French Canadian.—A year’s board at Leipsic and tuition at the Leipsic Conservatorium will cost you, with due economy, from 1350 to 1800 marks (£67 10s. to £90). If you write “An das Directorium des Königl; Conservatoriums der Musik, Leipsic, Germany,” you will receive a small pamphlet in English, containing the most explicit details.

Gertrude A. Simpson.—November 21st, 1881, was a Monday. Many thanks for your kind letter of praise. We insert your request.

Lonely Nell.—You might try to improve your writing and spelling, by carefully, each day, copying out some extract from a book. We are asking for a correspondent for you.

Hero.—Only two out of your six verses rhyme properly. You would not be able to write for publication. A knowledge of the laws of verse-making is required before attempting metrical composition.

New Quay.—1. The author, “Bethmont,” is quite unknown to us. Perhaps the name is a fictitious one, as you say it occurs in a story.—2. You must remember that a popular author is usually a very busy person and has no leisure to answer miscellaneous questions, presumptuous or not, that readers may be disposed to ask about the creatures of his imagination. The failure to answer such a letter as you describe would not imply any annoyance. Well-drawn characters are usually based on some living original, with an admixture of fiction thrown in.

Maggie.—The only way to “get a fairy story accepted by a children’s magazine” is to send the MS. to the editor of any magazine for which it seems suitable, with a letter, and stamps for its return if rejected. You must choose your own magazine. Should it be accepted, the editor will pay you at the usual rate, but we must warn you against probable disappointment.

Violet.—Your quotation is not quite correctly given.

“And I smiled to think God’s goodness flowed around our incompleteness, Round our restlessness, His rest,”

will be found in the “Rhyme of the Duchess May,” by Mrs. Browning.

Souvenir.—1. Write on foolscap on one side of the page only.—2. It is quite impossible for us to mention any publisher who would take your story, which we have never seen. Send it to any magazine for which you think it suitable, and observe our reply to “Maggie” above.

Emma Belusco (Austria).—We applaud your perseverance, but we are afraid you could not hope to write for an English paper. There are un-English expressions in your interesting sketch, e.g., “we resolved upon looking for it,” instead of “to look”; “explanation to,” instead of “explanation of,” and so forth. We have our own staff of experienced writers, and never insert anything on the conditions you name; but we thank you for sending us the translated story of the poor forsaken cats.

Miss Martin.—We keep no register of addresses, so can only publish your request for Ninette’s in “International Correspondence.” Note also that we undertake no communication by post (vide Rules).

Daisy.—Weakness of the third finger is very usual. You should place your fingers and thumb on five consecutive white keys, and, keeping the thumb, first, second, and fourth finger down, repeatedly strike the note that is under the third finger. If this monotonous exercise is persevered in, the third finger will gain strength. We can never answer a question very soon, as we go to press long before the magazine reaches your hands.

Sappho.—Certainly, with all the distinctions and acquirements you name, you ought to be able to find pupils for painting and music in some town of Devonshire or Cornwall; but it is a great risk to settle down at random, and we cannot specify any one place where you would succeed. You might write for advice to the Société des Professeurs de Français en Angleterre, 20, Bedford Street, Strand, London, W.C. Would you not like to apply for an English correspondent in one of the counties named? She might tell you something that would be of use.

Penicuik.—We do not think that the friend you mention is identical with the girl who wrote to us as her signature was “Violet M.” only, not V. M. Foster as you suppose; but if “Violet M.” was ever at school in Edinburgh, she may send us her address for you to see.

OUR OPEN LETTER BOX.

Lucy A. White informs E. M. W. that the lines she desires to find are quoted in Miller’s Making the Most of Life, in the chapter “Doing all for Christ.” She does not, however, refer the quotation to its author.

Miss (or Mrs.) E. J. Harris, Ferncot, Shrewsbury Road, Redhill, kindly sends for Gowan a copy of a poem by Marianne Farningham, “Maggie Ace and her Sister.” From its tenor, this is apparently the poem inquired for under the title, “The Women of Mumbles Head.” We regret that our rules do not allow us to forward MSS.

