LETTERS FROM THE LITTLE FOLK

Otago Witness, Issue 3030, 10 April 1912, Page 77

LETTERS FROM THE LITTLE FOLK

Motto: —We write for the benefit of other*, not for onrielve*. £ST letter to contain more than 460 wort*. Dear Dot Once again I take the pleasure of writing to your page. I have been home from Ma he no a week now. Last Thursday three of us went to Oamaru to the Floral and Garden Fete, which was celebrated in ; the Public Gardens, and we thought it was well worth going to see. The procession of children, dressed to represent the various Eastern nations and almost every other nationality', was exceedingly good, and the children who acted were worthy of great praise. One little girl who greatly attracted my attention and admiration was dressed as a nurse, and she looked so very neat, and received a prize too, I think. The lire brigade was also very amusing and comical. I was sorry I didn’t see the gondola and the children’s maypole dance, but we had to leave so soon for the train. Another feature on the programme which won the admiration of all was the battleship New Zealand, represented by a motor car, and decorated as a boat, and manned by a crew of small boys, dressed so neatly in white sailor suits. Afterwards the children received a ride on it for threepence. The gondola on the garden lake won most of the children’s pennies for rides. It really was an ideal day for the occasion, although at intervals it was extremely hot. The Gardens looked very nice with their gay flowers and nicely-trimmed borders. Altogether we spent a very enjoyable day at the i fete, and it is beyond my power to describe j to you what it was like. Did you go to the Dunedin one, Dot? The night before we left our farm, which was sold last January, about 150 of the neighbours assembled in the bairn to wish father and mother farewell and bestow on them parting gifts, as tokens of the esteem and affection in which they were held by the residents of the district. They received a travelling rug, an easy chair each, and mother got a pretty silver afternoon lea service, and father a silver-mounted walkingj stick. The assemblage was kept pp till ! about 4 o’clock in the morning, then they i all returned home, thoroughly tired out after ! their pleasant evening. This year I re--1 ceived two books for the Outlook puzzle j prizes, and I have read them both. They , are entitled “The Wonderful Gate” and “A | Daughter of the West,” or “ Ruth Gywnett, I Schoolmistress,” and they are both very nice. ■ Last month I paid my first visit to a denj fist's to have six teeth extracted. Although i it was quite a novelty to me, I do not wish j to go again in a hurry. Last Friday we 1 experienced a heavy hailstorm, preceded by ! thunder and lightning. Most of the farmers | about here are stacking or threshing. I must i close now, with love,.—Yours truly, i MOONFLOWER, [Oamaru was luckier than Dunedin in the I way of weather for its fete, Moonflower. The 1 morning of the one here was just dreadful, I and though it cleared up in the afternoon everything at the Gardens was rather wet and' depressed-looking. However, it was a great success, and our reserves ought to look most beautiful soon as a result of the money taken. —DOT.] Dear Dot, —It is over three weeks since I last wrote a letter to the page. I think I will tell the D.L.F. a story, " The Animals’ Convention.” —Once upon a time the animals met in the middle of the woods to settle a question which had caused many disputes 1 among them. They came from every quarter, ; all sorts of birds and beasts, clean ones and i dirty ones, hairy ones and bare ones, many | very handsome ones, and some too ugly to I mention. When they had all got to the j meeting place, Mr Elephant took the chair, | and the Polar Bear sat opposite to him. The Chimpanzee sat in the notch of a tree, I because he had to nurse his little grandson, i The Elephant cried out “Order! Order!” and i the Panther said he would take some venij son, if you please, for he thought he had to I order his dinner. Instead of which the EleI pliant swung his trunk round that way and ' knocked the Panther into the middle I of the next field. (To be continued.) — ! I will close row with a riddle: j J met a London scholar coming over the I London bridge; he drew off his hat and drew off his coat. Could you tel! me the | name of the London scholar? With love to I all and yourself,—Yours trulv. RED ROSE. Dear Dot. —This is my first letter to the page, and I hope you will accept me as one of your Little Folk. I go to school, and am in the Fifth Standard. I like going to school; we drive. We have four miles to lx>.

so it does not seem a very long distance, but we think it fajr enough if the trap and horse are wanted and we have to walk. Our Sunday school picnic is on Friday, and we all are looking forward to having a good time. As this is my first letter to the page- I will close. With love to Vogel, Bed Rose, Princess Edna, Silver Bell, and all other L.F.. the editor, and yourself, —Yours truly, MOSSBUBNITB. [I jam very gl«d to hear from you, Mossburnita I hope your picnic was a success. — DOT.] Dear Dot, —It is a good while now since I wrote to the page. We are not getting very good weather down here. If it is not raining it ig_blowing. We are still milking for the factory. I have had a veTy bad cold for about a week, and I think it is getting worse. 1 will write you a piece of poetry, "Nell and Her Bird": Good-bye, little birdie! Fly to the sky, Singmg and singing A merry good-bye. Tell all the birdies Flying above, Nell in her garden Sends them her love. Tell how I found you Hurt in a tree; Then when they're wounded They'll come straight to me. I'd like to go with you If I could fly; It nuist be so beautiful Up in the sky! Why, littlo birdie— Why don't you go? You sit on my finger, And shake your head " No." He's off! Oh, how quickly And gladly he rose; I know he will love me Wherever he goes.

It's wrong io be sorry— I ought to be glad; But he s the best birdie That ever I had. I think I will stop. With love to all the D.L.F. and yourself,—Yours truly, I "PEEPING THROUGH THE i KEY-HOLE. 1 Dear Dot, —This is a beautiful day, so I decided to write you a few line® (in eunI shine). Yes, Dot, I am kept very busy, certainly, but I have a sister about 14 years :of age, so she helps me a good deal. She ; still goes to school, but for all that she j always does a little in the morning before 1 school time, and as the old saying is, "Every little helps!" There is a dance tomorrow night (Tuesday), so I suppose all the young folk will be looking forward to that, as it is the only sort of enjoyment we can have up here. Our Sunday school picnic has been postponed, so it is to be on the 22nd of March now. We have had another week of bad weather. If it continues much longer I am afraid the farmers that, have grass to lead in yet will get it ruined; in fact, one of our neighbours was telling us he didn't think it would be of any use —the remainder he had still in the stook. My sister is thinking of writing to the page, so I have been telling her she should make a staTt, as that is all one wants. After they get a staxt they don't feel backward m writing again. We have a good many apples and plums this year. There are not many pears. I think this is all my news for the present. With love to Loreen Erroll, Frolic, Young Bare Feet, Helen, The "Girl in Love, Lily in the Wilderness, Princess Ada, Princess Trill, Princess Edna, Mistress Dinah, Red Rose, Vogel, and all the L.F., not forgetting yourself, —Yours truly, . SILVER BELL. ' [I am glad to see your sister has carried out her intention of becoming a D.L.F., Silver Bell. The more the merrier, you know—DOT.] ' Dear Dot, —I hope you are keeping well. I take a great interest in your page. We have three cows and two pigs. I am six years old. I am in the First Standard. I have a pony to ride part of the way to school.—Yours truly, I GLADYS. Dear Dot,—lt is a very long time since I wrote to the dear old page, so I will make; a start to write a short letter now. We are having very fitful weather here just now —sometimes fine and sometimes stormy. The harvest here is very late indeed, very few having any crop stacked. I eaw a letter from Forest Queen in last week. She is my cousin, and we are great friends. I am reading a book just now entitled " Aunt Jane of Kentucky." It came with a new lot of books we got into our Public Library. It is a very funny story, and I like it very much. We also got " Anne of Green Gables " and " Anne of Avonlca," very nice stories also. I have not seen a letter from Heart's Ease for a long time. I used to know her, but she went away from here, and I have not heard from, her since. We have two cows here, and I milk them. I only got the bucket kicked over once. I don't think I have written anything worth reading, eo I I will close. With love to Peggy Primrose, : Cherry Ripe, Rosalie, and all the Little Folk. Yours trulv, YANKEE DOODLE. [I hope- you have not made a rash boast about the milk bucket. Yankee Doodle. Have you had it kicked over again 6ince you wrote?—DOT.] Dear Dot, —The weather is very cold just now. We are trapping rabbits, and have a I good many skins. Easter will soon be here. 1 Our roads are terribly bad just now. Haymaking is all over. The gardens are looking better than they did a few weeks afro. Everybody has plenty of grass about here this year for the cattle and horses. Dear Dot, in the footnote you put to my last letter you said you wished I would reserve n corner of the Catlins bush for you. but I Glink you will need to live to a great age before it is all chopped down.—Yours trulv, j COWBOY JACK." ! [I am glad to hear that there is still 1 plenty of bush left. Cowboy Jack, enough to last my lifetime, at any rate, and perhaps yours.—DOT.] Dear Dot, —Again I take up my pen to write you a few lines. My last letter was &o small I could hardly find it. I think I must try and write a bigger letter. My , brother is home from Orawia, and he has started a Sunday school at Tautuku. To-day is my birthday, and I am 13 years old. I This "is the third year I have written lo j the page, and I have seven more years to | write yet. On Tuesday I rode to Catlins to meet my brother. I left home at 7 o'clock, and got homo again at 3 o'clock. I must now ~lose. as mother is wanting the pen and ink. With love to all the D.L.F. and yourself, —Yours truly, SAILOR BOY. [Many happy returns of your Sailor Boy. You chare, the honour of March 17 with St. Patrick.—DOT.}

