ON A NAUGHTY LITTLE BOY.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 752, 30 July 1886, Page 4

ON A NAUGHTY LITTLE BOY.

SLEEPING. Just now I missed from hall and stair A joyful treble that had grown As dear to me as that grave tone That tells the world my older care. And little footsteps on the floor Were stayed. I laid aside my pen, Forget my theme, and listened- then - Stole softly to the library door. No sight! no sound ! a moment’s freak Of fancy thrilled my pulses through ; “If—No ” and yet, that fancy drew A father's blood from heart and cheek And then—l found him ! There be lay, Suprised by sleep, caught in the act. The rosy vandal who had sacked His littlo town, and thought it play : The shattered vase ; the broken jar; A match still smouldering on the floor ; The inkstand’s purple pool of gore ; . The chessmen scattered near and far. Strewn leaves of albums lightly pressed This wicked “ Baby of the Woods In fact, of half the household goods This 60n and heir was seized—possessed. Yet all in vain, for sleep had caught The hand that reached, the feet that strayed ; And fallen in that ambuscade The victor was himself o’erwrought. What though torn leaves and tattered book Still testified his deep disgrace J I stooped and kissed the inky face, With its demure and calm outlook. Themback I stole, and half beguiled My guilt, in trust that when my sleep Should come, there might be one who’d keep An mercy for his child. —Bret Harte.

CHARITY. The claims of the necessitous are nowhere more freely responded to than in Wellington ; if misfortunes fall in a family, helping hands af,e at once stretched forth ; should an accident swell the number of widows and orphans; where is the town more ready to open its pocket books and subscribe liberally ? Raffles and art-unions that dispose of the handiwork of impoverished gentility are all too frequent; indeed there is no form of charity that cannot be met with at any time in our fair city. Granting all this, the wonder is how the two objects of more than ordinary magnitude now before the public, should meet with so little sympathetic response. It is admitted that Mother Nature’s vagaries in the Hot Lake district have caused much loss of property as well as of life, and that consequent suffering has fallen on a number of people (whether brown or white makes no difference in the aspect of the case). That this suffering must be relieved by the Colony aa a whole is reasonable enough, considering that the calamity is accepted as a national one, and there is no doubt that if something be not done soon a national disgrace, will be ours. The position was fully recognised by his Excellency Sir William Jervois when he so gracefully initiated a movement by inviting the members of Parliament to discuss the question at Government House the other day. One would haye thought that under such favorable auspices all would go well, and the wisdom of the Colony at large would concentrate itself upon some schema for raising the desired.funds. And so it did, to the extent of deciding that a conversazione should be held on a certain date in the' Parliamentary Buildings to avoid expense. But somehow the concentrated wisdom aforesaid fell short of practicality, or energy, or wholeheartedness; and some mis-timed objection on the part of certain honorable members to the use of the Buildings for such a purpose resulted in the collapse and abandonment of the scheme.

'.Just like the men, a isn’t’it? , Now, I venture to say that if the women had undertaken the affair they would have carried it through or perished in the attempt. The other impending failure is the establishment of Hospital Sunday, which 1 verily believe would become a popular institution, as it is in the sister colonies, to say nothing of the Home country. But no; petty feelings and paltry considerations step in to mar the lovely features of sweet charity, and she is thrust aside to make room for * average collections.’ I do hope that upon further deliberation of * the powers that be,’ Hospital Sunday may yet gain a foothold in Wellington ; otherwise shame will be our portion, and the finger of scorn will be deservedly pointed at our community. This, also fcelongeth unto man. So much for the greater objects which need a widespread sympathy and free handed assistance. Turn we now to one of much narrower interests—the ‘Girls’ Friendly Society,’ for which last year was- held the doll show that proved so great a success. So much so, indeed, that another is shortly to take place. Lady Jervois, who is head and front of the movement, has procured from Home a grand supply of dolls, to be taken in hand by deft fingered ladies, and converted into miniature presentments of historical or mythical personages, by judicious costuming. A labor of love, for all true-hearted girls and women retain a liking for dolls long after the age when all other toys are discarded, and they enjoy dressing these prettily for the delight, of the household pet. Here is a chance for the display of knowledge and ingenuity; knowledge of the correct costume of celebrities, and ingenuity, in the adaptation of modem stuffs to oldtime requirements. Novel as doll shows are, there is a still more novel kind of money-getting exhibition, and that is a cake fair. Sounds queer, does it not ? The bright idea has been recently carried out to perfection in Melbourne forthe purpose of raising funds for the continuation of the continental concerts. Of course, you will like to know something of the way in which the fair was carried out. I believe —though full particulars have not yet reached me—that the cakes were entirely the production of various ladies who prided themselves on their proficiency in that branch of domestic economy. Purchasers of the cakes found the recipes attached, which made them all the more valuable.

The supply, large as it was, was entirely exhausted, as the attendance exceeded all expectation, the exhibition building being crammed. The handsome sum of Ll7O was realised.

I suppose the ordinary woman can get a 3 much happiness out of cake making as she could out of the fine arts. Geniuses are generally people who can do one thing splendidly and nothing else even passably. Oh, the colors that have been wasted ; the pianos that have been thumped out of tune ; the ink that has flowed in vain over the fair white paper, only to bring tears of mortification to the maker of failures that even she can recognise as such. But any bright woman can learn to make a good cake and so bring happiness to the children of a household, to say nothing of the gratification she

must experience at hearing the expressions of praise from friends around her afternoon why should not a cake fair take well here and bring in a good round sum for one or other of the worthy objects above-men-tioned ? lam sure were a meeting of ladies convened to talk the matter over, a large amount of enthusiasm would be elicited, and many a-maid and matron would be put on her mettle to produce triumphs of culinary skill in the way of novel cakes aud other specimens of confectionery, for the show need not be limited to the cake pure and simple. Almost every woman has some specialty in this line that she would delight to display fdr the cause of charity, and many an old family recipe book might again be brought out to aid the fair workers in concocting strange but toothsome kinds of cakes. Really such a fair would do our daughters a vast amount of good, exciting in them a wholesome spirit of emulation. And let it not be thought incompatible with intellectual labor—a full measure of intelligence is necessary for every kind of cookery, and more especially for dainty confectionery. I read lately that a lady well’known in Home society for her recitations in French literature, has started at her own house in Kensington a course of lectures on French cookery for ladies, enlivening the lessons with the anecdotes and histories of gourmets and cooking in general, which she has pibked lup in the course of her reading and researches. Ideal cookery is, she affirms, a combination of the French and English cuisine, and she gives recipes in the clearest manner, explaining as she proceeds the why and wherefore of every alight process. Such a lecture course is of incalculable advantage, not only to young girls who aspire to be first-class house-mothers but to the majority of matrons who are too often lacking in the best qualifications of a thorough housekeeper. , I should be delighted if Wellington would initiated the vital subject of culinary education for public schools. It would be no difficult matter to render workable, for the city can boast of a number of energetic women who are ever willing to lend a helping hand for public or private welfare, and as a committee carry out the plan of a weekly lesson to each school, and a periodical examination into the progress of the girls in their new study. But I suppose the project must come through Parliamentary channels which are proverbially long and tedious. I am surprised that the able Minister fir Education has not made the idea his own and acted upon it. Perhaps the thought did not occur to him. ’Tis not too late now even. . rr’; ’• Elisb.