SOUTHLAND D.L.F. PICNIC.

Otago Witness, Issue 2651, 4 January 1905, Page 76

SOUTHLAND D.L.F. PICNIC.

Dear Dot, — Now that our picnic has come and gone, and as I was requested by the D.L.I 1 , to give an account of it, lam going to try to do so, though. I am of opinion that some abler pen than mine should have had the task of describing it. The morning of the 26th inst. dawned fine, though a strong gale was blowing, so we were up early and got ready for our journey. Leaving home at a quarter to 6, we boarded the train at Browns, and there we had the pleasant surprise of meeting Man Ami and Pioneer, who were bound for Winton. However, Sir William Hawke and I persuaded them to come •to Riverton with us to the picnic. At Winton Rata Con joined our band, and we had a •good time discussing one thing and another till we reached Makarewa, where we exchanged the Lumstien train for the Riverton one. We arrived about 11 o'olock, fvilly expecting to .meet quite a number of Invercargill D.£.F., but we were doomed to disappointment, for tihe Invercargill train did 'not arrive till half an hour late. While we were waiting for it, Abig ail came and 'spoke to us, and we' were very glad to- meet her. W-hen the train steamed in itwasnot very itong before Ceres, Ita-, A. g..S , Zeaiia, Best .of Friends, and other D.L.F. made their appearance, and after, D.L.F. greetings had been exchanged, we started off on our way 'to the picnic ground, with Ceres for v a guide. After crossing the bridge we wound our way round the point, and Ceres soon seleoteS an ideal ""spot for ihe picnic, with the sea on one side and the bush on the other. We seated" ourselves on trie grass, and had a rest, while refreshments and fruit were handed . round, and every one -did justice to, tlie "inner man." A little "while afterwards some one proposed going down to meet some D.L.F. who were coming by the 1.30 train, .so a few of them started off, and the'res* of us, with a *" Hawke" sailing over \\s, went down to the beach, and oh, it was grand' to -see the great, waves come rolling in. Rata Con took thie advice of the D.L.F., and was a second Canute the Dan© as he," stood on the beach and' let the waves •come splashing in; but, my word, didn't he iun^wben the water came, up to his' boot-tops. We had races, etc.7"aaid then we set off to .meet the rest of the D,L.-F. After meeting some ■• of them we came across a photographer, .so we asked him if ne would' take our photos, which he kindly consented to do. We all scrambles through a gate, and got behind a gorse hedge, , which was to be our background. When we were all seated ready for the snapshots to be taken, the photographer said; "The -sun is very ,stro.n'g," and naturally, of course, we all gazed with wondering eyes up at the ' sun,, when ''click" ,went, the, camera.. /Oh, I am sure .we must have cracked the glass. . He took two other_snapsh<rts, and I hope one of them 'at least. T^ill turn out good enough- to appear in the Witness, that we-, went ■back to the picnic camp anS .started playing . twos-ana-threes, filling the gap, ,etc. j Tftree. or four stray. visitors joined in, the* game, anS - •siings were kept very lively till every one was getting tired from the 'heat and running, so we propos«d having lunch, to be followed by a w.alk,round to .see the regatta. We were juafJ ,in time tq see the last boat race, after which we hurried down to 'catch the tram, but when we arrived we found we iad fully an hour to ' wait. "After bidding good-bye to A. S. S. and Ita, who left in an earlier. train, than ours, we .walked xound for a wrhile '«nd met The Rose,bua, Southern Cross, and a few oilier x^.L.F. -whose norms de plume I forget. Soon afterwards we boarded our _train, and af ter,bidding good-bye to our D.L.F. friends, we were not long before we haS left Riverton far behind,and our thoughts were turning to home, sweet home, which, we reached iiTdtie time, tired, but happy, after spending a. ,veiy enjoyable day among the D.L.F. J It is the first D.L.F. picnic I have attended, but I trust \it will, not be--the last, though I hope to see a. larger number of D.L.F. at the next one. With kindest regards to all the D.L.F., not forgetting the editor and yotirself,— Yours truly, ROSE-A-BUD. [Rose-a-Bud has made a "very g^od beginning at descriptive writing, and she need not hesitate to take tho duties of scribe on her shoulders at the next picfiic she attends. I trust the photograph will be a' .success., -and that the L.l. will shortly have^th© pleasure of seeing the grotip .aniong the Witness illustrations.—DOT.] Dear. Dot,— Since last ,1 /wrote 'to you 'the holidays have come,'arid gone, -and most people have again settled- down to the oia routine of everyday -work. -But although^ at -work again . amid pur usual surroundings, -it is with a sense.qf .'extreme pleasure that we look back on -our holidays. This season, I did not, as has been my. usual proceeding, go away for a prolonged holiday, but like ia good girl stayed at 'homo for once and. enjoyed myself by at- ' tending Tegattas, sports, picnics, etc. Of all the picnics I attended so far, the In- ' Tfl:?* 3^ 111 was the most 'enjoyable. , Although not as numerously attended as anticipated, it was in every way a success. We started for the station shortly before 10, and amvedat the Wallacetown Junction just as the, tra,in stopped, and the fun began directly we boarded the train, and was kept up all through the day. Arriving at Riverton we proceeded to the camping ground, which~we readied after a trump of a. mile or two. The contents of the baskets were now inspected ana sampled, .after which Ceres, Zeaiia Abigail, and another D.L.F. set off for the station to bring ai on^ any othex j> >ll<F- w]lo m arrived by the seoond; train, , They were no sooner gone than another two of the partyone of whom afterwards turned out to be Titlark—went for a wander around the beach returning some time later -with a large bundle of ferns, after a walk along the sand the rest of the party indulged in various games, such as twos-ana-threes ana gap in the ring, ana in this manner the afternoon was passed away very , enjoyably. But, dear Dot, I forgot to mention that we or at least some, of t IS , had our I pnotoß taken. I am sorry to say that Zeaiia Ceres, .the rert «rf the D.L.F. who went to the station, not ha,ving returned, were unavoidably left out, a* was also Titlark and companion. *?£?*£ T *l ar | ce ' amount of speculation as to the iaentity of one person at tne picnic • If t ™l were i q ,) lit l ™ystifiea in that direction. Tttlk aW ••* dark horse," here was one most certainly, ana my curiosity being screwed to, breaking point, I resolved to find out. In this I succeedea, after promising not to disclose in my notes whether the writer was male or female, *n& was quite -relieved to hear that the stranger had written over the noni ac plume of Titlark. I heard later that Titlark ana Zeaiia rather enjoyed themselves returning home; in fact, I believe tiiat Zeaiia met

' with a slight accident. It doesn't pay to sleep in railway carriages, does it, Zeaiia? Taken all ■through, the day's outing was a thorough success, and all owe their thanks to Zeaiia and Ceres for the admirable way in which they kept things going and made everything pass off pleasantly. Late in. the evening we arrived home dusty and tired, but with a feeling that we had all thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Of all the D.L.F. at the picnic there was not one but did everything to make the day one to be remembered as one of pleasure and happiness for many a day to come. I -was rather disappointed at not seeing my friend, Southland Cynic, tuere. Amongst the little folk I had the pleasure of meeting Rata Con, Abigail, Pioneer, Ceres, and Zeaiia — all old -acqtiaintances of mine, although some of them did not recognise me at first. And now I nvust close, with love to Dot and alltheL.F. from,— Yours truly, WILLOW xsKOOK. [There is an air of mystery about some of Willow Brook's remarks which will nc doubt be elucidated by her fellow picnickers, and will be a source of speculation to those who were not so fortunate as to be members of that enjoyable picnic party. — DOT.]