Dead: Dot, —I sometimes take a looTr over your page, and in the Otago Witness of the 13th 1 noticed, in a letteT from Frolic, a very good description of a bird. It was clear enough to tempt me to take down Buller's " Manual," and with the aid of that I had not much difficulty in identifying the bird as the pied stilt (Tutumata). The native snipe belongs to the Auckland Islands, and the little snipe to the Littlo Barrier and the Chatham®, and neither of them agrees in colour with the description given. Here is Buller's description of the pied stilt:—Back of neck, back, and wings, greenish black; tail, ash; remainder, including a band over the shoulders, white; bill, black; legs, red. Measiuements in inches: —Length, 15 ; wing (the closed wing, from the point to the bend at top), 9.6: bill, 2.8: tarsus (lower part of leg), 4."—Yours truly, H. W. [This is a letter which will intereet all D.L.F. who are Nature-iovers—which means everyone. I hope—and especially Frolic, who described the bird referred to.—DOT.] Dear Dot, —It is a long time since I last wrote to you, so I think I will write you a few lines to let you know I am still alive. We are having very bad weather here lately. I got second prize for a map in the Orepuki Show. I think I will tell you a story about a fox and the grape*. —Once upon a time a fox saw some grape 3 hanging on a. wall. He said he liked grapes. The fox jumped at them and did not reach them, so he tried again and again. When he found out that foe could not reach them he said that he did not like grapes, because they were sour.— I must close now, as i* is time for Blanket Bay—Yours truly, TOBY. Dear Dot, —I was pleased to see my first letter in print We are harvesting just r.ow. I have not had a ride on the coil yet. We have another pet lamb, which we call Buttons. He is a terrible lamb to butt. W T hen I was playing in the paddock where he was he would come up to me and give me such butts. I have another rabbit, a black and white one. -It is such a pretty little thing. I must close now. With love to all the D.L.F..—Yours truly, FANCY BUTTER MAKER. [What a pugnacious little lamb that must be of yours! Do you know what that word means, I wonder?—DOT.] Dear Dot, —I thought I would pen you a few lines, as I had nothing else to do. We are back to school again, and I am not | sorry, for I like school. Wo are having | horrible weather lately, and the ground is terribly wet. Hurry up, Irenio, and answer my letter. Have yoii forgotten the page altogether? I saw Jack, Sam. and Pete'spiece of poetry in the Witness, and I saw a young man who worked in the mine, but he did not have very big feet. I am still waiting for Sh?ilah's auto. I sent her mine, and did not get hers in return. I did not go anywhere for my holidays, but I enjoyed them all right. We have not very many apples this year. There was a slight frost in the early part of the year, and that affected a lot of them. The flowers in our garden are very pretty We have still Ri i few roses in flower. I am very fond of reading, and some of the books are:—"The Wonder Child," " Rifle Rangers," " Torn Heart," " Deerfoot," " The Lost Jewel," and a few others. They .are a.ll nice books. As it is bed time I will close. With kind regards to Iremo, Hiram Green, Ethel Burn, Bonny Jean, Lady Sue, Queen Totty, Budge, and Toddy, not forgetting yourself,—Yours truly, BLACK PANSY. Dear Dot, —Here I take up my pen again for a few lines to the page. I wrote a letter the other day, but mislaid it somehow, and have not seen a sign of it since. I mean to become a D.L.F. in earnest now, and let everyone know I am one, so am sending Is 6d in stamps for a badge. What very unseasonable weather we are having—so cold, quite a change for our district Everything is late, and I do not think some of the fruit will ripen at all. as it is so very cold. We had cur annual school picnic on the Ist March. It was a perfect day, and on the whole we had an enjoyable picnic. We are having a sale-of-work here on March 23. I am keeping house for my brother and his three children. It is very nice to be your own mistress. Dear Dot, it is over two years since I joined the page, and I am afraid I have not been a very good correspondent, but I mean to turn over a new leaf and write more in the future. The next time I go to Dunedin I hope you will allow me to come and see you, as I should very much like to. On a cold 1 evening my three niecei and myself sit round the fire, and I read to them. Lately I have been reading " Uncle Tom's Cabin." What a splendid book it is, but how sad! Poor old Tom! How cruel they were to him, but. oh, what a faith he had! He would not five in, no matter what they did to him. )o you remember. Dot, where those two girls hid in the garret, and Tom knew it, but would not tell where they were, although he was whipped to death through not telling? How awful it was in the times of slaves! How cruelly they were treated, and what a cruel man that Legre was! I wonder if thero are more men like him in this world. Well, Dot. I am afraid this is a very uninteresting letter, so will stop. With love to the Little Folk and vourself, —Yours truly, REDWING 111. [There will always be cruelty in the world, I am afraid, Bodwing 111. but there is not nearly so much now as there was even a generation ago. We are learning better things; don't you think so? —DOT.] Dear Dot, —It is very wet. and the cret'ks are very high. I was at ihb monster picnic at Black Gully. I will tell you what I did. Wo left home about 10 or half-past, and got there about 12 o'clock and had our dinner, and then I went up one of the gullies and came down in a sledge. And then I went down to the place where the sports were, { and I won a money-box. After a while wo i went \ip to the lake, and saw five or six ! people taking photos. Then we Paw a lizard i t.rying its best to catch some sandflies, but j I think they escaped. I think I will close. I With love to all the D.L.F and yourself.— ' Yours truly. MONKEY TOWN. [I am glad you enjoyrd your picnic, Monkey Town. I suppose there will not be many more now this summer. —DOT.] Dear Dot, —It is just about two weeks I since I last wrote, but as I had nothing to | do, I thought I would write to pass away i the time. We are having very wet weather i in town hero, but we had a few lovely days ' last week. The Invercargill Regatta was ! he'.d last week, and it was such a wet ' day, but for all the rain thero were a lot of people there, and the wharf was jujt crowded. I was at a picnic last week, and it was a lovely day, so a few of us went into the bush for a walk, though thero were no flowers to get. It was nice and rool in the bush, snd after a while we came back and had tea. and'then started for the station, which was a little way off. It was about half-past 7 when we arrived in town, and we wcto tired, but pleased with our daVff outing. You asked me where I was going for my holiday. I had meant to go to the North. Island, but I have changed my mini now, / at I don't think it is very nice weather to I go on such a long trip. I am sending

