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Title: Station Life in New Zealand 

Author: Lady Barker

Release Date: July, 2004 [EBook #6104]
[Yes, we are more than one year ahead of schedule]
[This file was first posted on November 6, 2002]

Edition: 10

Language: English

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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK STATION LIFE IN NEW ZEALAND  ***




Produced by P J Riddick






Station Life in New Zealand

by Lady Barker.

1883



Preface.

These letters, their writer is aware, justly incur the reproach of
egotism and triviality; at the same time she did not see how this
was to be avoided, without lessening their value as the exact
account of a lady's experience of the brighter and less practical
side of colonization.  They are published as no guide or handbook
for "the intending emigrant;" that person has already a literature
to himself, and will scarcely find here so much as a single
statistic.  They simply record the expeditions, adventures, and
emergencies diversifying the daily life of the wife of a New Zealand
sheep-farmer; and, as each was written while the novelty and
excitement of the scenes it describes were fresh upon her, they may
succeed in giving here in England an adequate impression of the
delight and freedom of an existence so far removed from our own
highly-wrought civilization: not failing in this, the writer will
gladly bear the burden of any critical rebuke the letters deserve.
One thing she hopes will plainly appear,--that, however hard it was
to part, by the width of the whole earth, from dear friends and
spots scarcely less dear, yet she soon found in that new country new
friends and a new home; costing her in their turn almost as many
parting regrets as the old.
F. N. B.



Letter I: Two months at sea--Melbourne.


Port Phillip Hotel, Melbourne.  September 22d, 1865.
.... Now I must give you an account of our voyage: it has been a
very quick one for the immense distance traversed, sometimes under
canvas, but generally steaming.  We saw no land between the Lizard
and Cape Otway light--that is, for fifty-seven days: and oh, the
monotony of that time!--the monotony of it!  Our decks were so
crowded that we divided our walking hours, in order that each set of
passengers might have space to move about; for if every one had
taken it into their heads to exercise themselves at the same time,
we could hardly have exceeded the fisherman's definition of a walk,
"two steps and overboard."  I am ashamed to say I was more or less
ill all the way, but, fortunately, F--- was not, and I rejoiced at
this from the most selfish motives, as he was able to take care of
me.  I find that sea-sickness develops the worst part of one's
character with startling rapidity, and, as far as I am concerned, I
look back with self-abasement upon  my callous indifference to the
sufferings of others, and apathetic absorption in my individual
misery.

Until we had fairly embarked, the well-meaning but ignorant among
our friends constantly assured us, with an air of conviction as to
the truth and wisdom of their words, that we were going at the very
best season of the year; but as soon as we could gather the opinions
of those in authority on board, it gradually leaked out that we
really had fallen upon quite a wrong time for such a voyage, for we
very soon found ourselves in the tropics during their hottest month
(early in August), and after having been nearly roasted for three
weeks, we plunged abruptly into mid-winter, or at all events very
early spring, off the Cape of Good Hope, and went through a season
of bitterly cold weather, with three heavy gales.  I pitied the poor
sailors from the bottom of my heart, at their work all night on
decks slippery with ice, and pulling at ropes so frozen that it was
almost impossible to bend them; but, thank God, there were no
casualties among the men.  The last gale was the most severe; they
said it was the tail of a cyclone.  One is apt on land to regard
such phrases as the "shriek of the storm," or "the roar of the
waves," as poetical hyperboles; whereas they are very literal and
expressive renderings of the sounds of horror incessant throughout a
gale at sea.  Our cabin, though very nice and comfortable in other
respects, possessed an extraordinary attraction for any stray wave
which might be wandering about the saloon: once or twice I have been
in the cuddy when a sea found its way down the companion, and I have
watched with horrible anxiety a ton or so of water hesitating which
cabin it should enter and deluge, and it always seemed to choose
ours.  All these miseries appear now, after even a few days of the
blessed land, to belong to a distant past; but I feel inclined to
lay my pen down and have a hearty laugh at the recollection of one
cold night, when a heavy "thud" burst open our cabin door, and
washed out all the stray parcels, boots, etc., from the corners in
which the rolling of the ship had previously bestowed them.  I was
high and dry in the top berth, but poor F--- in the lower recess was
awakened by the douche, and no words of mine can convey to you the
utter absurdity of his appearance, as he nimbly mounted on the top
of a chest of drawers close by, and crouched there, wet and
shivering, handing me up a most miscellaneous assortment of goods to
take care of in my little dry nest.

Some of our fellow-passengers were very good-natured, and devoted
themselves to cheering and enlivening us by getting up concerts,
little burlesques and other amusements; and very grateful we were
for their efforts: they say that "anything is fun in the country,"
but on board ship a little wit goes a very long way indeed, for all
are only too ready and anxious to be amused.  The whole dramatic
strength of the company was called into force for the performance of
"The Rivals," which was given a week or so before the end of the
voyage.  It went off wonderfully well; but I confess I enjoyed the
preparations more than the play itself: the ingenuity displayed was
very amusing at the time.  You on shore cannot imagine how difficult
it was to find a snuff-box for "Sir Anthony Absolute," or with what
joy and admiration we welcomed a clever substitute for it in the
shape of a match-box covered with the lead out of a tea-chest most
ingeniously modelled into an embossed wreath round the lid, with a
bunch of leaves and buds in the centre, the whole being brightly
burnished: at the performance the effect of this little "property"
was really excellent.  Then, at the last moment, poor "Bob Acres"
had to give in, and acknowledge that he could not speak for
coughing; he had been suffering from bronchitis for some days past,
but had gallantly striven to make himself heard at rehearsals; so on
the day of the play F--- had the part forced on him.  There was no
time to learn his "words," so he wrote out all of them in large
letters on slips of paper and fastened them on the beams.  This
device was invisible to the audience, but he was obliged to go
through his scenes with his head as high up as if he had on a
martingale; however, we were all so indulgent that at any little
_contretemps_, such as one of the actresses forgetting her part or
being seized by stage-fright, the applause was much greater than
when things went smoothly.

I can hardly believe that it is only two days since we steamed into
Hobson's Bay, on a lovely bright spring morning.  At dinner, the
evening before, our dear old captain had said that we should see the
revolving light on the nearest headland about eight o'clock that
evening, and so we did.  You will not think me childish, if I
acknowledge that my eyes were so full of tears I could hardly see it
after the first glimpse; it is impossible to express in a letter all
the joy and thankfulness of such a moment.  Feelings like these are
forgotten only too quickly in the jar and bustle of daily life, and
we are always ready to take as a matter of course those mercies
which are new every morning; but when I realized that all the tosses
and tumbles of so many weary days and nights were over, and that at
last we had reached the haven where we would be, my first thought
was one of deep gratitude.  It was easy to see that it was a good
moment with everyone; squabbles were made up with surprising
quickness; shy people grew suddenly sociable; some who had
comfortable homes to go to on landing gave kind and welcome
invitations to others, who felt themselves sadly strange in a new
country; and it was with really a lingering feeling of regret that
we all separated at last, though a very short time before we should
have thought it quite impossible to be anything but delighted to
leave the ship.

We have not seen much of Melbourne yet, as there has been a great
deal to do in looking after the luggage, and at first one is capable
of nothing but a delightful idleness.  The keenest enjoyment is a
fresh-water bath, and next to that is the new and agreeable luxury
of the ample space for dressing; and then it is so pleasant to
suffer no anxiety as to the brushes and combs tumbling about.  I
should think that even the vainest woman in the world would find her
toilet and its duties a daily trouble and a sorrow at sea, on
account of the unsteadiness of all things.  The next delight is
standing at the window, and seeing horses, and trees, and dogs--in
fact, all the "treasures of the land;" as for flowers--beautiful as
they are at all times--you cannot learn to appreciate them enough
until you have been deprived of them for two months.

You know that I have travelled a good deal in various parts of the
world, but I have never seen.  anything at all like Melbourne.  In
other countries, it is generally the antiquity of the cities, and
their historical reminiscences, which appeal to the imagination; but
_here_, the interest is as great from exactly the opposite cause.
It is most wonderful to walk through a splendid town, with
magnificent public buildings, churches, shops, clubs, theatres, with
the streets well paved and lighted, and to think that less than
forty years ago it was a desolate swamp without even a hut upon it.
How little an English country town progresses in forty years, and
here is a splendid city created in that time!  I have no hesitation
in saying, that any fashionable novelty which comes out in either
London or Paris finds its way to Melbourne by the next steamer; for
instance, I broke my parasol on board ship, and the first thing I
did on landing was to go to one of the best shops in Collins Street
to replace it.  On learning what I wanted, the shopman showed me
some of those new parasols which had just come out in London before
I sailed, and which I had vainly tried to procure in S---, only four
hours from London.

The only public place we have yet visited is the Acclimatization
Garden; which is very beautifully laid out, and full of aviaries,
though it looks strange to see common English birds treated as
distinguished visitors and sumptuously lodged and cared for.
Naturally, the Australian ones interest me most, and they are
certainly prettier than yours at home, though they do not sing.  I
have been already to a shop where they sell skins of birds, and have
half ruined myself in purchases for hats.  You are to have a
"diamond sparrow," a dear little fellow with reddish brown plumage,
and white spots over its body (in this respect a miniature copy of
the Argus pheasant I brought from India), and a triangular patch of
bright yellow under its throat.  I saw some of them alive in a cage
in the market with many other kinds of small birds, and several
pairs of those pretty grass or zebra paroquets, which are called
here by the very inharmonious name of "budgerighars."  I admired the
blue wren so much--a tiny _birdeen_ with tail and body of
dust-coloured feathers, and head and throat of a most lovely
turquoise blue; it has also a little wattle of these blue feathers
standing straight out on each side of its head, which gives it a
very pert appearance.  Then there is the emu-wren, all sad-coloured,
but quaint, with the tail-feathers sticking up on end, and exactly
like those of an emu; on the very smallest scale, even to the
peculiarity of two feathers growing out of the same little quill.  I
was much amused by the varieties of cockatoos, parrots, and lories
of every kind and colour, shrieking and jabbering in the part of the
market devoted to them; but I am told that I have seen very few of
the varieties of birds, as it is early in the spring, and the young
ones have not yet been brought in: they appear to sell as fast as
they can be procured.  But before I end my letter I must tell you
about the cockatoo belonging to this hotel.  It is a famous bird in
its way, having had its portrait taken several times, descriptions
written for newspapers of its talents, and its owner boasts of
enormous sums offered and refused for it.  Knowing my fondness for
pets, F--- took me downstairs to see it very soon after our arrival.
I thought it hideous: it belongs to a kind not very well known in
England, of a dirtyish white colour, a very ugly-shaped head and
bill, and large bluish rings round the eyes; the beak is huge and
curved.  If it knew of this last objection on my part, it would
probably answer, like the wolf in Red  Riding Hood's story, "the
better to talk with, my dear"--for it is a weird and knowing bird.
At first it flatly refused to show off any of its accomplishments,
but one of the hotel servants good-naturedly came forward, and Cocky
condescended to go through his performances.  I cannot possibly-tell
you of all its antics: it pretended to have a violent toothache, and
nursed its beak in its claw, rocking itself backwards and forwards
as if in the greatest agony, and in answer to all the remedies which
were proposed, croaking out, "Oh, it ain't a bit of good," and
finally sidling up, to the edge of its perch, and saying in hoarse
but confidential whisper, "Give us a drop of whisky, _do_."  Its
voice was extraordinarily distinct, and when it sang several
snatches of songs the words were capitally given, with the most
absurdly comic intonation, all the _roulades_ being executed in
perfect tune.  I liked its sewing performance so much--to see it
hold a little piece of stuff underneath the claw which rested on the
perch, and pretend to sew with the other, getting into difficulties
with its thread, and finally setting up a loud song in praise of
sewing-machines just as if it were an advertisement.

By the next time I write I shall have seen more of Melbourne; there
will, however, be no time for another letter by this mail; but I
will leave one to be posted after we sail for New Zealand.



Letter II: Sight-seeing in Melbourne.


Melbourne, October 1st, 1865.
I have left my letter to the last moment before starting for
Lyttleton; everything is re-packed and ready, and we sail to-morrow
morning in the _Albion_.  She is a mail-steamer--very small after
our large vessel, but she looks clean and tidy; at all events, we
hope to be only on board her for ten days.  In England one fancies
that New Zealand is quite close to Australia, so I was rather
disgusted to find we had another thousand miles of steaming to do
before we could reach our new home; and one of the many Job's
comforters who are scattered up and down the world assures me that
the navigation is the most dangerous and difficult of the whole
voyage.

We have seen a good deal of Melbourne this week; and not only of the
town, for we have had many drives in the exceedingly pretty suburbs,
owing to the kindness of the D---s, who have been most hospitable
and made our visit here delightful.  We drove out to their house at
Toorak three or four times; and spent a long afternoon with them;
and there I began to make acquaintance with the Antipodean trees and
flowers.  I hope you will not think it a very sweeping assertion if
I say that all the leaves look as if they were made of leather, but
it really is so; the hot winds appear to parch up everything, at all
events.  round Melbourne, till the greatest charm of foliage is more
or less lost; the flowers also look withered and burnt up, as yours
do at the end of a long, dry summer, only they assume this
appearance after the first hot wind in spring.  The suburb called
Heidelberg is the prettiest, to my taste--an undulating country with
vineyards, and a park-like appearance which, is very charming.  All
round Melbourne there are nice, comfortable, English-looking villas.
At one of these we called to return a visit and found a very
handsome house, luxuriously furnished, with beautiful garden and
grounds.  One afternoon we went by rail to St. Kilda's, a
flourishing bathing-place on the sea-coast, about six miles from
Melbourne.  Everywhere building is going on with great rapidity, and
you do not see any poor people in the streets.  If I wanted to be
critical and find fault, I might object to the deep gutters on each
side of the road; after a shower of rain they are raging torrents
for a short time, through which you are obliged to splash without
regard to the muddy consequences; and even when they are dry, they
entail sudden and prodigious jolts.  There are plenty of Hansoms and
all sorts of other conveyances, but I gave F--- no peace until he
took me for a drive in a vehicle which was quite new to me--a sort
of light car with a canopy and curtains, holding four, two on each
seat, _dos-a-dos_, and called a "jingle,"--of American parentage, I
fancy.  One drive in this carriage was quite enough, however, and I
contented myself with Hansoms afterwards; but walking is really more
enjoyable than anything else, after having been so long cooped up on
board ship.

