H.M. THE KING and ELM. The Queen both seat special gifts in November last to show their interest in the pro- gress of the Motor Life-boat Scheme.

* * * * The 1st Battalion of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders have sent a donation of £49, from The Citadel, Cairo. IB. 1925 the same battalion headed the list of Army subscriptions with a gift of £45, and in 1924 they headed it with £50.

The Aldershot Football Association have sent a donation out of the takings at the match which it played with the Aldershot Command Football Associa- tion on December 1st last.

In December a lady called at the Institution and presented it with £50 to provide the Line-throwing Gun on board the Motor Life-boat which had been sent to the Aberdeen Station in October. The same lady had pre- viously presented it with the Line- thromag Gun, for the Motor Life-boat at Holy Island, Northumberland, the Steering Wheel for the Motor Life- boat at Yarmouth in the Isle of Wight, and the Sweeps for the Pulling and Sailing Life-boat at Aranmore in Co.

Donegal.

Two gifts received in Christmas Week deserve to be recorded. One came flora the children of the Church of England School at Langton-by-Spilsby in Lin- colnshire, with good wishes " to the Life-boats and all sailors for a very happy Christmas." The other came from a lady in London who is now 93 but " does not fail to take an interest in the Life-boat as she had a son in the Navy and a brother in the Merchant Service, and has now two grandsons in the Navy." Just after Christmas we received a copy of a children's book called " Sons of the Empire," It was evi- dently sent in response to our Christmas advertisement appealing to those cele- brating Christmas in safety at home, to remember the Life-boat Crews on the coast, for a copy of the advertise- ment was enclosed with it. A slip of paper was also enclosed, with " From John Dancy, aged six," written on it.

* * * * Messrs. Bovril have given the Institu- tion 96 packs of playing-cards for use at Whist Drives in the South-Western District.

* * * * A cheque for £20 has been received from Mr. A. Kingfisher, of the Treasure House, Oxted, a shop for the sale of curios and antiques. With it came a letter explaining that all the profits of the shop were given to charity, and that this cheque for the Life-boat Service represented part of the profits for the past six months.

* * * * A donation of £5 has been received from a schoolmaster in British Columbia in response to the Institution's adver- tisement in one of the London, weekly papers. The donor wrote: "If you have a book about the Life-boat Insti- tution, with thrilling rescues such as I know they constantly effect, I should be very glad to buy it, to read it to the children. We are all poor in this part of Canada, but there is no want or squalor, and they do not see- the necessity of giving nor the privilege." A copy of " Britain's Lifeboats " has been presented to the school.

* * * * The Glasgow Branch has received a sum of over £33, raised by the officers and crews of the four steamships oi the Monarch S.S. Company, owned by Messrs. Kaeburn and Verel, of Glasgow.

The vessels are between 4500 and 6000 tons, the crews being partly British and partly Chinese. In each of the four vessels the Chinese contributed, one of the Chinese cabin boys giving ten shil- lings.

An American, who has crossed the Atlantic 105 times, and whose English ancestors went to America five years after the Mayflower sailed, called per- sonally at the Institution last year and handed the Secretary £50 in admiration for the work of the British Life-boat Service. By this gift he became an Honorary Vice-President of the Insti- tution for life. This year he has called again and made two separate gifts of 25 guineas each, one of them being given in the name of his son and the other in the name of his daughter, in order that they too may be Honorary Vice-Presidents of the British Life-boat Institution, He promised to call again and, by the same means, to add the names of some of his friends to the list of Honorary Vice- Presidents. His son has written, " Although I am far from the veteran traveller that my Father is, I have crossed the Atlantic ocean twenty-six times, and hold the honor conferred on me through him no light one," * * * * A girl at Bideford, Miss Ruby Snow, who has been bed-ridden for over a year, has held a bazaar in her room, with the help of three of her friends.

At this bazaar they sold small things which they had collected, and made £3 12s. 2 L, which, they have given to the Life-boat service.

This is not Miss Snow's first Life-boat Bazaar. Three and a half years ago, after hearing, at school, a lecture on the Life-boats by the Honorary Secre- tary of the Appledore Branch, she and two other little girls collected toys, sent out invitations for a bazaar and tea, and in this way made nearly a pound for the Life-boats, * * * * One of the most mysterious gifts which the Institution has ever received came in the following way. At the beginning of February a scrap of paper arrived with this message : " The writer may shortly be going on a voyage, and hopes to have a safe journey, providing he had the assurance of help from the Life-boat Institution.

Taking the forthcoming help for granted, he promises to place in a L.B. Box every year one small piece of gold (all being well)." As no name or address was given, it was impossible for the Institution to give any assurance, but three days later came another anonymous message : " With further reference to the scrappy note sent a few days ago. The writer wishes now to state that he will not go on the voyage, and if even, by a miracle he did, he would perhaps be unable to put in one of your Life-boat boxes the proffered piece of gold.

Enclosed please find bedded in card- board one half Jimmy o' Goblin.

Kindly deposit in box." With this message was enclosed the half-sovereign duly " bedded in card- board.".