905 
before  the  marriage  that  Silas  and  Eppie 
went  there.  Silas  was  in  hopes  that  he 
could  see  the  minister  whom  he  had 
known  there  and  to  ask  him  if  he  had 
been  proved  innocent  of  the  robbery  of 
which  they  had  accused  him  (Silas).  But 
he  and  Eppie  could  find  no  trace  of  Silas’ 
old  friends  and  in  the  place  where  the 
chapel  had  once  stood,  now  was  a  big 
factory.  So  Silas  had  to  go  home  again 
not  knowing  whether  he  had  been. proved 
innocent  or  not.  But  Mrs.  W  inthrop 
told  him  that  perhaps  it  was  the  Lord’s 
will  that  he  should  not  know. 
EARL  ANDERSON 
New  Hampshire.  (10  years). 
Several  readers  also  sent  good  write¬ 
ups  on  the  life  of  George  Eliot,  one  of 
which  I  have  selected  to  print,  as  fol¬ 
lows  : 
I  have  just  finished  reading  Our  Page 
from  start  to  finish  and  enjoyed  it  very 
much.  I  think  it  is  growing  better  all 
the  time.  The  Book  Puzzle  is  “Silas 
Marner.”  We  have  just  finished  study¬ 
ing  it  at  school.  I  enjoyed  it  very  much 
and  think  that  everyone  should  read  it. 
for  it  contains  so  many  fine  qualities.  It 
shows  how  those  who  do  wrong  are  al¬ 
ways  punished,  and  how  those  who  lire  in 
the  right  and  are  innocent  always  turn 
out  the  best,  even  though  they  were  un¬ 
justly  accused  of  wrong-doing. 
The  author  of  this  book  was  George 
Eliot,  whose  name  was  really  Mary  Ann 
Evans.  She  was  born  at  Arbury  Farm. 
England,  on  November  22,  1819.  Her 
father  was  strong,  serious  and  stern.  He 
was  a  land  agent.  His  second  wife,  who 
was  Mary  Ann's  mother,  was  shrewd, 
practical,  and  had  an  unusual  amount  of 
natural  force.  Mary  Ann  Evans  was  of 
a  nature  capable  of  the  keenest  enjoy¬ 
ment.  and  the  keenest  suffering.  Sim  was 
affectionate,  proud  and  very  sensitive. 
She  had  a  brother  and  sisters  of  whom 
she  was  very  fond. 
From  her  eighth  or  ninth  year,  when 
she  was  sent  to  school,  she  began  the 
habit  of  reading,  which  stored  her  mind 
with  the  treasures  of  literature.  In  her 
thirteenth  year  she  learned  to  play  the 
piano  skilfully. 
tSoon  her  mother  died  and  Marion,  as 
she  now  called  herself,  took  up  the  care 
of  the  household,  for  her  eldest  sister  had 
just  been  married.  From  this  time  on 
she  did  a  great  deal  of  reading,  studying, 
letter  writing  and  traveling. 
After  her  father’s  death  in  1S49.  she 
went  abroad  with  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bray, 
and  spent  nearly  a  year  at  Geneva.  After 
her  return  she  received  and  accepted  an 
invitation  to  become  assistant  editor  of 
the  “‘Westminister  Review.”  Her  resi¬ 
dence  in  London  broadened  her  horizon 
and  gave  her  an  acquaintance  with  many 
noted  persons,  one  of  whom  was  Mr. 
George  II.  Lewes,  with  whom  acquain¬ 
tance  was  followed  by  admiration  and 
love,  leading  in  1854,  to  her  becoming 
Mrs.  Lewes. 
After  spending  two  years  in  Germany 
she  began  to  write  a  story  which  was 
followed  by  many  others.  These  proved 
her  power  in  narrative,  humor  and 
pathos.  Having  discovered  her  extra¬ 
ordinary  gift  as  a  writer,  and  encour¬ 
aged  by  both  her  husband  and  by  the 
favor  with  which  her  books  had  been  re¬ 
ceived.  George  Eliot  published  a  novel 
entitled  “Adam  Bede.”  Thus  in  1858 
began  a  series  of  works  that  appeared  at 
intervals  of  from  one  to  three  years. 