stapjpo for some auto-cards I must close ug.r. «« it is getting late. With kind regards to all my comrades and voureelf,— Yours truly, LADY" LEAF. Dear Dot, —It is a long time since.l last ■wrote to the. page. It is a lovely day today, and everything eeems nioa and fresh. We have a lob of pears this year, but they are not ripe yet. I Lave a lot of flowers in pots, and they look very nice when they are out in flower. I have one brother and one sister writing to tho page. I did not go anywhere for my holidays this year. Well, dear Dot, a I cannot find enough news to toll you, I will write a story called " The Fox and the Cat."—One morning as a cut was taking a walk In the wood she saw a fox coming towards her. With a. smile she said, " Good morning, Mr Fox. I a,m pleased to have met you. Aren't we having very fine weather?" Now the fox was not a humble animal, by any means, and he was rather taken by surprise when pussy spoke to lnin, so he stood looking at her rather rudely for a time. At length he found hia tongue ,and said, "My dear little mousecater, where did you get the pluck to speak to mo about the weather? You are only & plain tabby cat. and you know you do nothing but hunt for mice all day. Now just confess if what I say is not perfectly true; for instance, how many tricks do you know?" " The only clever thing that I know," answered the cat, " is to spring into a tree and hide myself if any other animal cornea after me." "Why, who told you that waa clever?" cried the fox. "I myself cannot count all the tricks that I know, and over and above thait I possess a bagful of cunning. Poor pussy. I am sorry for yon." Almost before Mr Fox said his last word a pack of hounds rushed in view. The cat at. once plunged into the fork of the nearest tree, where in safety she could watch the hounds oatch the unhappy fox. " Poor lir Fox," she cried. " your many tricks audi your bagful of cunning don't seem of as much use to you as my little bit of cleverness is to me. It is a great pity that you did not learn to spring up into a tree."— I got a prize this year called " The Luck of Ledge Point." I think I will close row. With love to Awkward Meg. Ethel, Little Girl. Dianthua. and Sweet Rocket, not forgetting yourself,—Yourb trulv. "FIND OUT. Dear Dot, —Here I once again take up my pen to write these few lines to the dear old page. I suppose you will think I have forgotten you altogether, but buch is not the case. I have been so busy lately with one thing and another that I have had no time for writing but I suppose it is always better late than never. I did pot go anywhere during the Christmas ana New Year holidays, as we were too busy; but we had six friends from town spending a> holiday with us, and I can assure you they kept things very lively. There was only one lady friend with them, so I did not feel very lonely with so many happy friends. Our house seemed so quiet after they all went away, and I missed them very much. But the best of friends must part; they can't always be together. I went to a moonlight picnic which was held on the Six Mile Beach a few weeks ago, and I really enjoyed myself immensely. I left home about half-past 7 p.m., and reached the beach at 8 p.m., finding quite a large gathering of people. The tide was very low, which gave us a nice clean hard beach to play games on. Some of the games which were played were: Two's and threes, fill up the gap, disappointment, bachelors' race, and a few others, which I cannot think of at present. After we had finished those gnmes we found that the tide was coming in and was giving us very little room, as time and tide wait for no man. So we all left for home, which some of them had a long distance to go to, I was very pleased that I did not have far to walk, as I was very fatigued after doing so much running about. I arrived home about half-past 10, and I wasn't long in getting into bed, and needed no rocking to sleep. Everyone seemed to have thoroughly enjoyed a very happy evening. Dear Dot, T notice a lot of 3XL.F. have been giving the names of a large number of books they have read of late; well, as I am not a lover of reading books myself. I cannot tell you a story, as I think I have only read threej books in my life. In fact, I don't approve of young girls going in for such a lot of reading as I have seen in my own experience. Young girls who have got so rmich interested in reading take up a book in the midst of their work, and sit quite comfortably. It seems as if they can't let that book leave their hands till it is finished, and let the other housework stand aside. I dcn't mean to say that they ought not to read books, because a good book educates a person; but some books they read are really of no benefit to them. If they would only get more interested in learning housework I think that in the long run they will get more benefit and comfort than reading fairy tales. I think I will give the D.L.F. a recipe for making a rainbow Madeira cake, and hope someone will spend a few minutes in trying to make it instead of reading:—Cream together 6oz of butter and aquarter of a pound of sugar; add by degrees lOoz of flour with two teaspoon fills of baking powder mixed in it; then add gradually four eggs, well beaten with just a little milk. Mix well, then divide the mixture into three; add to one 3oz of chocolate grated, the second colour with cochineal a nice dark pink, the third flavour with two teaspoonfuls of vanilla. Well gresso a lib cake tin; first layer vanilla, then pink, and chocolate on top. Sprinkle dessicated cocoanut, and bake in a moderate oven about one hour and i.-lialf. Dear Dot, I am going to spend a holiday at Invercargill, Bluff, and Stewart Island in a few weeks' time, and most probably will be staying in Invercargill for a considerable time, and hope that I may be able to visit the club. But I am afraid when the time comes I will feel rather ehy. With ki>id regards to all the D.L.F., not forgetting vour own dear self.—Yours truly, SOMEBODY'S LOVER. [I think your remarks about books are just a little too sweeping, Somebody's Lover. I quite agree with you that many girls read stories when thev should be doing other things, but a little self-training would soon prevent that. Reading of good books is necessary if wo want to enlarge our ideas at all. and the reading of novels, if kept in its right place, is quite a harmless occupation.—DOT.] Dear Dot,—This is my second letter to your page, so I hope to write a b\-ger letter U> you this time. It has been raining n&irly all day, but it is not raining just now. I think I will tell you a story to make the letter longer. The name of it is, The Three Sluggards. " The king of a country far off had three sonE. Ho liked one as well cs another, and did not know which to leave his kingdom to after his death, so when he was dying he called them all to him, and said: ' Dear children, the lazieei ll'lggard of the three shall be king after M6.' 'Then,' said the eldest, 'the kingdom is mine, for I am eo lazy that when I lay down to sleep if anything were to fall into my eyes so that I could not shut them, I should still go on sleeping.' The

second said: ' Father, the kingdom is mine, for I am so lazy that when I sit by the fire I would sooner have my toes burnt than take the trouble to draw them back.' The third said: 'Father, the kingdom is mine, for I am so lazy that if I were going to be hanged with a rope round my neck, and somebody were to put a knife into my hands to cut it. I had rather be hanged than raise my hand to cut it. When the father beard this, he said: Ycu shall the king, for vou are the fittest man."—Yours truly, ' MAGPIE. Dear Dot, —It is now some months since I last wrote to your page, but better late than never. The weather here this last few months has been very pleasant, but to-day it has broken, and we have our old friend the rain. We are now beginning to feel that winter is approaching; the days are get tins shorter, and the weather is colder, especially in the mornings. During the summer months several picnics were held here, both public and private ones. A party of us went to a place called Mahinapua. for a day'3 outing. I will now tell you about it. The day was ell that could be desired. We journeyed from here by train, the distance being close on 30 miles; but that we did enjoy, as there were many interesting 1 sights to be seen along the road. Well, we arrived at our destination fl'uat at noon, all feeling a little hungry after our journey. It was not long before we set to work and had the billy boiling and lunch ready. Afterward.? we decided to go down to see the lake. and to get to it we had to walk seme distance through a bush track. This is one of the prettiest spots on the Coast. At the! end of this beautiful track is the lake, and there, moored near the bank, were two steam launches, and the owners wero waiting to take us for a trip up Mirror Creek. We soon were seated in the boats, and away we vent, all as happy as could be. Round th? lake we went some distance before we turned up towards the creek. The lake is a picture. Water lilies have been planted all round, and they were ell out in flower, and looked very pretty. As the launches went along we could touch them with our hands The engineer of our launch then turned towards the creek, and as cur little boat glided along we could see the reflection of *'■•-• boat and the crew in the water. 1 think it is without exception the prettiest place I have ever seen. The creek is kiojt very wide, and growing on both sides are all nativj shrubs and trees and ferns in abundance. The whole way lip we could see in the water the reflection of all the bush round us, together with cur boatload, whenever we looked. Time was going on, and we had spent most of our afternoon in getting that far. We were sorry when we had to land, to think that our day was drawing to a close. Another tramp through the track to where we had camped; but this time we •stopped by the way to gather some ferns r.nd native shrubs. After our trip on the water v;e felt ready for tea, after which we had to prepare for home, as our train left about 6 o'clock. It was just dusk when wo arrived in town, and although a little tired, we were none the worse for our outing—and a very enjoyable one it was. Our swimming season has ended again for (mother year, and we were all sorry, as we do enjoy ourselves. Surf-bathing lias taken on here very much this year. Hundreds of pople were to be seen in the evenings having a dip in the surf. The club erected sheds on the beach this, year, and after business every evening all the members, with their basket containing their tea, could be making their way to the beach, where, after a swim, we would have our tea in the moonlight—and this we considered great. fun. Well, dear Dot. I must now conclude with lovo to all the D.L.F., not forgetting vourself.— Yours truly, OTIRA.

