Part 7 — THE GIRL’S OWN QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS COMPETITION.

Who are the Prize-Winners and Certificate-Holders?

Examiners: JAMES MASON and the EDITOR.

There are no girls more engaging than those who are trying to do or to be something of value, and having said that, our opinion may be inferred of the numerous company who have worked so diligently during the three months of this interesting competition. It has been an affair of “long breath,” and has proved this, if it has proved anything, that our girls are of the right sort.

That it has been enjoyed is clear from many letters received from competitors. “It has taken up a good deal of time,” writes one girl, “but the time has been well spent, because the questions asked were of real value, and to be able to answer at least the greater number of them, might be regarded as a general test of our being well informed.”

The competition was chiefly a lesson in the art of hunting up information, an art always of service. The questions were not to be replied to by guess-work, or by the exercise of a ready imagination. In the preparation of their papers, girls learned how to make good use of books of reference, and some communicative ones have told us that they have thereby gained a clearer notion than they ever entertained before of the value of such works as the Encyclopædia Britannica, Chambers’s Encyclopædia, Haydn’s Dictionary of Dates, Dr. Brewer’s Phrase and Fable, the Imperial Dictionary, and Chambers’s Book of Days.

We noticed that The Girl’s Own Paper volumes had proved to many a perfect library of knowledge and, indeed, it is not too much to say that a diligent study of the back numbers of this periodical would have enabled anyone to answer nearly all the questions without consulting any other work whatever.

A pleasing feature in the competition was that girls, as a general rule, improved as they went on. One who had a third-class place at the start would end in the second rank, and a second-class girl would become a first. This is as it should be. Few—hardly any—began well and then relapsed into inaccuracy and carelessness.

A good number—but not so many as we expected—failed to send in all the three instalments of papers. Sometimes, perhaps, they grew tired, and sometimes illness and circumstances over which they had not control may have prevented them. These, of course—if they have obtained a place at all—have not got so good a place as if they had replied, or tried to reply, to the whole seventy-two questions.

The most important feature of the answers was accuracy, and both in that and in the manner in which the sense was expressed, competitors did very well indeed. Where the answers admitted of a difference of opinion, we saw many signs of intelligence and of a desire to think and investigate for oneself that cannot be too strongly commended and encouraged.

Occasionally girls were rather sparing of their words. Brevity may be the soul of wit, but it does not quench one’s thirst for information. A yes, a no, a name, or a date, neither makes entertaining reading nor forms a sufficient test of a girl’s knowledge of the subject under discussion. But we have nothing but praise for a girl—though she did not win a certificate—who says, “I have not given long answers, but I have done my best.”

We said that neatness would count, and in some cases the want of it was what told against a girl, turning the scale and landing her in a class lower than she would otherwise have occupied.

What reasonable excuse can be given for one who writes, with perhaps careless penmanship, on paper of all sizes, and of different colours too, and with rough edges, as if it had been torn in the rudest manner out of a copybook? If our untidy friends went to call on a stranger, they would surely wish to look smart, and by looking smart to create a good impression. Now, sending even a scrap of paper to anyone—let it be a letter or anything else—to which our name is attached is just like paying a visit. What we send should be made to look as neat as we ourselves would wish to be if we went in person.

We do not say that a good paper in this competition was invariably a neat one, or that originality and freshness had not sometimes an untidy appearance, but the general rule was that if a girl had taken real pains, she showed it in the manner in which she turned out her work, as well as in the matter.

A bit of ribbon, a paper-fastener, an illuminated letter, the ruling of a line, the folding of a page—these may be trifles, but we are judged by trifles when there is no other means of judging. So, you girls who have occasioned these remarks—only a few in number you were—be very careful next time.

Here is another weak point. Why don’t some girls obey rules? The papers were to be fastened together—see the rules—and some did not fasten them. They were to be fastened at the left-hand top corner—see the rules—and some did it on the right. The name was to be put on the back of the last page of each instalment—see the rules—and some put it on the front page. Names and ages were to be given—see the rules—and no fewer than twenty papers failed to find a place because their writers had omitted one or other of these two important particulars.

