"PITILESSLY FINE."

Evening Post, Volume LXXV, Issue 35, 11 February 1908, Page 8

"PITILESSLY FINE."

• — — — THE PERSISTENT BLUE. ' Tho clouds meiely played practical jokes with Wellington pfoylo yesterday. They rolled up «"n big battalions, they frolicked, they almost trailed ,over the housetops, an* visions of more frequent batli3 cheered the lesidents of the higher levels, but the promised rain had business elsewhere. - There V.-as rain almost all around the city— at a distance— but tb& showers wore shy of Wellington. li is reported that the Upper Hutt was refreshed by a steady .downpour of two hems' duration, and other districts had a brief sprinkling. To-day in Wellington the fun is as hui'd sit work as ever; he is satisfied that his mission is to shine, but his remorseless sens© of duty rather saddens tho people, who are' rather wea.ry of iced drinks unad other artificial coolers. The barometer at 1 -p.m. was fairly low, 29.83, but tho barometer just now seems* to be as v playf ul as the clouds. The forecast to-day dodges rain, which seems to be too elusive to be caught by tho lariat of any prophet or astrologer, recognised or unrecognised. At 9 a.m. blue skiss pieyailed' throughout New Zealand. The heavons were gloomy at some stations, but blue, or black-' -seems ail the same ; 'the rain does not- come. NELSON'S DISAPPOINTMENT. N.ELSON, This' Day. Tho rain all passed away after only two hours' fall. > It is now again^ pitilessly line. • t ' A WELCOME SHOWER. NEW PLYMOUTH, This Day, .. Tho weather continues very dry, though a iveJcome shower felT in some localities yesterday.

It was announced •at the Gcngrega* tional Union to-day th&t 'Mis.\ Williams had offered a contribution of £25 towards the establishment of a church at Masterton on condition that eight other contributions of a simikip amount be forthcoming. Six of these had already been promised. A vote of thanks was accorded Mrs. Williams for her generosity. Ihe rowing enthusiasts who are canvassing for subscriptions for the Wellington legatta on- Saturday tne 29th instant are not meeting with much success. 'The amount required to enable the committee to offer good prizes ie, i£loo, and in past years there has been little difficulty in collecting that sum. Tfiis year, however, the funds are coming in so sknvly that it is questionable whether the programme will not have to be curtailed. Only £45 is now in hand. In a small town like Picton £200 can be raised in a week for the local regatta but in the capital city of the Dominion half that amount cannot be found for a similar purpose. The man v hose case created much comment a few months ago, on account ol his having been deemed incurable and upon that ground refused admission to a Government institution for cure of consumption, was mentioned at this afternoon's meeting of the Wellington Benevolent Trustees. T t was stated that his stay at Otaki, at the home of a sympathising settler, who had erected a shelter shed for his accommodation, had benefited" him to such an extent that he was now well enough to stait in business for himself at Foxton, and would be no longer in need of the rations allowance that had been given him by the trustees. Sunday school teachers are notified by advertisement that blackboard lessons are io commence at the Technical School tomorrow evening.