Mabel.—The term molto agitato means with much emotional feeling. Allegro means quick and lively, but not as fast as presto. Allegro con brio means in brilliant style, and caratteristico, characteristic of the nature of the subject.

H. L. W.—Sidmouth lies in a valley between the Salcombe and Peak hills, which are each about 500 feet in height, and is built on the shore of a bay extending from Portland to Start Point. The bathing is good in summer, and provisions cheap. The climate is mild and well suited to invalids, and there is generally a fine breeze from the sea, and less rain than in most places on the Devonshire coast. Altogether we should regard it as a very suitable holiday resort at Easter. A great many pleasant excursions may be made in the near neighbourhood.

Ulrica (The Hague).—The grey parrot, or “jaco,” of Guinea, and other hot parts of Africa, takes a foremost place amongst the various species of its family for intelligence, docility, and healthfulness. Perfect cleanliness is essential for them. The perches should be thick and smooth, and so should be also the ring suspended from the top of the cage where they swing and roost. Their food consists of any kind of seed, grain, and nuts, bread and milk, and Indian corn well boiled and given cold. They also have a little ripe fruit, a bit of sugar, plenty of clean water, and the food trays should be of crockery or porcelain, or of thick glass—not tin nor zinc. Clean gravel is necessary. Give no meat nor pastry.

Elsie.—In the upper ranks of society the rule is for the lady to retain her seat when a gentleman bows or offers his hand. Of course, there may be exceptions in the case of a little girl in her “teens” and an aged man.

Retha.—It is very grievous that you should have engaged yourself to marry a man whom you did not love with more than a feeling of ordinary friendship. But it would be the less of two evils to confess your state of feeling, rather than to allow him to marry a woman who felt so cool towards him. Do not deceive him, however humiliating your own position. Better that he should suffer the disappointment before the irrevocable step is taken, which must result in a life-long regret.

A. H. P.—Your writing is so illegible we can scarcely decipher the names about which you inquire. Pronounce as Mar-ca-sis, Hal-lay, Jo-a-kim, Mas-con-ye, Tcha-e-kofs-key. In Russ and Polish the “w” is pronounced as our “f.”

Wild Rose (Broisla).—A centimetre is 0.39371 of an inch. This correspondent wishes to correspond with an English and an Italian girl, so as to improve herself in their respective languages.

Ophelia.—To make meringues, whip the whites of six eggs till very firm; mix three-quarters of a pound of the finest icing sugar with them. Fill a tablespoon with the mixture as quickly as possible, and put on a strip of white paper placed on a baking board. Repeat this process rapidly till all the meringues be made, and sift fine sugar over them; then, without loss of time, place them in the oven, the heat of which should only be sufficient to dry them, and brown them very slightly. When firm, remove them from the papers, and with great care scoop out from the inside as much as you can without injuring the case. Then place them on fresh strips of paper, the hollow side uppermost, and let them remain in the same moderate heat till perfectly crisp. When cold, fill one case with whipped cream, place another over it, and if necessary to keep it in position, use a very little white of egg. If to be flavoured with vanilla, it should be added before commencing to whip the whites of eggs; thirty drops of the extract would probably suffice. The filling with thick cream should not be done until just before serving as the moisture might dissolve them.

M. Howard.—The name “Chloe” is pronounced Klo-e, and “Lois” as Lo-iss.

Miserable.—You had better give up all thought of marrying. You are not likely to make any man happy. If you marry at all, it should be the man you have so dishonourably jilted. He might go to law, and oblige you to pay for your breach of promise.

Snowdrop.—We give you a recipe for sponge-cake from the first authority. Stand a large bowl in a bain-marie of hot water. Put in one pound of powdered sugar, break twelve eggs into the bowl, whisk quickly; remove the bowl from the bain, and continue whisking till quite cold. Sift in one pound of flour, add the chopped rind of a lemon, mix with a wooden spoon. Butter a mould or baking dish, and put in a sprinkling of flour, knocking out all that does not adhere to the butter; pour in the mixture, and place it in a moderate oven for about an hour, and when done it will feel firm to the touch. Perhaps the best plan for ascertaining the state of the cake is to run a slight wooden skewer into the centre. If insufficiently baked some of the mixture will adhere to the skewer; if done, it will come out clean. When ready for use, turn the cake out on a sieve to cool. Whatever recipes you have hitherto tried that failed, we doubt any disappointment in the present case.