LADIES' COLUMN. Girls' Gossip.

Evening Post, Volume LXXV, Issue 27, 1 February 1908, Page 15

LADIES' COLUMN.

Girls' Gossip.

Jontribation3 to this column addressed "Priscilla" will be welcomed. The? thould be concisa, and must be elgned ■with the vrritev's £ull ninue and address, not; for publication, but a» a guarantee of authenticity. j It Db.\b Kizi* — A thousand times you havo been in ly thoughts during th 6 threo days of ur sojourn on the shores of Lake Rotoua. The dusty, stifling towji with ,s bricks and mortar, its oppressive oucentrated humanity, and its weariome round of duties and pleasurea that re more toilsome at times' than duties, 5 such a contrast to our lifo here. 1 m writing on my knee in our camp iii he early afternoon. It has been a rarm morning, but a bveeze is stirring he high manuka that rings our tents, aid .is rippling the lakG that lies, only . few feet from the" grassy bank, where am sitting. It is resting , time for vshers— tha hour of which Jimmy— t ho 4d Maori, whose \vife is my nearest acty neighbour— says "Fish no good— iyme-by, welly good. After . dinner, 11 right!" And the- camp, except me, s prone in slumber and literature ; the stter generally the excuse- for. the forler. Taeii "peace- ;s; s Badly disturbed j •y the flies, and I hear many and yariius objurgations and expostulations. )ne boy has made himself insect-proof ty putting his hat over hia face ; wrapung his hands, muff-^se in a- towel, md draping a changin^-bag over his >are knees. The vie\y is exquisit6. leforo me stretches the further shore •f Lake Rotorua, under a sky pi pale- j »luo shading to smoky yellow* on th<S > torifcon. The purple liil,is are low, dipting considerably at th,e Okere falls, aid so clear is the air to-day, wo can ! 4& a white building we imagin6 is the ■• »owet-h6use> 'Taravera.-hayjevec, looms, »p above the resti delicately beautiful ' n colour and outline, wjth m o hint of , .ha tragedy of which yeavs ago it »vas j ho cause. • The %vhite cjiffs glimmer lefe aqd there, in the sunlight ; .Nlok'oia sland, lovely and roma,ntjc, lies in Iront I >f the long range,- Our -canip is on .i ittle bay, with crescent horns of saudnanuka and 'willows. The white beach ■weeps round like a sickle, and is our >nly highway. Beyond our tents seems ' «?o Man's Land, for no one seems to j >ass along. Jimmy, our Maori friend, j Jailed on<i day to inquire, for onr wellbeing, and t\vo horses tako mid-day ilunge- along the edgo o£ the lake. Otherwise, -we> are absolutely alone, and jilt for- the <!rie& of the Maori ivomen md children, who, seem t,o be in a constant state of afctoiuqhment, indigna.ion, or amusement, and for the motorlaunches that flit along the lake to and ■crom the various places of interest, we night ,'be , on a desert island. Beyond the spit that spans our vjew » the- left flows a stream, picturesque, sxceedmgly. with "willow-weed and aisilbw" — or what ■cOrresjionds to those m New Zealand— and beyond, is a Hitle Maori settlement* with th,e delicious gscen of maizV plantations showing ibove <the wattle fences, and inarming bite of colour, 4n vivid kerchiefs ,and prijat £<rwns "Vften. the inhabitants ,ay« ibout. They generally. are — these happy, cafeless. people.. •, When city housewives ",ar.o fussing over, domestic cares, these matrons aro 6itting in tho willow »hade, watching the fishes, aiid 'chattering, in their loud'pitched voices with many, breaks ojf,, laughter and song. Down" the "sunset" "lake ycstfeVtfay ovening floated a boat, with two! Maori girls, Singing delightfully a , wailing melody; with long musical cadence^.. One, \vith j her pink print *rock washed till it \va.s | a lovely sof 6 lin'S^wore 'a primrose silk head-wraj?. the other had her dark hair i