STUDY AND STUDIO.
C. A. E.—We have read your rhymed fairy tale with interest. It is not, however, sufficiently good for publication. We will criticise any story you like to send, but it should be short. On the first page of The Valour of Veramon a line ending with "deem" finds no rhyme, and on the last page:
"Their rescuer married one; the rest found husbands at his court,"
is a halting line. The verse does not run smoothly enough, and this from no fault of the "recurring letter S." We applaud, however, your choice of a fairy tale; it is a far better subject than sentimental woes and afflictions. You will find the rules in a recent number. We do not return MSS. unless a stamped envelope is sent for the purpose.
F. H.—We only accept the work of experienced writers for The Girl's Own Paper. The sentiment of your elegy on Mr. Gladstone is excellent, but it is not very poetical. Your rhymes, however, are usually correct.
B. C. D. Quixada (S. Australia).—1. Your "lullaby" is irregular in metre. Such a poem should flow smoothly throughout. "The Orphan's Song" is also incorrect in metre. Every poem should have a certain metre in which it is written, the lines being of regulated lengths. You will observe that there are more syllables in
"Mother, mother you have left me"
than in
"Angels they will sing around,"
yet they are both "first lines."—2. We believe the sound in a shell held close to the ear is due to the imprisoned air. The same sound can be observed when the hand is curved over the ear.
Adelina Grillo.—You will ere this have seen your request in print, and we hope you have found a correspondent.
A Reader of The Girl's Own Paper.—Many thanks for your note. We will consider the point you raise.
Miss Nell.—1. "Thematic" means, connected with the theme; e.g., a thematic catalogue of musical works is a catalogue in which the first few bars—the theme—of the whole work, or of each movement, is given. You can apply this explanation to the instances you give.—2. We do not wish to discourage you, but the "Associated Board" Examination you name, is not supposed to qualify for advanced teaching. If you pass in honours, it is of course more valuable. You could not expect a high salary with only this certificate, if, indeed, you could obtain a post as pianoforte teacher in a good school; but we cannot name any sum without more knowledge of your capabilities.
Kate Cregeen.—1. Your quotation:—
"Because right is right, to follow right,
Were wisdom in the scorn of consequence,"
is from Tennyson's Ænone.—2. Your writing is very good for a girl of sixteen. To improve it, never let yourself scribble or write carelessly, and copy any model you admire.
Sweet Sultan.—Spenser's "Faerie Queen" is not to be had in nineteenth-century English, but it is easy to read and understand in its original form; and in the "Globe Edition" published by Macmillan & Co. at 3s. 6d., there is a glossary to explain the obscure words. You can also get some of the books with valuable notes in the Clarendon Press edition, published at 2s. 6d. the volume.
A. D. S.—We give the whole poem of which you quote two lines:—
To Day.
So here hath been dawning
Another blue day:
Think wilt thou let it
Slip useless away?
Out of Eternity
This new day is born,
Into Eternity
At night will return.
Behold it aforetime
No eye ever did:
So soon it forever
From all eyes is hid.
Here hath been dawning
Another blue day:
Think wilt thou let it
Slip useless away?
It is one of the few poems by Thomas Carlyle, and is to be found in his "Miscellaneous Essays."
A Lover of Nature.—Your verses are correct in metre and rhyme. We cannot say that they are particularly original, for the same thought has been frequently expressed already; and there is nothing very poetical in them. But to write poetry is a difficult art. Many thanks for your kind little letter. We may add that we are pleased to know the beauty of June gives rise to the thoughts you embody in your lines.
"One Who Knows" writes to correct a statement in a recent answer. "B. M." is the daughter of the late Dr. Miller of Rothesay, and her married name is Macandrew. Erin kindly adds that her Christian name is Barbara.
Adelina Grillo (Italy).—Many thanks for your kind card and words of praise. We are glad you have found a correspondent.
Ivy.—We are inserting your request. As to the delinquencies of your French correspondent in not writing oftener, we are unable to help you. It is not an unusual thing for correspondence to flag; but if you feel that "every three or four months" is not sufficiently often to receive a letter, the best way is to write a kind and pleasant note telling her so, and close the correspondence. We do not think it is worth while to be "annoyed" about the matter, as she may, owing to some change of circumstances, be quite unable to command her time.