Troublesome One.—If you meet a funeral procession accompanying a deceased person, it is in good taste to stop while it passes, and for a man to take off his hat. You do not stop if it merely overtake you, travelling the same way, nor need you to stop, whether riding or driving, if the hearse be empty. The rule is, that all respect be shown to the dead and the grief of the mourners.
Isca Wellesley.—How could you so far forget yourself as to send flowers to a strange man? You cannot bow to any man, "peculiar" or not, if he have not been introduced to you. Is it possible that you thought of bowing to a man with whom you were not acquainted? We think your mother would feel tempted to box your ears if she knew that you did!
A Hybrid Lass(?).—The three days immediately preceding the Feast of the Ascension were so named because on them litanies were recited by the clergy and people in procession, a custom of which the "beating of bounds" is a relic. Their institution is ascribed to Mamertius, Bishop of Vienna in the fifth century.
Chiesa had better consult a doctor, as such things are dangerous for unskilled hands to meddle with. We do not recognise the poem.
Azalea.—Such matters must be referred to the decision of each individual conscience, for what one person might consider an enjoyable relaxation another might think wrong. But we must not judge anyone, only act for ourselves, in the fear and love of God.
Excelsior.—The line—
"Oh, for the touch of a vanished hand"
is by Tennyson.
Annie's verses are very good for ten years old, but she will probably improve on them before she is twice ten.
A. J. M.—The certificates are all dated Lady Day, 1886. You make a mistake. We think it unnecessary fault finding.