But _this competition_ is different from any of those which have preceded it, for the Editor has asked the opinion of his thousands of readers as to their favourites among the staff of writers, artists, and musicians whom he has employed for the last twenty years. It is a bold thing to have done, and yet it is but natural that a man who has devoted the best years of his life to a certain object should desire to know how his methods have answered and whether the material he has offered for the instruction and healthy amusement of girls has met with the approbation of those for whom he has catered. It is no easy task in the present age when independence is growing rampant, to influence girls and surround them with an atmosphere which, without in the least coercing them, will keep them pure and gentle and womanly.
So throwing caution to the winds, the editor has submitted himself and his staff to the microscopic criticism of his many thousands of readers, and begged them to select ten out of the number whom they like best and to give a reason for their preference.
We have received some hundreds of papers, each of which has been conscientiously read and pondered over. Each competitor has stamped her paper with her own individuality; she knows exactly what she prefers and why she prefers it. One and all regret that they are limited in their choice to ten of the staff, seeing that all are so good, but there seems to have been no hesitation as to the chief favourites.
In awarding the prizes, we have taken into consideration not so much the handwriting and decoration of the manuscripts as the thoughtfulness and intelligence with which they have been written.
Widespread as we consider our knowledge of girl nature by this time, competition papers often spring upon us surprises, showing us we have much to learn upon the subject. We confess that, although we have always taken care to provide our readers with subject-matter for deeper thought, still we were scarcely prepared to find that in the majority of cases the first things read were these graver articles and the papers dealing with instructive and interesting matters, the stories as a rule being kept till the last. In one paper only were all the favourites chosen for stories.