[What a lovely place Mirror Creek is, Otira. It is to be hoped that the bush will never be spoilt the way it so often is.— DOT.] Dear Dot, —As I have not written to you for a week or two I will now give you the news of the country. I am learning to play (he piano. We had an organ, but we sold it and got the piano, and I like the piano best. This is a bad year for the farmers, because the rain ha 3 discoloured the crops of oats and wheat. I like reading the Little Folks' letters, because some of them ;\re very interesting; especially the one 3 with stories. I like swinging very much; my brother end I put a swing up in the barn, but it was dark before we got it fixed. We have a good few plums this year, but they nra not so nice this year as last, on account <f the wet season. I think I will close, as I have to learn my school lessons yet. With love to all the L.F. and yourself.—Yours iruiy, WEEPING WILLOW. [I hope you have good times on that swing. Weeping Willow. It is gocd fun, isn't it?-DOT.] Dear Dot, —This is my first letter written to your page. May I become a Little Folk? I have left school, and am 11 years of age. I'll soon grow an old stager, won't I? We Ivnvo a nice garden; but of all the flowers we have I like the variously-coloured paper daisies the best. I believe the winter will be a severe one this year, as we are having rough weather here already. I like summer tho best of the four seasons. I would like to lie in a nice shady nook and read a book; but no such luck, for we are busy folk here. We are going to have some friends here at Easter, which I will like very much. Pig-hunting in the forest is a favourite pastime here. I know a roan who, while out pig-hunting, was chased by a hideous, sandy boar; and woebetide him if lie had boon caught! And as it was he . had his trousers split up, or rather, ripped, by its tusks as he was endeavouring to climb a branchless tree. He managed, however, to climb to the top. He afterwards said he did not know how he managed to get to the top of such a tree. I suppose fright sent him up at a quick rate. As this is my first letter, I think I will close now. With love to all the L.F., not forgetting l vourself. —Yours truly, TOUGH RAfi. [I daresay a good many of us would like to sing " Oh, for a booke in a shadie ncoke,'' as an old writer put it, all the summer ihrough; but the world wouldn't get along very well then, would it?—DOT.] Dear Dot, —Just a lino to let you know that we are having lovely veathar' dov.yn here. I am thinking of coming down to Dunedin at Easter, and hope to find you quite well. I hear that you are having your picnic at AVaikouaiti on Easter Monday, and I hope you and all the L.F. have a good time. I am sending you nine penny stamps, for which I wish you to send me 25 auto-cards. I think this is all the news this time, so I think I will close now. With love to you and all the D.L.F.—Yours truly, LIEUTENANT. [You will see the picnic is to be at Middlemarch, not Waikouaiti, Lieutenant. It is to be hoped the weather is kindly.—DOT.] Dear Dot,—lt is a long time since I wrote to your page. We are having very wet weather here. We are having balf-time school now, and we have got a new master.

I am 11 years old. We have led in our oats. We have sold all our cows but four. We have two horse 3. We have killed our pigs. I am in the Second Standard. I must now close.—Yours trulv, SHINGLES. Dear Dot, —I saw my letter in the L.F. page, and I must thank you sincerely for allowing me to join your happy band. Well, Dot. I must say that Longbush is a dull place, for people go through here very seldom. I wish I was living down in the South Island, for it i-eams to be a lively place. We have a small factory on our place, and my father and brothers milk about 00 cows, with the help of the Zoalandia milking machines. I have three sisters and six brothers, and I have one of my brothers in a college, and one Iw.s just left. Where are you going for your Easter holidays, Dot? I am thinking of .spending a fortnight, down iu Wellington. Hard Case Harry and Sandow must have some beautiful times; don't you think so? Well, Dot, I must stop writing now, for I think it is time I was in bod. With love to all the L.F. and yourself. —Yours trulv, INDIAN WARPAINT. [I am very glad to hear from you again, Indian Warpaint. Ninety cows must take a good while to milk, even with the help of machines.—DOT.] Dear Dot,—Once more I take up the pen to try and think of something interesting to write. We have been harvesting in real earnest this past week; but (he rain is on again to-night. Wo all went for a walk the other Sunday evening, and we have three kittens, which started to follow us, and as were were afraid of losing them we chased them back; but we had not gone very far until they were after us again, and we just had to let. them come. When it began to get dark we picked them up to carry them. You should have seen us, Dot! It did seem so funny to see us carrying three kittens 'along the read. Sometimes we would have ono each, then one of ns would get tired of it and put it down, and somebody else would take pity on it and then carry two. It is not often you see a lot of kittens going out for a walk; but we have decided, to shut them up at homo next time. There was a big fire in Milton over a week ago, a large store being burnt to the ground. We would have seen the fire from here had we been up, but we were all in the land of dreams, little, thinking that others were watching the work of years being so ruthlessly destroyed. Dear Dot, I could not help smiling when I was reading Lady Connie's letter in the Witness to-night. I, too, had the same experience with my bicycle a short time ago; but my brother was with me, and I got him to wash it in the creek, as he was doing that with his also before we could push them up the hill at the house. Bicycles were not made for clay roads. I am almost afraid to venture out now; but I went home on Saturday night and came back yesterday. I had a nice ride, only the wind started to rise when I was about half-way back. I quite enjoy reading Francis's notes on cooking. Hullo, Francis. I have not the pleasure of knowing you personally, but if you care to exchange p.c.'s with mo and send along your address I will make my own birthday cake next month and send you along a bit to sample; only I hope you don't suffer from indigestion—evidently not, judging by your recipe for making tea. I noticed in a book the other day that I picked up that Shakespeare had tho richest vocabulary used by any Englishman, and he used inly IG,OOO words, while an ordinary man can get along with 500 words; but if he wants to read newspapers and books he must know at least 2000 words. I came across such a pretty flower in the creek one day last week when taking out tho lunch. It was growing in any quantity. I brought a piece home to see what it was called, and it w'as monkey mush, or monkey flower. The piece I had found was covered with yellow bloom, but I believe it comes out in all colours—only yellow is the most common; but, strange to say, I had never seen it before. The flower itself is not unlike what we call snip-dragon, or rabbit's mouth. You surely don't think IS miles a long ride, Detective. Why, I accomplished nearly as far myself a few nights ago, although I will admit I was tired next day. I once cycled to Mosgicl from Milton and back within the 24 hours. It is the longest journey I have been yet. I nearly forgot I also went a 3 far as the Wai-rongoa Springs —which is six miles there and back from Mosgiel. and it is 26 from Milton to Mosgiel. I left Milton at a-qnarter to 9on Saturday night and arrived back at halfpast 8 en Sunday night. 1 enjoyed it very much, ,-nd felt none the worse next day. Well, dear Dot, I must bring this scroll to a close, or I will bo exceeding the woixi limit, if I have not already done so. Love to Fisher Girl, Cherry Ripe, 'Possum, and all my correspondents, not forgetting yourself, dear Dot—Yours trulv. ELMO ATHOL.

