OUR COT.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XVI, Issue XXII, 30 May 1896, Page 645

OUR COT.

Dear Cousins.—l went up to-day to tjie Hospital, and the Lady Superintendent kindly allowed rue to see Florrie. She was sitting on the balcony on a couch, her feet stretched out, as she cannot put them to the ground. She gave me a nice little smile, and said brightly : * I’m the Graphic Cousin’s Cot!’ I laughed and said : ‘ Yes, dear. And lam Cousin Kate, and I have come to bring you some pretty presents from some other loving cousins.’ So I gave her Cousin Ida’s pretty ‘ Princess Rosebud and her Wardrobe.’ She was very pleased, and her little brother Johnnie pushed the wheeled chair in which he was sitting (turning the wheels with his hands) close to her, aud also inspected her present. Other eager little faces crowded round, and when Cousin Monica’s delightful quilt was unfurled and spread over little Florrie (I kept the doll back for a few minutes), there were many exclamations of delight. I pointed out some of the pretty squares, the dog especially, and told Johnnie to explain all the others to Florrie. Next I gave her the doll, and she gleefully exclaimed — ‘Now I’ve got three dolls.’ That included the one Cousin Gwen took her. She sent her love and ‘ please thank very much ’to her kind cousins. Johnnie looked wistfully at her treasures, and as she was hugging her doll, he called out, ‘I say, let me have a lend of that,’ pointing to Princess Rosebud, to whom he seems to have taken a fancy. So as Florrie was so rich in presents, she lent her brother the card dolly to dress and undress. Haven’t we got some boy cousins who could spare Johnnie an old puzzle or a picture book, or something ? It need not be new. Both the children are looking so much better, especially Florrie. But they are still white and delicate. Poor little ones !—Cousin Kate.

Dear Cousin Kate. —I have been a very long time writing to you, but I have started one or two letters and did not finish them. I am now having my term holidays, and I think they will last a month. When the Pollard Company was in Wellington I went to see ‘ Paul Jones.’ What took my fancy was ‘ The Insect,’ and the old sailor that kept on saying, ‘Ain’t it sickening.’ I also went to the third musical festival given by Mr Maughan Barnett. His three pieces were lovely. I went for a very long walk up to the signal station on Mount Victoria this afternoon. When the boys were away for their holidays they found a blown down nest with four little sparrows. They brought them home, but three died. The other one is still alive, and he comes to the side of the cage and chirps and pecks at your finger. If you just say ‘ Isaac ’ he chirps. I must now close, hoping that Florrie is getting better. Goodbye, with love from Phcebe. Wellington. [You are a bright little correspondent, and I am glad to hear from you again. What a queer time of year to find a sparrow’s nest. They must have recently arrived from England, and being new chums, still think that March, April, and May are spring months, and therefore the building season. I have not seen ‘ Paul Jones.’ Are you fond of walking ? I am, very, but it is too warm up here to walk much, and too hilly. Did you have a good view from Mount Victoria ? Are we not gay here ? A dance almost every night for three weeks ! I went to the opening of the Hunt Meet on Saturday. It was very enjoyable. A pair of horses left alone in a carriage got so excited when they saw the first drag that they bolted and ran over the neatly-kept lawns and flower-beds into a shrubbery.—Cousin Kate.)

Dear Cousin Kate.—lt seems such a longtime since I last wrote to you, but now as cousin Mabel is staying with me, we will both write to you. Last Saturday I went with Cousin Mabel to the hospital, and saw dear little Florrie. We took her a bunch of flowers and a doll, with which she was very pleased. This Tuesday I am going to Waiheke for a week’s holiday. I have a

dear little kitten whose name is Mona. It is grey with black stripes. It is lovely weather now. I hope it will keep fine all the holidays. lam sending a puzzle. Love to yourself and all the cousins.— Cousin Gwen. Rocklands, Epsom. [As so few cousins are writing just now, I prize all the more the letters I do receive, Cousin Gwen, so I must thank both you and Cousin Mabel for yours. You can’t think how pleased I was to find you had both been to the Hospital. It always makes my heart ache to see the poor, suffering children, and it is a great privilege to be able to do anything for them. I hope, indeed, that you will have fine weather for your holidays. We have had rather a bad spell of rain, have we not ? But the gardens are cheering up wonderfully, and recovering from the effects of the dry weather. What flowers have you ? Thanks for the puzzle. Tell me if you manage to get any fishing or boating at Waiheke these holidays.— Cousin Kate.)

