JULIE.--The custom of wearing gloves is very ancient, but their use was not common among all classes until the Middle Ages, when gloves became a necessary part of the costume of both men and women. At that period gloves were often embroidered with gold and silver, and richly ornamented with jewels. They were then used as symbols of many things. A knight would wear a glove, spangled with pearls, fastened on his helmet, at a tournament, as a sign of favor from some fair lady; to throw down the glove at the feet of a rival was considered a challenge to fight a duel; and other significations were familiar to the people of those days. The manufacture of gloves is one of the most important industries of Europe at the present time. It is estimated that no less than two million dozen pairs of gloves are made annually, and in the town of Grenoble, in France, this work alone gives employment to thirty thousand people. The above estimate does not include the vast quantities of ordinary woven gloves of cotton, silk, and other fabrics, but only those made of fine skins. * * * * * J. T.--The name of Jew's-harp probably came from the French word _jeu_, which signifies toy; so that toy-harp is undoubtedly the real meaning of the name of that common plaything, which has a home in the pocket of almost every boy and girl. * * * * * LIZZIE B.--The rock of Gibraltar, which is one of the strongest fortresses in the world, is connected with Spain by a low sandy isthmus, which is constantly guarded by English and Spanish soldiers. There are many natural caves in the rock, which are the home of large numbers of very small monkeys. It is the only place in Europe where wild monkeys live. The original name of Gibraltar was _Gebel al Tarik_, which signifies Tarik's Mountain, and it is said that in 711 a Saracen warrior named Tarik ben Zeyad landed there, and built a fort, which, after passing several times from the hands of the Saracens, or Moors, to the Spaniards, and back again to the Moors, was at last captured from the Spaniards by the English in 1704, and since that time has remained a British possession. * * * * * JIMMIE L.--Tragacanth is an odorless and tasteless gum which exudes from the goat-thorn, a shrub found in large quantities in Asia Minor. A very adhesive paste is made from it, and it is also used extensively to stiffen calicoes and other cotton goods. * * * * *