[I wish I had sc«n you and tho kittens, F.lmo Athol. You must have made a funny little party.—DOT.] Dear Ddt.—During the last few days there has been fine weather, although near the end of March there is little indication of harvest. True, the early-sown oats am cut, and in a few cases threshed, but the ordinary-sown oats are yet quite green; and the grass harvest that should have been threshed and bagged is, in tco many cases, lying in stcoks, becoming discoloured and ruined. Even already a few signs of autumn are approaching. In the early morning sharp hosts are folt. Also here and there on the deciduous trees a few green leaves may bo seen turning yellow—and to see the yellow and green leaves together looks very pretty. Arn't A Kiltie's Lassie and Snowdrift having a warm discussion over books? I have read a, good many books, and quite agree with A Kiltie's Lassie about Charles Garvice's books. They are all after the same style, and are quite harmful to tho mind. My favourite authors are George Eliot and Annie S. Swan. But I think this will be enough for bonks at the present. The flower show was held last February, and it proved a, great success, there being only one great drawback, and that was the bad weather. Last week the county surfacemen have been top-dressing the main road, and that has made it quite horrible to cycle on. There is just a small track at the side, and that is covered with stray stones; but it will soon be hard and firm again, for there is heavy traffic on it. The people hero go in very much for amusements" —outdoor especially. During the summer time tennis, bowls, and cricket are played, there being many interesting matches. There is a beautiful up-to-date tennis court and also a beautiful bowling gTeen. During the winter months hockey" and football afford good pastimes for those who feel that way disposed. There is also a nice skating rink, and once a week an up-to-date picture entertainment, which is alwava duly patronised by tho general public. "The Town Board is at present endeavouring to make arrangements to borrow enough money to bring water in for the benefit of the town from an adjacent hillside creek; and if this is successfully carried

J out it will prove a boon to the town in tho j time of fire or drought. As I have no more | news to tell I will close. With kind regards to Grace Gibson, Princess Yarra, Hiram Green, and vcurself.—Yours trulv. LADY GRACE. [V'hat a progressive little town yours i 3, Lady Grace. You must have quite a pleasant t;me with so manv amusements to take part ia if you wish.—D'OT.J Dear Dot, —I went to the Tuatapere sport 3 and I enjoyed myself very well. I was not running, because my big toe was too sore. I do not think I am going to the High School. There are 47 children going to our school. Dear Dot, I went to the pictures on Saturday night, and they were very good.— Yours truly, THE ABSENT-MINDED BEGGAR. Dear Dot,—Just a line to let you know that I have not forgotten you. I was very pleased to see my last letter in the Witness, so I thought I would write you another one. Has Longwood Blossom been to see you since she went to Dunedin ? I have not heard from her for a good while, but I hope to hear from her this week. Mother and I are going away soon for a holiday, and I think wo will go to Dunedin. If we do L.B. and I will try and get along to see you. We) have very few men now. We have eight altogether. My sister is up here to-day, and all the children. We are having very changeable weather lately—sometimes we have fine days, and other times it is wet. Well, dear Dot, I think I have told you all the news this time. I hope to see you when I come up to Dunedin.—Yours truly, LILY BLOSSOM.' [I hope I shall see you if you come up to town, Lily Blossom". You know where to find me, don't you.—DOT.] Dear Dot.—This is my first letter to your page, and I hope you will let me join your hi-ppy band. I have five brothers and two sisters. I am in the Second Standard at School. I am seven years old. We have two pigs and three cows. There are 42 children going to our school. We have a nice flower garden. I was at the Invercargil' sports. It i 3 a long journey from where I live to Invercargill. I think I will close now.—Yours truly, MOLLY BAWN. [I am very glad to hear from you, Molly Bawn, and have enrolled you as a D.L.F.— DOT.] Dear Dot, —Can you find room for me among your many correspondents? My sister writes to the page and takes a great interest in it. We have tho electric trams in Invercargill at last. We have waited for them a long time, and I hope they will be a success. We are not going away anywhere for holidays at Easter, but if it is fine we ■ hope to go to Ocean Beach on Easter Monday. It is a very nice place for a picnic. We went there for our Band of Hope picnic about two months ago, and greatly enjoyed it. We went roaming about the rocks making our feet very sore by jumping on to rocks covered with tiny little shells. Needless to say, wo made a wide detour to avoid these rocks on our return journey. It was very interesting to watch the little shellfish when they were disturbed crawling about trying to find a place where they would be safe from poking lingers and prying eyes. Some young crabs were scuttling about too, and one ran into a starfish and then changed its course rather hurriedly. We saw also some pretty little sea anemones, and when we touched them they closed up. I must close now.—Yours truly, REGINA. [That is just the very beach I should have liked to be on a few weeks ago, when I wanted to show a little girl some sea anemones. But, though we hunted and hunted in the rock-pools on our beach, we could not find one. You did not tell the D.L.F. what anemones are like. Some of them would be interested, I know. The little creatures consist of a small round body with a fringe of tentacles all round. These tentacles are like fingers, for they can curl in over the body just as our fingers do over the palm of the hand. The whole anemone is not puch bigger than half-a-crown, and is of a brownish shade. The tentacles close over whenever the little, central body is touched, because that is their way of catching food. The anemones live in one position always, growing on tho rocks; they cannot go in search of food, and hence have developed these sensitive " fingers " to enable them to secure it once it comes their way. I hope you will write again, and perhaps tell us more about the beach.—DOT.] Dear Dot, —I was at "the Oaniaru floral fete in tho Gardens, and it was very nice. The costumes were very good. The Mayjwle dance by the South School girls was the best, and the fairies were charming. We are going to have Easter holidays, and a regatta will be held here. I have a new skipping rope.—Yours truly, YELLOW CROCUS. [The only time I ever saw a Maypole dance was at Dr Barnardo's Home for Girls, when I was in England. The girls danced it out on the village green, end made a charming picture. I am sure those beautiful Oamaru Gardens would make a delightful frame for it, if you had a good day. All thte towns scum to be having floral fetes now. This is tho fourth I of. I hope vou enjoy your Easter bolfdays very much.— L)OT.] Dear Dot. —Winter is now approaching, and the long nights will soon be here. The public baths are going to close on April 31, for it is beginning to get too cold. II was at tho Oamaru floral fete that was held in the Public Gardens. There was a procession of decorated motor cars from the post office at half-past 1. There were a number of boys' races, and there were decorated bicycles, go-carts, tricycles, etc. Some people wore fancy dresses and came aa Hindoos. Indians, Chinamen, goblins, fairies, and gypsies. There was a barber's pole and a representation of the Indian Durbar. The best of all was a Dreadnought, with captain and sailors. It was mounted over the body of a motor car. There are to be schoojj sports on the 18th of April, when there are going to be races for boys and girls. Thero is going to be a regatta on Saturday, and there is to be a boat up from Dunedin to give excursion trios. With love to Dot and all D.L.F.—Yours truly, BRITANNIA. [You must have had a great time in the midst of that fun, Britannia. Was it tho first floral fete you have seen ? I hope tho proceeds were satisfactory, especially if it was in aid of the Gardens.—Dot.] Dear Dot, —On Wednesday afternoon I went to the Waiau Caves. Six of us went through them, and it took ua an hour or so. I had to do a good bit of scrambling, and! my candle kept going out. Well, that won't descril>© the caves. I am no good at describing anything, but I'll have a try. For about a-quarter of a mil© there is nothing extraordinary really to see, but 33 you go on the walls are covered with lovely white stalactites, like marble. In one place I had to nearly roll down it. It was an awful place for the others to get through. There are different names for the rooms in the cave, but I can't remember them all. At tho very