Dear Cousin Kate.—Now the long evenings are coming on I feel I have more time to write. lam staying with Cousin Gwen, and we are both writing together. Last Saturday Cousin Gwen and I went to see little Florrie in the Hospital. Gwen took her a doll and I took her a bunch of flowers. Johnnie was threading beads. Cousin Gwen has got a sweet little dog. In the Christmas holidays I went to Lake Takapuna, and in the Easter holidays I went to Drury. It was my sister Blanche’s birthday a little while ago. She got a lovely big cake, a Bible, a bag of lollies, and a book called the ‘ Seven Little Australians,’ which I like very much. I think I will send a puzzle. With love to yourself and all the cousins.—Your affectionate Cousin Mabel. Rocklands.

[Everyone seems to like that book, ‘ The Seven Little Australians,’ very much. Is the Bible the Revised version or the usual one ? Birthday cakes are rather nice, are they not ? I have a brother-in-law who, when he was in lodgings in Melbourne, had a very nice landlady. He said one morning, ‘ It’s my birthday tomorrow, Mrs ’ ‘Oh, sir,’ she said, ‘I must make you a plum-pudding.’ She did, and it was such a good one that when he thought she’d forgotten about it, he said it was his birthday again ! She made another pudding, but when he’d had five birthdays in oue year she found him out and stopped the special puddings. Lake Takapuna is very pretty, is it not ? I expect you enjoyed the fine part of the Easter holidays there very much. Were you by the beach ? Thank for the puzzles from both of you. — Cousin Kate]

Dear Cousin Kate.—l am going to tell you about a very pleasant trip that I have had lately. My father had planned to go with a party of friends to Tokaanu, and said he would take me and two of my brothers with him. It was a lovely day when we started. Some of the party went in the Dux waggon (four-in-hand) and the others followed, with the luggage and feed for the horses, in a brake with a five-horse team. We went 19 miles that day to a place called Waiouru, where we had tea and stayed the night. Next morning was beautifully bright and clear. We had a grand view of Ruapehu and Auruhoe with the sun shining on them. We could also see Mount Egmont quite plainly, although 90 miles away. We made an early start, as we had to do 44 miles to Tokaanu, and we wanted to get there before dark We enjoyed our drive very much ; the day was fine, and the road in fairly good order. The scenery is very grand, with the Kaimanawas to the eastward covered thickly with bush, and Ruapehu and Auruhoe to the westward with steam rising from them. We drove 22 miles, and then stayed at Peters’ halfway camp to have lunch and rest and feed the horses. We boiled the billy and had a very nice cup of tea, and the picnic hamper was much lighter when we went on our way again. We arrived at Tokaanu at about 5 o'clock. It was so strange to see the great cloud of steam rising from the hot springs on both sides of the road, and even on the road itself there was steam coming up from the mud holes. Tokaanu looked quite lively, there were such a number of natives there ; the women mostly in bright coloured dresses, made the place quite gay. We were up early next morning and went to the hot springs. I enjoyed my bath very much. We could not always have baths when we wanted them because there were such a number of Maoris. Once when my brother Henga went there were fifty six natives in one bath. One of them said * they were all the same as a box of matches.’ It was great fun to see the little Maori boys diving for coppers. I dare say you have heard about the great meeting the Maoris have to talk politics, I think, but I shouldn't wonder if their food supply ran short before they got to business. They have made a fine whare of raupo and rushes ; it is 460 feet long and has two rows of tables and forms. The smartly-dressed Maori girls arranged the tables very nicely and waited on their visitors. They put little fern leaves on the pats of butter and on the preserved pigeons, and the whole place looked very pretty. In the evenings they had dances in one part of the whare, and although the weather was bad, they were all very cheerful. We stayed just a week at Mr Blake’s hotel, and although it rained most days we managed to have a good time. One of the days we went across the lake in a big Maori canoe,

paddled by eight Maoris, to a place called Waihi, ou the shores of Lake Taupo. There is a beautiful waterfall and a lot of lovely ferns and bush all round it. We went to see the pretty little Roman Catholic Church, and one of the priests played the organ for us The first fine day we started for home again. The road was heavy travelling for the horses, as snow had fallen the day before. The scenery all around was lovely,the Kaimanawas white with snow. Ruapehu and Auruhoe, too, looked grander than ever with their covering of white. We lunched as before at the half-way camp. We did not reach Waiouru until late, for the horses were tired, and there was a mist on Rangipo. We got warm and comfortable by a good fire, had supper, aud went to bed. Next morning it was bright and clear with a sharp frost (Waiouru is about 3,000 feet above sea level). We had auotber graud view of the mountains, and then off for home again, where we arrived at about two o’clock, all of us having thoroughly enjoyed our trip to Tokaanu. —Your affectionate cousin, Paerau.