The  closing  years  of  George  Eliot’s 
life  were  filled  with  much  reading,  study¬ 
ing  and  writing,  carried  on  with  enor¬ 
mous  power  of  sustained  work,  limited 
only  by  her  delicate  health  and  the  neces¬ 
sary  visits  to  the  continent.  These  years 
were  enriched  by  the  friendships  of  many 
admirers,  and  while  she  was  still  living 
she  was  recognized  as  among  the  greatest 
writers  of  fiction. 
After  the  death  of  her  husband,  in 
1878,  she  secluded  herself  for  many 
weeks,  denying  herself  even  to  her 
friends.  Two  years  later  she  was  mar¬ 
ried  to  Mr.  J.  W.  Cross,  a  family  friend 
and  admirer.  A  few  months  later  she 
died,  on  December  22.  1880. 
LUCILLE  FREEMANTLE 
New  Y ork.  (10  years) . 
What  Book  Is  This? 
This  is  the  story  of  a  horse.  lie  was 
black  and  loved  his  mother  very  much. 
She  loved  her  master,  who  often  gave 
her  a  carrot  and  the  colt  a  piece  of  bread. 
He  was  sold  one  day  to  a  squire.  Before 
he  was  taken  away  his  mother  gave  him 
some  good  advice  concerning  the  good 
manners  of  a  horse.  The  squire  was 
very  well  pleased  with  him  and  took  very 
good  care  of  him.  But  after  three  years 
the  squire’s  wife  became  very  sick  and 
she  was  told  to  go  to  a  warmer  climate. 
The  horse  was  sold  to  an  earl  who  did 
not  take  care  of  him  well.  He  was  s 
again  and  again,  serving  now  a  cabman, 
now  a  drayman.  Here  and  there  he 
found  friends.  In  his  old  age  he  was  sold 
to  a  farmer,  who  finally  sold  him  to  three 
young  ladies.  As  their  groom  was  going 
over  him.  he  found  a  knot  in  his  neck 
where  he  had  once  been  bled,  and  recog¬ 
nized  the  horse  because  this  groom  had 
been  for  a  short  time  at  the  squire’s. 
After  that,  for  the  rest  of  his  life,  he 
was  well  taken  care  of. 
ELEANOR)  HENDERSON 
Oklahoma.  ( 13  years ) . 
Beyond  a  doubt  every  boy  and  girl  will 
recognize  the  title  of  this  Book  Puzzle, 
but  when  you  send  the  answer  he  sure 
Ibt  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
Look!  here  is  a  Summer  house,  trim  and  neat, 
All  covered  with  roses  that  smell  so  sweet. 
A  glimpse  within  shows  a  cozy  seat — • 
Can  you  picture  to  us  this  cool  retreat? 
Drairn  by  Anna  Folk,  Connecticut 
Drawn  by  Pegyy  Hit  aw,  New  York 
Drawn  by  Dorthy  Story  (15  Yearn), 
New  York 
Drawn  by  Gladys  Feldberej  (12  yearn) 
New  York 
Drawn  in  Pencil  by  Randall  Miller 
(15  Years),  New  York 
Drawn  in  Pencil  by  Hazel  Stone, 
Rhode,  Inland 
Drawn  in  Pencil  by  Lillie  Sprague  (11  Years),  New  York 
to  include  the  author’s  name.  Tell  any 
interesting  or  pleasant  association  you 
have  with  the  book.  Who  knows  any¬ 
thing  about  the  life  of  the  author?  Here 
is  a  good  chance  to  try  drawing  illustra¬ 
tions,  too. 
