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Only literary material by Australian authors individually indexed.
Other material in this issue includes:
First Page Picture: 'A View of Beit-Lahm (formerly Bethlehem), Town in Palestine, a Part of Syria' (unattributed), [161].
Poetry: 'Hymn of Peace' by American author Oliver Wendell Holmes (q.v.), [161]-162; 'King Christmas' by Anonymous, 164; 'Christmas Sights and Sounds' (unattributed), 168; 'Christmas Eve' by English Poet Laureate, Dr. Robert Bridges (q.v.), 169.
Fiction: 'Two Views of Christmas' by English author Charles Dickens (q.v.), 162-164.
Natural Science: 'Chitons' by Mr. Edwin Ashby, F. L. S., from "Wittunga", Blackwood, South Australia, first published in The Children's Hour, South Australia, with illus. 'Diagram of a Chiton', 'Diagram Showing Side View of a Chiton', 'Sea-Grass Chiton', and 'A Chiton, Showing the Valves and Girdle', 172-174.
Supplement: 'Junior Technical Schools for Boys : Facts and General Information for the Guidance of Parents' (unattributed), 166-167b.
Index: 'Contents - Grades VII. and VIII. (1923), 175-176.
Preceding or following each piece is a short glossary of the longer words contained therein, as well as notes about people and places mentioned.
Contents
* Contents derived from the 1923 version. Please note that other versions/publications may contain different contents. See the Publication Details.
The Riverview girls are preparing for their performance of The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare (q.v.), but are having trouble in deciding who will play the role of Portia. The girls learn that their shy friend, Jane, is the daughter of Mrs. Lee Richmond, a famous Shakespearean actress, who visits the school, guides them through a performance, and reveals that Jane has rehearsed the part of Portia 'many times'.
(p. 165-168)
Note: With photograph: 'Characters in the Trial Scene, The Merchant of Venice', 'taken after the performance last Shakespeare Day at the School of Domestic Arts, Fitzroy.'
This extract forms a part of Bruce's school story wherein the boarders share a secretive midnight supper. Nita, who is deemed 'good at physiology' advises Helen on how to dissect a 'large cold fowl'. The girls share meringues and eclairs and compare their ease of life with the trials of the grandmothers, who were required to cook in a 'colonial oven', 'make all of the family clothes - by hand, if you please...!', run the house (without a maid), 'doctor her own family' and 'take the odd turn at harvesting, or bush-fire fighting, or cattle-mustering, or...[fighting] off the blacks'.