We admired the fine statue, at the top of Collins Street, to the
memory of the two most famous of Australian explorers, Burke and
Wills, and made many visits to the Museum, and the glorious Free
Library; we also went all over the Houses of Legislature--very new
and grand.  But you must not despise me if I confess to having
enjoyed the shops exceedingly: it was so unlike a jeweller's shop in
England to see on the counter gold in its raw state, in nuggets and
dust and flakes; in this stage of its existence it certainly
deserves its name of "filthy lucre," for it is often only half
washed.  There were quantities of emus' eggs in the silversmiths'
shops, mounted in every conceivable way as cups and vases, and even
as work-boxes: some designs consisted of three or five eggs grouped
together as a centre-piece.  I cannot honestly say I admired any of
them; they were generally too elaborate, comprising often a native
(spear in hand), a kangaroo, palms, ferns, cockatoos, and sometimes
an emu or two in addition, as a pedestal--all this in frosted silver
or gold.  I was given a pair of these eggs before leaving England:
they were mounted in London as little flower-vases in a setting
consisting only of a few bulrushes and leaves, yet far better than
any of these florid designs; but he emu-eggs are very popular in
Sydney or Melbourne, and I am told sell rapidly to people going
home, who take them as a memento of their Australian life, and
probably think that the greater the number of reminiscences
suggested by the ornament the more satisfactory it is as a purchase.

I must finish my letter by a description of a dinner-party which
about a dozen of our fellow-passengers joined with us in giving our
dear old captain before we all separated.  Whilst we were on board,
it very often happened that the food was not very choice or good: at
all events we used sometimes to grumble at it, and we generally
wound up our lamentations by agreeing that when we reached Melbourne
we would have a good dinner together.  Looking back on it, I must
say I think we were all rather greedy, but we tried to give a better
colouring to our gourmandism by inviting the captain, who was
universally popular, and by making it as elegant and pretty a repast
as possible.  Three or four of the gentlemen formed themselves into
a committee, and they must really have worked very hard; at all
events they collected everything rare and strange in the way of
fish, flesh, and fowl peculiar to Australia, the arrangement of the
table was charming, and the delicacies were all cooked and served to
perfection.  The ladies' tastes were considered in the profusion of
flowers, and we each found an exquisite bouquet by our plate.  I
cannot possibly give you a minute account of the whole menu; in
fact, as it is, I feel rather like Froissart, who, after chronicling
a long list of sumptuous dishes, is not ashamed to confess, "Of all
which good things I, the chronicler of this narration, did partake!"
The soups comprised kangaroo-tail--a clear soup not unlike ox-tail,
but with a flavour of game.  I wish I could recollect the names of
the fish: the fresh-water ones came a long distance by rail from the
river Murray, but were excellent nevertheless.  The last thing which
I can remember tasting (for one really could do little else) was a
most exquisite morsel of pigeon--more like a quail than anything
else in flavour.  I am not a judge of wine, as you may imagine,
therefore it is no unkindness to the owners of the beautiful
vineyards which we saw the other day, to say that I do not like the
Australian wines.  Some of the gentlemen pronounced them to be
excellent, especially the equivalent to Sauterne, which has a
wonderful native name impossible to write down; but, as I said
before, I do not like the rather rough flavour.  We had not a great
variety of fruit at dessert: indeed, Sydney oranges constituted its
main feature, as it is too late for winter fruits, and too early for
summer ones: but we were not inclined.  to be over-fastidious, and
thought everything delicious.



Letter III: On to New Zealand.


Christchurch, Canterbury, N. Z. October 14th, 1865.
As you so particularly desired me when we parted to tell you
_everything_, I must resume my story where in my last letter I left
it off.  If I remember rightly, I ended with an attempt at
describing our great feast.  We embarked the next day, and as soon
as we were out of the bay the little _Albion_ plunged into heavy
seas.  The motion was much worse in her than on board the large
vessel we had been so glad to leave, and all my previous sufferings
seemed insignificant compared with what I endured in my small and
wretchedly hard berth.  I have a dim recollection of F--- helping me
to dress, wrapping me up in various shawls, and half carrying me up
the companion ladder; I crawled into a sunny corner among the boxes
of oranges with which the deck was crowded, and there I lay helpless
and utterly miserable.  One well-meaning and good-natured
fellow-passenger asked F--- if I was fond of birds, and on his
saying "Yes," went off for a large wicker cage of hideous "laughing
Jackasses," which he was taking as a great treasure to Canterbury.
Why they should be called "Jackasses" I never could discover; but
the creatures certainly do utter by fits and starts a sound which
may fairly be described as laughter.  These paroxysms arise from no
cause that one can perceive; one bird begins, and all the others
join in, and a more doleful and depressing chorus I never heard:
early in the morning seemed the favourite time for this discordant
mirth.  Their owner also possessed a cockatoo with a great musical
reputation, but I never heard it get beyond the first bar of "Come
into the garden, Maud."  Ill as I was, I remember being roused to
something like a flicker of animation when I was shown an
exceedingly seedy and shabby-looking blackbird with a broken leg in
splints, which its master (the same bird-fancying gentleman) assured
me he had bought in Melbourne as a great bargain for only 2 pounds
10 shillings!

After five days' steaming we arrived in the open roadstead of
Hokitika, on the west coast of the middle island of New Zealand, and
five minutes after the anchor was down a little tug came alongside
to take away our steerage passengers--three hundred diggers.  The
gold-fields on this coast were only discovered eight months ago, and
already several canvas towns have sprung up; there are thirty
thousand diggers at work, and every vessel brings a fresh cargo of
stalwart, sun-burnt men.  It was rather late, and getting dark, but
still I could distinctly see the picturesque tents in the deep
mountain gorge, their white shapes dotted here and there as far back
from the shore as my sight could follow, and the wreaths of smoke
curling up in all directions from the evening fires: it is still
bitterly cold at night, being very early spring.  The river Hokitika
washes down with every fresh such quantities of sand, that a bar is
continually forming in this roadstead, and though only vessels of
the least possible draught are engaged in the coasting-trade, still
wrecks are of frequent occurrence.  We ought to have landed our
thousands of oranges here, but this work was necessarily deferred
till the morning, for it was as much as they could do to get all the
diggers and their belongings safely ashore before dark; in the
middle of the night one of the sudden and furious gales common to
these seas sprang up, and would soon have driven us on the rocks if
we had not got our steam up quickly and struggled out to sea,
oranges and all, and away to Nelson, on the north coast of the same
island.  Here we landed the seventh day after leaving Melbourne, and
spent a few hours wandering about on shore.  It is a lovely little
town, as I saw it that spring morning, with hills running down
almost to the water's edge, and small wooden houses with gables and
verandahs, half buried in creepers, built up the sides of the steep
slopes.  It was a true New Zealand day, still and bright, a
delicious invigorating freshness in the air, without the least
chill, the sky of a more than Italian blue, the ranges of mountains
in the distance covered with snow, and standing out, sharp and clear
against this lovely glowing heaven.  The town itself, I must say,
seemed very dull and stagnant, with little sign of life or activity
about it; but nothing can be prettier or more picturesque than its
situation--not unlike that of a Swiss village.  Our day came to an
end all too soon, and we re-embarked for Wellington, the most
southern town of the North Island.  The seat of government is there,
and it is supposed to be a very thriving place, but is not nearly so
well situated as Nelson nor so attractive to strangers.  We landed
and walked about a good deal, and saw what little there was to see.
At first I thought the shops very handsome, but I found, rather to
my disgust, that generally the fine, imposing frontage was all a
sham; the actual building was only a little but at the back, looking
all the meaner for the contrast to the cornices and show windows in
front.  You cannot think how odd it was to turn a corner and see
that the building was only one board in thickness, and scarcely more
substantial than the scenes at a theatre.  We lunched at the
principal hotel, where F--- was much amused at my astonishment at
colonial prices.  We had two dozen very nice little oysters, and he
had a glass of porter: for this modest repast we paid eleven
shillings!

We slept on board, had another walk on shore after breakfast the
following morning, and about twelve o'clock set off for Lyttleton,
the final end of our voyaging, which we reached in about twenty
hours.

The scenery is very beautiful all along the coast, but the
navigation is both dangerous and difficult.  It was exceedingly
cold, and Lyttleton did not look very inviting; we could not get in
at all near the landing-place, and had to pay 2 pounds to be rowed
ashore in an open boat with our luggage.  I assure you it was a very
"bad quarter of an hour" we passed in that boat; getting into it was
difficult enough.  The spray dashed over us every minute, and by the
time we landed we were quite drenched, but a good fire at the hotel
and a capital lunch soon made us all right again; besides, in the
delight of being actually at the end of our voyage no annoyance or
discomfort was worth a moment's thought.  F--- had a couple of
hours' work rushing backwards and forwards to the Custom House,
clearing our luggage, and arranging for some sort of conveyance to
take us over the hills.  The great tunnel through these "Port Hills"
(which divide Lyttleton from Christchurch, the capital of
Canterbury) is only half finished, but it seems wonderful that so
expensive and difficult an engineering work could be undertaken by
such an infant colony.

At last a sort of shabby waggonette was forthcoming, and about three
o'clock we started from Lyttleton, and almost immediately began to
ascend the zig-zag.  It was a tremendous pull for the poor horses,
who however never flinched; at the steepest pinch the gentlemen were
requested to get out and walk, which they did, and at length we
reached the top.  It was worth all the bad road to look down on the
land-locked bay, with the little patches of cultivation, a few
houses nestling in pretty recesses.  The town of Lyttleton seemed
much more imposing and important as we rose above it: fifteen years
ago a few sheds received the "Pilgrims," as the first comers are
always called.  I like the name; it is so pretty and suggestive.  By
the way, I am told that these four ships, sent out with the pilgrims
by the Canterbury Association, sailed together from England, parted
company almost directly, and arrived in Lyttleton (then called Port
Cooper) four months afterwards, on the same day, having all
experienced fine weather, but never having sighted each other once.

As soon as we reached the top of the hill the driver looked to the
harness of his horses, put on a very powerful double break, and we
began the descent, which, I must say, I thought we took much too
quickly, especially as at every turn of  the road some little
anecdote was forthcoming of an upset or accident; however, I would
not show the least alarm, and we were soon rattling along the Sumner
Road, by the sea-shore, passing every now and then under tremendous
overhanging crags.  In half an hour we reached Sumner itself, where
we stopped for a few moments to change horses.  There is an inn and
a village here, where people from Christchurch come in the warm
weather for sea-air and bathing.  It began to rain hard, and the
rest of the journey, some seven or eight miles, was disagreeable
enough; but it was the _end_, and that one thought was sufficient to
keep us radiantly good-humoured, in spite of all little trials.
When we reached Christchurch, we drove at once to a sort of
boarding-house where we had engaged apartments, and thought of
nothing but supper and bed.

The next day people began calling, and certainly I cannot complain
of any coldness or want of welcome to my new home.  I like what I
have seen of my future acquaintances very much.  Of course there is
a very practical style and tone over everything, though outwardly
the place is as civilized as if it were a hundred years old;
well-paved streets, gas lamps, and even drinking fountains and
pillar post-offices!  I often find myself wondering whether the
ladies here are at all like what our great grandmothers were.  I
suspect they are, for they appear to possess an amount of useful
practical knowledge which is quite astonishing, and yet know how to
surround themselves, according to their means and opportunities,
with the refinements and elegancies of life.  I feel quite ashamed
of my own utter ignorance on every subject, and am determined to set
to work directly and learn: at all events I shall have plenty of
instructresses.  Christchurch is a very pretty little town, still
primitive enough to be picturesque, and yet very thriving: capital
shops, where everything may be bought; churches, public buildings, a
very handsome club-house, etc.  Most of the houses are of wood, but
when they are burned down (which is often the case) they are now
rebuilt of brick or stone, so that the new ones are nearly all of
these more solid materials.  I am disappointed to find that, the
cathedral, of which I had heard so much, has not progressed beyond
the foundations, which cost 8,000 pounds: all the works have been
stopped, and certainly there is not much to show for so large a sum,
but labour is very dear.  Christchurch is a great deal more lively
and bustling than most English country towns, and I am much struck
by the healthy appearance of the people.  There are no paupers to be
seen; every one seems well fed and well clothed; the children are
really splendid.  Of course, as might be expected, there is a great
deal of independence in bearing and manner, especially among the
servants, and I hear astounding stories concerning them on all
sides.  My next letter will be from the country, as we have accepted
an invitation to pay a visit of six weeks or so to a station in the
north of the province.



Letter IV: First introduction to "Station life."


Heathstock, Canterbury, November 13th, 1865.
I have just had the happiness of receiving my first budget of
English letters; and no one can imagine how a satisfactory home
letter satisfies the hunger of the heart after its loved and left
ones.  Your letter was particularly pleasant, because I could
perceive, as I held the paper in my hands, that you were writing as
you really felt, and that you were indeed happy.  May you long
continue so, dearest.

