HELEN (A Constant Reader).—The inability to talk often arises from shyness and nervousness, or fatigue after a hard day’s work may cause you to relapse into silence. You can do a great deal to overcome the habit by forcing yourself to express your thoughts. You must have many things pass through your mind—recollections of the past, hopes for the future—that people who care for you would be interested to hear; then put them into language. Or take some special book or subject in which you are interested, and talk about it. Do not be discouraged; it is better to be quiet than to talk nonsense; and above all, never _try_ to talk brilliantly. Simple and natural conversation will “come of itself” in time. DAFFODIL (Cork).—1. Your version of Wordsworth’s couplet— “The proud heart flashing through the eyes, At sound of Rob Roy’s name,” is found in the best edition, Dr. Knight’s, in eight volumes, and in Moxon’s 6-vol. edition. But in the small 1-vol. edition we read— “And kindle like a fire new stirred, At sound of Rob Roy’s name.” Poets occasionally change the form of their work, but you can certainly consider the first quoted is the more correct of the two renderings.—2. Your writing is too large and childish for your age. Keep a regular space between your lines; do not make the downstrokes black, and try to reduce it all to a smaller uniform size. Some letters now are much larger than others. MEDICAL. HAWTHORN.—The various fruit salts, effervescing salines, effervescing citrate of magnesia, etc., are all pleasant modifications of seidlitz powders. You could make one for yourself by mixing together bicarbonate of soda, citric acid, tartaric acid, oxide of magnesia, and sugar. Heat these ingredients carefully in an earthenware pot and stir until the mass assumes a granular appearance. But why make it yourself? You can buy it ready-made cheaply enough. It is only the patent preparations which are expensive, for they have to pay for the stamp and advertisements. DARK DESPAIR.—We think most probably you did dislocate your jaw. Such an accident always leaves behind it some stiffness and pain on movement, but by exercising the joint these gradually disappear. A small blister over the joint, occasionally, will help to relieve the stiffness. Friction over the joint will also do good. But it is exercise that is most essential and movement to the point of pain, for the object of the movement is to break down adhesion within the joint, and it is these adhesions that cause the pain and stiffness. PORCUPINE.—1. Errors of the refraction of the eyes more often cause squint than every other of its causes put together. And very frequently, if the squint is slight or fairly recent, wearing glasses will cure it. If it has gone further than this, an operation is necessary.—2. Go to the dentist at once; your teeth want to be thoroughly overhauled.