end there is a well, which is dry at present, though m other places there was water about, and, of course, I had to walk into it. -Uien tho others did the same, so we all had nice wot feet. We got home about half-past 5. Some day T hope to go through again, as tlioy are really worth seeing. On Sunday my cousin from Milton and a friend s.nd myself went up to the Maori Girl's Leap, ymere a Maori girl was supposed to have jumped over into the river; but I really can t see how she did, as there is bush "11 about it. There was a concert at Tuatapere last night, and my cousin sang two songs. I did not go, as it was too wet. Our apples are nearly all ripe, and the plums are blushed. Some of our apples weigh two and a-half pounds. We are leaving Clifden SS? i S V SU PP° SO I wi" be coming to Dunw« rfo T o ß W6 , Settlo down a S ain - I hope atht <..n reading a nice book tonight, called Little Lady Lee," by Lovett '™'. Tour Little Folk don't seem to rIW b< > oka - I only read one. and I didn t like it very much. I have no favourite author; they are all the same to £rv«W s f a P« s « e nearly ripe in the consenator, but I have not sampled them yet, and don t intend to. I found out what Happens when you eat sour cherries:. The other day Sunny Jim got me to go into his boat (it i, a tree hollowed out), and when we got out into the stream he madethe boat rock. I screamed, of course- and wanted to get out. but he only laughed and kept roe there. So I had to sit still, and when 1 got to the bank I sat down f<* n. wine to scothe my ruffled feelings, and then went for a wade, while the whole time ho mid Rubylocks's brother called me a baby. I don t want to go in it again. Yesterday they frightened me with their ferrets. They are full of mischief, of course, and I usually have to laugh in the end.—Yours truly, SCEPTRE. [So Sunny Jim has got to the teasing stage has he? It seems that all boys must pass tnat way. The only thing to do is to play their boys' gom.es with them and show the same pluck as they do. Is that too £,- io , do? You have not b{ « n v ery long in Clifden, Sceptre; do you know vet where you are going next? I'ou must tell me when you know, so that I may have vour new address.—DOT.] Dear Dot.—l suppose you are thinking I have forgotten you. All this week it has been bad weather, until yesterday; then yesterday and to-day have been good. I am nine years old. We are going to have another concert on the 26th of April. I am going to be in a song called "The sunny song," with Polly M'Dougall and lan Johnstone; and I am in another with nearly all the school children; it is called "The cats." The names of our songs are " High in the belfry," -The sleepy little school," and " A very funny man." There is also one for four girls, called "Mistress Mary." Another is called " Three grey geese."—Yours truly, IRONBARK. [I should think " The cats " may he amusing; are you allowed to mow and hiss? I suppose it never gets quite so far as an actual fight. You must tell me how you get on at the concert.—DOT.] Dear Dot,—This is my first letter to your page. I will describe to you some of the insects up here. We have seen the stick insect, and' know what it is like before it turns into the stick form. My brother brought in some kind of insects that we thought were scorpions. They had long feelers and six legs; j'ou could easily tell which was tho malo, for it was far bigger than the female, and the little one was just like a bumblebee. Perhaps you could tell me what these are, Dot.—Yours truly. KAHIKATEA. [I am very sorry that I cannot even suggest from your description what your insect might be; but could you send a specimen to Magister in a matchbox? He might be able to tell you. You make a natural enough mistake in supposing the larger of the two insects was the male; but the probability is that, that was the female, for with most species of insects the female is the larger. It is notably the case with spiders. I hope you will write again and tell us more about your observations.—DOT.] Dear Dot, —It is a while since I last wrote, so I am going to write a few lines now. 1 saw Greenbush's letter in. tho Witness. I saw the D.L.F. photograph in tho Witness, but there was only one that I knew. We ars getting a new teacher on Monday. We are only milking 13 cows now. One of tho cows kicked my brother over, and another one kicked mo too. I will close now, as it is bedtime.—Yours truly, BAMBOO. [I think you will have to open a school for manners for those cows, Bamboo; this kicking over at milking-time cannot be allowed to go on, can it ?—DOT.] Dear Dot, —We shall soon be leaving " deaT, dusty, but delightful Wellington," as Fra terms tins city. We are very sorry to leave, for our holidays of six" weeks have boon more than doubled. The boss has taken on another boy. but I am still on till the last clay as guide and comforter in case his heart would break. He had an accident! since I have been with him. but is getting all right again. Tho Old Philosopher and the mater and this straight-back spent a. very enjoyable evening at his place last Tuesdav, and if he were in Dunedin I would give him a first-class recommendation to the D.L.F. concert, for he is a professional at tlie piano; and then we would get someone to allow him to have a danoe. Nsraraunga Kaiwarra is a funny nom., isn't it' Love to all. " Coming home, no more to loani !"_Yours truly. BIMBO No. 7. P.S.—We sre breaking our journey to see Timaru. I add a few lines on our departure. To my Wellington Boss. H;id I never known thee, master, Never had I known thy name. I hod never felt thin sorrow. Never had this aching pain. I was seriously afraid mv boss wouldn't survive my departure from Wellington, so I have dedicated these lines to him. However, I'm too far away for him to dust. Bimbo's j'ackeh; and he oan't crow, for he is his mater's darlin' Bimbo, the "Benjamin" ot his family. The babies of the family are jilways spoiled wee darlints—eh. Boss? If this meats your eye. Boss, rub it in to the Old Philosopher, "and spare the baby. When tho golden sun is setting. And from care your thoughts ere free; When of others you are thinking, Won't you sometimes think of me? BIMBO No. 7. rßimbo. vou are a disresi>ectful young colonial to address poems and remarks to your master in this familiar fashion; but I feel under the reaming fam.ilia.ritv a warm regard and respect, so am publishing your letter just as it stands. You do not say when we may expect you back, but I have no doubt that Bert and Francis and Charley Boy will have a very genuine welcome for you whenever you come. —DOT.] Dear Dot. —Did you have much fun in the Christmas holidays? I had a very jolly time of it. There was a picnic at Manuka Creek on Christmas Day, but I did not go

