PREFACE


What _is_ the awkward age?

Certainly not any special number of years. It is most frequently found
between the ages of thirteen and twenty-seven, but some girls never go
through it, and some never emerge from it!

I should be inclined to define it as the age during which girls are
asked--and cannot answer--varying forms of the question which so
embarrassed the Ugly Duckling: "Can you purr--can you lay eggs?"

Most girls on growing up pass through an uncomfortable stage like this, in
which neither they nor their friends quite know what niche in life they
can best fill--sometimes, because of their own undisciplined characters;
sometimes, because the niche itself seems to be lacking. Whether this
stage be their misfortune or their fault, it is an unpleasant one--both
for themselves and for their friends. With much sympathy for both, I
dedicate these few suggestions to my known and unknown friends who are
passing through it.

L. H. M. SOULSBY.
OXFORD, April 4, 1893.