F--- says that this beautiful place will give me a very erroneous
impression of station life, and that I shall probably expect to find
its comforts and luxuries the rule, whereas they are the exception;
in the mean time, however, I am enjoying them thoroughly.  The house
is only sixty-five miles from Christchurch, nearly due north (which
you must not forget answers to your south in point of warmth).  Our
kind friends and hosts, the L---s, called for us in their
comfortable and large break, with four horses.  Mr. L--- drove, F---
sat on the box, and inside were the ladies, children, and a nurse.
Our first stage was to Kaiapoi, a little town on the river
Waimakiriri, where we had a good luncheon of whitebait, and rested
and fed the horses.  From the window of the hotel I saw a few groups
of Maories; they looked very ugly and peaceable, with a rude sort of
basket made of flax fibres, or buckets filled with whitebait, which
they wanted us to buy.  There are some reserved lands near Kaiapoi
where they have a very thriving settlement, living in perfect peace
and good-will with their white neighbours.  When we set off again on
our journey, we passed a little school-house for their children.

We reached Leathfield that evening, only twenty-five miles from
Christchurch; found a nice inn, or accommodation-house, as roadside
inns are called here; had a capital supper and comfortable beds, and
were up and off again at daylight the next morning.  As far as the
Weka Pass, where we stopped for dinner, the roads were very good,
but after that we got more among the hills and off the usual track,
and there were many sharp turns and steep pinches; but Mr. L--- is
an excellent whip, and took great care of us.  We all got very weary
towards the end of this second day's journey, and the last two hours
of it were in heavy rain; it was growing very dark when we reached
the gate, and heard the welcome sound of gravel under the wheels.  I
could just perceive that we had entered a plantation, the first
trees since we left Christchurch.  Nothing seems so wonderful to me
as the utter treelessness of the vast Canterbury plains;
occasionally you pass a few Ti-ti palms (ordinarily called
cabbage-trees), or a large prickly bush which goes by the name of
"wild Irishman," but for miles and miles you see nothing but flat
ground or slightly undulating downs of yellow tussocks, the tall
native grass.  It has the colour and appearance of hay, but serves
as shelter for a delicious undergrowth of short sweet herbage, upon
which the sheep live, and horses also do very well on it, keeping in
good working condition, quite unlike their puffy, fat state on
English pasture.

We drove through the plantation and another gate, and drew up at the
door of a very large, handsome, brick house, with projecting gables
and a verandah.  The older I grow the more convinced I am that
contrast is everything in this world; and nothing I can write can
give you any idea of the delightful change from the bleak country we
had been slowly travelling through in pouring rain, to the warmth
and brightness of this charming house.  There were blazing fires
ready to welcome us, and I feel sure you will sufficiently
appreciate this fact when I tell you that by the time the coal
reaches this, it costs nine pounds per ton.  It is possible to get
Australian coal at about half the price, but it is not nearly as
good.

We were so tired that we were only fit for the lowest phase of human
enjoyment--warmth, food, and sleep; but the next morning was bright
and lovely, and I was up and out in the verandah as early as
possible.  I found myself saying constantly, in a sort of ecstasy,
"How I wish they could see this in England!" and not only see but
feel it, for the very breath one draws on such a morning is a
happiness; the air is so light and yet balmy, it seems to heal the
lungs as you inhale it.  The verandah is covered with honeysuckles
and other creepers, and the gable end of the house where the
bow-window of the drawing-room projects, is one mass of yellow
Banksia roses in full blossom.  A stream runs through the grounds,
fringed with weeping willows, which are in their greatest beauty at
this time of year, with their soft, feathery foliage of the
tenderest green.  The flower beds are dotted about the lawn, which
surrounds the house and slopes away from it, and they are brilliant
patches of colour, gay with verbenas, geraniums, and petunias.  Here
and there clumps of tall trees rise above the shrubs, and as a
background there is a thick plantation of red and blue gums, to
shelter the garden from the strong N.W. winds.  Then, in front, the
country stretches away in undulating downs to a chain of high hills
in the distance: every now and then there is a deep gap in these,
through which you see magnificent snow-covered mountains.

The inside of the house is as charming as the outside, and the
perfection of comfort; but I am perpetually wondering how all the
furniture--especially the fragile part of it--got here.  When I
remember the jolts, and ruts, and roughnesses of the road, I find
myself looking at the pier-glass and glass shades, picture-frames,
etc., with a sort of respect, due to them for having survived so
many dangers.

The first two or three days we enjoyed ourselves in a thoroughly
lazy manner; the garden was a never-ending source of delight, and
there were all the animals to make friends with, "mobs" of horses to
look at, rabbits, poultry, and pets of all sorts.  About a week
after our arrival, some more gentlemen came, and then we had a
series of picnics.  As these are quite unlike your highly civilized
entertainments which go by the same name, I must describe one to
you.

The first thing after breakfast was to collect all the provisions,
and pack them in a sort of washing-basket, and then we started in an
American waggon drawn by a pair of stout cobs.  We drove for some
miles till we came to the edge of one of the high terraces common to
New Zealand scenery: here we all got out; the gentlemen unharnessed
and tethered the horses, so that they could feed about comfortably,
and then we scrambled down the deep slope, at the bottom of which
ran a wide shallow creek.  It was no easy matter to get the basket
down here, I assure you; we ladies were only permitted to load
ourselves, one with a little kettle, and the other with a tea-pot,
but this was quite enough, as crossing the creek by a series of
jumps from one wet stone to another is not easy for a beginner.

Mr. L--- brought a large dog with him, a kangaroo-hound (not unlike
a lurcher in appearance), to hunt the wekas.  I had heard at night
the peculiar cry or call of these birds, but had not seen one until
to-day.  "Fly" put up several, one after another, and soon ran them
down.  At first I thought it very cruel to destroy such a tame and
apparently harmless creature, but I am assured that they are most
mischievous, and that it would be useless to turn out the pheasants
and partridges which Mr. L--- has brought from England, until the
numbers of the wekas are considerably reduced.  They are very like a
hen pheasant without the long tail feathers, and until you examine
them you cannot tell they have no wings, though there is a sort of
small pinion among the feathers, with a claw at the end of it.  They
run very swiftly, availing themselves cleverly of the least bit of
cover; but when you hear a short sharp cry, it is a sign that the
poor weka is nearly done, and the next thing you see is Fly shaking
a bundle of brown feathers vehemently.  All the dogs are trained to
hunt these birds, as they are a great torment, sucking eggs and
killing chickens; but still I could not help feeling sorry when Fly,
having disposed of the mother, returned to the flax-bush out of
which he had started her, and killed several baby-wekas by
successive taps of his paw.

I have wandered away from my account of the picnic in the most
unjustifiable manner.  The gentlemen were toiling up the hill, after
we had crossed the creek, carrying the big basket by turns between
them; it was really hard work, and I must tell you in confidence,
that I don't believe they liked it--at least I can answer for one.
I laughed at them for not enjoying their task, and assured them that
I was looking forward with pleasure to washing up the plates and
dishes after our luncheon; but I found that they had all been
obliged, in the early days of the colony, to work at domestic
drudgery in grim and grimy earnest, so it had lost the charm of
novelty which it still possessed for me.

As soon as we reached a pretty sheltered spot half-way up the hill
among some trees and ferns, and by the side of the creek, we
unpacked the basket, and began collecting dry wood for a fire: we
soon had a splendid blaze under the lee of a fine rock, and there we
boiled our kettle and our potatoes.  The next thing was to find a
deep hole in the creek, so over-shadowed by rocks and trees that the
water would be icy cold: in this we put the champagne to cool.  The
result of all our preparations was a capital luncheon, eaten in a
most romantic spot, with a lovely view before us, and the creek just
like a Scotch burn, hurrying and tumbling down the hill-side to join
the broader stream in the valley.  After luncheon, the gentlemen
considered themselves entitled to rest, lying lazily back among the
fern and smoking, whilst we ladies sat a little apart and chatted: I
was busy learning to knit.  Then, about five, we had the most
delicious cup of tea I ever tasted, and we repacked the basket (it
was very light now, I assure you), and made our way back to the top
of the terrace, put the horses in again, and so home.  It was a
long, bright, summer holiday, and we enjoyed it thoroughly.  After a
voyage, such an expedition as this is full of delight; every tree
and bird is a source of pleasure.



Letter V: A pastoral letter.


Heathstock, December 1st, 1865.
All I can find to tell you this month is that I have seen one of the
finest and best wool-sheds in the country in full work.  Anything
about sheep is as new to you as it is to me, so I shall begin my
story at the very beginning.

I am afraid you will think us a very greedy set of people in this
part of the world, for eating seems to enter so largely into my
letters; but the fact is--and I may as well confess it at once--I am
in a chronic state of hunger; it is the fault of the fine air and
the outdoor life: and then how one sleeps at night!  I don't believe
you really know in England what it is to be sleepy as we feel sleepy
here; and it is delightful to wake up in the morning with the sort
of joyous light-heartedness which only young children have.  The
expedition I am going to relate may fairly be said to have begun
with eating, for although we started for our twelve miles' drive
over the downs immediately after an excellent and somewhat late
breakfast, yet by the time we reached the Home Station we were quite
ready for luncheon.  All the work connected with the sheep is
carried on here.  The manager has a nice house; and the wool-shed,
men's huts, dip, etc., are near each other.  It is the busiest
season of the year, and no time could be spared to prepare for us;
we therefore contented ourselves with what was described to me as
ordinary station fare, and I must tell you what they gave us: first,
a tureen of real mutton-broth, not hot water and chopped parsley,
but excel-lent thick soup, with plenty of barley and meat in it;
this had much the same effect on our appetites as the famous treacle
and brimstone before breakfast in "Nicholas Nickleby," so that we
were only able to manage a few little sheeps' tongues, slightly
pickled; and very nice _they_ were; then we finished with a
Devonshire junket, with clotted cream _a discretion_.  Do you think
we were much to be pitied?

After this repast we were obliged to rest a little before we set out
for the wool-shed, which has only been lately finished, and has all
the newest improvements.  At first I am "free to confess" that I did
not like either its sounds or sights; the other two ladies turned
very pale, but I was determined to make myself bear it, and after a
moment or two I found it quite possible to proceed with Mr. L---
round the "floor."  There were about twenty-five shearers at work,
and everything seemed to be very systematically and well arranged.
Each shearer has a trap-door close to him, out of which he pushes
his sheep as soon as the fleece is off, and there are little pens
outside, so that the manager can notice whether the poor animal has
been too much cut with the shears, or badly shorn in any other
respect, and can tell exactly which shearer is to blame.  Before
this plan was adopted it was hopeless to try to find out who was the
delinquent, for no one would acknowledge to the least snip.  A good
shearer can take off 120 fleeces in a day, but the average is about
80 to each man.  They get one pound per hundred, and are found in
everything, having as much tea and sugar, bread and mutton, as they
can consume, and a cook entirely to themselves; they work at least
fourteen hours out of the twenty-four, and with such a large flock
as this--about 50,000--must make a good deal.

We next inspected the wool tables, to which two boys were
incessantly bringing armfuls of rolled-up fleeces; these were laid
on the tables before the wool-sorters, who opened them out, and
pronounced in a moment to which _bin_ they belonged; two or three
men standing behind rolled them up again rapidly, and put them on a
sort of shelf divided into compartments, which were each labelled,
so that the quality and kind of wool could be told at a glance.
There was a constant emptying of these bins into trucks to be
carried off to the press, where we followed to see the bales packed.
The fleeces are tumbled in, and a heavy screw-press forces them down
till the bale--which is kept open in a large square frame--is as
full as it can hold.  The top of canvas is then put on, tightly
sewn, four iron pins are removed and the sides of the frame fall
away, disclosing a most symmetrical bale ready to be hoisted by a
crane into the loft above, where it has the brand of the sheep
painted on it, its weight, and to what class the wool belongs.  Of
course everything has to be done with great speed and system.

I was much impressed by the silence in the shed; not a sound was to
be heard except the click of the shears, and the wool-sorter's
decision as he flings the fleece behind him, given in one, or at
most two words.  I was reminded how touchingly true is that phrase,
"Like as a sheep before her shearers is dumb."  All the noise is
_outside_; there the hubbub, and dust, and apparent confusion are
great,--a constant succession of woolly sheep being brought up to
fill the "skillions" (from whence the shearers take them as they
want them), and the newly-shorn ones, white, clean, and
bewildered-looking, being turned out after they have passed through
a narrow passage, called a "race," where each sheep is branded, and
has its mouth examined in order to tell its age, which is marked in
a book.  It was a comfort to think all their troubles were over, for
a year.  You can hear nothing but barking and bleating, and this
goes on from early morning till dark.  We peeped in at the men's
huts--a long, low wooden building, with two rows of "bunks" (berths,
I should call their) in one compartment, and a table with forms
round it in the other, and piles of tin plates and pannikins all
about.  The kitchen was near, and we were just in time to see an
enormous batch of bread withdrawn from a huge brick oven: the other
commissariat arrangements were on the same scale.  Cold tea is
supplied all day long to the shearers, and they appear to consume
great quantities of it.

Our last visit was to the Dip, and it was only a short one, for it
seemed a cruel process; unfortunately, this fine station is in
technical parlance "scabby," and although of course great
precautions are taken, still some 10,000 sheep had an ominous large
S on them.  These poor sufferers are dragged down a plank into a
great pit filled with hot water, tobacco, and sulphur, and soused
over head and ears two or three times.  This torture is repeated
more than once.