to that, nor did I go to the Lawrence Show on Boxing- Day; but I went to the "Waitahuna Show tho day after, and had a veryenjoyable afternoon of it. I just got home from the show in time to get ready for the concert and dance, both of which were very good. Needless to say, I enjoyed the last pert of the programme most. There was nothing on tho next day, so I had a rest; and in the afternoon I had a visit from Pomona. Pomona looked very nice riding in the show, but unfortunately she did not get a prize, as Snig, her boTse, was unlucky enough to get kicked cr marked in some way or other. On Friday afternoon we set off to ■walk to the Gully School picnic, which mas being held three miles away. We thought we would never get there, but all things come an end, and so did our journey. We wero not long there before afternoon tea was handed round, and, needless to say, we did justice to the good things provided. All the children's races were run eff before we got "up. so we did not see the most interesting: part 01 tho picnic. About half past 5 ray cousins and I left the ground, and started. for their grandmother's place, about threequarters of a mile distant. After we had tea wo went over to the Athenaeum for tho dance. Although tho- night was warm, wo danced iwto the small hours of the morning. and had a very good time. Now Year's Dav turned out a lovely day. so wo hurried through our work and went to 12 o'clock Mass: and pftex that we went to the local athletic sports. Fortunately the day kept fine, and all the events wero got off without a hitch. Then there was a hurry and a rush to get home and get the usual evening work on a farm done (milling cow:-, feeding pigs, calves, etc.) in order to get back in time for the concert. The hall was packed to the doors, and the concert was a greet success in every way. Directly the concert was over the hall was cleared, the seats removed, and the floor swept for a dance. I enjoyed this dance more than any of the others, although I had a capital time at them all. It was broad daylight when we sot home, and tho rain was coming down in forlents; but we did not mind that. We wero onlv too thankful it did not rain through tho day. Indeed, it was very considerate of ;t having a spell just then, seeing that it only cleared up for that weeks One .Saturday afternoon two or three weeks ago some fnendis asked me to come and pick cherries with them at a place a few miles away. At about half-past 1 we started off in the gig prepared for a good cuting. For the first two miles the road was smooth, and everything went splendidly; but after that ruts and short, steep hills weTe the order of the day. We did get a shaking! I laughed -ill I was sore. After a good deal of joking and jolting we reached our destination, a.ncl received a very warm welcome. As soon as we had afternoon tea we all departed to the garden of cherries. The trees were growing on the side of the hill, and were just laden with fruit. We started picking, and I know I picked a great many. I had a billy to fill, but I'm afraid my hsnd went oftcner to my mouth than to the billy About halfpast 5 my friend had to go and milk her cows, so while the others went on picking we two went down the paddock for the cows. After she. had her cows milked we turned the cows out, and went up to the house. They were having their tea when we went up. so we put the milk through the separator, and then we went in and had ours. Aftor tea we prepared for home. The horse was ■very frisky, and did not even want to wait long enough for us to get into tho trap. Three of us managed to scramble in, and Kathie would stand no longer, so away we went in great style, leaving number four to "follow the leader." After she- got warmed up a bit ehe was not so tricky, and our driver let her go round in a ring until the poor fourth came no. Then we started f-.jr home, which wo Teached at dark thoroughly satisfied after our day's outing. Wo finished up the holidays bv attemdinsr the four days' mission here., conducted by the Rev. Father Creagh. For the rest there lies been nothing on the programme except a long spell of bad weather; but as everybody has been growling over that. I will come to a full stop. With k'-ndest Tegards to Dot and all her Little Folf.—l once more fi"n mvself FROSTY. [You are a wise little person. Frosty, to steer clear of the subieet of the weather: it is no use. is it? We make matters no better by talking. I am so glad to hear how much you enjoyed your Christmas holidays; you eeem to have had most varied amusement. It maiist take a pood deal of zest to dance till daylight, end then go gaily through tho work of the dlay.—DOT.] Dear Dot,—l am so sorry I did not send in a contribution for Special Subject Week. but, really, it was not until tho 20th that I had anything approaching an inspiration for the story. As I liaVo not hitherto written tales of any sort it took me some time to lmzzle one out, and when light did at last dawn I suddenly remembared the date, and so had to give it up. When do you hold another Special Subject Week, Dot? I shall have another try when you do. I very much enjoyed reading Sunny Heart's little story about the " Proud Paling Fence" in last week's issue. It appealed greatly to ;ne. for we have the loveliest sweet peas growing along an iron fence, with wire-netting for a support. To mte those peas do not seem mere flowers, but fairies pretending to be flowers. Bach individual sprite is the moat delicate thing imaginable, but taking them en masse they make a show of colours that would defy a tropical sunset. Some are 'iko feathery clouds that have been caught by a stray beam from the dying sun. while others glow like the very heart of old Sol himself. There are pale, pale heliotrope blooms, with hints of blue near the stem, reminding ane of the blueness that precedes the first flush of dawn, and others that seem to burn with the rich purple fire of an amethyst. Some are streaked and pied like a fairy's wing, and others are pale with a delicate border of pink or violet like tho hem of an elfin dress. Then we have peas as white as untrodden snow, others resembling folds of silk on which two lights—lamplight and firelight—are playing, and still moro which make one dream of twilight and dawn woven together into a few dainty petals. Just now I am jealously guarding a bed of pansies from the usual nightly slug-raids, and am beginning to reap some benefit for my efforts, as the flowers are looking "whole" again. If pansies taste as sweet as they look, it is no wonder the slugs are fond of them. One of the prettiest in my collection is a large pansy that tries very hard to be cream in colour, but cannot succeed because a beautiful hint of mr.uvo will insist on creeping into its petals. Near the edges this shade is grourxd in little irregular marks, while from the heart of the flower it spreads outwards as the colours do in an aurora, gradually merging into paleness. Another pretty pansy is one of a reddish-brown colour, flecked with spots of yellow and splashes. of velvety black, making one think of the narkines on a butterfly's wing. There is one bloom I have long wished for. but cannot. coax into strength. It is tho black pansy—soft, duslrv. and restful t<-» look at as the ekv on a dark nisht. All flowers are beautiful, don't yon think. Dot? I wonder what the world would be like without them. Before I close I must say that I have read Ealph Connor many times with much enjoy-

ment, and if ever books were "breezy his certainly are. The latest addition to my library is "Village Tales," by Mary Russell Mitford, a collection of the most refreshing stories culled from a little South of England hamlet during the middle part of the reign of George 111. This historical aspect lends a, great charm to the talcs, but their chief attraction lies in the beautiful wordpainting they contain. When reading them I am often led to believe that instead of drinking in a few finely-worded paragraphs I an: in reality gazing at a "Leader" or a "Vicat Cole." with wide commons, gentlyundulating downs, shadowy glades, or flowor-strev.-n meadows set before me in pictures most, realistic. This is a splendid little collection of stories, and one that I can heartily recommend. Now, Dot, I know you're terribly busy, so I'll close with kindest regards from—Yours trulv, SEMIBREVE. [No need to tell me you leva flowers. Semibreve: only someone who had drunk very deep of their beauty would know each tint and mark as you know them. I am so glad that you have felt their spirit influence; it is woven now with your life, and is a partof you. "Our Village" is a classic, and acknowledged to give exquisite pictures of English rural life; I am glad to hear your appreciation of it. Would 3'ou not pick out one or two choice passages frcm it for us? Have you road "Cranford," bv Mrs Gaskell? You would like that too.—DOT.] Dear Dot, —After a silence of three weeks I thought that I would pen you a few lines. The harvesting is nearly finished, and, indeed it is about time. I hope you got r.:y auto, Portree; also you, Beatrice; I didn't know that you wroto to the page. Ah, Kathie, I know you, but you don't know me! Do you remember tho Sunday you walked from Mossbum out to your place? You would be tired when you reached your destination. I am going "to the dog-trial danco on Wednesday, and hope to see Vita Vincta, Somebodv's Swieetbeart Silver Bell, Kathie, and E. H. F. I am sorry to hear that Ruapehu cannot come. A young man caught a big trout to-night weighing 101 b. To-day is April Fool's Day. and everyone you meet, has a smile, and tries to m.ake a fool of you. You cannot depend on the weather now, as one day is fine and the next dav. is wet. Vita Vincta will be disappointed if you can't come to the dance. Princess Trill. Now. Dot. as I have some fancv work to finish I think that I will bring "this letter to a close. With best love to Geisha. Hawthorn Bell. Honey Blossom. Heather Lassie Silver 8011. Awkward Meg, Little Jim. Megatherium, and all my other correspondents —Yours truly, VOGEL. [You sent an auto notice. Vogel, but without name or address, so I could not insert it. If you care to send another with the missing parts supplied. I shall publish it at once. You need not trouble to write a letter with it: just enclose it in an envelope.—DOT.] Dear Dot-Here I am come to life once more. It is about six months since I last wrote, but perhaps better late than never I am not at home just now; I am living beside Irohc, and she and I often go out for bicycle rides. One night we were out we wero going round a corner where is was pretty dark; we had no lights, and I ran straight into a man. I went flying in one direction, and the bicycle another. I don't know who got the biggest fright, the man or I, and I didn't even wait to see who he was. We are having awful weather here; it rains every day. I think we will all have to leave New Zealand, or r.e shall be washed out. I have made the acquaintance of a good fow D.L.F. since I- came out here. Whatever has come over you, Killarney and Glenhamite? I have not seen letters from you for some time. I am pretty slow at writing, but I think I can beat you. How late the harvesting is this year! About here they are just starting, and this time last year they were nearly all finished. Have you ever seen a girl riding a motor bicycle? A girl rides one here, and it looks so funny. I think they should have motor cycles for ladies as well as for men. The girl that rides here uses her brother's bicycle; he is a D.L.F. also, but I think he only writes for O.W.W. How often do you have the O.W. Week, Dot? We do not get the Witness here, so it is only by chance that I see the letters. My sister Sheila and I used to write to Daisy in the Southland Weekly Times, but they have stopped the letters this long time. I suppose we shall be having our Easter holidays bv the time this letter is in print. I don't think I shall be going away; I shall have to stay at home "cow spanking." I havo not heard of fny sports or anything about here; I think most of the people will be harvesting all Easter. I will close with three riddles: (1) Why is a horse that can't hold up its head like next Monday? (2) Why is dancing like new milk? (3) What is the difference between a riddle and two elephants sitting on a bun ? With love to Black Pansy. Pottrce, Bushman, and all the other "D.L.F. and Dot.—Yours trulv. KILLARNEY'S MATE. Dear Dot,—l wish to join your happy band and always write to your page. I am 10 years old, and I work at tho Knitting Company, making socks and stockings, and I like it very much. 1 have met a good many DL.F.. and they have alwavs asked me to join. My girl friend is an Old Writer to your page, so we will be able to go to the i'ebating Club together. The cars started yesterday, and last night I went for a ride as far as Gladstone, and enjoyed it very much. Well, Dot, this is all till I write again.—Yours truly, PILGRIM. [I am glad to hear that you think of going to the Debating Club, and I hope that you and your friend will give it your warmest support, for they need all the help they can get, and will, I feel certain, welcome you warmly.—DOT.] Dear Dot,—lt is such a long time since I last wrote to the D.L.F. page in the Witness. I have read nearly al! the stories in last week's Witness. Some of them are very nice. Two of my sisters were down at the opening of the tramways in Invercargill on March 26. They could not get a ride in them, as they were always full when they went for a ride. We are having our quarterly examination just now. and those who are not fit for tho classes they are in aro going to be put back. Tho Bth Regiment of tho Territorials are in camp at the Show Grounds at present. Piaster is not far off. Most of the shops aro shutting on the 6th and opening again on Thursday," the 11th. Harvest is in full swing at present. Our crop was taken in on Saturday. It is not like harvest weather, as it is alwavs reining. We plav hockey at school. We have an A and B sice, «nd I am on the A side.—Yours trulv, QUEEN ANNE. [With this raw, coTcl weather we are having, I should think you must be quite glad to get a game of hockey to warm you. I hope you have a good season this winter, and score some goals for your side.—DOT.] AUTOS. Jean (Jessie Watt, Springfield Farm. Waimea Plains) wishes to exchange autos or