Streaming over her violet ' jacket .and ( blue skirt. Even the most ardent of £k6 fishers were impressed by the picture "made by the vivjd figures in the little boat, as it. swept over the golden water to tha sbund of singing. The Maori ladies .ire fisberwonien, too. All this moitjing I Stood ,Jishing, waistdefcp in the stream as it flows into the lake — for that is the bpt ground for catching trout, because it is said they lilte the cooler -Water. My heighbour And ' rival -was a- Maori maiden in a. thin pink skirt, with no waders lu\ and a quaint abort rod with, a reel that made a noise like a chaff-cutting machine. But she caught. three fish to my one, and lugged them to shore in the moqt d6termmed way, killing them herself, and returning again ta the strife. Her quaint ejaculations of annoyance- or' delight were* so Interesting thap I fear I lost more than one fish because of her prosimity, Jimmy generally fishes from a boai He, too is disconsolate if unlucky, sits in ilia. leaky craft with a woebegone face, antJ says he 16 tired. But a tug on his Mm alters, all ■that, and he &ays, "No tired now. This ia all right, eh?" He grows quite expostulatory when reeling in a trout, and calls, "Hi! Hi!" to it a3 if it were a xunaway horse. His missus, whose »amo is Mary, and whose domestic affairs, as she is dsaf, can be heard discussed a quaiter-of-a-mile. away, wpded, out to her lord and master yesterday morning. The women just go in and out the 1 water with A? feaT of colds or chills.' The o'.d man saw her coming, ran to the stern, and tried to haul up the bag of ctones that serves as his anchor and get away. But the old lady— although somewhat portly— hurried her plunges, and, amid shrieks of mirth got hold of the boat. What she meant by her fortissimo remarks we could not understand, but it vas a shamefaced and cowed Jimmy that she left later on. She is a person of determination and generosit/jw-sno lent us sugar "in a lordly dish" and said wo could have anything we needed— and though it is her place to ' call first, I think I must bfeaK the rigid rules of etiquette and leave 'my card with the empty basin. Since writing tho aoove, i have m^.t Kate — for that, not Mary, is her name, and have found I am next door — figuratively — to a heroine. She is Kate the guide of Rotomahana, the well-known woman who, with Sophia, showed tho Duke of Edinburgh the sights of that district, and hob-nobbed with Royalty in the *nost "friendly way, "nice boy," she commented, "very pleased with terraces and lake. Shock hands with us and give me £5 and a silk handkerchief as largo as a -shawl. I tell him, when ho rome first, "Don't be afraid of Maoris. They very good, harmless people, and the "nice boy" jumped into a canoe with the Maoris, and went off to &cc a swan'a nest in thfc rushes. The Duko actually sent both Sophia and Ivale announcements of his marriage to the daughter of the Tsar. But Kate's claim to fame does not rest on that alone. She is stone deaf, cannot hear a sound, and thereby hangs a s>tory, for she lost her hearing when, long agb, she dived twice into the deep waters of Rotomahana to rescue adrbwning man. She sawd him, but sacrificed her hearing. She showed me with justifiable pride the certificate sent her by tho Royal Humane Society, that accompanied the bronze medal for bravery. She keeps the certificate at the back of ci picture, carefully secured with tacks, and she tells you the story with all the tacks in her mouth. The medalgilded over, alas, according to her wish decorates a granddaughter, who wears it as a brooch. The certificate is to be buried with her "so,"' and she lays H across her portly form. "But I think I nat die a long "time yet," she adds, cheerfully, "I am very strong." She