We want our girls to be models of common sense, and does not common sense suggest that by obeying instructions we get more consideration than if we do not? It is only a bit of worldly wisdom, girls, for all who take part in competitions, that you ought to try to keep examiners in a genial humour. Never ruffle their patience if you can avoid it. Sometimes a little neglect gives a good deal of trouble that ought to have been saved. However, we shall let defaulters off this time with a caution that if they ever appear before our High Court again on a similar charge, we shall be a great deal more severe.

The most difficult task connected with the competition has been laid on the shoulders of the examiners, for much painstaking has been required to decide as to the merits of papers where so many were good, so few second-rate, and such a trifling number meriting nothing but a “Let us try to do better next time.” The result of our examination is given in the following list of successful competitors, in which will be found the names of all the prize-winners and certificate-holders.

[Note: Two girls under the age at which the competition began, and fifteen over the age at which it terminated, sent in papers. To one of the two juniors, and to two of the fifteen seniors, a certificate has been awarded.]

THE SUCCESSFUL COMPETITORS.

THIRTEEN AND FOURTEEN YEARS OF AGE.

Prize (One Guinea).

Hancock, Elsie L., South Norwood Park, S.E.

Prize (Half-a-Guinea).

Pearson, Edith R., Manchester.

Prize (Five Shillings).

Moore-Bayley, Marjory, Barnt Green, Worcestershire.

First-Class Certificates.

Stapleton, Marjorie, Bradford. Wolton, Kathleen, Ixworth, Suffolk.

Second-Class Certificates.

Buchanan, Stella, Regent’s Park, N.W. Chettle, Edith Mary, Trowbridge, Wilts. Loader, Ada Winifred, Brighton.

Third-Class Certificates.

Clews, Marjorie Winifred, Wylde Green, near Birmingham. Hollett, Ellen Louisa, Farnborough, Hants. Read, Phœbe Gertrude Mary, Pembroke, Ontario. Shield, Kate Olive, Ramsey, Isle of Man. Spedding, Blanche, Keswick, Cumberland. Sprott, Elise Isabel, Harrington, Cumberland. Stokoe, Ethel, Hay, Brecknockshire. Streatfeild, Evelyn, Edenbridge, Kent.

FIFTEEN AND SIXTEEN YEARS OF AGE.

Prize (One Guinea).

Fountain, Margaret Allan, Bowes Park, N.

Prize (Half-a-Guinea).

Batchelor, Grace Emily, Wantage, Berks.

Prize (Five Shillings).

Murray, Margaret M., Rutherglen, Scotland.

First-Class Certificates.

Dominy, Norah Catherine, Weymouth, Dorset. Garland, Marjory, Northfield, Birmingham.

Second-Class Certificates.

Brasnett, Lucy, Gt. Yarmouth, Norfolk. Browne, Dorothy, Whitchurch, Hants. Caudle, Margaret Evelyn, Southsea, Hants. Coote, Nina Edith, Athlone. Cromie, Gladys Catherine Josephine, Regent’s Park, N.W. Farwell, Irene M., Burnham, Berks. Kruger, Flora Aline, Berkdale, Lancashire. Le Marchand, Henriette, Paris. Robinson, Mabel, Hornsey, N. Sheppard, Amy, Keynsham. Spackman, Mildred Lucy, Clithero, Lancashire.

Third-Class Certificates.

Breen, Alice Fanny, Pensford, Bristol. Cadman, Agnes M., Stourport, Worcestershire. Cunningham, Dora, Northampton. Dalton, Muriel, Attleborough, Norfolk. Fromberg, Grete, Berlin. Grierson, Emily Hannah Morton, Crimea, South Russia. “Heliotrope,” Littleboro’, near Manchester. “Marguerite,” Alford, Lincolnshire. Midgley, Winifred, Grange-over-Sands, Lancashire. Normandale, Margaret Rotherford, Knighton, Radnorshire. Sievwright, Rosalie Marie, Burnbank, Lanark. Sturgess, Kitty, Derby. Thomas, Magdeleine, Antwerp. Yeoman, Gertrude Maud, Scarborough.

SEVENTEEN AND EIGHTEEN YEARS OF AGE.

Prize (One Guinea).

“Celandine,” Newbury, Berks.

Prize (Half-a-Guinea).

Klaje, May Louise, Stoke Newington, N.

Prize (Five Shillings).

Coote, Cecilia C., Mountratu, Ireland.

First-Class Certificates.