I was very glad to get away from the Dip, and back to the manager's
house, where we refreshed ourselves by a delicious cup of tea, and
soon after started for a nice long drive home in the cool, clear
evening air.  The days are very hot, but never oppressive; and the
mornings and evenings are deliciously fresh and invigorating.  You
can remain out late without the least danger.  Malaria is unknown,
and, in spite of the heavy rains, there is no such thing as damp.
Our way lay through very pretty country--a series of terraces, with
a range of mountains before us, with beautiful changing and
softening evening tints creeping over the whole.

I am sorry to say, we leave this next week.  I should like to
explore a great deal more.



Letter VI: Society.--houses and servants.


Christchurch, January 1866.
I am beginning to get tired of Christchurch already: but the truth
is, I am not in a fair position to judge of it as a place of
residence; for, living temporarily, as we do, in a sort of
boarding-house, I miss the usual duties and occupations of home, and
the town itself has no place of public amusement except a little
theatre, to which it is much too hot to go.  The last two weeks have
been _the_ gay ones of the whole year; the races have been going on
for three days, and there have been a few balls; but as a general
rule, the society may be said to be extremely stagnant.  No
dinner-parties are ever given--I imagine, on account of the
smallness of the houses and the inefficiency of the servants; but
every now and then there is an assembly ball arranged, in the same
way, I believe, as at watering-places in England only, of course, on
a much smaller scale.  I have been at two or three of these, and
noticed at each a most undue preponderance of black coats.  Nearly
all the ladies were married, there were very few young girls; and it
would be a great improvement to the Christchurch parties if some of
the pretty and partnerless groups of a London ball-room, in all
their freshness of toilette, could be transferred to them.  What a
sensation they would make, and what terrible heart-aches among the
young gentlemen would be the result of such an importation!  There
were the same knots of men standing together as at a London party,
but I must say that, except so far as their tailor is concerned, I
think we have the advantage of you, for the gentlemen lead such
healthy lives that they all look more or less bronzed and stalwart--
in splendid condition, not like your pale dwellers in cities; and
then they come to a ball to dance, arriving early so as to secure
good partners, and their great ambition appears to be to dance every
dance from the first to the last.  This makes it hard work for the
few ladies, who are not allowed to sit down for a moment, and I have
often seen a young and pretty partner obliged to divide her dances
between two gentlemen.


Although it tells only against myself, I must make you laugh at an
account of a snub I received at one of these balls.  Early in the
evening I had danced with a young gentleman whose station was a long
way "up country," and who worked so hard on it that he very seldom
found time for even the mild dissipations of Christchurch; he was
good-looking and gentlemanly, and seemed clever and sensible, a
little _brusque_, perhaps, but one soon gets used to that here.
During our quadrille he confided to me that he hardly knew any
ladies in the room, and that his prospects of getting any dancing
were in consequence very blank.  I did all I could to find partners
for him, introducing him to every lady whom I knew, but it was in
vain; they would have been delighted to dance with him, but their
cards were filled.  At the end of the evening, when I was feeling
thoroughly done up, and could hardly stand up for fatigue, my poor
friend came up and begged for another dance.  I assured him I could
scarcely stand, but when he said in a _larmoyante_ voice, "I have
only danced once this evening, that quadrille with you," my heart
softened, and I thought I would make a great effort and try to get
through one more set of Lancers; my partner seemed so grateful, that
the demon of vanity, or coquetry, or whatever it is that prompts one
to say absurd things induced me to fish for a compliment, and to
observe, "It was not worth while taking all the trouble of riding
such a distance to dance only with me, was it?"  Whereupon my poor,
doleful friend answered, with a deep sigh, and an accent of profound
conviction, "No, indeed it was _not_!"  I leave you to imagine my
discomfiture; but luckily he never observed it, and I felt all the
time that I richly deserved what I got, for asking such a stupid
question.

The music at these balls is very bad, and though the principal room
in which they are given, at the Town Hall, is large and handsome, it
is poorly lighted, and the decorations are desolate in the extreme.
I am afraid this is not a very inviting picture of what is almost
our only opportunity of meeting together, but it is tolerably
correct.  Visiting appears to be the business of some people's
lives, but the acquaintance does not seem to progress beyond
incessant afternoon calls; we are never asked inside a house, nor,
as far as I can make out, is there any private society whatever, and
the public society consists, as I have said, of a ball every now and
then.

My greatest interest and occupation consist in going to look at my
house, which is being cut out in Christchurch, and will be drayed to
our station next month, a journey of fifty miles.  It is, of course,
only of wood, and seems about as solid as a band-box; but I am
assured by the builder that it will be a "most superior article"
when it is all put together.  F--- and I made the little plan of it
ourselves, regulating the size of the drawing-room by the dimensions
of the carpet we brought out, and I petitioned for a little
bay-window, which is to be added; so on my last visit to his
timber-yard, the builder said, with an air of great dignity, "Would
you wish to see the _h_oriel, mum?"  The doors all come ready-made
from America, and most of the wood used in building is the Kauri
pine from the North Island.  One advantage, at all events, in having
wooden houses is the extreme rapidity with which they are run up,
and there are no plastered walls to need drying.  For a long time we
were very uncertain where, and what, we should build on our station;
but only six weeks after we made up our minds, a house is almost
ready for us.  The boards are sawn into the requisite lengths by
machinery; and all the carpentering done down here; the frame will
only require to be fitted together when it reaches its destination,
and it is a very good time of year for building, as the wool drays
are all going back empty, and we can get them to take the loads at
reduced prices; but even with this help, it is enormously expensive
to move a small house fifty miles, the last fifteen over bad roads;
it is collar-work for the poor horses all the way, Christchurch
being only nine feet above the sea-level, while our future home in
the Malvern Hills is twelve hundred.

You know we brought all our furniture out with us, and even papers
for the rooms, just because we happened to have everything; but I
should not recommend any one to do so, for the expense of carriage,
though moderate enough by sea (in a wool ship), is enormous as soon
as it reaches Lyttleton, and goods have to be dragged up country by
horses or bullocks.  There are very good shops where you can buy
everything, and besides these there are constant sales by auction
where, I am told, furniture fetches a price sometimes under its
English value.  House rent about Christchurch is very high.  We
looked at some small houses in and about the suburbs of the town,
when we were undecided about our plans, and were offered the most
inconvenient little dwellings, with rooms which were scarcely bigger
than cupboards, for 200 pounds a year; we saw nothing at a lower
price than this, and any house of a better class, standing in a
nicely arranged shrubbery, is at least 300 pounds per annum.
Cab-hire is another thing which seems to me disproportionately dear,
as horses are very cheap; there are no small fares, half-a-crown
being the lowest "legal tender" to a cabman; and I soon gave up
returning visits when I found that to make a call in a Hansom three
or four miles out of the little town cost one pound or one pound ten
shillings, even remaining only a few minutes at the house.

All food (except mutton) appears to be as nearly as possible at
London prices; but yet every one looks perfectly well-fed, and
actual want is unknown.  Wages of all sorts are high, and
employment, a certainty.  The look and bearing of the immigrants
appear to alter soon after they reach the colony.  Some people
object to the independence of their manner, but I do not; on the
contrary, I like to see the upright gait, the well-fed, healthy
look, the decent clothes (even if no one touches his hat to you),
instead of the half-starved, depressed appearance, and too often
cringing servility of the mass of our English population.  Scotchmen
do particularly well out here; frugal and thrifty, hard-working and
sober, it is easy to predict the future of a man of this type in a
new country.  Naturally, the whole tone of thought and feeling is
almost exclusively practical; even in a morning visit there is no
small-talk.  I find no difficulty in obtaining the useful
information upon domestic subjects which I so much need; for it is
sad to discover, after all my house-keeping experience, that I am
still perfectly ignorant.  Here it is necessary to know _how_
everything should be done; it is not sufficient to give an order,
you must also be in a position to explain how it is to be carried
out I felt quite guilty when I saw the picture in _Punch_ the other
day, of a young and inexperienced matron requesting her cook "not to
put any lumps into the melted butter," and reflected that I did not
know how lumps should be kept out; so, as I am fortunate enough to
number among my new friends a lady who is as clever in these
culinary details as she is bright and charming in society, I
immediately went to her for a lesson in the art of making melted
butter without putting lumps into it.

The great complaint, the never-ending subject of comparison and
lamentation among ladies, is the utter ignorance and inefficiency of
their female servants.  As soon as a ship comes in it is besieged
with people who want servants, but it is very rare to get one who
knows how to do anything as it ought to be done.  Their lack of all
knowledge of the commonest domestic duties is most surprising, and
makes one wonder who in England did the necessary things of daily
cottage life for them, for they appear to have done nothing for
themselves hitherto.  As for a woman knowing how to cook, that seems
the very last accomplishment they acquire; a girl will come to you
as a housemaid at 25 pounds per annum, and you will find that she
literally does not know how to hold her broom, and has never handled
a duster.  When you ask a nurse her qualifications for the care of
perhaps two or three young children, you may find, on close
cross-examination, that she can recollect having once or twice "held
mother's baby," and that she is very firm in her determination that
"you'll keep baby yourself o' nights; mem!"  A perfectly
inexperienced girl of this sort will ask, and get, 30 pounds or 35
pounds per annum, a cook from 35 pounds to 40 pounds;  and when they
go "up country," they hint plainly they shall not stay long with
you, and ask higher wages, stipulating with great exactness how they
are to be conveyed free of all expense to and from their place.

Then, on the other hand, I must say they work desperately hard, and
very cheerfully: I am amazed how few servants are kept even in the
large and better class of houses.  As a general rule, they, appear
willing enough to learn, and I hear no complaints of dishonesty or
immorality, though many moans are made of the rapidity with which a
nice tidy young woman is snapped up as a wife; but that is a
complaint no one can sympathise with.  On most stations a married
couple is kept; the man either to act as shepherd, or to work in the
garden and look after the cows, and the woman is supposed to attend
to the indoor comforts of the wretched bachelor-master: but she
generally requires to be taught how to bake a loaf of bread, and
boil a potato, as well as how to cook mutton in the simplest form.
In her own cottage at home, who did all these things for her?  These
incapables are generally perfectly helpless and awkward at the
wash-tub; no one seems to expect servants to know their business,
and it is very fortunate if they show any capability of learning.

I must end my long letter by telling you a little story of my own
personal experience in the odd ways of these girls.  The housemaid
at the boarding-house where we have stayed since we left Heathstock
is a fat, sonsy, good-natured girl, perfectly ignorant and stupid,
but she has not been long in the colony, and seems willing to learn.
She came to me the other day, and, without the least circumlocution
or hesitation, asked me if I would lend her my riding-habit as a
pattern to give the tailor; adding that she wanted my best and
newest.  As soon as I could speak for amazement, I naturally asked
why; she said she had been given a riding-horse, that she had loaned
a saddle, and bought a hat, so now she had nothing on her mind
except the habit; and further added, that she intended to leave her
situation the day before the races, and that it was "her fixed
intent" to appear on horseback each day, and all day long, at these
said races.  I inquired if she knew how to ride?  No; she had never
mounted any animal in her life.  I suggested that she had better
take some lessons before her appearance in public; but she said her
mistress did not like to spare her to "practise," and she stuck
steadily to her point of wanting my habit as a pattern.  I could not
lend it to her, fortunately, for it had been sent up to the station
with my saddle, etc.; so had she been killed, as I thought not at
all unlikely, at least my conscience would not have reproached me
for aiding and abetting her equestrian freak.  I inquired from every
one who went to the races if they saw or heard of any accident to a
woman on horseback, and I most anxiously watched the newspapers to
see if they contained any notice of the sort, but as there has been
no mention of any catastrophe, I suppose she has escaped safely.
Her horse must have been quieter and better broken than they
generally are.  F--- says that probably it was a very old "station
screw."  I trust so, for her sake!



Letter VII: A young colonist.--the town and its neighbourhood.


Christchurch, March 1866.
I must begin my letter this mail with a piece of domestic news, and
tell you of the appearance of your small nephew, now three weeks
old.  The youth seems inclined to adapt himself to circumstances,
and to be as sturdy and independent as colonial children generally
are.  All my new friends and neighbours proved most kind and
friendly, and were full of good offices.  Once I happened to say
that I did not like the food as it was cooked at the boarding-house;
and the next day, and for many days after, all sorts of dainties
were sent to me, prepared by hands which were as skilful on the
piano, or with a pencil, as they were in handling a saucepan.  New
books were lent to me, and I was never allowed to be without a
beautiful bouquet. One young lady used constantly to walk in to
town, some two or three miles along a hot and dusty road, laden with
flowers for me, just because she saw how thoroughly I enjoyed her
roses and carnations. Was it not good of her?

Christchurch has relapsed into the quietude, to call it by no
harsher name. The shearing  is finished all over the country, and
the "squatters" (as owners of sheep-stations are called) have
returned to their stations to vegetate, or work, as their tastes and
circumstances may dictate. Very few people live in the town except
the tradespeople; the professional men prefer little villas two or
three miles off.  These houses stand in grounds of their own, and
form a very pretty approach to Christchurch, extending a few miles
on all sides: There are large trees bordering most of the streets,
which give a very necessary shade in summer; they are nearly all
English sorts, and have only been planted within a few years.
Poplars, willows, and the blue gum grow quickest, are least affected
by the high winds, and are therefore the most popular.  The banks of
the pretty little river Avon, upon which Christchurch is built, are
thickly fringed with weeping willows, interspersed with a few other
trees, and with clumps of tohi, which is exactly like the Pampas
grass you know so well in English shrubberies.  I don't think I have
ever told you that it has been found necessary here to legislate
against water-cress.  It was introduced a few years since, and has
spread so rapidly as to become a perfect nuisance, choking every
ditch in the neighbourhood of Christchurch, blocking up
mill-streams, causing meadows to be flooded, and doing all kinds of
mischief.