post cards with Connecticut. Mother's Help, Modest Violet, Hard Case, Harry, and any ethers willing. Prompt replies. Killarney's Mate (care Mr A. Wilson, The .terrace, Edendale) wishes to exchange post cords or autos with Lady Sue. Happy Queen .Bess, Glenhamite, Killarney. Rosamond, and any other D.L.P. willing. Prompt replies. Indian Pirate (James Crudcn, Mount Ross, button) would like to exchange autos with any D.L.F. willing. Somebody's Lover (Slope Point) would like to exchange autos with Peggev, Francis, handsome Harry. Pterodactyl, Hilda Bell, and any others willing. Prompt replies. DUNEDIN D.L.F. LITERARY AND DEBATING CLUB. Motto: ' Union is Strength." Tha usual weekly meeting of the cloveclub was heid in Dot's room. Lower High street on March 26, 1912. at 8 p.m., with the attendance of the following members Indian Chief (president, in the chair), 6cUva, Weary, 'Possum, Annabell, Adelina, forget-me-not, Maltio Everton. Francis, Ivoxana, Hiram Green. After the minutes ot the previous week's meeting were read and confirmed Poxana tendered his resignation as a member of the club, on account oi his having been transferred to Wellingtion. In losing Roxar.a as a member, the Dunedin Club sustains a serious loss, for in him it had one of its most capable debaters, if not its most capable, and we regret our toss, but sincerely hope he will prosper in fields and pastures new. Kia ora, chum, is our modest wish to you. —Open Night.— As it was the last meeting in March it was devoted to open night, and it proved one of the best the club has had for some considerable time. The responses from country members was extremely gratifying, since no fewer than six papers came to hand. £he first was from Lavinia. and was read by lossum; it was about Palmerston, and gave a most interesting account of the place. Barney O'Hea sent in an excellent paper, entitled '"The School of To-morrow." which was read by Everton. " Holiday Experiences" was contributed by Elmo Athol. and read by Annabell. tLady Evelyn wrote on "A Holiday Trip to Stevenson Island," and her paper was read by Adelina. Uncle Mary sent m a very good paper, entitled -Should Women have a Vote in the House of Con* mons?" This paper is to be sent in for publication. It was read by Mattie. Francis contributed a paper entitled "How Bugbags, Esq., fell in." This was a realfy humorous paper, which was written in this writer's characteristic style. The next was a paper from Elbe Rhee 11. entitled "That Umbrella," and read by Hiram Green; it also is to be sent in for publication. Ottawa gave a selected reading from one of Dickens's works, which was thoroughly enjoyed by all members present. —Thanks.— I nm very grateful to all country members for their support, particularly to Uncle Mary and Ellie Rhee 11. This has been both these comrades' first attempts. Ellie Rhee's paper is one of the neatest papers that has gone through my hands. Thanks are due also to those other members who sent in papers—namely: Lady Kvelyn, Elmo Athol, Barney O'Hea, and Lavinia,—and we trust to receive, more yet from the same writers. —Next Meeting.— The Chairman announced that the next subject would be "April Fool's Day Experiences and Reminiscences." The usual weekly meeting of the above club was held in Dot's room. Lower High street, on April 2nd, 1912. at 8 p.m. Jn. dian Chief was in the chair, and 'Possum. Annabell, Forget-me-not, Mattie, Heather J/issie, Francis, Everton, Billy Burlow, Hiram Green, and four visitors (Longwood. Blossom, Anvil, Girl in Love, and Taieri Belle) were present. To the latter a hearty welcome was extended. —April Fool's Day Experiences.— The evening was devoted to April Fool's Day experiences and reminiscences. Some of the papers were really humorous, and were greatly enjoyed. The first to be read was from Lady Evelyn (read by Francis). Next was one from Elmo Athol (read by 'Possum). Undo Mary's paper was read by Hiram Green, and Francis next came forward with an original experience which happened on April 1, 1912. t Indian Chief gave some original reminiscences. Our thanks are due to our country comrades Uncle Mary, Elmo Athol, and Lady Evelyn for their loyal support. —Ctmmitte? Election. — The election of two members of the club to fill the places of Happy Wag (junior vicepresident) and Bert (committee member), both of whom have resigned, resulted in Octava being selected vice-president and Annabell a member of committee. I wish to congratulate both these members on their newly-attained positions. The election of a lady vice-president is quite a new thing so far as our club is concerned, for it :;« a considerable time since we had a lady occupying this position. 1 look forward with interest to the time when we shall have a lady president again. —Next Club-meeting.— Our r.ext club-meeting will be held on Tuesday, ICth April, and will be devoted to conundrums and fun and fancy. Rajljl round, comrades, and send us along humorous extracts, anecdotes, or any tricks or riddles; they will prove highly acceptable. The only other chance you will have of contributing anything to the club this month will be Open Night; April 23 will be President's Night, and the 30th Open Night, HI HAM GREEN, Hon. Secretary. 5 Argyle street, Mornington.