WINNIE has probably not consulted her parents on this point, or she might find that there is really some very strong objection, of which she is in ignorance, to the “good Christian young man” whom she says “she has found.” Tell your parents all about it, and do not try to persuade us to counsel you to be disobedient to their wishes. ESMERALDA.—Why not take _The Boy’s Own Paper_, 56, Paternoster Row, E.C. You might purchase a number and see how you liked it. PUZZLED.—The smell of which you complain arises from the skins being only partially cured and not thoroughly dried. Skunk, however, retains an unpleasant odour in most cases. Drying the skins in a brick oven for a little time, taking care not to burn them, might do good. But we fear there is little help for this trouble. THREEPENCE.—There is no royal road to handwriting. It is an art which must be carefully acquired; and if you wish to improve yours, you must get some copies and set to work in a painstaking way. Select a handwriting you admire and proceed to copy it, letter by letter, word by word. If you persevere, you will succeed in about a month’s time in making a total change. CHADBAND.—1. The Rev. Mr. Chadband is a character in Dickens’s _Bleak House_. He was a religious hypocrite. The word “Chadbandism” is a novelty, applied as it has been lately, in the daily press.—2. _Chauvinism_ means a blind idolatry of Napoleon I. Just now it seems to mean a warlike spirit, a blind patriotism. The word _Chauvin_ is taken from _Les Aides de Camp_, by Bayard and Dumanoir; and was made popular by Charet’s _Conscrit Chauvin_. _Conspuez_, which is the word most heard in Paris of to-day, is from the verb _conspuer_, which means to spit upon or to despise. A _Bordereau_ is a memorandum, or account of some occurrence, event, or conversation. _Dossier_ means a barrister’s brief, and also a bundle of papers. In the way used, it means what we should call “the case” against a prisoner. We do not wonder that you are puzzled if you do not understand French. * * * * * [Transcriber’s Note—the following corrections have been made to the text: Page 426: dignatatem changed to dignitatem—“infra dignitatem”.] End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Girl's Own Paper, Vol. XX. No. 1005, April 1, 1899, by Various