Towards Riccarton, about four miles out of town, the Avon shows like
a slender stream a few inches wide,  moving sluggishly between thick
beds of water-cress, which at this time of year are a mass of white
blossom.  It looks so perfectly solid that whenever I am at Ilam, an
insane desire to step on it comes over me, much to  F---'s alarm,
who says he is afraid to let me out of his sight, lest I should
attempt to do so.  I have only seen one native "bush" or forest yet,
and that is at Riccarton.  This patch of tall, gaunt pines serves as
a landmark for miles.  Riccarton is one of the oldest farms in the
colony, and I am told it possesses a beautiful garden.  I can only
see the gable-end of a house peeping out from among the trees as I
pass.  This bush is most carefully preserved, but I believe that
every high wind injures it.

Christchurch is very prettily situated; for although it stands on a
perfectly flat plain, towards the sea there are the Port Hills, and
the town itself is picturesque, owing to the quantities of trees and
the irregular form of the wooden houses; and as a background we have
the most magnificent chain of mountains--the back-bone of the
island--running from north to south, the highest peaks nearly always
covered with snow, even after such a hot summer as this has been.
The climate is now delicious, answering in time of year to your
September; but we have far more enjoyable weather than your autumns
can boast of.  If the atmosphere were no older than the date of the
settlement of the colony, it could not feel more _youthful_, it is
so light and bright, and exhilarating!  The one drawback, and the
only one, is the north-west wind; and the worst of it is, that it
blows very often from this point.  However, I am assured that I have
not yet seen either a "howling nor'-wester," nor its exact
antithesis, "a sutherly buster."

We have lately been deprived of the amusement of going to see our
house during the process of cutting it out, as it has passed that
stage, and has been packed on drays and sent to the station, with
two or three men to put it up.  It was preceded by two dray-loads of
small rough-hewn stone piles, which are first let into the ground
six or eight feet apart: the foundation joists rest on these, so as
just to keep the flooring from touching the earth.  I did not like
this plan (which is the usual one) at all, as it seemed to me so
insecure for the house to rest only on these stones.  I told the
builder that I feared a strong "nor'-wester" (and I hear they are
particularly strong in the Malvern Hills) would blow the whole
affair away.  He did not scout the idea as much as I could have
wished, but held out hopes to me that the roof would "kep it down."
I shall never dare to trust the baby out of my sight, lest he should
be blown away; and I have a plan for securing his cradle, by putting
large heavy stones in it, somewhere out of his way, so that he need
not be hurt by them.  Some of the houses are built of "cob,"
especially those erected in the very early days, when sawn timber
was rare and valuable: this material is simply wet clay with chopped
tussocks stamped in.  It makes very thick walls, and they possess
the great advantage of being cool in summer and warm in winter.
Whilst the house is new nothing can be nicer; but, in a few years,
the hot winds dry up the clay so much, that it becomes quite
pulverized; and a lady who lives in one of these houses told me,
that during a high wind she had often seen the dust from the walls
blowing in clouds about the rooms, despite of the canvas and paper,
and with all the windows carefully closed.

Next week F--- is going up to the station, to unpack and arrange a
little, and baby and I are going to be taken care of at Ilam, the
most charming place I have yet seen.  I am looking forward to my
visit there with great pleasure.



Letter VIII: Pleasant days at Ilam.


Ilam, April 1866.
We leave this to-morrow for the station in the most extraordinary
conveyance you ever saw.  Imagine a flat tray with two low seats in
it, perched on four very high wheels, quite innocent of any step or
means of clambering in and out, and drawn, tandem-fashion, by two
stout mares; one of which has a little foal by her side.  The
advantage of this vehicle is that it is very light, and holds a good
deal of luggage.  We hope to accomplish the distance--fifty miles--
in a day, easily.

Although this is not my first visit to Ilam, I don't think I have
ever described it to you.  The house is of wood, two storeys high,
and came out from England!  It is built on a brick foundation, which
is quite unusual here.  Inside, it is exactly like a most charming
English house, and when I first stood in the drawing-room it was
difficult to believe: that I was at the other end of the world.  All
the newest books, papers, and periodicals covered the tables, the
newest music lay on the piano, whilst a profusion of English
greenhouse flowers in Minton's loveliest vases added to the
illusion.  The Avon winds through the grounds, which are very
pretty, and are laid out in the English fashion; but in spite of the
lawn with its croquet-hoops and sticks, and the beds of flowers in
all their late summer beauty, there is a certain absence of the
stiffness and trimness of English pleasure-grounds, which shows that
you have escaped from the region of conventionalities.  There are
thick clumps of plantations, which have grown luxuriantly, and look
as if they had always been there.  A curve of the opposite bank is a
dense mass of native flax bushes, with their tall spikes of red
blossom filling the air with a scent of honey, and attracting all
the bees in the neighbourhood.  Ti-ti palms are dotted here and
there, and give a foreign and tropical appearance to the whole.
There is a large kitchen garden and orchard, with none of the
restrictions of high walls and locked gates which fence your English
peaches and apricots.

The following is our receipt for killing time at Ilam:--After
breakfast, take the last _Cornhill_ or _Macmillan_, put on a shady
hat, and sit or saunter by the river-side under the trees, gathering
any very tempting peach or apricot or plum or pear, until luncheon;
same thing until five o'clock tea; then cross the river by a rustic
bridge, ascend some turf steps to a large terrace-like meadow,
sheltered from the north-west winds by a thick belt of firs, blue
gums, and poplars, and play croquet on turf as level as a
billiard-table until dinner.  At these games the cockatoo always
assists, making himself very busy, waddling after his mistress all
over the field, and climbing up her mallet whenever he has an
opportunity.  "Dr. Lindley"--so called from his taste for pulling
flowers to pieces--apparently for botanical purposes--is the tamest
and most affectionate of birds, and I do not believe he ever bit any
one in his life; he will allow himself to be pulled about, turned
upside down, scratched under his wings, all with the greatest
indifference, or rather with the most positive enjoyment.  One
evening I could not play croquet for laughing at his antics.  He
took a sudden dislike to a little rough terrier, and hunted him
fairly off the ground at last, chasing him all about, barking at
him, and digging his beak into the poor dog's paw.  But the
"Doctor's" best performance is when he imitates a hawk.  He reserves
this fine piece of acting until his mistress is feeding her poultry;
then, when all the hens and chickens, turkeys, and pigeons are in
the quiet enjoyment of their breakfast or supper, the peculiar
shrill cry of a hawk is heard overhead, and the Doctor is seen
circling in the air, uttering a scream occasionally.  The fowls
never find out that it is a hoax, but run to shelter, cackling in
the greatest alarm--hens clucking loudly for their chicks, turkeys
crouching under the bushes, the pigeons taking refuge in their
house; as soon as the ground is quite clear, Cocky changes his wild
note for peals of laughter from a high tree, and finally alighting
on the top of a hen-coop filled with trembling chickens, remarks in
a suffocated voice, "You'll be the death of me."

I must reverse the proverb about the ridiculous and the sublime, and
finish my letter by telling you of Ilam's chief outdoor charm: from
all parts of the garden and grounds I can feast my eyes on the
glorious chain of mountains which I have before told you of, and my
bedroom window has a perfect panoramic view of them.  I watch them
under all their changes of tint, and find each new phase the most
beautiful.  In the very early morning I have often stood shivering
at my window to see the noble outline gradually assuming shape, and
finally standing out sharp and clear against a dazzling sky; then,
as the sun rises, the softest rose-coloured and golden tints touch
the highest peaks, the shadows deepening by the contrast.  Before a
"nor'-wester" the colours over these mountains and in the sky are
quite indescribable; no one but Turner could venture upon such a
mixture of pale sea-green with deep turquoise blue, purple with
crimson and orange.  One morning an arch-like appearance in the
clouds over the furthest ranges was pointed out to me as the sure
forerunner of a violent gale from the north-west, and the prognostic
was fulfilled.  It was formed of clouds of the deepest and richest
colours; within its curve lay a bare expanse of a wonderful green
tint, crossed by the snowy _silhouette_ of the Southern Alps.  A few
hours afterwards the mountains were quite hidden by mist, and a
furious gale of hot wind was shaking the house as if it must carry
it off into the sky; it blew so continuously that the trees and
shrubs never seemed to rise for a moment against it.

These hot winds affect infants and children a good deal, and my baby
is not at all well.  However, his doctor thinks the change to the
station will set him all right again, so we are hurrying off much
sooner than our kind friends here wish, and long before the little
house in the hills can possibly be made comfortable, though F--- is
working very hard to get things settled for us.



Letter IX: Death in our new home--New Zealand children.


Broomielaw, Malvern Hills, May 1866.
I do not like to allow the first Panama steamer to go without a line
from me: this is the only letter I shall attempt, and it will be but
a short and sad one, for we are still in the first bitterness of
grief for the loss of our dear little baby.  After I last wrote to
you he became very ill, but we hoped that his malady was only caused
by the unhealthiness of Christchurch during the autumn, and that he
would soon revive and get on well in this pure, beautiful mountain
air.  We consequently hurried here as soon as ever we could get into
the house, and whilst the carpenters were still in it.  Indeed,
there was only one bedroom ready for us when I arrived.  The poor
little man rallied at first amazingly; the weather was exquisitely
bright and sunny, and yet bracing.  Baby was to be kept in the open
air as much as possible, so F--- and I spent our days out on the
downs near the house, carrying our little treasure by turns: but all
our care was fruitless: he got another and more violent attack about
a fortnight ago, and after a few hours of suffering he was taken to
the land where pain is unknown.  During the last twelve hours of his
life, as I sat before the fire with him on my lap, poor F---
kneeling in a perfect agony of grief by my side, my greatest comfort
was in looking at that exquisite photograph from Kehren's picture of
the "Good Shepherd," which hangs over my bedroom mantelpiece, and
thinking that our sweet little lamb would soon be folded in those
Divine, all-embracing Arms.  It is not a common picture; and the
expression of the Saviour's face is most beautiful, full of such
immense feminine compassion and tenderness that it makes me feel
more vividly, "In all our sorrows He is afflicted."  In such a grief
as this I find the conviction of the reality and depth of the Divine
sympathy is my only true comfort; the tenderest human love falls
short of the feeling that, without any words to express our sorrow,
God knows all about it; that He would not willingly afflict or
grieve us, and that therefore the anguish which wrings our hearts is
absolutely necessary in some mysterious way for our highest good.  I
fear I have often thought lightly of others' trouble in the loss of
so young a child; but now I know what it is.  Does it not seem
strange and sad, that this little house in a distant, lonely spot,
no sooner becomes a home than it is baptized, as it were, with
tears?  No doubt there are bright and happy days in store for us
yet, but these first ones here have been sadly darkened by this
shadow of death.  Inanimate things have such a terrible power to
wound one: though everything which would remind me of Baby has been
carefully removed and hidden away by F---'s orders, still now and
then I come across some trifle belonging to him, and, as Miss
Ingelow says--
      "My old sorrow wakes and cries."

Our loss is one too common out here, I am told: infants born in
Christchurch during the autumn very often die.  Owing to the
flatness of the site of the town, it is almost impossible to get a
proper system of drainage; and the arrangements seem very bad, if
you are to judge from the evil smells which are abroad in the
evening.  Children who are born on a station, or taken there as soon
as possible, almost invariably thrive, but babies are very difficult
to rear in the towns.  If they get over the first year, they do
well; and I cannot really call to mind a single sickly, or even
delicate-looking child among the swarms which one sees everywhere.

I cannot say that I think colonial children prepossessing in either
manners or appearance, in spite of their ruddy cheeks and sturdy
limbs.  Even quite little things are pert and independent, and give
me the idea of being very much spoiled.  When you reflect on the
utter absence of any one who can really be called a nurse, this is
not to be wondered at.  The mothers are thoroughly domestic and
devoted to their home duties, far more so than the generality of the
same class at home.  An English lady, with even an extremely
moderate income, would look upon her colonial sister as very
hard-worked indeed.  The children cannot be entrusted entirely to
the care of an ignorant girl, and the poor mother has them with her
all day long; if she goes out to pay visits (the only recognized
social duty here), she has to take the elder children with her, but
this early introduction into society does not appear to polish the
young visitors' manners in the least.  There is not much rest at
night for the mater-familias with the inevitable baby, and it is of
course very difficult for her to be correcting small delinquents all
day long; so they grow up with what manners nature gives them.
There seems to me, however, to be a greater amount of real domestic
happiness out here than at home: perhaps the want of places of
public amusement may have something to do with this desirable state
of affairs, but the homes seem to be thoroughly happy ones.  A
married man is an object of envy to his less fortunate brethren, and
he appears anxious to show that he appreciates his good fortune.  As
for scandal, in the ordinary acceptation of the word, it is unknown;
gossip there is in plenty, but it generally refers to each other's
pecuniary arrangements or trifling peculiarities, and is all
harmless enough.  I really believe that the life most people lead
here is as simple and innocent as can well be imagined.  Each family
is occupied in providing for its own little daily wants and cares,
which supplies the mind and body with healthy and  legitimate
employment, and yet, as my experience tells me, they have plenty of
leisure to do a kind turn for a neighbour.  This is the bright side
of colonial life, and there is more to be said in its praise; but
the counterbalancing drawback is, that the people seem gradually to
lose the sense of larger and wider interests; they have little time
to keep pace with the general questions of the day, and anything
like sympathy or intellectual appreciation is very rare.  I meet
accomplished people, but seldom well-read ones; there is also too
much talk about money: "where the treasure is, there will the heart
be also;" and the incessant financial discussions are wearisome, at
least to me.



Letter X: Our station home.


