LETTERS FROM THE LITTLE FOLK.

Otago Witness, Issue 2895, 8 September 1909, Page 81

LETTERS FROM THE LITTLE FOLK.

Motto: — We write for the benefit of others, not for ourselves. £*&" No letter to contain more than 450 words. Dear Dot, — I have never befcrre written to you, but I have bean reading your Little Folk's Page. I g-o to school, and I like it \ery much I >;m in Standard I. Tl.ere are 23 go to this school. I axn eight years old. I have three brothers and one sister Today is a very windy day. AYe have a new teacher now. I am nof writing you a lon«» letter this time. We have two pigs, and we have lots of hen = . The inspector came on Thursday, fo if I passed I will be in Standard II. — Yours truly. WHITE PANSY. [Xoxt time you write I hope you will be able to tell me you have passed into Standard II.— DOT.] Dear Dot, — It was snowing here this morning,, and it wa3 about an inch thick. There was a concert here on July 30, and there was a large crowd present. We 'iad a fortnight's holidays just a wee-", ago. It is not very cold getting up in the mornings now, but it is very cold coming home from school at nights. I have got a brother going to school with me. We have got nearly four miles to walk, and I do -.not Hke it v«sy much. It is not very warm on foggy mornings. It will soon be summer now, and the warm days will come again. I was a D.L.F. before, but I have not written for a long time. I always read the Little Folk's letters; some of them are very interesting. Nearly every Saturday afternoon there is a football match. On July 10 the

schoolboys played against another school team-. The Sewers will soon be out now. I will have to close now, as it will soon be teatime. With love to Sweet, Rocket, and Lady King, — Yours t*uly, CIJSTDERELLA 11. [I am pleased to hear from you again, Cinderella 11. Don't be so long in letting us hear from you nex' time. — DOT.] Dear Dot, — I just caqte home last night from a visit to some fitiends of ours, andj I intend to tell yofi about my enjoyable! holiday. A fortnight ago yesterday morning I started for the station. Water Lily accompanied me the greater part of the way. The rooming was inclined to be wet, and 1 juist aitct I got there it started to -am' Jni earnest. It was raining very little whem I stepped off the train at my destination/ and. started for" the home of my friends, whdeh is about a mile distant. I h«dl hardly left ihe station behind me than rfc began to rain heavily, and continued so after I -arrived there. The' fcrsrt few daya were very wet, hut on Sunday it cleared up, and turned out a beautiful day. In the afternoon one of my friends took me for a walk to show; me a nikau palm, as I had. 1 never seen one before. We^ went along the* Main road for a while, and 1 then, leaving) the road, we started up the hillside. In? some places <th« ground was very wet and) inclined to be muddy. After climbing » good way up we stopped and had a good took round. As we looked back the way we came we saw stretching away before us thq Greymouth racecourse, with the- Grey River? sweeping in behind the grand 1 stands, and. 1 hack in the distance were the- hills-. Before; us, as we again started on, were some hills- On some of the mornings of my viaii - when the mist cleared off these same hill* I {nought they were very beautiful. Tho different shades of- green of the busk, infer"spefsed with the bare branches of the fuchai«v formed, I thought, a pleasing picture. 4.3 last we reached the nikau palm. It wait standing all alone on the clei&red hillside, and was not near as pretty as it-would have been had it had the shelter of the native) bush to protect it from all kinds of weather. I saw enough, however, to give me a good idea of what it might have been. The nex'j day was also fine, so two of*Tny friends »xwt I went -to see if we could get some ferns', but we did not have much success, as we did not hit a very good place, and it wao inclined to be rather wet. However, when; we came out again we went on farther s<i that I might see what the country was like, as I had/ never been there before — >' everything was new to me. It was getting) late in the afternoon before we* got honraf again. The rest of the week- was wet, and} 1 it was not possible to go very far from the; doors for feai of getting wet. The nexif Sunday and Monday were fine, and ther. down canie the rain, again, and did notf clear away till late yesterday afternoon, jusrtf before I started on my. return journey Wei have had a very mild winter this year ? though we are very 'liksly to get some froey yet, as there has been more snow on ihef mountains this wet weather than there hau ever beea before this winter. We have ha<9 « some .flowers out all through the winter — • rhododendrons, rcses, and violets. The) rhododendrons seem to have mistaken tho season, and have been blooming nearly thret months. — Yours truly, BLUE VIOLET* [Your holiday weather seems to baftf borne out the West Ooasrt reputation, Blue Violei.— DOT.] Dear Dot, — I was very pleased to see my letter in last week's Witness. We havo been having very . cold .and wet weather thja ' last" wedr, but to-day it is just like a real summer's day. All my -D.L.F. chums will be thinking I have forgotten them, as I have never answered their letters and postcards, but I have not forgotten them, and? will answer then* goon. My sister and heir little boy are up here just now, and 1 ihrt little boy is f hard ca«e; he ia three past,*" My little nephew fell down and cut his eye B and when mother was going to put somcf sticking- plaster on it he did kick up rt noise. I Swill now fell you • a little abon? this place. It is all bush, and «very coMI and wet in winter, but it ia very ni»s m the summer time. It is very roughinthe bosh, as there are so much scj-ub and so man;* fallen trees lyini^ about. I like living in tl»rt bush in the summer. There are such a lotov 'nice places in the bush for picnics, and* people often come up here in the fine, dry, weather and have a picnic. The country sphere is very hilly — at least I think it is.. If you have lived in the- bush you will know enough about it by now Dear Dot, E never knew until tht, other day that Mistletoe II was one of my old playmates when I lived up at Browns, where she is living.. I am so glad you told me your nora c%. plume, Mistletoe 11. I often wondered who you were. Dear Lady Olive, did you geft the post-eaid I sent to you. as I haven't heard from you this long while? Also yon, Lord Ronald, where have you got to? TEoji haven't flhswere;? my post-card either, so please do hurry up and write to both Dot and me. I -have had such a, lot of nice books sent to me from Wayback. She seem* such a nice girl. Don't you think it was: very kind of her to send me fch*. booke, Dot? I do. She said she would send me tho New Idea every month. I -will close now. With kind regards to Wayback, Lady Qlfve, Mistletoe 11,- Gravel, W. G. P., Gaultheria, Aotearoa, Luceda, and yourself. — Yours truly, LONGWOOD BLOSSOM. [That is indeed very kind of Wayback, Long«ood Blossom. She has my thanks, as well as yourc— DOT.] Dear Dot, — I