This poor unfortunate man, nearly all seemed to know, was Socrates, not the worst part of whose wisdom was shown in the patience with which he endured the temper of his wife Xanthippe. But we would like to know why after being asked about an ancient philosopher one girl gave as an example, Richard Hooker, the theologian, who was not ancient; and another, Ben Jonson, the dramatist, who was not ancient either; and a third, James Ferguson, the astronomer, who died little more than a century ago.
17. What flower in the middle of the seventeenth century became the subject of a popular mania?
No, it was not the white rose, or the orange-lily, or the tobacco plant, or the hyacinth, as some competitors had it; it was the tulip. Whilst the tulipomania lasted—and it was specially prevalent in Holland—quite fabulous prices were paid for bulbs. But it was really, as one girl points out, a form of gambling in which admiration of the flower and interest in its culture were very secondary matters. Many correct replies were received to this question.
18. Which is the best soil on which to build a house?
This drew forth many sensible replies, indicating that girls fully realised that the soil must be a good one, dry and wholesome, or the house built on it cannot be healthy. Sometimes a girl inserted a bit of local colour; a girl, for example, writing from Worcestershire, whilst praising gravel as forming the best soil on which to build, says that in her county, what is locally called “cat’s brain” is preferred to pure gravel—cat’s brain being a mixture of gravel and a little loam.
19. Did anyone ever swim across the Channel from England to France?
Here was an easy question. Girls apparently had found little difficulty in learning all about Captain Webb, who in August, 1875, performed the marvellous feat of swimming across the Channel without once touching a boat or artificial support of any kind.
20. What great lady once, in a temper, cut off her long and beautiful hair and flung it in her husband’s face?
This query was a puzzler. Even more failed to answer it than failed to reply to our number eleven. The lady in question was the famous Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough, at one time friend and favourite of Queen Anne. Many girls who gave a correct answer referred as their source of information to The Girl’s Own Paper, an article on that extraordinary, eccentric and imperious woman having appeared in our pages several years ago.
21. What is the origin of the name foolscap as applied to paper of a certain size?