EXILE OF ERIN.—We must offer you the same advice as we gave to “An Ardent Admirer” (No. 995), though it seems ungracious thus to respond to your very pleasant letter. The thought that breathes through your composition is touching, and it is natural that a gift of primroses should suggest the picture of a woodland dell. But your lines halt occasionally: _e.g._— “Celandine and pale wind-flower, these the dark blue violet greet.” Again, we should be disposed to question whether the anemone and all the other flowers you mention bloom at once. In the woodland region we knew best the anemone preceded the “bluebell” or wild hyacinth. M. B. (Rosario).—Many thanks for your kind and grateful letter. ASPHODEL CRAVEN.—1. The word “xystos” is not generally used, but it is doubtless the English form of the Greek word ξυστὁς, from the verb ξὑωξὑω to smooth, polish, or work delicately. In the connection you give, the term probably was applied to a piece of sculpture very highly wrought. In Greek (Lat. _xystum_) the term was used for a colonnade or covered terrace, with a polished floor.—2. Your writing is fairly good; but if you made your turns less pointed, and did not leave a margin at the end of your lines, it would look better. LEONORE CRISTABEL.—Your poem is touching, and we sympathise with you in the loss of your little brother. Your letter is modest, and the thought of your verses, if not original, is sweet and comforting. The first three verses are quite correct as to metre and rhyme; but afterwards you occasionally introduce a syllable too many, as in “Trials might have formed his earthly lot.” CHEREA.—We fancy that you would hear of an Early Rising Society from Miss Isabella E. Kent, Lay Rectory, Abington, Cambridge; but if not, perhaps one of our readers would suggest an address. You might consult our back numbers, where such societies have occasionally been mentioned. DAFFODIL.—1. The lines “I could not love thee, dear, so much Loved I not honour more,” are from a poem by Richard Lovelace (1618-1658) “To Lucasta, on going to the Wars.”—2. Joan of Arc was called “La Pucelle,” because it means “The Maid,” and if you read her history, you will see why she, above all others, was called “The Maid of Orleans.” The Italian word for maid is also _pulcella_; Latin, _puella_. JULIA INA FRASER.—1. We believe Pitman’s method of learning shorthand is more popular than the one you name.—2. We have never offered prizes for exactly the sort of thing you describe; but we offer prizes monthly, as you will see, in our “Supplement Story Competition.” PETER DAVID (ISÈRE.)—We thank you for your kind letter, and are sorry that, as this is a girl’s magazine, we cannot comply with its request. You write English tolerably well. Do not say, “I have already written to you four months ago,” but “I wrote,” and “be so kind as to insert,” not “for inserting.”