Ballard, Elizabeth Anne, Ledbury, Herefordshire. Bateman, Marie Catherine, Whitchurch, Berks. Bowen, Leila Mary, Ludlow, Shropshire. Coverley, Kathleen Emily, Oporto, Portugal. Freeman, A. Ethelwyn G., Hornsey Rise, N. Hankin-Turvin, Eva, Oswestry. Kent, Madeleine Agnes, Wallington, Surrey. Laws, Florence Mary, East Ham. Le Mottée, Mary Emily, Tunbridge Wells. “Robin Hood,” Herne Hill, S.E. Slous, Eliza D., Jersey. Voller, Katie Agnes, Gloucester. “Wild Clematis,” Drury Lane, W.C. “Woodbine,” Wolverhampton.

Second-Class Certificates.

Bryant, Lilian, Ilminster, Somerset. Burgess, Dora, Peckham, S.E. Cross, Florence, Egham. Dendy, H. May, Bishop Sutton, near Bristol. Dilly, Nora E., Saxmundham, Suffolk. Henderson, Jane, Lockerbie. Hobson-Cooke, Ethel, Birmingham. Hodges, Lily E., Bridport, Dorset. Hunt, Jessie, Beverley, Yorkshire. Macnaughton, Janie Kennedy, Taynuilt. Maitland-Kirwan, Matilda R., Castle Douglas, N. B. “Periwinkle,” Blaxhall, Suffolk. Pugh, J. M., Towyn, Merionethshire. Thomas, Florence May, Swansea. Thorpe, Mabel, Sheffield. Tompkins, Gertrude, Lyons, France. “Violet,” Scarborough. Walpole, Edith, West Kensington. Young, Eva, Dublin.

Third-Class Certificates.

Baker, Elma Chiswell, Bewdley, Worcestershire. Brewster, Margaret, Halstead, Essex. Cassels, Kate Kennedy, Villa Nova de Gaya, Portugal. Connell, Eveline D., Northallerton, Yorkshire. Daniel, Lena Mary, Puerto de Santa Maria, Spain. Harris, Marguerita, Bristol. Hayes, Rosa Franci, Loughton, Essex. Hoon, Mabel, Anerley. Insley, Adelaide, Westcott, Dorking. Kelsey, Henrietta, Norton, Isle of Wight. “Lily of the Valley,” Basing, Hants. Marlow, Hannah, Birmingham. Metcalfe, Alice M., Ripon, Yorks. Moule, Ethel May, Witnesham, near Ipswich. Oliver, Dorothy, Whitwell, Isle of Wight. Ralph, Elsie Margaret, Crown Hill, Devon. Robinson, Eleanor Elizabeth, Kinsale. Salone, Volinia, Alexandria, Egypt. Saunders, Winnifred Norman, Old Charlton, Kent. “Sweetbriar,” Odiham, Hants.

NINETEEN AND TWENTY YEARS OF AGE.

Prize (One Guinea).

Carmichael, Elizabeth A., Malvern.

Prize (Half-a-Guinea).

Bowen, Mildred, Ludlow, Shropshire.

Prize (Five Shillings).

“Pansy,” Beverley, E. Yorks.

First-Class Certificates.

Andrews, Janet, Hull. Avens, Ada Louise, Southsea, Hants. Barr, Ethel, Gloucester. “Cherry Blossom,” Stourbridge. Darbyshire, Margery, Knutsford, Cheshire. “Four-leaved Shamrock,” Alverstoke, Hants. Garland, Dorothy, Northfield, Birmingham. Hartill, Nellie, Willenhall, Staffordshire. “Lilium Auratum,” Retford. Motherwell, Chris. B., Airdrie, N.B. Plumbe, Gertrude B., Mansfield. Richardson, Bertha, Bowes Park, N. Sulivan, Eleanor Sophia, Tunbridge Wells. Wyatt-Smith, Maud, Shepherd’s Bush, W.

Second-Class Certificates.

Averill, Winifred Mary, Stafford. Beckett, Margaret, Heywood, Manchester. Brown, Daisy, Hayes, Middlesex. Grigg, Ethel, Streatham. Harris, Elizabeth J., Redhill. Little, Eleanor Margaret, Bishop’s Lydeard. Mann, Mary Harriet, Folkingham. Pilkington, Dolly, Dublin. Poole, Olive Maria, Acton, W. “Scarlet Geranium,” Harrow. Sich, Isabel Fanny, Chiswick Mall. Stephens, May D., Bridgnorth, Salop.