Broomielaw, July 1866.
We are now in mid-winter, and a more delicious season cannot well be
imagined; the early mornings and evenings and the nights are very
cold, but the hours from 10 A.M. till 5 P.M. are exquisitely bright,
and quite warm.  We are glad of a fire at breakfast, which is
tolerably early, but we let it out and never think of relighting it
until dark.  Above all, it is calm: I congratulate myself daily on
the stillness of the atmosphere, but F--- laughs and says, "Wait
until the spring."  I bask all day in the verandah, carrying my
books and work there soon after breakfast; as soon as the sun goes
down, however, it becomes very cold.  In an English house you would
hardly feel it, but with only one plank an inch thick, a
lining-board and canvas and paper, between you and a hard frost, a
good fire is wanted.  We burn coal found twelve miles from this; it
is not very good, being only what is called "lignite."  I don't know
if that conveys to you a distinct impression of what it really is.
I should say it was a better sort of turf: it smoulders just in the
same way, and if not disturbed will remain many hours alight; it
requires a log of dry wood with it to make a really good blaze.
Fuel is most difficult to get here, and very expensive, as we have
no available "bush" on the Run; so we have first to take out a
licence for cutting wood in the Government bush, then to employ men
to cut it, and hire a drayman who possesses a team of bullocks and a
dray of his own, to fetch it to us: he can only take two journeys a
day, as he has four miles to travel each way, so that by the time
the wood is stacked it costs us at least thirty shillings a cord,
and then there is the labour of sawing and cutting it up.  The coal
costs us one pound a ton at the mouth of the pit, and the carriage
exactly doubles its price; besides which it is impossible to get
more, than a small quantity at a time, on account of the effect of
the atmosphere on it.  Exposure to the air causes it to crumble into
dust, and although we keep our supply in a little shed for the
purpose, it is wasted to the extent of at least a quarter of each
load.  We are unusually unfortunate in the matter of firing; most
stations have a bush near to the homestead, or greater facilities
for draying than we possess.

You tell me to describe my little house to you, so I must try to
make you see it, only prefacing my attempt by warning you not to be
disgusted or disappointed at any shortcomings.  The house has not
been built in a pretty situation, as many other things had to be
considered before a picturesque site: first it was necessary to
build on a flat (as the valleys here are called), not too far off
the main track, on account of having to make the road to it
ourselves; the next thing to be thought of was shelter from the
north-west wind; then the soil must be fit for a garden, and a good
creek, or brook, which would not go dry in the summer, close at
hand.  At present, everything out of doors is so unfinished that the
place looks rather desolate, and it will be some years before our
plantations can attain a respectable size, even allowing for the
rapid growth in this climate.  The first step is to obtain shelter
from our enemy the "nor'-wester," and for this purpose we have
planted quantities of broom in all directions; even the large beds
for vegetables in the garden have a hedge of Cape broom on the
exposed side; fortunately, the broom grows very quickly in spite of
the wind, and attains to a luxuriant beauty rarely seen in England.
We have put in many other trees, such as oaks, maples, etc., but not
one is higher than this table, except a few poplars; the ground
immediately outside the house has been dug up, and is awaiting the
spring to be sown with English grass; we have no attempt at a
flower-garden yet, but have devoted our energies to the vegetable
one,--putting in fruit trees, preparing strawberry and asparagus
beds, and other useful things.  Out of doors matters would not even
be as far advanced towards a garden and plantation as they are if we
had commenced operations ourselves, but the ground has been worked
since last year.  I am glad we have chosen to build our house here
instead of at the homestead two miles off; for I like to be removed
from the immediate neighbourhood of all the work of the station,
especially from that of the "gallows,"--a high wooden frame from
which the carcases of the butchered sheep dangle; under the present
arrangement the shepherd brings us over our mutton as we want it.

Inside the house everything is comfortable and pretty, and, above
all things, looks thoroughly home-like.  Out of the verandah you
pass through a little hall hung with whips and sticks, spurs and
hats, and with a bookcase full of novels at one end of it, into a
dining-room, large enough for us, with more books in every available
corner, the prints you know so well on the walls, and a trophy of
Indian swords and hunting-spears over the fireplace: this leads into
the drawing-room, a bright, cheery little room--more books and
pictures, and a writing-table in the "_h_oriel."  In that tall,
white, classical-shaped vase of Minton's which you helped me to
choose is the most beautiful bouquet, made entirely of ferns; it is
a constant object for my walks up the gullies, exploring little
patches of bush to search for the ferns, which grow abundantly under
their shelter by the creek.  I have a small but comfortable bedroom,
and there is a little dressing-room for F--- and the tiniest spare
room you ever saw; it really is not bigger than the cabin of a ship.
I think the kitchen is the chief glory of the house, boasting a
"Leamington range" a luxury quite unknown in these parts, where all
the cooking is done on an American stove,--a very good thing in its
way, but requiring to be constantly attended to.  There is a
good-sized storeroom, in which F--- has just finished putting me up
some cupboards, and a servants' room.  It is not a palace is it?
But it is quite large enough to hold a great deal of happiness.
Outside, the premises are still more diminutive; a little wash-house
stands near the kitchen door, and further up the enclosure is a
stable, and a small room next it for saddles, and a fowl-house and
pig-stye, and a coal-shed.  Now you know everything about my
surroundings; but--there is always a _but_ in everything--I have one
great grievance, and I hope you will appreciate its magnitude.

It was impossible for F--- to come up here when the house was first
commenced, and the wretch of a builder deliberately put the drawing-
and dining-room fireplaces in the corner, right up against the
partition wall, of course utterly destroying the comfort as well as
the symmetry of the rooms.  I am convinced some economy of bricks is
at the bottom of this arrangement, especially as the house was built
by contract; but the builder pretends to be surprised that I don't
admire it, and says, "Why, it's so oncommon, mum!"  I assure you,
when I first saw the ridiculous appearance of the drawing-room
pier-glass in the corner, I should liked to have screamed out at the
builder (like the Queen in "Alice in Wonderland"), "Cut off his
head!"

When we were packing up the things to come here, our friends
expressed their astonishment at our taking so many of the little
elegancies of life, such as drawing-room ornaments, pictures, etc.
Now it is a great mistake not to bring such things, at all events a
few of them, for they are not to be bought here, and they give the
new home a certain likeness to the old one which is always
delightful.  I do not advise people to make large purchases of
elegancies for a colonial life, but a few pretty little trifles will
greatly improve the look of even a New Zealand up-country
drawing-room.

You have asked me also about our wardrobes.  Gentlemen wear just
what they would on a Scotch or English farm; in summer they require
perhaps a lighter hat, and long rides are always taken in boots and
breeches.  A lady wears exactly what would be suitable in the
country in England, except that I should advise her to eschew
muslin; the country outside the home paddock is too rough for thin
material; she also wants thick boots if she is a good walker, and I
find nails or little screws in the soles a great help for
hill-walking.  A hat is my only difficulty: you really want a shady
hat for a protection against the sun, but there are very few days in
the year on which you can ride in anything but a close, small hat,
with hardly any brim at all, and even this must have capabilities of
being firmly fastened on the head.  My nice, wide-brimmed Leghorn
hangs idly in the hall: there is hardly a morning still enough to
induce me to put it on even to go and feed my chickens or potter
about the garden.  This being winter, I live in a short linsey
dress, which is just right as to warmth, and not heavy.  It is a
mistake to bring too much: a year's supply will be quite enough;
fresh material can easily be procured in Christchurch or any of the
large towns, or sent out by friends.  I find my sewing-machine the
greatest possible comfort, and as time passes on and my clothes need
remodelling it will be still more use ful.  Hitherto I have used it
chiefly for my friends' benefit; whilst I was in town I constantly
had little frocks brought to me to tuck, and here I employ it in
making quilted cloth hats for my gentlemen neighbours.



Letter XI: Housekeeping, and other matters.


Broomielaw, September 1866.
I am writing to you at the end of a fortnight of very hard work, for
I have just gone through my first experience in changing servants;
those I brought up with me four months ago were nice, tidy girls and
as a natural consequence of these attractive qualities they have
both left me to be married.  I sent them down to Christchurch in the
dray, and made arrangements for two more servants to return in the
same conveyance at the end of a week.  In the meantime we had to do
everything for ourselves, and on the whole we found this picnic life
great fun.  The household consists, besides F--- and me, of a cadet,
as they are called--he is a clergyman's son learning sheep-farming
under our auspices--and a boy who milks the cows and does odd jobs
out of doors.  We were all equally ignorant of practical cookery, so
the chief responsibility rested on my shoulders, and cost me some
very anxious moments, I assure you, for a cookery-book is after all
but a broken reed to lean on in a real emergency; it starts by
assuming that its unhappy student possesses a knowledge of at least
the rudiments of the art, whereas it ought not to disdain to tell
you whether the water in which potatoes are to be boiled should be
hot or cold.  I must confess that some of my earliest efforts were
both curious and nasty, but E ate my numerous failures with the
greatest good-humour; the only thing at which he made a wry face was
some soup into which a large lump of washing-soda had mysteriously
conveyed itself; and I also had to undergo a good deal of "chaff"
about my first omelette, which was of the size and consistency of a
roly-poly pudding.  Next to these failures I think the bread was my
greatest misfortune; it went wrong from the first.  One night I had
prepared the tin dish full of flour, made a hole in the midst of the
soft white heap, and was about to pour in a cupful of yeast to be
mixed with warm water (you see I know all about it in theory), when
a sudden panic seized me, and I was afraid to draw the cork of the
large champagne bottle full of yeast, which appeared to be very much
"up."  In this dilemma I went for F---.  You must know that he
possesses such extraordinary and revolutionary theories on the
subject of cooking, that I am obliged to banish him from the kitchen
altogether, but on this occasion I thought I should be glad of his
assistance.  He came with the greatest alacrity; assured me he knew
all about it, seized the big bottle, shook it violently, and
twitched out the cork: there was a report like a pistol-shot, and
all my beautiful yeast flew up to the ceiling of the kitchen,
descending in a shower on my head; and F--- turned the bottle upside
down over the flour, emptying the dregs of the hops and potatoes
into my unfortunate bread.  However, I did not despair, but mixed it
up according to the directions given, and placed it on the stove;
but, as it turned out, in too warm a situation, for when I went
early the next morning to look at it, I found a very dry and crusty
mass.  Still, nothing daunted, I persevered in the attempt, added
more flour and water, and finally made it up into loaves, which I
deposited in the oven.  That bread _never_ baked!  I tried it with a
knife in the orthodox manner, always to find that it was raw inside.
The crust gradually became several inches thick, but the inside
remained damp, and turned quite black at last; I baked it until
midnight, and then I gave it up and retired to bed in deep disgust.
I had no more yeast and could not try again, so we lived on biscuits
and potatoes till the dray returned at the end of the week,
bringing, however, only one servant.  Owing to some confusion in the
drayman's arrangements, the cook had been left behind, and "Meary,"
the new arrival, professed her willingness to supply her place; but
on trial being made of her abilities, she proved to be quite as
inexperienced as I was; and to each dish I proposed she should
attempt, the unvarying answer was, "The missis did all that where I
come from."  During the first few days after her arrival her chief
employment was examining the various knick-knacks about the
drawing-room; in her own department she was greatly taken with the
little cottage mangle.  She mangled her own apron about twenty times
a day, and after each attempt I found her contemplating it with her
head on one side, and saying to herself, "'Deed, thin, it's as
smooth as smooth; how iver does it do it?"  A few days later the
cook arrived.  She is not all I could wish, being also Irish, and
having the most extraordinary notions of the use, or rather the
abuse, of the various kitchen implements: for instance, she will
poke the fire with the toasting fork, and disregards my gentle hints
about the poker; but at all events she can both roast mutton and
bake bread.  "Meary" has been induced to wash her face and braid up
her beautiful hair, and now shines forth as a very pretty
good-humoured girl.  She is as clever and quick as possible, and
will in time be a capital housemaid.  She has taken it into her head
that she would like to be a "first-rater," as she calls it, and
works desperately hard in the prosecution of her new fancy.

I have never told you of the Sunday services we established here
from the first week of our arrival.  There is no church nearer than
those in Christchurch, nor--I may mention parenthetically--is there
a doctor within the same distance.  As soon as our chairs and tables
were in their proper places, we invited our shepherds and those
neighbours immediately around us to attend service on Sunday
afternoon at three o'clock.  F--- officiates as clergyman; _my_
duties resemble those of a beadle, as I have to arrange the
congregation in their places, see that they have Prayer-books, etc.
Whenever we go out for a ride, we turn our horses' heads up some
beautiful valley, or deep gorge of a river, in search of the huts of
our neighbours' shepherds, that we may tell the men of these
services and invite them to attend.  As yet, we have met with no
refusals, but it will give you an idea of the scantiness of our
population when I tell you that, after all our exertions, the
"outsiders" only amount to fourteen, and of these at least half are
gentlemen from neighbouring stations.  With this number, in addition
to our own small group, we consider that we form quite a respectable
gathering.  The congregation all arrive on horseback, each attended
by at least two big colley dogs; the horses are turned into the
paddock, the saddles deposited in the back verandah, and the dogs
lie quietly down by their respective masters' equipments until they
are ready to start homewards.  There is something very wild and
touching in these Sunday services.  If the weather is quite clear
and warm, they are held in the verandah; but unless it is a very
sunny afternoon, it is too early in the year yet for this.