have been advised by JackJohnson to join youi circle, and . I hope you will find room for "my letter in your page. There are verj few D.L.F. in the Bluff, but I often meet a member when a picnic comes here. Shipping is not very brisk here just now, but four oi five boats are expected shortlj. My chief pleas-ure is lowing, ana Jack Johnson and myself often taka a cruise rounr" the harbour. I will stop now. Hoping- you will accept this tetter, and make me a Jicmber of your club, — Yours sincerely, KUMARA. [I wonder whether you saw thf whale in the harbour the other day, Kumara? Or did you not hear a'oou it? Glad to welcome you» to our page. — DOT.] Deai Dot, — Special Subject Week was '« great success. I enjoyed reading the stories of olden times. Signs of spring are about us now. The little lamhs are frisking about, and the primroses and violets are out in bloom. There is great talk about this> airship now. I have not seen it yet, but' am still living in hopes. Some of the people about hew have seen it several, times, and one person crawled under mi dray whan he saw it coming. When ax© you going to answer my letter, A Telescope?, •I iwas «.t a bachelors' ball' lately, •od'-etaf-' joyed myself very well. I - will tell you about a surprise paxty held here a few weeks ago. The gentleman, who is ? bachelor, had just gone into a new 10- roomed bouse*. We all met at a neighbour's about 9 o'clock, then went over- There is r large dining room, so we took possession of tt and

I started dancing, lho boase was all tnrown 1 open to the visitors, so we were enabled to have a look through it aIL The verandah goes round three sides of it, and a large hall goes right through tihe house. There is every convenience in it — a high pressure boiler, and hot and cold water laid on in the kitchen and bathroom. We kept up dancing till 2 o'clock, then sang " Auld lang syne " and started for home. It was very frosty and the ground slippery, so it was very hard work climbing the hill between lhare mad, iwnie. Ons of our neighbours has Bold his farm and left the district, and we niies them, as there was a big family of them, and they were always to the fore in netting up dancea and surprise parties. — Yours truly, - MARJORY. Dear Dot, — I was veTy pleased to see my second letter in print. I .have read the books , called "No Ordinary Girl," ' The Family at Misrula," " Eighteen Stories for Girls," and £» good many children's encyolopoedias. I .would like to ccc some of yonr Little Folk reading the book called "No Ordinary Girl," for I am 3Ure they would like it. My mother is dreading the wind we are getting just itcftv,/ for it makes her : bead ache. I have three brothers. Two of them go to sown every morning at 7 o'clock, and back at 6. My youngest brother still goes to school, and.' is in the Second Stand- ; «rd. I have left school, because my mother has been very fll, but she is now recovering again. "We have just been 6towß / the road making fixes. It is ao nice to see the redhot sparks rising in the air as if to say, " Get out of it! " to one another. We generally play "Kick the Tin": it -is greai. . ion in the -lark. We haye no big hills \ about us, but as* we, ar* going to town vre ! can see the" Takitimps Mountains with their i covering 'of snow. 1 think Armchair would \ like to lise in the town, for you know the 1 &ir is~. so' much different from the fresh country 'air. 'I must fipish now. With love to Armchair, Patience, Pineapple, jßose i Primrose, Miaisie^ Waikanae, Island Girl, : and all other L.F. and yourself, — Yours truly. . MERMAID. [I am sorry to hear of your mother's illness, Mermaid. So someone still plays " Kick the Tin." It was a game Dot used : to have good fun at.— DOT.] Dear Dot, — We have been having very rough weather up here l*tely, and one day | -tihero wes snow, and we had & real good time. We snowballed one another, and we - made a sort of a snow nnwi. There is plenty j of water for the miners up here now, and . the hills are .ccv^ifed with snow. We had ! our- term examination at school last Thurs- • day week. I am how going to try to de- , scribe to you about the- kidney ferns we ! found.. last Sunday away back ift the bush. ! They were about the' size of the bottom of a saucer; they, have thin black stalks, and a leaf _ the- saUCe shape as a kidney. They are very nice to press in a book. I brought" scans- roots home, and I am trying to grow them, bu,t I am afraid they won't grow. I think they want to be .in some place whero the water is just dripping on them all tha time, and not keeping them too wet and damp. And they wamt to be in a place wshere the wind won't get at them. Dear Dot, I suppose it will eoor be time to start .sowing the seeds for tbx gardens now, and the farmers wiJJ be .busy getting their crops in. — Yours truly , . 11. '■ CYou would have to he very careful if you wish your kidney iern to grow. Did you bring some of the $oil from the. bush to plant it in?— DOT.] « Dear. Dot, — Please may & join your happy , .band? I# jlay hocfcsy at-school, -and I think it is a v«ry nice gwme. * There a.re two teams at the school I go to, but t am only in the junior team. W' played a match last Saturday against what we call the Castlecliff team, and we beat them by 3 goals to nil- — Yours truly, i . WANGANUL RIVER. [Yes, I am pleased to have a representative from Wanga-nui, - and I . want you to tell the Little Folk .something about your part of the world. You have not sent me your name, howeve- — DOT.] Dear Dot, — I thought it is about time I staxted to writo again. We have iiad a pretty good winter— only a few days' rain now and then. One day it started to snow » little, but it was not much. One of my Uncles went away to tha Old Country, but lje will soon -be back again. There was a school concert here a few weeks ago, and a dance after it. There is to be another ball Leje next week. Dolly Grey is going to stay at our place next week. We a-re having a fansywork class every Saturday in Livingstone, but there are only six or seven go to it. Since I last wrote to you I have bad another little coupin. Now, dear Dot, I will have to close. Wi<t>h love to The Miner's Daughter, Lucy Boons, and Minnie Merle, — Yours "truly, LIVINGSTONE'S ' NEWS AGENT. Dea* Dot, — Some of the farmers have finished their ploughing. We are not catching many rabbits. My sister Island Girl has begun to write to your page. I saw Mona 111 and Mildred at Sunday school to-day. There are » lot of children going to our school. Ifc is very cold some mornings when I am going to school. When my feet are cold I run along the loads and 'make them warm. A new hall has been put up for the school children. The games that we play at school are " I Spy " and " Tig. ' I go to school with Mcna 111, Mildred, Skylark, and Lily Bell. Sonw> mornings we go across the paddocks LiJy Bell and I were down at Hamiltons to-day, and we enjoyed ourselves splendidly. Some of the people down here have there potatoes in. I will have to close now. With lovo to Kiliarney Mona 111, Mildred, ard Skylark,— Yours t" 11 *. .-EOLUS. Dear Dot.