One. girl  wrote  that  she  is  keeping  the 
Book  Puzzle  summaries  in  her  scrap¬ 
book  because  they  are  so  good.  She  also 
keeps  the  memory  verses  and  other  poetry 
we  print.  Now  why  not  make  a  scrap¬ 
book  of  Our  Page  as  a  whole?  Then  you 
will  always  have  them.  We  have  spoken 
of  this  before,  and  I  hope  many  of  you 
are  doing  it.  The  way  your  editor  does 
is  to  take  an  old  copy  of  The  Rural 
New-Yorker  that  has  about  25  inside 
pages  and  then  each  month  to  cut  out  our 
two  pages  and  paste  them  in  in  proper 
order.  At  the  end  of  a  year  this  makes  a 
complete  scrapbook  of  Our  Page  for  12 
months,  and  it  is  fine  to  turn  back  often 
and  look  them  over.  We  certainly  have 
done  a  lot  of  work  since  the  page  for 
boys  and  girls  started  on  November  1, 
1919.  I  wonder  how  many  of  you  have 
every  issue  from  then  till  now. 
Our  Artists 
More  than  100  readers  tried  their  skill 
at  drawing  the  Summer  house,  and  you 
have  a  chance  on  this  page  to  examine 
some  of  the  best  of  the  sketches.  In  ad¬ 
dition  to  the  eight  whose  drawings  are 
printed  the  following  “artists”  deserve 
Honorable  Mention :  Elizabeth  Steed 
(13)  of  Connecticut,  Carlotta  Baker 
(1G),  Varna  Colvin  (13)  and  Helen 
Barry  (16)  of  New  York;  Eleanor  Bray 
(12)  of  New  Jersey,  John  Reynolds, 
Margaret  Bergeson  (10)  and  Marianne 
Pacanowski  (17)  of  Pennsylvania;  Annie 
Calijouw  (15)  of  Virginia,  and  Ruth 
Young  (16)  of  Florida. 
Most  of  those  who  wrote  thought  if  a 
good  plan  to  have  some  drawing  rhymes 
which  do  not  have  human  figures  in  them, 
and  a  number  of  new  rhymes  were  sent 
in.  From  these  your  editor  has  selected 
one  which  will  test  your  skill  in  drawing 
animals,  and  I  hope  many  of  you  will 
try.  Here  it  is  : 
Back  of  the  barn,  out  in  a  pen, 
Lives  a  mother  pig  and  her  'babies  ten  ; 
The  babies  are  getting  their  dinner  now, 
So  draw  them  as  well  as  you  know  how. 
EDNA  CARLSON 
New  York.  (13  years). 
Notes 
Margaret  Kimberly  (12  years)  of  Con¬ 
necticut  wrote  the  little  couplet  in  the 
Box.  It  is  true  that  not  all  of  us  have 
special  skill,  but  the  spirit  of  taking  hold 
and  doing  your  best  for  Our  Page  is  the 
most  important  thing  after  all.  As  one 
10-year  old  reader  put  it  in  her  letter,  “I 
think  Our  Page  is  getting  better  every 
month,  and  we  can  keep  on  getting  it  bet¬ 
ter  if  everyone  will  try,  but  it  never  will 
be  any  good  if  everyone  depends  on  some¬ 
one  else  to  do  if  all.” 
The  list  of  June  contributors  will  be 
found  on  page  908. 
All  work  for  the  July  page  should 
reach  your  editor  not  later  than  July  7. 
Take  a  few  minutes  of  your  long  vacation 
and  see  what  you  can  send  that  will  be 
of  interest  and  help. 
One  reader  has  sent  an  essay  on  tur¬ 
tles.  M  ho  will  send  others,  telling  about 
the  different  kinds?  And  we  want  some 
drawings,  too. 
Riddles:  Many  of  you  decided  that  an 
egg  is  like  a  colt  because  both  have  to 
be  broken  before  they  can  be  used.  This 
month  we  have  a  riddle  in  verse,  sent  by 
Mary  Wilson,  a  New  York  Reader : 
Shout,  and  I  leap  from  the  hills  ; 
Speak,  and  I  come  from  the  wall ; 
I  never  fail  if  you  give  me  a  hail 
In  the  right  kind  of  way,  on  the  right 
kind  of  day, 
But  I  never  come  till  you  call. 
Now  then,  make  the  most  of  these 
Summer  days,  and  let  us  hear  from  you. 
Address  the  letters  to  Edward  M.  Tuttle, 
in  care  The  Rural  New-Yorker,  333  West 
30th  Street,  New  York  City. 