tells us "1 no fish on Sundays, I Christian, I getting on in years and havo to get peace for my soul!" And if kindly hospitality, or unselfishness are any passports to paradise, Kate will get{ in. Her last words, as she waved goodbyo to me, were a shrieked injunction to Jimmy to carry tho billy for the lady. The fishing is wonderful at Ngoligotahu. The trout— great lusty beauties, averaging four pounds — simply teem in tho stream, as it runs into tho lake, and when they aro rising, they splash right out of , l ,he water. It is a quaint experience to stand in the lake in company with a motley company of fisheis boys, men, and Maori gh'.s. There is a certain etiquette to be observod, too, and ifc does not do to poach on a neighbour's preserves. If one is unsuccessful— "and it ;s maddening to cast for hours without success beside a man who is getting a fish '^very *ew minutew— fishing, ono thinks, is a much over-rated sport. The water is coid, and the sun hot; but the moment tho tug comes and your fish is making your reel whirr and leaping far out in Vain efforts to get free, theic is nothing to equal it. I could wnto pages about our doings, but have filled my allotted space. Our tents aro levelled, our cainp-firc dead, and tho pleasant; time o*Uy a memory. But — if possible — this tiip .vill be encored. — l^ouis, rRTSCTLLA. A very pretty weddiug was that of ilr. Fred. Gill and Miss Price at 8tPeter's Church on Tuesday last, 28i.h January. Punctually at 2 o'clock Ihefbfido walked up tho churdh l6aning oa her father's arm and followed by her two bridesmaids, Miss Ethel Pvice (sister of the brido). and Miss Ella Gill (feistor of tho bridegroom). The bride looked very sweet aiid happy, and wore cream- chiton taffetas, and lopg veil, and carried a lovely bouquet. ■ Tho bridesmaids were in brown silk, hats trimmed with brown tulle, and carricH bouquets of golden-brown posies. A large reception was afterwards held at tho parents' residence, Upper Willisstreet., wbero Mr. and Mis. Price re.ceiv'fed and entertained iheir guests. Tho bride's mother woi'o a, handsome black taffeta gown and black bat -with feathers, and carried a bouquet of purple sweet pe.asj lilts. James Price, champagne lace frock over glacie, very smart omerald green hat ; jMrt. Fred. Price, white silk and while and lavender .hat ; Miss Marian Price, dainty white silk ; Mrs. Gill, tho bridesgroom's mother, black silk gown* and toque to match, relieved with white osprey ; Mrs., Reed, pale blue &ilk ; Mrs. Rigg. in black; Hn. D. Gill, pate gi'een hat with pink roses ; Miss Jv. Gill, in, grecii and large hat; Mrs. Kei'not, in heliotrope, with darker bands fai bodies, looked woH ; Mrs. Jones, shrimp pink silk j and Mrs RodstGne, in cream v'jth emerald velvet bands, looked smart; as als6 did Mrs. and Miss Davis, Mrs. JSvatt, Mrs. and Miss Ritchey. The bridfe'fi- travelling frdck of vifcux rose cjoth looked very nice, and green hat ,with dead-rcie flowers finished a most bpcom\ng costume. . Very, many weio the toasts proposed, and diily ; honoured, aftbr. which the newly-wedded pair departed an\id a fehowor of tonfetti. Among the pre,scptfs were a "beautiful Doulton dinner service, also breakfast and tea 3et, silvenvaVe, and some choice Irish linelrt. j An interesting, wedding took plare at St. lJuke'§ v Church, .Grey town v on Wednesday auernooWThe Rev. Wyndcßbnd officiating, wherf Mr* Hcrirv ,* Rooks, ol Miijterton, , was .married to JlibS, A'nnio G&fy, daughter pf Mr. H. L." .Gray, of .Miss Lil£ Gvay acted as { briaesmaid, and Mr. "Il._ A. Bocketfc as j bej}> man. The- -bride- was given away liy. he i 4 father, Mr. If. L. Gtay.- -She was dressed in silver gray moire." trimmed with silk and net lace, arid wore a very pretty hat. ■to', majch. briSesmaid wore white-figured muslin, trimmed with blue, with hit to match. There we're a large number at tho church to sco the, ceremony, and- a, large coittpany at tho wedding • breakfast, at whith -the Rev. Wynde Bond made a mo_s* appropriate address, the happy couple left by th,o, evening train lo^ Mafitcrton Kelburhe Bowling Club's green was "6n fetft"'qn Wednesdoy afternoon, 29th JanxiaVy, when tjro members of both tho Kelburne Bowling Club ' and the KclbuVnc Ladies' Boiling Club gathered iv strong force to do honour to two departing Members, ; Mr. and Mr^- JFrankis ■ Lane. Mr. Lane has been it, moet enthusiastic membor of tho Kt\bud\^ CluU from its eiirjiflst days, and Mrri. Lane an equally ardent member of the Ladies' Club from the time that institution first canie to • be known to tho world of bowls. Tlie popularity of Mr. and Mi*s. Lane and the esteem in which they are hold has been manifested iii various, pleasant' ways recently, and on this occasion the Kelburne bowlers added their tribnto to friendship's cup by presenting Mr. Lane with a gold matchbok and sovorign caso suitably inscribed. Mr. Campbell, in, making the presentation on behalf of the gentlemen of the club, expressed regret at Mr.' Lane's departuro from Xew Zoa land, and the loss sustairted by the club, ab the same time wishing him coutiHued health and prosperity in his new home in distant Western Australia Mrs. Hislop (Mayoress), president of tho Kelburiio's Ladies' Bowling Club, in a felicitous speech, presented Mrs. Lane, on behalf of the members of the Ladies' Club, with a beautiful pendant. She expressed the very general regret felt by all lady members at the departure of their popular and esteemed clubmate, and their hope that her future ' would be happy and prosperous. Hearty cheers were then given for Mrs. Lane, as only the Kelburne lady- bowlei's can give them. Tho fair recipient, who was genuinely surprised and much affected by the spontaneous expression of united good-will, made a brief and very feeling reply.