— Lying in bed the other night I composed what I thought wa s a most beautiful letter I don't know" what others would have thought of it. However my writing ge-uus— if I possess such a thinghas completely deserted me to-night, and -I cannot remember a single one of thope wonderful sentences I had made, but I will try and stick to our ntotto, -and make this letter as interesting as possible. Here goes for a little fishing expedition I had the other day. You won't laugh too much, will you,. Dot, but to tell you the truth I laughed myself for half an hour, more or less. Well I was going - for a walk, and coming to al fairly largo creek I spied a jolly .nice trout, which was, I thought, reposing in blissful ignorance of the, fate which was awaiting it. But, no, I will have to steady my nerves a little first. However, I ran home for a net and soni* wire, and fixed it up somehow, and off to the creek again. " More hurry, lees speed," they say^ and I think it is right too, for I stumbled and fell times without number. I got there at last, and after putting the net in the shallow part I drove the trout down with a stick, and just as the trout mad* for the net it opened its mouth, and I in my fright — for I never ventured to catch fish before — dropped the net like lightning and ran. After I got my nerves together again i went back, but not

to see toe trout; so ma* was my nrs ana, I think, last fishing expedition. I really don't know what's up with my numerous correspondents. I sent postcards to them all, but have no reply «a yeb. I hope they see this at least, and hurry up. The farmers up here are either ploughing or sewing the s«ed. My uncles are doing the latter. One of my uncles has the rheumatic gout, and believe me, Dot, I am quite a profeseional nurse-;— so he says a-t any rate. The doctor at Waapdata seems to be doing a lot of good for him, and everybody has great faith in the doctor here- I will soon have faith in him too, for I am going to get my teeth out. I have two that ache almost every night.— Yours truly, JACK. j [I shall probably have the fish inspector w-anting to know your name, Jack, to arrest you for poaching. But as you did. not latch your trout this time I will keep your jifjme a secret. — DOT.] Dear Dot, — We are having very rough weather here at present, and the farmers are waiting for it to be fine again so they can start work. The fishing season will soon be here again, so we will see a lot of anglers wanding their way to the- beautiful waters of the famous Pomahaka Riv^r. Dear Dot, it must be great sport catching these speckled beauties. The rabbit carts are jus} about stopping* for most of the trappers have finished work," and they must have made a lot of money, as the Tabbits were fairly thick this year. The people about here are all watching for "that mysterious object, the airship, «but whether they will have the* pleasure of seeing it or not time will tell. ' Great chaages have taken .place here within tho ,last few weeks, aa two of our neigh- ! bours have left here, but their pJ&ces have , been filled up lay others. Wake., up, you , Popotuaoa D.L.F., and -write.. What h«s happened to "you, Popotunoa V Any more ' stale lunch, eh? — Xours truly, ,j" ' BUBKINO PLAIN. I Dear Dot, — We* have -been having vexy bad I weather down this way. We had a far! of , snow on Tuesday morning. We are milking ! four' cows now. I have one brother and five ' sisters. There- was « school concert and dance on the iih of August. I was there, y and enjoyed myself fine. - I had a pTetty ! little bkusk'andKwhite kitten, but it died- ' This is a short letter, but I will write a longer one next time With love to all, — Yours truly, LILY BELL. Dear Dot,—^This is my first letter to your page, so may I become one ol your band? ■• 1 am 10 years old, and in the Third btandard at school. I have a lady teacheT, and I like her very -much. I have ds&b going to school three >ears. The first year 1 got a second class "ce,rtifioate. I lost two uays / through sickness. Last year I had Juok by going every day, so l got a firat clase certificate. I have lost no time this year yet, and I have three miles to walk to school, and in the winter the roads are very dirty. This is all the present. With love to Dot and D.L-F.,— Yours truly, AIRSHIP. [I am glad" to add you to my list, Airship. The address you ask for is: "Hilda Snow, Dipton."— DOT.] ) Dear Dot, — It has been a> long time since I wrote to your .page. The country out here is very bare, because we have had very | bad weather, and not many flowers are out i yet. We have just hod our quarterly examination. I go regularly to acUool, and I like gamg to school* because wo learn many I things. The gardens do not look nice at all, pfor it Iras been so wet, .and tho flowers do j not come out well. It will aoon be time . for the flower seed .to be sown, and soma , are being sown now-. — Yc-uxs truly, j THE ROSE; OF bHARON. I [Do y"ou get the^ leaves of the rose of Sharon where you * are ? I have gathered some gloriously coloured leaves recently irom the hills about Dunedin. Those and j the branches of the peppear-wocd tree make ', up in winter for the scarcity of flowers. — DOT.] Dear J^ot, — I wish to become one of your Little Folk. This is my rirst letter to your page. I live at Awapuni, in Gisborne, close to the beach. We can see the steamers coming in. The inner harbour is too shallow for the lurge steamers to come in, so they lie out at anchor m the bay. The lighter goes out and brings in the passengers and cargo. Sometime; tlie sea is too rough for the big boats .o lie in tlie bay, and they have to take sheliei under Young .Kick's Head till the sea calni^ down. We have a long w*y to walk to school. 'I am in the Third Standard- We have started our quarterly examination. I have got a medal and bar for attendance for two years I have not missed a day this year yet. We do not have such cold weather up here as you have in Dunedin. I have only e&sn snow on the r«nge». — Yours truly, MJXLISSA. i [It must be very . pleasant riving so near the beach and the sea-, Millissa. Yes, I I suppose jrou have never indulged in a snowfight.—DOTJ Dear Dot, — It is such a long time since i I saw a D.L.F. How are you -getting on, ■ Mother's Help? * Did Lady Leaf exchange autos with you? I told her your address. 