WHAT THE LAND GIRL THINKS

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 209, 23 May 1918, Page 2

WHAT THE LAND GIRL THINKS

A LIFE WORTH LIVING. ■ •Larks tire carolling itp in the misty blueiiess, pouring out their joy in the golden warmth above, and 1 slnnd below turning the brown earth among tho ecfentcd currant bushiw, wishing that I could express the ecstasy of spi'ingtimo iu the same way. You in town may find it hard to know wiiat I feel—the moments that come to tlie town girls up here. About us the earth is awakening, lambs are in the next field, brown and white calves at the meadow gate, thin straight lines of green corn on the upland, daffodils blowing in cottage gardens, puipie violets and golden crdcus everywhere, lilac branches covered with fainjt green leaves—everything up here is budding and bursting. I saw a plum tree' in bloom to-day.

And one's heart gets as full, and as happy as a bird's.

Yon will say that it is springtime and that/ 1 am iu love. We all are—with Nature, and quite unashamed of it. As one of the girls here expressed it. "There's something about these days that makes one want to say one's prayers." This living in .the open air, planting nnd digging, makes us very sane and simple. There was a great discussion on religion this morning. But what does it matter Ivow tho great truth comes to individuals?- It comes to some when they hold a Cross, a tambourine—many find it to-day' with a rifle in their hands; numbers of these laud gjrls realised it for the Hrst time wTien they turned the earth with a fork. " ' Sometimes one feels almost ashamed of the subtle lntoxieatidn of these carefree days on tho land. There is a wonderful peace that steals into one's being, that not even the great tragedy can erndlcate. Those graves in France—my graves even—cannot take it One knows that they live, one feels they are part of the sunshine. The months up. here, the seasons wo havo seen come and go, have taught tho girls that always tlvere w-ill bo the spring—that out of the sacrifice the harvest shall eventually come. You should hear the girls talk. We are a mixed gathering; none ot us knew the other before the war, 'and now wo live together, day lit, day out. The little airs of reserve with t'vlucn we first covered our real selves.have ii-orn away. We try to undcrritaiid each oilier, and somehow one. finds it so easy after awhile. I never (bought girls could live'together in such good comradeship. They talk ot the war, of the future, of their lives, and I have heard some of the sanest arguments, thu brightest ideas among them. And the ambitions, (he plan?., the hopes these girls have. Ileiillh makes everything- seem possible,- 1 suppose; I hero is a courage, a' confidence about them that incurs well for tho coming days when it will be needed. .And the laughter, the irresponsible light-hearted-ness of them! They get littlo money nnd work very Hard, but there are few of them who would havo missed these days of toil. It is work that matters, this .land work. It is creative and constructive, helping to balance some of the destructive work of the world. War aims; rarely get lost sight of up hero; the j great, truth stands out very cteai. in- j stead of getting mixed up "with meal: '■ cards and margarine.- C admit *liat our ] appetites aro "awful," and 1 am net i casting aspersions on harried housckeep-' ers—we sutler iu that way just like other people—but (here does seem to be u danger nf sume folk worrying more about sugar than about Oermany grabbing a third of llussia. Come out and learn what this life is. Twelve thousand moro women arc wanted for the land—die sunshine and, tho winds, the joy of planting and reaping, tho knowledge of vital national (assistance will help to heal your hurt. You will never regret it. Your back , may break, your arms .may ache to I start with, but in-the end your heart' will sing, -Hilda M. Love, in tho "Daily i Mail." !

