STUDY AND STUDIO.
J. M. Ellis.—The address of your letter was the correct one. If you do not receive a reply, we advise you to write again, as it is always possible for secretaries to overlook letters or make mistakes. Let us know if a second appeal produces no result.
Mrs. C. L. Jackson can inform “Ailsa” (July) of a blind musician who will set her words to music for moderate remuneration. Address for information, Mrs. Jackson, Lyttleton House, Lower Wick, Worcester.
N. M.—Cardiff Castle was the scene of the tedious captivity of Robert, Duke of Normandy. In 1106 he fell into the hands of his brother Henry I., with whom he had long been at strife, and he was confined in this fortress, which had recently been conquered from the Welsh. At first Robert was allowed to take exercise among the fields and woods of the neighbourhood. He attempted to make his escape on horseback, and, having been pursued and taken back, was condemned to closer durance. Some historians say that his eyes were put out by his brother’s orders; certain it is that he lingered a prisoner for twenty-eight years, and died at Cardiff Castle in 1135.
Disappointed.—The difficulty you mention is only a temporary one, and need not discourage you at all. It is only the difference in the keyboard that bewilders you at first, and practice on both instruments will set things right.
A Pilgrim in a Sunny Land (Beyrout, Syria).—The lines you quote are by “George Eliot,” and may be found in her collected poems. The
“Choir invisible,
Whose music is the gladness of the world,”
is the great company of heroic departed souls who have done work for the sake of mankind: their “music” is the added happiness of humanity which their efforts have secured. We think, as you suggest, that your explanations mean much the same thing. This fine poem will repay close study.
A Queensland Girl.—What prettily painted note paper you send us from your distant home!—1. The competition you speak of is over.—2. Your writing is admirable, distinct, well formed, and most pleasant to look at and to read.
Olive Cambus.—It is not necessary in writing for the press to leave any extra space at the top of foolscap paper. It is better to leave a margin on your left hand as you write. The sheets should be fastened together in the top left-hand corner, not by a “clip,” but by a paper-fastener that goes through a hole pierced in the sheets; any stationer will sell you a box. Foolscap is, we think, preferable to sermon paper. The great matter is to have your MS. perfectly distinct and clear to read, and only to write on one side of the page.