses' Training Institution, 41, Ferntower-road, Mildmay Park, London, N., and at The Willows, Stoke Newington, N. Otherwise, if you desire experience in parish work, you might be received at St. Luke's Invalid Home, Finsbury House, Ramsgate. You had better write to both these institutions, giving your age, and stating whether your application be made with the full consent of your parents. There are also the London Diocesan Deaconesses' Institution, 12, Tavistock Crescent, Westbourne Park, W. (head sister, Deaconess Cassin), and the East London Deaconesses' Home, 2, Sutton-place, Hackney, E. (deaconess, L. Collier). If you would prefer a situation by the sea, apply to Sister Emma, Winchester Diocesan Deaconesses' Home, Southsea, Hants.
Josephine.—There is a Governesses' Institute in Paris, at 48, Rue de Chaillot. Apply to the secretary or lady principal. If you wish to belong to a teacher's guild, that of Great Britain and Ireland has its office at 17, Buckingham-street, Strand, W.C. You must address the hon. secretary. You write a very good hand.
Bertha Green and Daisy.—The cheapest and best way for you to improve your education at home will be to join one or more of the amateur societies instituted to assist girls who cannot go to school nor have professional masters. A small directory of girls' educational and other societies and clubs is to appear immediately, edited by one of our own staff of writers, especially for the use of our girls, so many of whom write for the addresses of such and particulars about them. (Messrs. Griffith and Farran, St. Paul's Churchyard, E.C.)
A Poor Young Girl.—So well educated as you are, you would be likely to get on well in a colony. Write to the Colonial Emigration Society, 13, Dorset-street, Portman-square, London, W. They have a home for women and a loan fund. Anyone willing to act as mother's help, and put her hand to anything her employer does, and is, moreover, capable of teaching the young people of the family, would be sure to get on well in a colony.
Nelly Holmes should advertise in the Times, or some good daily paper, for the situation she requires. We cannot tell what salary a young girl in her teens would get.
ART
C. O.—Our opinion of the drawing is not favourable. The outlines of the figure are not true to nature in its undistorted form; they are those conceived by an uninstructed dress or stay maker. As you are only thirteen years of age, you are not yet acquainted with pure classical forms of beauty, and have time to cultivate your taste. Take lessons at a branch figure-drawing school founded by the South Kensington School of Art. The kind of drawing to which you aspire is much improved of late years, and shopkeepers begin to require that fashion-plates should somewhat resemble the true "human form divine."
Industry and Katie.—To preserve seaweed, gather specimens that are growing to rocks in preference to those floating on the water, and lay them in a shallow pan filled with clean salt water. Insert a piece of writing-paper under the seaweed and lift it out of the bath; spread out the plant with a camel's-hair pencil in a natural form, and slant the paper to allow the water to run off; then press between two pieces of board, lay on one of them two sheets of blotting-paper, then the seaweed, and over the latter a piece of fine cambric, over that the blotting-paper, and lastly the second piece of board; replace the cambric and blotting-paper daily, and when the seaweed is quite dry brush over the coarser kinds with spirits of turpentine, in which three small lumps of gum-mastic have been dissolved by shaking in a warm place. Two-thirds of a small phial is the proper proportion. This mixture helps to retain the colour of the specimens.
Ella and Heliotrope.—Painting carefully with muriatic acid will remove the rough coating outside shells and show the mother o' pearl beneath it. They should be frequently dipped in water to remove the burning acid, or it will make holes in the shell. To polish them, dip a rag in hydrochloric acid and rub till clean; then dry in hot sawdust and polish with chamois leather. To paint shells with oil-colours, mix the latter with Siccatif de Courtrai, or with mirrorine, and put on the paints very dry. To paint them with water colours, lay a wash of white of egg over them; mix the paints with Chinese white and white of egg. The best effects are produced with oil colours.
Daisy.—We make no distinction between persons who write to us, whether in service or out of it. We have an enormous correspondence, and very little space is devoted to it. Thus, many correspondents have to wait long for their answers. A good cashmere would suit very well for a wedding dress. Get one that will be of service to you afterwards. If you live in London it should not be very light. Your bonnet could be trimmed with white ribbon.
Christie.—Try laying on a wash of white of egg before painting in water-colours upon black cardboard. This will remove the greasiness of the surface. Then lay on a wash of Chinese white, and paint in the ordinary manner.