Third-Class Certificates.

“Blue Bell,” Rothesay, Bute. Chantrill, Kate E., Birmingham. “Chrysanthemum,” Ashford, Kent. Clague, Muriel Lace, Crouch End, N. Cleare, Winifred Fanny, Hayward’s Heath. Dunning, Lynette Aileen Gertrude, Durban, Natal. Kennard, Beatrice Nellie, Cheltenham. Lampitt, Catherine A., Upper Tooting, S.W. Stanley, Emily Thorold, Washingboro’, Lincoln. Stebbing, Diana Vivian, Tunbridge Wells. Strang, Helen, Govan, N.B. “Sweet Violets,” Devizes, Wilts. Tinney, Mabel Emily, Hove, Sussex. Warren, Margaret, Stevenage, Herts.

TWENTY-ONE, TWENTY-TWO, AND TWENTY-THREE YEARS OF AGE.

Prize (One Guinea).

“White Heather,” Barnet, Herts.

Prize (Half-a-Guinea).

Vincent, Agnes Mary, London, S.W.

Prize (Five Shillings).

Tomlinson, Ethel Mary, Burton-on-Trent.

First-Class Certificates.

“Alpine Rose,” Edgbaston, Birmingham. Barnett, Mary F. B., St. Leonard’s-on-Sea. Crossman, Hilda, Berwick-upon-Tweed. Dowling, May, Weston-super-Mare. Forster, Evelyn Agnes, Wokingham, Berks. Fyson, Alice Matilda, Bath. Gaze, Lily Ethel, Norwich. Grundy, Lilian, Ashton-under-Lyne. Hayward, Edith Mary, Devizes, Wilts. Hickling, Jessie, Sydenham, S.E. Kellow, Ethel Mary Varcoe, Ceylon. “Lily of the Valley,” Knebworth, Herts. McLachlan, Nellie, Edinburgh. Moon, Ethel Gay, Bridgend, S. Wales. Sykes, Ada Fanny, Calcutta. Welman, Veronica Mary, Clapham Common.

Second-Class Certificates.

Ault, Clarissa Jane, Church Gresley. Bartlett, Ethel, Southampton. “Californian Poppy,” Santa Barbara, California. Cortissos, Freda Mary, Shrewsbury. “Crocus,” Joppa, near Edinburgh. “Daffodil,” Bristol. Daft, Nellie Matilda, Lisbon, Portugal. Gall, Alice, Edinburgh. Green, Emma, Tarkastad, Cape Colony. “Heather,” Truro, Cornwall. “Lily of the Valley,” Bath. “Marguerite,” Leamington. Perrett, Elizabeth, Chipping Sodbury, Gloucestershire. Pocock, H. E. Daisy, North Kensington, W. Polden, Katharine, Grove Park, Kent. Sellers, Violet, Porto, Portugal. “Shamrock,” Blundellsands, near Liverpool. “Sweet Pea,” Wood Green, N. Tayler-Allen, N., Bray, Co. Wicklow. “Wild Rose,” Dundalk, Co. Louth.

Third-Class Certificates.

Baiden, Rose, Bromley, Kent. Blakeley, Amy V., East Boscombe. Boulderson, Mary, Reading. Bray, Evelyn, Broadclyst, near Exeter. “Christmas Rose,” Leyton. “Dandelion,” London, S.W. Haynes, Edith Sarah, London, S.W. Hodgkinson, Margaret N., Heywood. “Lily of the Valley,” Ryde, Isle of Wight. Pilkington, A. B., Dublin. Roberts, Sophie Caroline, Inniscorthy. Ruffle, Emily A., Palmer’s Green, N. Scarlett, Ada, London, W. “Scotch Thistle,” Glasgow. Squire, Grace M., Harrowgate, Yorks. “White Iris,” Alton, Hants.

UNDER THIRTEEN.

Second-Class Certificate.

Emerson, Josephine, Bray, Ireland.

OVER TWENTY-THREE.

First-Class Certificates.

McIntosh, Kate Isabel, Brockley, S.E. White, Katharine E., London, E.C.

⁂ The Examiners’ Report on the third and last twenty-four questions will be published next month.—Ed.