Bessie can have the words and music, in good condition, of “You’ll never miss the water till the well runs dry” (published at 3s.), by sending 6d. to T. E. Gibson, 20, St. Stephen’s Road, West Bowling, Bradford, Yorks.

R. N. S. sends a poem, asking the author, and where it may be found. We can only quote one verse—

“In the hush of a tender twilight, when shadows veiled the land, An angel came to the quiet earth with a white rose in his hand; And the stars came out to listen, as the angel floated by, For he sang a song so gently, that it felt like a lullaby.”

Dido will be glad if any of the readers of The Girl’s Own Paper can kindly inform her in which collections she can find the following poems, or any others suitable to recite at penny readings:—“Not in the Programme,” “Burglar Bill,” “The Wreck of the Puffin.”

Bluebell wishes to discover two recitations and the names of their authors:—“The Door of the Lips,” “A Ballad of Saint Swithin’s Day.”

INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENCE.

Miss Alice Leeds, St. George, Bristol, would like to correspond with a Scotch or Irish girl of about the same age as herself (20). She would also like a French correspondent.

Miss L. Watkins, Llwyncrwn, Crickhowell, Breconshire, offers to correspond with “Nellie,” and says, “Perhaps she would like to know something of farm life.” Mary L. King, Thornhill Farm, Attleboro’, Nuneaton, aged 17½ years (who works with her hands), asks also if Nellie would like to write to her.

“Harebell,” Oak Villa, Whickham, Newcastle-on-Tyne, would like to correspond with a well-educated French girl of about her own age (20), with a view to mutual improvement, each to write in her own language.

“Lonely Nell,” who works for her living and has few friends, would like to correspond with an American girl of her own age (21).

Gertrude A. Simpson, 22, Portland Street, Aberdeen, Scotland, wishes for a French correspondent—“a lively girl about seventeen.”

Miss de Sacrebourse d’Audeville, Chantilly (Oise), France, wishes to correspond with an Italian girl, either in French or in English. She would with pleasure correct and return the letters if desired, and hopes some Italian reader of The Girl’s Own Paper will write to her.

Will “Ninette,” Budapesth, send her address again to Miss Martin, The Hawthorns, Sandyway, who has lost it.

F. J. A. Hall, Sheriff’s Office, Peterboro’, Canada, a boy, wants some brother of “our girls” abroad, to correspond with the intention of exchanging postage stamps of various countries for those of Canada. In future, such queries must be sent to The Boy’s Own Paper.

May L. Klaje, 138, Brooke Road, Stoke Newington, London, N., a shorthand typist, interested in languages and drawing, and fond of walking, also a stamp-collector, would like, as correspondent, a well-educated Swiss-German or German girl of about nineteen years of age, who is earning her own living. She proposes that each writes to the other in German and English alternately, at the same time noting any errors made in previous letters.

M. Josefa Brage, Puerto de la Cruz, No. 35, Calle de Sol, Teneriffe, a Spanish girl, and constant reader of our paper, wishes to exchange Cuban, Spanish, Tasmanian, and U. S. American stamps for some of corresponding value from China, Virgin Islands, Barbadoes, or Gibraltar. She hopes an English girl correspondent will reply.

Miss Nora Hopkins, Brockville, Ontario, Canada (Box 200), wishes to correspond with “A Cardiff Girl” (February).

Miss F. G. Bartram sends her address for publication—Pleasant View, Clay Lane, Clay Cross, Derbyshire. She does not repeat in her letter the object for which this is to be done, and as her former letter has passed from our hands, we can only surmise she wishes for a foreign correspondent.

Miss Alice M. Budd, Dowling Street, Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand, wishes to correspond in French with a lady in France. She asks for a reply by post, but this is against our rules.

Leila Claxton, 22, Patten Road, Wandsworth Common, S.W., would like to correspond with Violet M.

MEDICAL.