LETTER-CARRIERS' ANNUAL BALL roil THE BED CROSS AND BED JERSEY'. The plain, poster and fancy dress ball which was organised by tlie letter-carriers ot Wellington and held in the Town Hall last evening was a grent success. It was their first annual ball, and no trouble had been spared to secure the enjoyment of all present, the organisation throughout being excellent. The decorations of the . hall were extremely effective, and consisted of quantities of flags of all nations, draped over a green'background and suspended from the gallery railings, while the space underneath the further end of the gallery had been turned into a supper room, divided from the mnju body of the hall by a trellis work cover'ed with alitumn leases, palms, and other foliage, the cffcct beins.' very artistic. The decorative work of the supper room had been entirely carried out by Mrs. Ilickey and a bevy of assistants, the supper arrangements also being in her hands. The tables were arranged with scarlet flowers and touches of dark blue, the colours of the letter-carriers. The stage also had been made attractive with palms c.ud pot-plants, and a comfortablo alcove had been provided for the chapes ones. Mr. Williams's orchestra provided most inspiriting music.. The bail was very well attended, and some excellently carried out dresses were to be seen, lu the poster class 'hero, were not many entries, but what there were -were particularly good, and the judges found it a difficult task to deoide. 'Die prize.* in this class were awarded to Miss Jolies, 1, who royesented Alcocks (billiard firm), and Miss M'Ginnis 2, who represented the Petone Wooilen Mills. T'lio dress worn by the winner of the first prize was of dark ween,' ornamented with billiard balls (cut in half) and pockets on the shoulders and the skirt, while on her head was a scarlet lamp shade. Miss M'Ginnis (the Petone Woollen Works) was very effective in her Costump of cream cloth, the long jacket of which was trimmed with white )fur and touches of light brown. Her largo widebrimmed white hat was turned up sharply at one side, and the" word Petone waf embroidered 011 skirt and jacket. Extremely good also were the representations of the Post Office (with postcards, stamps, etc., arranged all over the dress), Red Jacket cigarettes, the linn of U. Smith, and also another representation of Alcock's.

The prizes for the best fancy dresses were awarded as follow:—For tho ladies: Miss Miiisie Smith, representing the Allies, 1, and Miss M. Dixon, "Gooa Luck," 2. .Vor the gentlemen: Mr. Alfred Hastings, representing Lord Nelson, was first, and Mr Novantn, a "Hunting ; Irishman," 2. Two extra prizes were also given, and of these Miss O'Brien, as a Maori woman with a piccaninny, was awarded the ladies' prize, and Mr Dempsver, a scarlet courtier," the gentleman's prize. As "The Allies," Misa Smith waa excellent, her dress representing all the flags of the Allies, with the Union Jack as a head-dress, and underneath each foot, by a clever contriv ance, was a German flag, to which was attached the device, "Under for All Time." As "Good Luck," Miss Dixon was a very dainty little-figure, her froc.k being of white silk, decorated with cats of black velvet, swastikas, four-leafed clovers, and horseshoes, while on one shoulder perched with wonderful equilibrium a jplack cat. A jewelled horseshoe was worn on her forehead. Altogether it was a charmingly carried out frock. The Maori, woman (Miss O'Brien) was extremely realistic, not even the pipe being forgotten., Mr. Hastings maae a very good Lord Nelson, and Mr. Novauta as the hunting squire was exceedingly true to type in every way. Mr. Dempster as the courtier in scarlet was a very dignified and picturesque figure. The judging was performed by the lady representatives of the threo daily newspaper.* of Wellington and Mr. Barry Keesing. A g.-eat many fancy dresses wcro worn, and tliqir vivid colouring made the hall look extremely gay. Very few natioim were not represented, and among tho quickly moving- throng were pierrots and .pierrels, "Truth," "Mght," Red Cross nurses, "Sisters of Mercy," "Columbine," "Three Castles Cigarettes," fishermen, Corsicans, the Stais and Stripes, unci very ninny olher representations. '.Vm> committee responsible for the arrangements consisted of the following:—.Vjr. Wpodliam, chairman; Mr. G, S. Piatt, "secretary; Messrs. Halten, Sullivan, Kennedy, Jupp, Cronin, 'Morris, Sinclnit, W'iiitntars...'. Zudimui, Chandler, Lindsay, Ridyard, Bowen, Anderson, Lovegrove, and Mesdames Hickey, Hnlton, and Miss Coheu. Mr. Wilson was M.C. The supper had. .been donated by various kind friends, and the proceeds urn *'or the Red Cross and the Red Jersey through the medium of the letterfiarriers' baby. The door, arrangements, tickets, efce,, wero in the hands of mom-, hers of the committee, and were admirably carried out.

. Among those who were present were Lady Stout, who awarded the prizes, and the Mayoress (Mrs. J. P. Luke), both acting as chaperones. The Mayor (Mr. ,T. P. Luke. M.P.), was also present. The decoration; o£ the main body of tho hall wore tho work of the 1J.1.0.

The Navy League is organising a street day on Friday for the benefit of their candidate in the baby competition. There will be a sale of flags and flowers, and contributions of the latter will be gratefully received by Mrs. W. I). Stewart, who will-be at Mr. Harcourt's auction mart to receive them to-day. Mrs. F. M. B. Fisher will also be glad to receive offers of assistance to sell the flags.