COUSIN BETTY’S LETTER

Southland Times, Issue 21091, 24 May 1930, Page 22

COUSIN BETTY’S LETTER

—QUOTATION FOR TO-DAY.— “ Our grand business is undoubtedly, not to see what lies dimly at a distance, but to do what lies clearly at hand.” -—Thomas Carlyle. (Sent in by Cousin Nancy Aitken).

My Dearest Cousins, The smell of my room as I write is spring—but the feel is undoubtedly winter. The reason for the spring is a lovely bunch of violets reposing on my desk, and these were brought to me the other day by a Little Southlander of whom the fragrant starry-eyed flowers are certainly a namesake. And there’s another season with me, too—there’s summer in my heart, lots and lots of sunshine, because it’s such a nice page this week. The competition entries, fhe original verse, _ the letters —they were all so good that they make me simply bubbly with happiness. First of all, I have to correct a mistake that appeared in our page of May 10. Cousin George Ward came to me very distressed when be saw that the poem he had meant for the “From the Poets” section had got into the Original Verse column; and I forgot to correct this mistake last week. You see, I thought it was his own because it wasn’t marked for “From the Poets”; and he thought I would know, because it wasn’t marked “original.' So you see we were both at fault and now that lies forgiven me and I’ve forgiven him, we hope you all will forgive us both! Now several of you have asked me how long each serial instalment should be. I had said about a column, and so I think it will be of assistance to you to know that there are approximately 16S0 words to the column. Remember, the first instalments are to be in by next Saturday. I’m feeling all excited about them already! By the way, I hope you have read the rules carefully. As- a matter of fact, I suspect that quite a number of you never think of reading the “rules to remember” that are always included after the competitions. I wish you would. I have received quite a budget of entries for Cousin Bruce Godward’s Little Southlander cross-word since I wrote the announcement that Cousin June Perry had won. Since then I have received correct solutions from over a dozen Little Southlanders, and Cousin Unah Borland (Riverton) has discovered two errors—•'existence” was spelt “existancc,” and “maestrom” as “maelstom.” I wonder what would be a suitable punishment to mete out to Cousin Bruce for such offences! Now I must run away to a rehearsal, Cousins mine. There’s not one of you who could possibly enjoy them more than does Your own