Parma Violet.—There is not much doubt but that you are suffering from an attack of eczema behind the ear—and a very common and intractable complaint it is too. To treat the condition, first find out what causes it. Do not talk to us about poverty of blood or any nonsense of that sort. What we wish to know is—can you trace the affection to anything local or in the neighbourhood, such as discharge from the ear or unhealthy condition of the scalp? You say something about dandruff; that is seborrhœa, a very common concomitant of eczema about the face. If you have dandruff, this must be treated by washing the head with borax and hot water, and rubbing a little sulphur ointment into the scalp every night. For the eczema use a cream made of equal parts of olive oil, lime water, and oxide of zinc during the acute stage, when the itching is severe. Later, when the trouble is less active, use calamine ointment. Do not wash the part with water where the eczema is present.

L. M. S.—Read the answer to “E. Messent” and the many others who have asked us the same question. We can tell you nothing further.

Anxious.—A high temperature may be a sign of a fatal disease or it may signify nothing. It therefore may or may not be harmful. But taking medicines to reduce the temperature is almost invariably harmful, for all such drugs are exceedingly powerful. We once knew a woman who had five children, and having heard that a high temperature was a serious thing, bought a thermometer and an ounce of antipyrin, and took the temperature of each child every morning. And when the temperature of any of them was above 102° F. she gave her a dose of antipyrin. Every one of her children is now dead, and we feel certain that at least one of them was poisoned by antipyrin. The physician does not seek to “cure” a high temperature, but he finds out what is the disease which is causing the increase of heat, and by removing that cause he reduces the temperature. It is only when the temperature, per se, is threatening life that steps are taken to reduce it, and then it is by the application of cold, and scarcely ever by drugs, that cooling is brought about.

A Gaiety Girl.—It is one of the most vexed subjects in modern medicine whether or not pneumonia is an infectious disease. For ourselves we feel convinced that it is infectious, but it is only right to add that there are many great authorities who do not hold the same view of the matter as we do. It is a most difficult thing to prove whether a disease is really infectious, especially when it is not commonly infectious. A disease is infectious if it can be caught from one person by another directly. Obviously all such diseases must be due to germs. With such a disease as measles or scarlet fever, infection is obvious, and is the usual, possibly the invariable, manner by which the disease originates. Typhoid fever is infectious in a different manner; it is only very seldom caught from person to person, being almost constantly due to drinking infected water. Then again, some diseases are epidemic and infectious, such as the plague, and the various outbreaks of scarlet fever and diphtheria, which occur so frequently. But other diseases are epidemic but not infectious, such as influenza. In this case the poison is conveyed by water, or possibly food or air, but the disease is not caught from one person to another as a rule, although we feel confident that such does occasionally occur. Then again, some diseases are endemic, that is, confined to one locality, but are not necessarily infectious. Yellow fever and many other diseases are limited to tropical countries, and are yet infectious; but cretinism, goître, and malaria, etc., are also limited to certain districts, and are not infectious. So you see how complicated is the subject. Pneumonia frequently occurs in several members of the same family, and also many cases may occur in the same street, but at the present time it cannot be said whether the disease is infectious or epidemic or endemic. We feel pretty certain that it is one of these, and very likely it is all three—infectious, epidemic, and endemic.

A Long Years’ Reader.—In a short article on the hands which we published a few months ago, you will find the cause and treatment of red hands. The most important points to observe to keep the skin white and soft, are to wear a veil and gloves whenever you go out in the rain or sun; to use a good toilet soap, and never to put any irritating cosmetics upon the face. The only preparations which should be used are mixtures containing glycerine, such as glycerine and borax, glycerine and rose-water, or lime-water, etc. Glycerine keeps the face moist, and so prevents the skin from cracking.

Marguerite.—Drop the headache powders. Attend to your digestion and the condition of your bowels. In all probability your headaches are due to anæmia. Read the article on blushing that we published some months ago.

Sybil.—Yes. Follow the advice we gave to Josephine. A solution of menthol in paraleine (1 in 8) is made by dissolving one part of crystallised menthol in seven parts of paraleine. No. Condy’s fluid would not answer the same purpose.

MISCELLANEOUS.

A Lover of Flowers.—The Bishop’s address was Oxford House, Mape Street, Bethnal Green, E. “The Lord Bishop of Stepney” is his style.