The shepherds are a very fine class of men as a rule, and I find
them most intelligent; they lead solitary lives, and are fond of
reading; and as I am anxious to substitute a better sort of
literature in their huts than the tattered yellow volumes which
generally form their scanty library, I lend them books from my own
small collection.  But, as I foresee that this supply will soon be
exhausted, we have started a Book Club, and sent to London for
twenty pounds' worth of books as a first instalment.  We shall get
them second-hand from a large library, so I hope to receive a good
boxful.  The club consists of twenty-eight members now, and will
probably amount to thirty-two, which is wonderful for this district.
At the close of a year from the first distribution of the books they
are to be divided into lots as near as possible in value to a pound
each, the parcels to be numbered, and corresponding figures written
on slips of paper, which are to be shaken up in a hat and drawn at
random, each member claiming the parcel of which the number answers
to that on his ticket.  This is the fairest way I can think of for
the distribution, and every one seems satisfied with the scheme.
The most popular books are those of travel or adventure; unless a
novel is really very good indeed, they do not care about it.

The last little item of home news with which I must close this
month's budget is, that F--- has been away for a few days on a
skating excursion.  A rather distant neighbour of ours called on his
way up to the station far back among the hills, and gave such a
glowing account of the condition of the ice in that part of the
country, that F---, who is very fond of the amusement, was persuaded
to accompany him.  Our friend is the son of the Bishop, and owns a
large station about twenty-six miles from this.  At the back  of his
run the hills rise to a great height, and nestled among them lie a
chain of lakes, after the largest of which (Lake Coleridge) Mr. H---
's station is named.  On one of the smaller lakes, called by the
classical name of "Ida," the ice attains to a great thickness; for
it is surrounded by such lofty hills that during the winter months
the sun hardly touches it, and it is commonly reported that a
heavily-laden bullock-dray could cross it in perfect safety.  F---
was away nearly a week, and appears to have enjoyed himself
thoroughly, though it will seem to you more of hard work than
amusement; for he and Mr. H---, and some other gentlemen who were
staying there, used to mount directly after breakfast, with their
skates tied to their saddle-bow, and ride twelve miles to Lake Ida,
skate all through the short winter's day, lunching at the solitary
hut of a gentleman-farmer close by the lake, and when it grew dusk
riding home again.  The gentlemen in this country are in such good
training through constant exercise, that they appear able to stand
any amount of fatigue without minding it.



Letter XII: My first expedition.


Broomielaw, October 1866.
This ought to be early spring, but the weather is really colder and
more disagreeable than any which winter brought us; and,
proverbially fickle as spring sunshine and showers are in England,
ours is a far more capricious and trying season.  Twice during this
month have I been a victim to these sudden changes of climate; on
the first occasion it was most fortunate that we had reached the
shelter of a friendly and hospitable roof, for it was three days
before we could re-cross the mountain-pass which lay between us and
home.  One beautiful spring morning F--- asked me if I would like to
ride across the hills, and pay my first visit to some kind and old
friends of his, who were among the earliest arrivals in the
province, and who have made a lovely home for themselves at the foot
of a great Bush on the other side of our range.  I was delighted at
the idea, for I have had very little opportunity of going about
since we came here, owing to the short winter days and the amount of
occupation at home consequent on a new establishment.

Directly after breakfast, the horses were caught and saddled, and we
started in high spirits.  As we rode up the long, sunny valley
stretching away for miles at the back of the house, F--- pointed out
to me, with all a sheep-farmer's pride, the hundreds of pretty
little curly-fleeced lambs skipping about the low hill-sides.  After
we passed our own boundary fence we came upon a very bad track,--
this is the name by which all roads are called, and they do not
deserve a better,--but it was the only path to our destination.  The
air was mild and balmy, and the sun shone brightly as we slowly
picked our way across bogs and creeks, and up and down steep,
slippery hill-sides; but just as we reached the lowest saddle of the
range and prepared to descend, a cold wind met us.  In an instant
the sunshine was overclouded, and F---, pointing to a grey bank of
cloud moving quickly towards us, said, "There is a tremendous
sou'-wester coming up; we had better push on for shelter, or you'll
be drowned:" but, alas!  at each step the road grew worse and worse;
where it was level the ground was literally honeycombed with deep
holes half full of water, and at last we came to a place where the
horse had to descend a flight of stone steps, each step being
extremely slippery and some way below the other; and at the bottom
of this horrible staircase there was a wide jump to be taken, the
spring being off the lowest step, and the jump upwards alighting on
a steep bank up which the horses scrambled like cats.  Getting wet
through appeared to me a very minor evil compared to the dangers of
such a road, but F--- urged me forward, with assurances that the
horse knew the path perfectly well and could carry me at a gallop
quite safely; but it was impossible to infuse sufficient courage
into my drooping heart to induce me to go faster than a walk.

All this time the storm drew rapidly nearer, the wind blew in icy
cold gusts, the hail came down in large stones, pelting our faces
till they tingled again; it was nearly an hour before we rode up to
the hospitable, ever-open porch door of Rockwood.  I was immediately
lifted off my saddle by kind and strong arms, and carried with
frozen limbs and streaming habit into the kitchen, for I was as
unfit for the drawing-room as my own water-spaniel.  A blazing wood
fire was hastily lighted in one of the bed-rooms, and thither the
good hostess conveyed me.  I emerged from that apartment the most
extraordinary figure you ever saw.  Imagine me arrayed in a short
and very wide crinoline, over which was a bright-coloured linsey
petticoat; an old pilot-coat for a jacket, huge carpet slippers on
my feet, and my dripping hair hanging loose over my shoulders!  I
assure you, I looked like the portraits in books of travel, of the
Tahitian women when they first assumed clothes; and the worst of it
was, that I had to remain in this costume for three whole days.  To
return was impossible, the storm from the S.W. raged all that
evening.  When we opened our eyes next morning, snow was lying some
inches deep, and still falling fast; there was no cessation for
forty-eight hours, and then we had to give it time to thaw a little,
so that it was Sunday morning before we started on our homeward
ride.  In the meantime, nothing could afford a greater contrast to
the wild weather out of doors than the snug brightness within.
Blazing logs of pine and black birch made every room warm and
cheery; all day we chatted and amused ourselves in different ways (I
learned to make a capital pudding, and acquainted myself with the
mysteries of "junket"); in the evenings we had whist for an hour,
and then either round games or songs.  The young men of the house
have nice voices and a great feeling for music, and some of the
trios and glees went very well indeed.  The only thing which spoilt
my enjoyment was the constantly recurring remembrance of that
terrible road.  F--- tried to comfort me by assurances that the snow
would have filled up the worst places so much that I should not see
them, but, strange to say, I failed to derive any consolation from
that idea; however, we accomplished the journey back safely, but
with many slips and slides.  As soon as we came on our own run, F---
began to look out for dead lambs, but fortunately there were not
many for him to mourn over; they must have taken shelter under the
low hills, to leeward of the storm.

The second ride was much longer, and if possible a more disagreeable
one.  It began just in the same way; we were again decoyed out by
sunshine and soft air for a ride round the run, starting about
half-past ten.  The scenery was beautiful, and we enjoyed ourselves
immensely.  The track lay along our own boundary fence most of the
way, and we had ridden about ten miles, when we stopped at one of
our shepherds' huts, technically called an out station, and accepted
his offer of luncheon.  He gave us capital tea, with an egg beaten
up in it as a substitute for milk, cold mutton, bread, and a cake;
the reason of these unwonted luxuries was that he kept fowls, and I
was very jealous at seeing two broods of chickens out, whilst mine
are still in the shell.  This man is quite an artist, and the walls
of his but were covered with bold pen-and-ink sketches, chiefly
reminiscences of the hunting-field in England, or his own adventures
"getting out" wild cattle on the Black Hills in the north of the
province: he leads an extremely-solitary existence, his dogs being
his only companions; his duties consist in riding daily a boundary
down the gorge of the river, which he has to cross and re-cross many
times: and he has to supply the home station and our house with
mutton, killing four or five sheep a week.  He is employed out of
doors all day, but has plenty of time in the evenings for reading I
found him well-informed and intelligent, and he expresses himself
exceedingly well.  We rested here an hour, and as we went outside
and prepared to mount, F--- said, "I really believe there is
_another_ sou'-wester coming up," and so there was: we could not go
fast, for we were riding over a dry river-bed, composed entirely of
loose large stones.  Every few hundred yards we had to cross the
river Selwyn, which was rising rapidly, as the storm had been raging
in the mountains long before it reached us; on each side were high,
steep hills, and in some places the river filled up the gorge
entirely, and we had to ride in the water up to our saddle-girths.
All this time the rain was coming down in sheets, but the wind grew
colder and colder; at last the rain turned into snow, which speedily
changed us and our horses into white moving figures.  Eight long
weary miles of this had we, only able to trot the last two, and
those over very swampy ground.  In your country a severe cold would
probably have been the least evil of this escapade, but here no such
consequence follow a good wetting; the houses are so little real
protection from the weather, that you are forced to live as it were
in the open air, whether you like it or not, and this hardens the
constitution so much, that it is not easy to take cold from a little
extra exposure.  Men are apt to be careless and remain in their wet
things, or stand before a fire till their clothes dry on them; and
whenever I scold any one for being foolish, he always acknowledges
that if he does but change when he comes into a house, he _never_
catches cold from any amount of exposure to the severest weather.



Letter XIII: Bachelor hospitality.--a gale on shore.


Broomielaw, November 1866.
We have lately made a much longer excursion than those I told you of
last, month, and this time have been fortunate in meeting with fine
weather above all, our expedition has been over perfectly level
ground, and on a good "track," which has greatly increased its
charms in my eyes.  A fortnight ago early summer set fairly in, and
some bachelor neighbours took advantage of the change to ride over
to see us, and arrange a plan for the following week.  It all fitted
in nicely, for F--- was obliged to go to Christchurch at that time,
and the first idea of the expedition originated in my saying how
dull I was at the station when he was away.  I can get on very well
all day; with my various employments--feeding the chickens, taking
the big dogs out for a walk, and so on: but after the house is quiet
and silent for the night, and the servants have gone to bed, a
horrible lonely eerie feeling comes over me; the solitude is so
dreary, and the silence so intense, only broken occasionally by the
wild, melancholy cry of the weka.  However, I am very rarely tried
in this way, and when I am it can't be helped, if that is any
consolation.

I forget whether I told you that we left all "evening things," and
other toilette necessaries which would not be wanted up country,
behind us in Christchurch, so as to avoid the trouble of sending any
luggage backwards or forwards.  It is necessary to mention this, to
account for the very light marching order in which we travelled.  It
was a lovely summer morning on which we left home,  meaning to be
away nearly a week, from Monday till Saturday.  We were well
mounted, and all our luggage consisted of my little travelling-bag
fastened to the pommel of my saddle, containing our brushes and
combs, and what is termed a "swag" in front of F---'s saddle; that
is, a long narrow bundle, in this instance enclosed in a neat
waterproof case, and fastened with two straps to the "D's," which
are steel loops let in in four places to all colonial saddles, for
the purpose of carrying blankets, etc.; they derive their name
apparently from their resemblance to the letter.  In this parcel our
most indispensable garments were tightly packed.  We cantered gaily
along on the way to Christchurch, the horses appearing to enjoy the
delicious air and soft springy turf as much as we did.  There was a
river and half-a-dozen creeks to be crossed; but they are all quite
low at this time of year.  As we stood in one of them to let the
horses drink and cool their legs, I saw a huge eel hidden under the
shadow of a high overhanging bank, waiting till the evening to come
out and feed upon the myriads of flies and little white moths that
skim over the surface of the water.

It is considered a great advantage to our station that there is only
the river Selwyn (of which the Maori name is the Wai-kiri-kiri)
between us and town, not only for our own convenience, but because
it is easy to take sheep across it, and it offers no difficulties to
the wool drays.  This river has a very good reputation, and is very
rarely dangerous to cross; whereas the Rakaia and the Rangitata
towards the south, and the Waimakiriri towards the north, of
Christchurch, are most difficult, and always liable to sudden
freshes.  The general mode of crossing the larger rivers is by a
boat, with the horse swimming behind; but accidents constantly occur
from the foolhardiness of people attempting to ford them alone on
horseback: they are lost in quicksands, or carried down by the
current, before they can even realize that they are in danger.  The
common saying in New Zealand is, that people only die from drowning
and drunkenness.  I am afraid the former is generally the result of
the latter.

From the first our road lay with our backs to the hills; but as we
cantered along the plains, I was often obliged to turn round and
admire their grand outlines.  The highest ranges were still
snow-white, and made a magnificent background against the summer
sky.  An easy twelve miles' ride brought us to a charming little
station, called by the pretty native name of Waireka; here lived our
three bachelor hosts, and a nicer or more comfortable home in a
distant land could not be desired.  The house has been built for
some years, consequently the plantations about it and the garden
have grown up well, and the willows, gum-trees, and poplars shelter
it perfectly, besides giving it such a snug home look.  It stands on
a vast plain, without even an undulation of the ground near it; but
the mountains form a grand panoramic view.  There is a large wide
verandah round two sides of the house, with French windows opening
into it; and I could not help feeling impatient to see my own
creepers in such luxuriant, beauty as these roses and honeysuckles
were.  It was half amusing and half pathetic to notice the
preparations which had been made to receive a lady guest, and the
great anxiety of my hosts to ensure my being quite as comfortable as
I am at home.  Much had been said beforehand about the necessity of
making up my mind to rough it in bachelor quarters, so I was
surprised to find all sorts of luxuries in my room, especially a
dainty little toilette-table, draped with white cloths (a big wooden
packing-case was its foundation).  Its ornaments were all sorts of
nondescript treasures, placed in boxes at the last moment of leaving
the English hall or rectory by careful loving hands of mothers and
sisters, and lying unused for years until now.  There was a little
china tray, which had been slipped into some corner by a
child-sister anxious to send some possession of her "very own" out
to the other end of the world; there was a vase with flowers; a
parti-coloured pin-cushion of very gay silks, probably the parting
gift of an old nurse; and a curious old-fashioned essence bottle,
with eau-de-cologne; the surrounding country had been ransacked to
procure a piece of scented soap.  The only thing to remind me that I
was not in an English cottage was the opossum rug with which the
neat little bed was covered.  The sitting-room looked the picture of
cosy comfort, with its well-filled book-shelves, arm-chairs, sofa
with another opossum rug thrown over it, and the open fireplace
filled with ferns and tufts of the white feathery Tohi grass in
front of the green background.  We enjoyed our luncheon, or rather
early dinner, immensely after our ride; and in the afternoon went
out to see the nice large garden (such a contrast to our wretched
little beginnings), and finally strolled on to the inevitable
wool-shed, where the gentlemen had an animated "sheep talk."  I
rather enjoy these discussions, though they are prefaced by an
apology for "talking shop;" but it amuses me, and I like to see the
samples of wool, which are generally handed about in the heat of a
great argument, the long white locks are so glistening, and soft,
and crinkly.