1 have such a collection of autos and postcards. I have made such a lot of fr/er.ds since I have been writing lo the page, although^ many of them I have never seen I am home just now for a holiday, and I ■ Jiaye been having such a gocd tame. I have , not seen any D.L.F. about Wintoa, but 1 i like up there. Some friends and I went for a walk away over the hills at the back • of Forest Hill Bush. The country looks very nice from th« top of the hills. You can see all round for a long way I have read a lot of books, but my favourite authors are Mrs Henry Wood or Joseph Hociking. I received your auto., Audrie Maud, but I had no idea who you were .Veil, I wondor if any of the D.L.F. have een the airship? I do not think myself -bat there is any to see. Will you Exchange .iutos or post-cards with me, Shepherd Lsd^ L.ady L-ear lo!d me you -.vere up here With iendesi wishes to all iho DLF.,— Yoius irl ''/. WILD WIKL. Dear £tot,— We get the Witness every rt-eek, and I always read thi LiUla Folks iettsis, "and it is a. long time since my old chums Starlight and Co blip's Pet have written. We have had a very sad tuiio nince ! I last wrote to you by the lo^s of ;■ d«ar aunt. Grandmother and a dear litt'e cousin just died a w«ek ago. As we live close together we do miss them sadly. They have , all died within iine_ months. It is snowing here to-day, buf we" went to school, as we live quit© close to it. I have a little baby sister now, and my mother called her Stella. ! I have three sisters and two brothers, and ( I like looking after my httle brother, who is two years old. He is just beginmng to • talk, and he can't say my name, so he calls : me " Eighty." There axe a lot of people I, here who have seen the airship, but my ' father and unclea watched a gocd few nights , and saw no sign of it, but so many axe eee- • ing, according to the papers, that they are y beginning to think there must b© soils

9(iX>aZlg& ZlgUlS ttUUUb, VV-lblL UV&* lUkU MJ Hob-nailed Boots, and hoping Starlight and Cowslip's Pet will wake up, — Yours truly, HALFWAY HOUSE. [I am sorry, indeed, to hear of the sad events _you speak oi, Halfway House. Sou must have* had a trying year. — DOT.] Dear Dot, — I wish to make friend* with you. This is my first letter to your page, and I am going to tell you a story about my canary and my oat. My name is Rosebud. I am 11 years old, and live in Gisborne. Dickie got "out of his cage twice, and I had great trouble to catch him the first time. Tha seoond timia he got out I just paught him in time, or naughty old Tom would have had him for hie dinner. H« is such a tunny old cat- He rolls over and over lake a drunken man when you tell him to, and be even begs for his food. He is too fat and: lazy to hunt mice, so he sleeps and lies about all day, and is only good for performing tricks. He has odd eyes — one is blue and the other grey, — but h% is a lovely tabby, only very mischievous. I bavn finished my story now, so I must say <*ood-nH?hit. as it is my bedtime now. — Yours truly, ROSEBUD. [I saw- a fine big oat stand on his head against the wall the other day and eat a piece of biscuit wihile in that position. Don't you think that was olev*r of him, Kosebud? I shall have quit© a number of Gisborne D.I/.F. soon.— DOT.] 0 Dear Dot,— l saw in the Witness some names of books that the L.F. have read, so I thought I would tell some too. "The Intervening Sea," " Jack's " Little Girls," " Sally Tramp, "• and " Lady Maria " I think are very nice books. Ar« you fond of cats, Dot? We have three here, and we make a great fuss with them. They follow me nearly everywhere I go. The little grey kitten' is sitting on my shoulder ' now ; he begs so prettily while we axe having our m»3ala. The people about here poison the sparrows, and my cats generally get them. I have had three nice little oats die through eating th*m. I buried them under a fence, and then fenced each grave off, and put headstones with the names painted on. them. They Took so nice now, covered with snowdrops and violets. I must draw tc a close now, as it is getting late. — Yours truly, IDA. [I should not like to value a cat too highly when there were poisoned syarrows about, Ida. What a pity the pussy oats are not more particular with regard to their choice oi meat.— DOT.] Dear Dot, — I am the youngest of ihe family. There axe nine in the family — four boys and five girls. My father 1 works on the railway. There is one of my sisters working at horn« and there is one married; she has two sons* They live • in East Gore. There are three" boys at home, and there is one married, who lives in Gisborne. I^was vtery glad to see my letter in the Witness. One of my brothers goes to the school I am going to ; he is in -the Fourth Standard, and the other goes to East Gore ; he as ja the Sixth Standard. The flowers are coming out now. We have primroses, violets, and daffodils. I will close now. With love to all and yourself, — Yours truly, SEA-LION. Dear Dot,— Again I take up mj pen to write a few lines to your page. I saw Mona on Sunday. I suppose a good number of your old writerg are married now. I did not g"b for any holidays this year. My teacher is Miss Cushion. My sister -is four years old. We are getting very rough weather ; I hope it will soon clear- up. Farmers TQund about here are all getting ready to sow theil oats. T have not much " to tell you. With love to all the Little Folks,— /ours truly, SKYLARK [Thank you, Skylark, for the little courtesies and good wishes in your letter which were meant only for myself. — DOT.] Dear Dot, — I suppose the D.L.F have almost forgotten there is r Chief Cook writing to the page. We are having very rough weather here just now, snowing and raining nearly every day. The deepest snow we have had here this year was two inches. At Easter-time two of my girl friends were married. I went to 'both weddings and had a real good time. Battler's and Stufiy's sister was one of the girls, and she is at present living 25 miles away, from here. -Suttler is at present in bed si«t. She k»» to stay in bed iwo more weeks, and then she will have to look after herself and not get a fresh cold. I miss her very much, as I am down to their place three or foui times a wreck for the mail. I have got, a sprained ankle just now, but hope it will soon be better. There is a great deal of sickness about here just now. There has been one death in this small place. An old lady died last Saturday, and the funeral was on Monday. She was a very nice old lady, and 1 " always called to see the sick people. I read a letter from Watercress in last week's Witness I saw her on Friday, and we had a great talk. I 'rave- not seen any letters from around this part lately. Are you aeleep, Carpenter and Young Waggoner? Lady Nancy's and A Wakatipu Boy's mother died last week. They are orphans now, as their father died a few years ago. The Little Folk seem to have a good time at "the socials. I have often wished 1 I ,could get down to one ; but I live so far away from Dunedin. One of my old schoolmates was up here a fortnight ago' and stayed all night. We had a jolly time, and talked and laughed all the -time. She wrote to the page once, but a lons time a-go. I think this is all the news at present. With love to Battler. Stuffy, Watercress. Lady Nancy, and Caroenter, — Yours truly, CHIEF COOK. [.Now that you have appeared again, Chief Cook, you have served up a feast of new?. t I am very, very sorry it is not all good news. I am sure the sympathy of all Dotdoiii will go out to Lady Nancy sml A Wttkatipu Boy in theii trouble.— DOT.] Dear Dot, — It is a long time since I last ".•rote to the page 1 v.-ritp to Aunt Hilda, and =he is having a competition, and 1 am ?,oing in for it. The White Rose of Hazel•vood I did not get your post-card, but T v.'iH =end yru one We had a onrert ?bout 'lire" month's ago. and I empyed it very ;on"Ti I took part in it and I was very 'irerl w!:m I sot home thai night. First of rll thert wa-s a chi-et. and afterwards followed " sons; " "Welcsine " There were msny thi'i? . w'lu-h I cannot remember, but the funniest things o f all were the diplogues and " Oiannie of One Hundred Years Ago" The dialogue " Chinese Laundry " caused much langhter — abrut ten boys dressed up as Chinamen -with their faces blackened. I cannot remember all of the concert, so I will say eood-bye With love to The White Rr.fie of Hkzelwood. Leopard Lily, Grandad's Girl. Links of Love, and your*eH,— Yours truly. TEA CUP [The Rev. A Don. Chinese missionary, tells a story of a little Chinese schoolboy and hi? teacher " What colour are the Englishmen ">" asked the teacher. "White." answerer! the boy " Aiul the nefi-oes 9 " II Biack," i=aid the China hoy "And what colour aye the Chinese 9 " asked the teacher. ". Man colour," answered the boy. The