Chevalier.—By the law of Scotland, marriage is a contract completed by the consent of the parties, if there be no legal obstacle; but no irregular marriage in Scotland is now legal unless at the date of it one of the parties had been resident in Scotland for the previous twenty-one days. Clandestine marriages, such as those at Gretna Green, are valid; but the parties, the celebrator, and the witnesses, are liable to fine and imprisonment.

M. B. (West Indies).—The gold coins of George II. were guineas, not sovereigns. The latter were not coined till 1817, we believe. Some of these are extremely valuable; but we cannot say, from your description, of what issue your coin is. With the young head of the king, it is valued at from £5 to £8, and the old head at rather more. Of course these are fine specimens. Those of a later date are less valuable—from £1 10s. to £4. There were two issues during the reign.

Robby.—As to the question of who the “maroons” are—the name is derived from the Spanish cimarron, or “wild,” and was given in Jamaica, in the first instance, to the slaves left behind by their Spanish masters on the conquest of the island by the English, A.D. 1655. These so-called maroons kept up a guerilla warfare with us until the year 1795, when they were subjugated and sent away, some to Africa, and others to Nova Scotia. There are also Dutch maroons, who have been recognised as independent by treaty.

A. L.—Property settled on a wife before marriage is, under all circumstances, protected from the creditors of a husband; but if only settled by subsequent contract, then all debts due by him up to the date of execution may be paid out of it. The M. W. P. Act of 1882 secures all her property to her, both real and personal, absolutely, just as if she were a single woman. She may dispose of, bind, trade with, and leave it by will, but for her debts it will be liable.

Art Student.—The great modern painter who executed the fine work entitled, “Christ before Pilate,” is a Hungarian. His real name is not Munkacsy, but Lieb. He calls himself after his native town, Munkacs on the Latorcza.

Mauritius, Cornflower, Nil Desperandum, and Charlotte are all collectors of old stamps, and all want to sell quantities varying from 5,000 to 12,000. There are dealers in stamps in every large city, and certainly there would be in those from whence our correspondents write. So, if wanting to sell, they had better visit two or three dealers, and inquire of them; but there is a place in Switzerland to which they can be sent—a charity for orphans, and perhaps that would answer. The address is, Asile des Billodes, Le Lôcle, Switzerland; there we believe they are sorted and sold to dealers in all parts of the world.

S. D. H.—We do not know what is the matter with the kitten’s eye, but it appears, from your account, that it wants bathing with warm water. This will relieve the inflammation.

A Collector.—You would get a book on heraldry (perhaps) at the cheapest second-hand; but an old Burke’s Peerage and County Families would give you the fullest information about many of the origins of crests and coats of arms.

Partner.—We should advise your being sent to a good school, as you are very young, and have got a lot of nonsense in your head, which ought to be full of something better; and judging by your writing, your education requires attention. A flirt is not a nice creature; she is a girl who, to feed her own vanity, desires to make others miserable.

Frances H. Chold.—1. The question of becoming a missionary to the poor must be decided by your parents, as you could do nothing without their consent. You would be quite unfit otherwise.—2. We do not see that you need become such a sufferer as you fear to be. Try to dismiss it from your mind. Remember that the source of our health is God; pay attention to your dietary, and adopt that which will prevent acidity. Do not worry, nor fret, nor be anxious. All these things would be bad for you both physically and mentally. We can really see no reason for your remaining single, unless you like that form of life. There is too much worry prevalent amongst us, too many to prophesy ill and look for evils that may never come. We must try to “Consider the lilies,” and live more as Christ told us to live.

Mary V.—1. We do not recommend the use of jewellers’ rouge for cleaning silver plate. It consists of a fine oxide of iron, and is better suited to goldsmiths’ work. It may be used without harm; but finely levigated or precipitated chalk is the best for your purpose. The mercurial plate powder is decidedly objectionable, as it corrodes the surface of the silver.—2. The “prairie dog” is in no sense a dog; it is misnamed; it is a species of marmot. They are about sixteen inches long, and sit up like a hare or rabbit, are very lively and playful, and live in burrows, and like to sit on a little earth mound in front of them, which they form in excavating their burrows. They are very timid.

Cowries.—There is no way but boiling them to get the shells clean and freed from their contents.