F. W. M.—There are many recipes for making polish for furniture, but none better than the old-fashioned turpentine and beeswax. Making polish is an expense and waste of time now, for most chemists keep good polish at a moderate price. To apply the polish, make a wad of old cloth, put some on it, and apply to the furniture, rubbing it in very well till quite dry. Then finish with an old silk rag. The wood must of course be perfectly clean first, and if not so use a little vinegar and oil to clean the surface. It would be impossible to tell you how long to rub; your own sense must be your guide. Do not rub a hole in the table, for instance, nor rub your fingers to the bone; and you will find it to your advantage not to leave the polish in pools on the table. MISCELLANEOUS. DAPHNE and MURIEL.—You had better make your own selection amongst those named in the “Directory of Girls’ Clubs,” (Griffith and Farran, St. Paul’s-churchyard, E.C.) The rules, fees, and prizes differ in the various societies respectively, so you should be acquainted with them. Any stationer would procure a copy for you, or you could write direct; price one shilling and sixpence. 2. A very little salad oil applied with a scrap of flannel, and rubbed dry with a chamois leather, would suit the black furniture. ANXIOUS INQUIRER.—We thank you for your offer of articles; but our staff of experienced writers and authors is very ample, and we have no means of assisting you in this way. Good wood engravings sell well, but the competition is considerable. ADELHEID VON DÖRING.—1. The word “anomalous” means irregular, deviation from ordinary rules, abnormal. 2. Pierre, in the line of Byron’s “Childe Harold”— “Shylock and the Moor, And Pierre cannot be swept or worn away,” was a conspirator in Otway’s tragedy of _Venice Preserved_. He dies, stabbed by Jaffer. NEST BIRD.—The Castle of Hurstmonceux is Norman. Waleran de Monçeau, first lord of the district, gave his name to it. From an heiress of this family, it passed to Sir John de Fienes, whose descendants, the Lords Dacre, held it till 1708. An ancient manor-house existed on the site of the castle. This was built, temp. Henry VI., by Sir Roger de Fienes, entirely of brick. The interior, having fallen into decay, was demolished by Wyatt (architect), and used for enlarging the present mansion, Hurstmonceux Place, at one side of the park. The shell of the castle remains—half fortress, half mansion. The moat was drained, temp. Elizabeth. The flanking towers are eighty-four feet high, and capped by watch turrets. The shield of the Fienes, with their supporters, the _alannes_, or wolf-dog, figured in most of the windows, and over the porter’s lodge was a room called “The Drummer’s Hall,” in which, tradition says, a treasure chest was concealed and guarded by a supernatural drummer, whose drum was occasionally heard at midnight.