1 feel ■ flattered if they were c-ailed black. Glad j lo heai from you again. — DOT.] », | Dear Dot,— This is my first letter to the page, and I hope you wili let me be one of your liittle Folks. We have bs«n having j very wet vreather lately. We will le having our spring holidays m a few days. I- am 11, and I am in the Fifth Sta.-da.rd. I have four biothers and three si-ters. My youageit brother is a yesr old; he is a de<w httle fellow, and i« very good. There pje seven in our school. It" is a- small country school. My father is a farmer, and he milks revert ' cows every morning. "We have a very largo house. The mailman visits our house twice a week. He has a very long drive; he has to go 16 miles. We sometimes have very hard frosts'. Now I must close. — Yours truly, DOLLY DINKS. [I am pleased to make your acquaintance, Dolly Dinks but- I am going to ask you to choose another name, as Dolly Dinks is the name of one of my Little Folk at "Wrey's Bush. You have written a very neat letter. —DOT.] Dear Dot, — I have never written to you before, but would you let me join your . little band? I often read some of the other letters. I am 12 years old, and am |in the Sixth Standard. I go to a small country school, where there *re seven attend* ing. We have had two falls, of snow this winter. We mi£k seven, cows, and I help to milk. I have two sheep dogs. W« have two wee pups, whose names are Mac and ■ Scott. We are going to h»v<e our spring - ■holidays next week. We live 14 miles from ' a town and eight - miled from '*. sta-iionT' . I live on a farm. We have a thousand acres. ' There are many acres of bush near the school. 'We have <v large school garden. I " : will be glad to see my letter ' in print. Gcod-bye. — Yours truly, KINGFISHER [That is at very smell school, Kingfisher. You must be lonely sometimes.- Write again soon and tell me of you* life. — DOT:] j Deaf Dot, — This is the second time that I have written. The first time I wrote you asked me to tell you more about myself.Well, I live near the Botanical Garcteas. ,1 • h ave not been very long in Dunedin, -and I j like it very much. . I ivsed to Jive is Gore. j Th-e weather is- much colder up there -than tit is down here. I shall stop now, hoping I to meet some of the L.F. With love to all I the L.F., not forgetting yourteK, — Yours truly, LEOLA. [I wonder whether you ever go to see th,» winter gardens, lreol». X was looking at the flowers only ' to-day, and they are avery beautiful sight.— DOT.] Dear Dot, — I know a good many Little Folk tha<t write to you. All the school I children got their photos taken » few days I agq, and a good many came out very ,■ well. My father got hie finger cut with the circular saw a good while ago, but it is getting all right now. All the spring flowers are out now. - The gardens look very, pretty. It • has been raining very hard these laet two -or I three days, and things look very miserable. I have been ' trapping some rabbits, far the skins are very dear this winter. I am- going to Balclutha next Friday. There is getting quite . a little township ■up here now. There ■ are not many tents here; they are going', further up. the line. — Yours* tntly. ? *• TORTOISE-. Dear- Dot, — 1 was very pleased to .see my name in tbe\p»per. l!he wetvtber is very fine up here just now. I do not like reading 1 very much, but I like reading Dot's letters. If I were to read them all I would be a year, because there are so many' writers This place was called -Creek, because moa bones were found in the creek. This*"' is all «t present. — Yours 'truly, ROSE PRIMROSE. Dear Dot, — Will you take me as one of youi Little Folks? I am 10 years old, but . I am the youngest of a big family, who say I am only ■ a baby. We live between ' two pretty rivers, and at present both of them are in flood. This is a pretty little place, in the middle of Southland. I will try and get something more interesting next letter if you take me for one ,of your Little Balks. 1 will now sign myself as — Yours truly, THE BABY [My experience of family babies is thu they grow up to be very important people — sometimes more inn>ortan-t than Jie eldest in the family. Let me hear from you again soon.— DOT.] ' Dear Dot, — I have been reading your Little Folk's letters for a long time, and have been very interested in them. I would like very much to become -one of you. Little Folk. I am 14 years of age.. I know one of your Little Folk, whose name is Water of Leitfc. I am staying with her now. She has at pony, and she calls him Nobby. We have a lot of dear little chickens. I will close, as thia is my first letter. With iov« to all the Little Folk,— Yours truly, , - PEARL OF THE! SEA.^ [I am -glad you have decided to jom us, Pearl of the Sea. You and Water of Leitb. will have an additional interest -n common. Write again soou.— DOT.] Dear Dot,— This is my first letter to you" page, and I hope you will accept me as one of your band. I live on a farm, but as we only have about 19 cows milking there it not much work to do. I have a pup calkd Jack, and he is a very funny little fellow. j We have Bible lessons after school every I Thursday. We are going to have our yearly examination on or about the 7th af nex* month. Spring is here once more. The gardens are beginning to look quit* gay with flowers, and the trees are budding forth again. Well, Dot, 1 think this is all the,?ews for the first time. With, love to Early Bird, Only a Girl, and all the other L.F., — Yours truly, THE FAIREST FLOWER OF ALL. [I am getting quite a large number of new writers this week. I think it will be a record. We have not a very good 1 display of spring flowers yet in- Dunetlin. Glad to- \ welcoma you. — j^v/I.] ! Dear Dot, — I expect you will be thinkin t i that I have quite forgctten the page. But I have not. Why I did not write before was because vye wei© mpving out of our house, and I did not have any spare time for correI spondence. My sister and Igo out to i Miramar nearly every day and rid* our i ponies. The day before we left our house ! oae of the carters brought his dog, and « i very old dog of ours — a Newfoundland — went ! (o chase thi.s dog, and as he re.n after it he bumped against the fence and dropped down dead. I think he died of heart disease.' He was about 17 year j of age, and we had had him ever since he was about five. One of my sierters will arm© m England next Sunday I am going to see " Jack and Jill " next week. I believe it is very pretty, so lam looking , forward to seeing it. I am afraid I must stop now, as I have no more news to tell you, so good-bye for th* present, dear Dot. — Yours truly, DOLLY DAYDREAM. [This is a coincidence. About 10 minutes before I wrote this I was wondering what had become of Dolly Daydream. Perhaps

