Old-Fashioned.—If your mother approve of your engagement at so early an age, and to a lad yet in his teens and younger than yourself, we have nothing to say against it. Still, you should remember that it would not be to his discredit if he were to change his mind when he became a man and knew his own mind and character. But in this special case it may be otherwise. You have our best wishes, and we thank you for your kind letter.
Princess Louise.—No, the lines are not poetry, but rhymed prose, and not very good as that.
Agate.—The case you name is indeed a very sad one; but within our own experience we have known two or three exactly such. They were persons of undoubted piety. Yet God’s ways are often inscrutable and “past finding out,” and why He permits His people to be visited with such a terrible affliction, terminating thus their usefulness to others, we cannot explain. Possibly it may be for the trial of the faith and submission of others. “When one member suffers, all the other members suffer with it.” Those that have been deprived of reason are no longer responsible for their words or acts; those that retain their reason are fully responsible for rebellion against the calamity laid upon them, and for any consequent shipwreck of faith. Your afflicted relative is now, without doubt, at peace, and enjoying the presence of the Saviour whom she loved and served so long as He preserved her senses.
Hope.—Pronounce Mendelssohn as “Mendle-soan”; Gluck, as spelt; “Bach,” guttural “ch”; Gounod, as “Goo-no”; Schubert, as “Shoo-bert”; Franz Liszt as “Frantz List”; and Maupréty as “Mo-pray-te.”
Gracie.—The schoolroom-maid cleans the schoolroom and the grate, attends to the fire, lays the table, brings up the meals, and waits and attends to the bell, making herself generally useful to the governess.
Sara.—You might obtain information about a home of rest near the sea during vacation, at about 10s. weekly, if you applied to the Governesses’ Benevolent Institution; secretary, Charles W. Klugh, Esq., 32, Sackville-street, London, W. Inquire about a home of rest at Ramsgate. We have heard of one there which might suit you. There is also a home of rest at Sunninghill, Staines, about which inquire also.
Inquisitive Girl.—Your quotation is not correct. It is, “One touch of nature makes the whole world kin,” which places the spectator in sympathy with the actor, since we all have the same feelings, weaknesses, and emotions, one as the other, in greater or less degrees. If you saw a mother parting in great grief with a child, you, as a mother, would experience a kindred feeling. 1. The great composer, Karl Maria Baron von Weber, did not die in prison; he was found dead in his bed when on a visit to Sir George Smart, who had entertained him during his stay in England, June 3rd, 1826.
Sydney.—The Early English style in architecture dates from 1190 to 1245; the Perpendicular from 1360 to 1550. There are three varieties under the name Romanesque, and four known as Gothic. The former comprises the Saxon, Norman, and Transition; the latter comprises the Early English, Geometrical, Decorated, and Perpendicular. All churches subsequently built are true or debased imitations of these, excepting in cases where Byzantine or Greek models have been adopted.
Winnie.—An apology should be received graciously, and there should be no reference thereafter made to the quarrel; but everything must depend on the cause which produced it, so far as your future relations with each other are concerned. The character of the offender might have been exhibited in a new and unsatisfactory light, rendering confidence misplaced and dangerous. Thus, your relations one with the other might be very materially and wisely changed, notwithstanding the full forgiveness accorded and the apology rendered.