STUDY AND STUDIO.
Sunflower.—We have read your letter and verses with interest. The poem beginning, "There is no Death," suffers from a lack of attention to the laws of metre. It is begun in ten-syllable lines, which occasionally become twelve- and even fourteen-syllable lines. This is quite inadmissible. The other two poems are better. The metre and the rhymes are correct. There is some poetic feeling in "Twilight," and we like your description of the "Friend" you long to have:—
"Gentle, and strong, and wise,
Loving, and tender and true,
Loyal to serve and to save,
Steadfast to dare and to do."
We shall be pleased to hear from you again.
Brown Eyes.—You should have written direct to the Comtesse Blanche de Forestier, whose address we gave. She informs us that she has already found a correspondent. You ask us to tell you of any faults we find in your interesting letter. Your writing is rather large and untidy, and inclined to sprawl down-hill, and the expression "a lot" is too colloquial. Also the sentence beginning, "Deeply interested" needs "I am" to make it grammatically correct. It is rather thankless work thus to pull your letter to pieces, as we have read it with much pleasure, and are glad your grandfather has lately given you a beautiful bicycle. O si sic omnes!
Violet Rene Gordon.—We have always understood that the authoress in question was unmarried, but as we do not know her personally we cannot vouch for the fact. If anyone who does know her intimately tells you so, you may of course believe it; but information that has filtered through various channels is apt to be inaccurate.
Erin and A Lady Reader kindly send the words of "Pestal" by W. H. Bellamy; and "Erin" informs "Pansy" that it is published as a solo by Hutchings and Romer, arranged by C. E. Horn. "Erin" does not know if it is to be had as a duet.
I. M. H.—Many years ago, Lytton Bulwer (afterwards Sir Bulwer Lytton) wrote contemptuously of Tennyson, calling him "Miss Alfred." Tennyson retorted by a most stinging satire on Bulwer, which, we believe, is to be found in some early volume of Punch, but is not republished in Tennyson's works. The extract you quote, containing the line:—
"And half the little soul is dirt"
comes from this satire. As it is suppressed, you may have difficulty in finding it.
Fidelia.—The verse you quote is from a poem of Christina Rossetti's entitled "He and She." As the whole poem is very short we transcribe it for you:—
"Should one of us remember,
And one of us forget,
I wish I knew what each will do—
But who can tell as yet?"
"Should one of us remember,
And one of us forget,
I promise you what I will do—
And I'm content to wait for you,
And not be sure as yet."
You will find it on page 328 of Messrs. Macmillan's 1892 edition of "Poems: Christina G. Rossetti."
The Lilac Sunbonnet.—You should try to obtain a situation "au pair" in a Continental School, where you could teach English in return for learning French. No premium or certificate is required. The only way we know of obtaining such a position is to advertise in the provincial journal of any town where you would like to go. See our former answers to similar queries, when we have mentioned such papers as the Gazette de Lausanne, Journal de Génève, Feuille d'avis de Vevey, etc.
Mother's Girl.—Your story is very well composed and neatly written. The incident you describe is naturally told, with a good deal of right feeling. We can honestly praise your work. It is very wise of young writers only to undertake simple subjects with which they are familiar, and a good schoolgirl story is worth any amount of sentimental nonsense.
A Seeker.—1. Your friend's verses fail in metre: e.g., "Death makes clearer the soul's view," is a halting line. The thought expressed throughout is a solemn one, but the mode of expression is open to criticism.—2. The difficulty you place before us is one in which we have very great sympathy. If you have been sent to an Art School it is certainly your duty to work hard there. But a change of occupation is by no means always prejudicial to success; in fact, it is often helpful even to the occupation which is laid aside for a time. For example, a girl is likely to become no better a musician because she practises every hour of the day, and neglects all besides. There comes a point beyond which work is useless, and four or five hours well spent are better than twelve. So with your drawing or painting; you will do it no harm by laying it aside for awhile and lending a hand to household tasks. There is often a tendency in eager students to overwork, and see things out of their due proportion. You must try to keep the balance true and not sacrifice character to ambition. You will do the ambition itself no good by it. We may suggest that artistic talent is very useful in millinery, and that, if need be, you should not despise turning your gifts to account in designing some article of dress. There is a wide field open to really artistic dressmakers; but, of course, on this, we cannot advise you without further knowledge.
An Ardent Reader, Rosy Nell.—We are glad to hear all you tell us, and hope you may succeed in the needlework competition. We do not know the comic ballad you mention on "A Snarling Wife," beginning, "O do be still!" Are you sure it is worth hunting for? Would it not do you more good to learn some poem of real beauty or interest?