the old dog werft to the "happy hunting grounds " in the best and most pleasant way.— DOT.l Dear Doi, — I was glad to ' see my last letter in print, end I hope this one will be put in print too. We axe having lovely weather just now, but the last few daysthere has been a lot of smoke about. I lik«tTeading, and have read a good many books, some of which are "' Uncle Tom's Cabin," "The Lost Child," "Phil's Mother," and a lot more. The flowers are all coming out now, and the gardens are beginning to look pretty. I am glad to see so many of the Maerewhenua people take a fancy to the page. I have not seen the mysterious air- ; ship," but I often see Mars rising^— Yours truly, THE MINER'S DAUGHTJEB. j Dear JDot,— This is my first letter to the page, and I- hope you will -accept me as one of your hand. I am 14 years old, and I have left school. My sister ie writing to "the page to-night: I know a fen D.L.F., whose names are Nerissa, Sleepy Wee Daisie, Star of Brun&wick, Chatterbox, Cornet, and a few more. There h*s not been any snow up here this winter, but I saw by the paper that there has been some down in Dunedin. There are a good many gold mines about here. My father is a miner, but does, not wosk near home. There iB a mine just a short, distance from our. house r and we can ' see the miners working all day, and; we can easily tell 'when they stop work by the sound of the water going off. — Yours truly, GOLDEN GLORY. [The number of my Maarewfcenua D.L.F. is growing every week.- I wonder how many of you there are now? * Was- it your sister, Golden Glory, whom I asked to tell us something about the gold mining? — DOT.] .- Dew Dot; — I saw my last letter in the paper. I will send you * longer letter. I am not -six yet. Dad has read me a lot of the letters. We have a nice, wee. black-and-white * calf ; can you give us a name for . it, please? My dad teaches school, -and Miss Warwick helps him. ' Love from all. — Yours truly, OLIVE. [I am so sorry, Olive, ih*t I shall not be" able to 'suggest a name for your little calf, but you see it. is a little -rule I have. Per-haps-you will think of a name, and tell me next time you write what you have called it. Write again soon.— DOT.] Dear Dot, — Is it not a terrible -thing to be troubled with the lasies? I. suppose you forget there is a writer called Mollie, seeing it is several months since 1 wrote. During those months I have had s few changes, but am back in town again, to' &tay this time, J, hope. Have been away out in the country this last month, and wasn't at all sorry to get back l-o civilisation onoe more. -It is -not ' very nice to see nothing but bare hills d»y after d*y, and not a house in sight. Taking > it all round, though, I think country life is better than town. Of course, I sup"pose it all depends what part of the country one happens to land in. I was at a dance a few miles ftom here on Friday night, -nd enjoyed myself very much. Deerfcot seemed to be having a gocd time too, although he came all the way from the back-blocks. It is such miserable weather - here at present, and- not at all like -the usual. Last Sunday my mwt» and. I cycled out to her home, about nine miles from here, but had a glorious head wind all th-s w«y out.. It -was « bit different, coming horn «. though, , as it was > lovely calm evening. However, bicycles will have to be put aside . now for a day ox- two until the roads, are dry again- By the way, Cyole, I got .your message all .rigit; for which many thinks. Well these isn't much news .about this part, so -I will stop scribbling for the present, and will try and write again toon. With love to Sea-lion, Burns, Ned-de-Vine, Guilia, Rhoda.^Mimoso, Tasma, J. E. S., and all the other L.F.,— Yours truly, AfOLLIE. Dear Dot, — It is close on four years since I last wrote to the page* and there has . been « great many new writers since then. There are not very many D.L.F. in Maheno, but there are a ;few Old Writers. The gardens zound about are looking very nioe with all the spring flowers out. A liittle while ago some friends and myself went up to the Herbert Bush to get some ferns, and we got some very nice ones. There is going to oe } a concert and dance here next Friday, and I ' think I am .going. There is » hockey team here, and I suppose they will he having a match some day. I think I will stop now, Dot, with love to all -the D.L.F. — Yours truly, ORANGE BLOSSOM. {For the honour of Maheno, Orange Blossom, I am- glad you have turned up once more- Now don't dessert us for so long a time again.— DOT.] : Deax Dot, — It is nearly 12 months since I wrote to the page. I am sorry to neglect the page tba>t way, but I have little time to write to anybody. Is not the airship causing a great excitement? The people down here -are watching night .and day for it. A man at* the sawmill one night, about 10 o'clock, . '-s*w what he thougibt to be the airship, and He " ran for aboafc half- a mile and wakened up his two brothers and a number of other men to see it, and they all watched -tilL. - about 1 o'clock. One of his brothers <j£riect . to tell them it was a star, but they w"6uld not believe it till they were certain. The more they watched- the star the mope they though^; it jumped abcut. At last they got very near frost-bitten, and had! to get back to bed. The next morning the troUeyman while looking lor the airship let Ehe trollies run on to the horses, and pushed then? over the bridge, and killed cne of them and hurt another; but he did not get hurst himself, which was a stroke of luck. How would you like to go for a ride in an airship, Dot? I think it would be just lovely to go about in it, and ccc all the lovely sights of the towns and everything. Upon my soul, if I was worth a thousand or two I would have one of them, and take all the D.L.F. for a picnic Would not we enjoy ourselves? Well, Dot, I think I will bring this airship problem to a close, as I have a little more to say, and I don't want tc go over the limit. Since I last wxote to you I have besn out at work at a dairy fa-mi, where there are 40 cows to milk, but the work w?s getting too hard for ma, so I left. We had snow down heTe last Tuesday, and we had a ga-and time. But, oh, it was cold. Now. dear Dot, as I have no mora to say I will stop. Wuh low -to Fouriikiso Blossom, Erthel Turner, and all the othar Little Folks. — Yours truly, GOLDEN WEST [How about a big D.L.F. picnic in an aixahip all 'round New Zealand? We will keep it in mind. Even if we don't have one, perhaps some future Dot and Little Folks will in the years to come. — DOT.] ■Dear Do 4, — I just came home from Sunday school, and there were only four there. That wasn't in*ny, was it, Dot? There was to be a play here on Friday, but it did not come off. We- have 20 ycung pige- One pig has six young ones, another saven, and the other seven. We have lost one of our wekas ; I think it roust be sitrting somowbere. I have not been to school since Moaday, because I sprained my ankle. I have not seen a .letter in the Witness from Daddy's Boy for a long time. Has lie goiie

