COT FUND.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XVI, Issue II, 11 January 1896, Page 47

COT FUND.

Per Cousin Amy (Dunedin) : F. E. Acott, 2s ; a friend, 2s 6d ; ditto, 2s ; ditto, 2s ; J.A.P., 2s 6d ; A. Hay, 2s6d ; M.Z.0., 2s 6d ; F.A.H., 5s ; A.A.0., is ; G.N.0., 3S = Zi 5 s - Per Cousin Gwen : E. R. Thomson, is ; M. C. Thomson, is; James Thomson, is; W. Thomson, is; J. Thomson, 6d ; Jack Thomson, is ; Gwen Thomson, 4s 6d = lOS. Carried forward, os 3d. Total, £4 15s 3d.

Cousin Lily :—I hear there is 13s from you and a letter, but having money in it the letter was left safely in town on New Year’s Eve, and not brought out to me in camp, so I must reserve my thanks and answer till next week, as I cannot now receive it in time.—Cousin Kate.

I have some very pretty Christmas cards to acknowledge, which I do with very many thanks and best wishes to you all. It is so good of you, dear cousins, to remember me like that. The pretty cards are from Cousin Elsie, Cousin Phcebe, Cousin Lilia, Cousin lima. I will answer ‘ 8.0.H.’s ’ letter from Eltham when I get to town again.—Cousin Kate.

Dear Cousin Kate.— l have an old scrap-book for the first child that occupies the cot. We are having holidays now. We broke up on the 18th. I hope it will be a fine day for Christmas. If it keeps like to-day it will be lovely. lam sending the answer to Cousin Ida’s 3rd puzzle. We went for a lovely picnic on the breakingup day to Kohimarama. I think I can fill the collecting card for the cot. Wishing you and all the cousins a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year — Cousin Gwen.

P.S.—This is the last letter I will write to you until I come up from Waiheke after the Christmas holidays.

[Thank you for the cot card, which I have safely received, and which I will put in the paper next week. Ten shillings is very good indeed. I hope you will enjoy your holiday. We had heavy rain last night —a thunderstorm—and one of our tents leaked badly. The tide is coming up very close. It looks as if we should be washed out of camp. Happy New Year.—Cousin Kate. ]

Dear Cousin Kate. —I received my ‘ cot ’ card, and I have collected fi ss, which I hope you will be pleased with. I have had a sore knee. I fell down and hurt it. We broke up last Wednesday. I did not get a prize, as I only went to this school at the beginning of this term. We go to Brighton to-morrow for two months. Please excuse my letter being so short. lam just going to a party. With love from Cousin Amy. P.S. —I am sending money by this mail.

[Thank you very much indeed for your excellent collection for the Cot Fund. You are the first Southern one to come in, and you must have worked very hard. I will put in your card names next week. lam so sorry about your knee, and hope your visit will put you all right very soon. Again thanking you I send best wishes. —Cousin Kate.)

Dear Cousin Kate.—l wish you A Yery Happy Christmas and New Year, in which all the other cousins are included. Thank you very much for that collecting card you sent me. I have already received some money for it. Fitzgerald’s Circus came here the other day, and I went to see it. Did you go to see the Flower Show held in Auckland ? I saw some very good pictures of it in the Graphic. A very good Flower Show was held here last month, but if the Auckland one was as good as its pictures represent, I am afraid it beats Hawera’s down to the ground. I am going to make a suggestion to you, Cousin Kate : Don’t you think it would be nice for any of the cousins to write a long story for the Children’s Page, and to send it to you, either in chapters or the whole story, for printing a little bit at a time. Of course there would be no need to

have rules, or any particular thing to write about, would there ? On Wednesday, the 18th, there was a concert held at the St. Joseph’s Convent School by the pupils, of which lam one. There was a fairly large attendance, and the programme was very long, and we bad a play at the end of it. Lately in Hawera we have been having such nasty fogs. They would start at about 11 o’clock and continue far into the night. I am sorry to say that I have nothing mere to write to you about, so I will say good-bye for the present.—From Cousin Ilma. [Thank you for your pretty card and good wishes. I saw Fitzgerald’s Circus, and thought it good. The Flower Show, or rather Floral Fete, was lovely, though it was so wet I did not go. It was such a pity the rain spoiled it. I must see about your suggestion of a story. I wonder if it could be written in parts ?— Cousin Kate.] Dear Cousin Kate.—This year we are camping on the beach. As it is full moon we expect to be washed out. To-day, as it is New Year’s Day, I went fora walk along the beach. I saw what I thought to be two dead sticks, but on getting near them I found them to be vegetable eaterpillars. On going to my tent just now I heard a noise made by a wasp in the tent. I found a wasp’s nest with two or three dozen spiders. The wasp uses the spiders to feed the little ones. Yesterday I found a piece of greenstone about two inches long. Have you any idea what it would be worth ? What magazines do you get, Cousin Kate ? I get the Boys' Own Paper, the Prize, and Sunshine.— Cousin Jack. P.S. —Would you please send me a collecting card ? [You were very lucky to find those vegetable caterpillars. If your greenstone ornament is in good preservation you might get two shillings for it. I will send you a collecting card with pleasure, and wish you luck with it. Remember, Rome was not built in a day, and collecting needs patience and perseverance, and a strong amount of courage and hope. I trust you were not washed out, but will soon be dry enough to write to me again.—Cousin Kate.l