to sleep? I got such a lovely bunch of violets given to me to-day. Well, Dot, I have no more news, so I will, close. W^h love to Sally, Mozart, and ' Mistress Jean, — Yours truly, SCEPTRE. [Thank you, Sceptre, .for tlfe pleasant oreath of spring you have sent with your letter.— DOT.] Dear Dot, — This is my first letter to your page, and I hope you will allow me to join your happy band. I have three and a-half miles \0 walk to school. I am in St»uid*rd II now, so I must hurry away to my lessons now. — Yours truly, HIGHLAND LASSIE 11. I [You have chosen the name of asother one of my Little Folk, Laasi^ If you wish i to you may chapge it next time you write. And will you kindly send me your <addreea so that I can enter your name in my book. —DOT.] Dear Dot,- 1 - 1 have been away from home for six weeks since I last wrote, and only arrived home last Tuesday night. I was three days in Chri&tchurch, and then went to Wellington, and stayed nearly a fortnight. I went to Xewtown ParJf, Saa-touiv and Island Bay. After spending a pleasant time I left by the s.s. Takapuca lot Nelson. We had a very calm passage, and arrived at our destination wi 1 o'clock in the morning. I spent « very pleasant fortnight, and then started for home. I only saw one D.L F. all the time I was away, but did not have the courage to speak to him- I am very sorry tha>t the Dunedin Club is not well attended. I' hope it will not be closed. What terrible floods they are having in Australia! I have not read many books lately. One I have read is called " The Skipper's Wooing." It is a- humorous book. It has been raining here nearly all day fco-dey. I had a lot ,of post-cards to answer when I came borne, and I am afraid some of my correspondents will think I "have forgotten them altogether. I am -sorry to keep you waiting, comrades, but I won't do so again. I was so -disappointed not to see the stories in S.S.W. this time- I see by the Witness that Mozart is in < the Dunedin Hospiftal. I was in there for a little while about four or five years ago, and I really did not want to come out again. However, comrade, I hope you will soon be well enough to leave it. There is to be a dance here next Wednesday night. I hope to go if it is iine. I have not seen a letter from, Lady Kilroy for a long time. Hurry up .and write, chum. There are a lot of little lambs about just now. I think they are such pretty little things- How nice md! long the days are getting. I don't think anyone cares for the cold, short days. I had a veTy good view of that noted fish, Pelbrus Jack, when I was coming back from Nelson. I think he is well worth seeing. He is a large white fish. Have you ever seen him, Dot? We have a few spring flowers coming out now. I have about 456 post-caids now. My collection is gradually growing. I cannof thinlr of any more news, so must stop. With kind regards to all the D.L-F. and yourself, — Yours truly, . LADY OLIVE. [You must nave had a delightful trip, Lady Olive. I got up to see Pelorus Jack, on my journey to Nelson once, but just miesed seeing him. — DOT.] Dear Dot, — I have not written to you for a long time, so I thought I would write once more. " We have besn^ having very wet weather lately, 'but it has cleared up aicely to-dey. I like the place we are living in very well. We h*ve three miles to walk to school. lam now in the Fifth Standard *t school, but I do^not have very hard work to do.' 1 like our" teacher very well. Our daffodils are coming up now, but I have not many in my garden. I »m a great reader of books, and every spare minute I have I am reading. I will tell you some of the books I have read: — "A Strange Craft," " Her Title of Honour, ' A Little Candle," " The ' Mountain Daisy," " Sisters Three," " Over the Bocky Mountains," " Thelma, ' " Should She Have Spoken?'" and many others which I cannot bring to mind at present. It is bed-time now, co I will close. With love to Mountain Maid, Cowslip, and Ice Creams, — Yours truly, HAZEL EYES. Dear Dot, — I was -ather pl-eaaed when I saw my letter in your page, »nd I was very glad to see all the Little Folk's letters in it. Some of them were very interesting. My mother reads the letters sometimes, and she often reads them to my - little brother and myself. The winter is just about over now, and we* will soon be doing up the gardens. I have put in some seeds, but I don't tiiink they will come on. Last year 1 had a nioe lot of flowers, mad I hope to have a lot this year. I have not been very well lately, and I have not 'beer going to school, but I am going on Monday. — Yours truly, SNOW-WHITE. Dear Dot, — I am 16_years old, and this i» my first letter to your page We are having fine weather up here just now The farmers here have, staged putting in their crops. We are going- -to- begin on Monday. I am working on -a fajni 'by myself ploughing. I "think this is all 1 have to say this, time, — Yjguis., -truly, . JJ" '.'>■ THE BOY IN. LOVE. - [You will tell me more about youraeft next time you write, eh. Boy in Love? You have chosen a very significant name. — DOT.] Dear Dot,— l have just boen leading the JJ.L.F. Page, and have made up my mind to write to you once more. I enjoyed reading S.S.W. very much this year, and thought some of the stories very interesting I wrote away for three weeks' holidays a -while ago, but under a different norn de plume. I was away for three weeks holida-ys a while a«o, but I did not enjoy myself very well, as the weather was very rough, and it made it very miserable, especially when one cou'd not get out. While away 1 had the pleasure of meeting Helen and May Flower Thoy are very nice girls, and I spent a most enjoyable time with them The weather down here has been very changeable this laat week or two. We had a slight, fall o" snow la^t week, but it did not last long Dear Dot, since I la,st wroto to you I have "left school, j and must say prefer being at home then at schooL I think 1 will say gocd-bye for the present, as it is getting late. With Lest love to Helen, May Flower, and Maid of Erin, not forgettirg jourself. — Youri truly, A BUXCH OF VIOLETS [Why such a long silence, A Bunch of Violets? You surely had something interesting to tell the Little Folk during that ( two years. Yes, there are other things that j make up for the loss of school — DOT.] , Dear Dot,— Just a few lines to let you j know how I air getting on. I am 12 years , old now, and my birthday was on the 19rh ' of August. Nearly everybody about here are | getting in their garden seeds, and we have «taited to get ours in. I am in the Fifth , Standard at school, and I have to pa«s the _ Six4h Standard, but I am not going to be a | schoolmistress. N-ea_rly all my sisters have writt-en to you. except the younge-at one. j We go io a fancjwork clas3 every Saturday, \ and we learn to do a lot cf different wcrk, { Buch as spider webs, huckabach, and a few

T other things. We had two weeks' holidays * j not long ago. We have not had any snow, j and I don't think we will get any now — i Yonrs truly, j THE LAMPLIGHTER'S NIECE. j Dear Dot, — I must write you a few lines, 1 as it is a long since I last wrote. My sister 1 Ruby is also writing. I have another little sifter, and her name is Mary. She is seven man the ol^- I go to school nearly every day, but I do not like going. I get the strap when I deserve it. It won't be long i now until our examination. It star-ted to rain ye^erday, and has not stopped yet. There was a ball here on Friday night- I will close. With love to all the L.F.— Yours truly, PRETTY BLOSSOM. , [I hope you don"- deserve the strap too often. Pretty Blossom. It will be some years before your little sister begins to write to Dot, I suppose.— DOT.] Dear Dot,— We- have not much news here. • Nothing interesting ever happens here, for this is a very quiet place. My flower garden is getting very pretty now with all the spring flowers out in bloom-. We have ■ some beautiful hyacinths this year- One of them is pure white, and so lovely. W o . also have same beautiful violets, and such a lot of them too. They are smothered wilh bloom. We haven't any white ones though. I miwt get some for my garden next year! We have some lovely anemones ; there is a beautiful bright blue one I like very much. We have had snow quite lately, but it didn't ' settle much. The rain i s awful— it rained < for four days', and hardly stopped once, but 1 to-day has not besn so bad. All the excitement about the airship has died down now. I wonder if there was an airship? My j brother saw the lights. There were two \ when 'he saw them. I wonder wbat has 1 become of Sea Urchin? I never see a letter • from her in the page now. I know who ■ .Long Point is; he (Joes not live very far from heTe. I saw a very .pretty sight one night. Rock Rose and I were standing oh the \erandah airship-gazing, and all of a sudden there shot over the house a lovely ; bright- thing. It left a long streak of light 1 behind it. We thought it was the airship , at first, but" everyone says it was a- meteor. llt is the first one I have ever seen. 16 was , all colours. I have never seen anything so i pretty. There was a slight shock of earth- , quake here the other week. I will conclude now. With love to Sea Urchin,— Yours truly, A TAUTUKU MAID. j I [You must take a great pride m your I garden, my Tautuku Ma»d, for it seems to ' I be very beautiful. The airship must surely ! ! have been the means of teaching some people j the beauty of our starlit sky. — DOT.] i Dear Dot, — I was very pleased to see my . first letter in your page. I know a gcod few" D.L.F. about here. It has been fairly j good weather here lately. We are milking tour cows just now. We have 26 luttie lambs. I am going to a church social on I Wednesday. I think this is about all I I have 'to tell you, — Yours truly, APPLE BLOSSOM. Dear Dot. — It is drizzling rain to-day, and it makes everything Look miserable. My mate, Unze Pornme Rosee, has a pretry little Kitten, and she calls it Brighteyes. Wha-t has become of Links of Love? 1 haven't seen a letter in or some time. My brother has a little pup which he calls Toss; he is a cunning- little fellow, and is, fond of jumping up on you. Our school |- examin^tion is to be on 7th of Septem- ' ber. I hop© I shall pass. There isn't much ' news to tell you this time, so I will now close. With love to Une Pomme Rosee. ' Links of Love. Teacup, and A Bunch of Blue Violets. — Yours truly, „ LEOPARD LILY. • Dear Dot, — It -is a long time since I wrote to the page, so as it is wet, and we * cannot go outside, I thought I would write i to you to-day. The weather here lately has ! been v-ery dull We have several spring bulbs and flowers in bioon? in the garden. ; There are violets, primroses, cowslips, daffo- j dils, crqeus-ss, daisies, pansies, scarlet geraniums, wallflowers, and a few stocks. Our ' examination is 011 Thursday, but I do not j know whether I will pass or not, because j I have not been able to attend school on ! account of the bad weather we had a few months ago. My four sisters and I have four miles to walk to school, so of course we cannot attend school regularly as come ' of the children do. I know several D.L.F.. j whoso names are: — Princess .May, Little I Dewdrop, Little Fair^. Fern. Orange Bios- \ som. May' Lawton, and a few others. I ' will close now, with love to all. — Yours truly. E A. B. [What t journey to have to make each day, lassie. I 'do hope you will pass your examination in spite of your absence. You must let me know. — DOT.] CORNISH PROMOTED. [It is necessary to explain, Little Folk, that a "Q " ib an express engine, and that 1 our faithful comrade is now well, on the [ way to holding one- o[ the most enviable, as well as most responsible, positions in the Domicion-^hat of express-driver. Good luck attend him! So gay all of us. — Blonde!.] Hats off! All shout! Can it be. a dieani? Cornish on the footplate of a "Q"! He's off! No doubt! See, he's making steam, And making for Mackenzie Country too. He's off! Join all. Shouting out, " Gocd-bye l " Surely now's the time for us to grieve. No, tears won't fall, Cannot even sigh, For Cornish there 19 Isughing up his sleeve. Well, well' He'd sarnie i If a shower of ra*n, Or laugh if he were ftaadmg on a tack. Bravo 1 — meanwhile Laughing at our pain Means for sure, " I'll scon be coming back " I All right- Hjjtfl.v 1 1 Let the echo soar Above the noisy clatter of the " Q " Cjme back 1 Gocd day! Love attends tho do-ox. At present, Comra.de Cornish, too-ra!-00. — Bloxdel. AUTOS AND POST-CARDS. Orange Blosssr (Violet Orr, Maheno) would like to exchange pobt-cards with any : D L.F willing Sceptre (care of Mr A. F Taylor, Mande- ! yille South) would like to exchange autos j with Luceda or any D.L.F. willing Sure > replies. I Leopard Lily (Ivy Frame, care of Mr T ( Frame, Herbert) v. 011 Id like to exchange s post-cards with Boruiie Prince Charlie. Froat ' Maiden, Lola, and Another White Violet. ! Wild Girl (Miss J E. Butler, Box 12, Winton) would like to exchange autos or ! , post-catds with Lady Olive, Shepherd Lad, i Eulclie, and any other D.ItF. who are will- ' iag. t Blossom (Miss A. Cuddihy, Chatton P. 0.) *

wishes to exchange autos ox posl-cards with ' Alva and Mokodingo. Chief Cook (Lottie Perriam, .care of Mr Perriam, Gibbston, Lake County) wishes to exchange autos with Wafercress. Harry, Ned ! d« Vine, Firefly, and Young Wolf. Will send his as soon as he receives theirs. D.L.F. AUTOS. Autos "sent to Brownie, Charles X., and Star of Brunswick. RIDDLES. 1. Why is a mouse like a load of hay? 2. A duck before two ducks, a duck behind two ducks, a duck between two ducks, how many ducks in all? 3. Why is a candlemaker th» most sinful and unfortunate of men"? D.L.F. BADGES. Badges sent to Jack, Harvest Bell, Little Princess, and Monte.