My five-o'clock tea was duly remembered, and then, as there was
nothing more to see out of doors within a short distance, I proposed
that I should make a cake.  The necessary ingredients were quickly
collected.  I had relays of volunteers to beat up the eggs, and
though I suffered great anxiety until it was cut at supper, it
turned out satisfactorily.  The worst of my cookery is, that while I
always follow the same directions most carefully, there is great
uncertainty and variety about the result.  In the evening we played
round games.  But we all went early to bed, as, we had to be up
betimes, and in the saddle by seven o'clock, to catch the 9-30 train
at Rolleston; twenty miles off.  We had a beautiful, still morning
for our ride, and reached the station--a shed standing out on the
plain--in time to see our horses safely paddocked before the train
started for Christchurch.  The distance by rail was only fifteen
miles, so we were not long about it; and we walked to the hotel from
the railway-station in the town.  A bath and breakfast were both
very enjoyable, and then F--- went out to transact his business, and
I employed myself in unpacking and _ironing_ a ball-dress for a
party, to which we were engaged that evening.  There was also
another ball the following night.  The second was a very late one,
and we had scarcely an hour's sleep before we were obliged to get up
and start by the 6 A.M. train back to Rolleston, where we remounted
our horses and rode to dear little Waireka in time for breakfast.
By the evening I was sufficiently rested to make another cake, which
also, happily, turned out well.

We intended to return home the next day (Friday), but a terrific
"nor'-wester" came on in the night, and it was impossible to stir
out of the house; it was the severest gale since our arrival, and it
is hardly possible to give you a correct idea of the force and fury
of the wind.  Not a glimpse of the mountains was to be seen; a haze
of dust, as thick as any fog, shut everything out.  The sheep had
all taken refuge under the high banks of the creeks.  It is curious
that sheep always feed head to wind in a nor'-west gale, whereas
they will drift for miles before a sou'-wester.  The trees bent
almost flat before the hot breath of this hurricane, and although
the house was built of cob, and its walls were very thick and solid,
the creaking and swaying of the shingled roof kept me in perpetual
alarm.  The verandah was a great protection; and yet the small
river-pebbles, of which the garden-walk was made, were dashed
against the windows like hailstones by each gust.  We amused
ourselves indoors by the study and composition of acrostics, and so
got through an imprisonment of two days, without a moment's
cessation of the wind; but towards sunset on Saturday there were
signs of a lull, and about midnight the gale dropped; and we heard
the grateful, refreshing sound of soft and continuous rain, and when
we came out to breakfast on Sunday morning everything looked revived
again.  It is a most fortunate meteorological fact that these very
high winds are generally succeeded by heavy rain; everything is so
parched and shrivelled up by them that I do not know what would
become of the vegetation otherwise.  We held a council, to determine
what had better be done about returning home, and finally decided to
risk a wet ride sooner than disappoint the little congregation; for
should it prove a fine afternoon, those who lived near would
certainly come; so we mounted after breakfast.

I was wrapped in one of the gentlemen's macintoshes, and found the
ride far from disagreeable.  As we neared our own station we began
to look out for signs of disaster; and about half a mile from the
house saw some of the vanes from the chimneys on the track; a little
nearer home, across the path lay a large zinc chimney-pot; then
another; and when we came close enough to see the house distinctly,
it looked very much dwarfed without its chimneys.  There had been a
large pile of empty boxes at the back of the stable; these were all
blown away in the gale.  One huge packing-case was sailing
tranquilly about on the pond, and planks and fragments of zinc were
strewn over the paddock.  The moment we reached the house, Mr. U---,
the gentleman-cadet of whom I have told you, came out, with a
melancholy face, to tell me that a large wooden cage, full of the
canaries which I had brought from England with me, had been blown
out of the verandah, though it was on the most sheltered side of the
house.  It really seemed incredible at first, but the cage was lying
in ruins in the middle of the paddock, and all my birds except one
had disappeared.  It happened in the middle of the night, and Mr. U---
described, very amusingly, that when he was awakened by the noise
which the cage made against a wire fence (which it just "topped" in
passing), he sprang out of his bed in the attic, and clambered out
of the window, expecting to find the very heavy sort of staircase-
ladder in its place; but it was "over the hills and far away," so he
had a drop of about twelve feet to the ground, which thoroughly
aroused him.  He went into the verandah to see if the cage was safe,
and was nearly knocked down by a big tin bath, ordinarily kept
there, which was just starting across country.  As soon as he missed
the cage he very pluckily went after it, being able to keep sight of
it by the fitful gleams of moon-light, and he was just in time to
rescue the poor little surviving canary.  We could not help laughing
at the recital of all the mischief which had been done, but still it
is very tiresome, and the garden looks, if possible, more wretched
than ever.  There is no shelter for it yet, and my poor green-peas
are blown nearly out of the ground.  It rained hard all the evening,
so our congregation was confined to the home party.



Letter XIV: A Christmas picnic, and other doings.


Broomielaw, December 1866.
It is too late to wish you a merry Christmas and a happy New Year in
this letter.  In order to allow them to reach you in time I should
have sent my good wishes in October's letter; I must remember to do
so next year.  I am writing on the last days of the month, so I
shall be able to tell you of our own Christmas doings; though,
first, I must describe the festivities attending a "coming of age in
the Bush," to which we were invited about the middle of this month.
How strange Christmas picnics and balls will appear in your eyes,
before which still dangle probably the dear old traditional holly
and ivy!  I am obliged to preface all my descriptions with an
account of a ride, if I am to begin, according to your repeated
injunctions, at the very beginning; for a ride is quite certain to
be both the beginning and end of each excursion, simply because we
have no other means of going about, except on our feet.  The ride
upon this occasion was to Rockwood, where the birthday party was to
assemble, but the road had not now so many terrors for me.  In
consequence of the fine dry weather, most of the bad places were
safer and firmer, and the numerous creeks were only shallow
sparkling streamlets over which a child could jump, instead of the
muddy noisy wide brooks of three months ago.  The day on which we
started, this time, was a great contrast to the former one.  When we
reached the saddle I have before told you of, instead of being met
and nearly driven back by a violent "sutherly buster," we stopped
before beginning the steep descent to admire the exquisite view
before us.

Close on our right hand rose the Government bush out of which we get
our firewood, standing grand and gloomy amid huge cliffs and crags;
even the summer sunshine could not enliven it, nor the twitter and
chirrup of countless birds.  In front, the chain of hills we were
crossing rolled down in gradually decreasing hillocks, till they
merged in the vast plains before us, stretching away as far as the
eye could reach towards the south, all quivering in the haze and
glare of the bright sunlight.  The background, extending along the
horizon, was formed of lofty mountains still glistening white
against the dazzling blue sky.  Just at our feet the Rockwood
paddocks looked like carpets of emerald velvet, spread out among the
yellowish tussocks; the fences which enclose them were either golden
with broom and gorse, or gay with wild roses and honeysuckle. Beyond
these we saw the bright patches of flowers in the garden, and
nothing could be more effective than the white gable of the house
standing out against the vast black birch forest which clothed the
steep hill-sides for miles--the contrast was so picturesque between
the little bit of civilization and culture and the great extent of
wild, savage scenery around it.  After the utter treelessness of our
own immediate neighbourhood, the sight of such a mass of foliage is
a joy to my eyes.

The day following our arrival was _the_ birthday, and we prepared to
enjoy every hour of it.  The party assembled was a very large one,
consisting, however, chiefly of gentlemen, for the utmost exertions
in the district could not produce more than five ladies altogether,
and two of those had come an immense way.  Directly after breakfast
we all sallied forth, the ladies equipped in light cotton dresses
(muslin is too thin for the bush) and little sailor hats,--we did
not want shady ones, for never a gleam of sun can penetrate into a
real New Zealand Bush, unless in a spot which has been very much
cleared.  Strong boots with nails in the soles, to help us to keep
on our feet up the steep clay hill-sides, and a stout stick,
completed our equipment; perhaps we were not very smart, but we
looked like going at all events.  I can answer for myself that I
enjoyed every moment of that long Midsummer holiday most intensely,
though I fear I must have wearied our dear, charming host, by my
incessant questions about the names of the trees and shrubs, and of
the habits and ways of the thousands of birds.  It was all so new
and so delightful to me,--the green gloom, the hoarse croak of the
ka-ka, as it alighted almost at our feet and prepared, quite
careless of our vicinity, to tear up the loose soil at the root of a
tall tree, in search of grubs.  It is a species of parrot, but with
very dingy reddish-brown plumage, only slightly enlivened by a few,
scarlet feathers in the wing.  The air was gay with bright green
parroquets flitting about, very mischievous they are, I am told,
taking large tithe of the fruit, especially of the cherries.  Every
now and then we stood, by common consent, silent and almost
breathless to listen to the Bell-bird, a dingy little fellow, nearly
as large as a thrush with the plumage of a chaffinch, but with such
a note!--how can I make you hear its wild, sweet, plaintive tone, as
a little girl of the party said, "just as if it had a bell in its
throat;" but indeed it would require a whole peal of silver bells to
ring such an exquisite chime.  Then we crept softly up to a low
branch, to have a good look at the Tui, or Parson-bird, most
respectable and clerical-looking in its glossy black suit, with a
singularly trim and dapper air, and white wattles of very slender
feathers--indeed they are as fine as hair-curled coquettishly at
each side of his throat, exactly like bands.  All the birds were
quite tame, and, instead of avoiding us, seemed inclined to examine
us minutely.  Many of them have English names, which I found very
tantalising, especially when, the New Zealand Robin was announced,
and I could only see a fat little ball of a bird, with a
yellowish-white breast.  Animals there are none.  No quadruped is
indigenous to New Zealand, except a rat; but then, on the other
hand, we are as free from snakes and all vermin as if St. Patrick
himself had lived here.  Our host has turned several pheasants into
this forest, but they increase very slowly on account of the wekas.
However, the happiness of this morning was made complete by our
putting up two splendid rocketers.

We could only make our way by the paths which have been cut through
the Bush; a yard off the track it is impossible to stir for the
dense undergrowth.  In the ravines and steep gullies formed by the
creeks grow masses of ferns of all sorts, spreading like large
shrubs, and contrasting by their light bright green with the black
stems of the birch-trees around them.  There are a few pines in this
bush, but not many.  I can give you no idea of the variety among the
shrubs: the koromika, like an Alpine rose, a compact ball of
foliage; the lance-wood, a tall, slender stem, straight as a line,
with a few long leaves at the top, turned downwards like the barb of
a spear, and looking exactly like a lance stuck into the ground; the
varieties of matapo, a beautiful shrub, each leaf a study, with its
delicate tracery of black veins on a yellow-green ground; the mappo,
the gohi, and many others, any of which would be the glory of an
English shrubbery: but they seem to require the deep shelter of
their native Bush, for they never flourish when transplanted.  I
noticed the slender the large trees have of the ground, and it is
not at all surprising, after such a gale as we had three weeks ago,
to see many of the finest blown down in the clearings where the wind
could reach them.  They do not seem to have any tap-root at all,
merely a very insufficient network of fibres, seldom of any size,
which spreads a short way along the surface of the ground As long as
a Bush is undisturbed by civilization, it appears to be impervious
to wind or weather; but as soon as it is opened and cleared a
little, it begins to diminish rapidly.  There are traces all over
the hills of vast forests having once existed; chiefly of totara, a
sort of red pine, and those about us are scattered with huge logs of
this valuable wood, all bearing traces of the action of fire; but
shepherds, and explorers on expeditions, looking for country, have
gradually consumed them for fuel, till not many pieces remain except
on the highest and most inaccessible ranges.

It was a delightful, and by no means unacceptable surprise which
awaited us on the other side, when, on emerging from a very thick
part of the Bush, we came on a lovely spot, a true "meeting of the
waters."  Three broad, bright creeks came rushing and tumbling down
from the densely wooded hills about to join and flow on in quite a
good-sized river, amid boulders and a great deal of hurry and fuss,
--a contrast to the profound quiet of our ramble hitherto, the
silence of which was only broken by the twitter and whistle of the
birds.  Never a song can you hear, only a sweet chirrup, or two or
three melodious notes.  On the opposite bank of the river there was
the welcome sight of several hampers more or less unpacked, and the
gleam of a white tablecloth on the moss.  Half-a-dozen gentlemen had
formed themselves into a commissariat, and were arranging luncheon.
We could see the champagne cooling in a sort of little bay,
protected by a dam of big stones from being carried down the stream.
It all looked very charming and inviting, but the next question was
how to get across the river to these good things.  Twelve or
fourteen feet separated us, hungry and tired wanderers as we were,
from food and rest; the only crossing-place was some miles lower
down, near the house in fact; so even the most timid amongst us
scouted the idea of retracing our steps.  The only alternative was
to make a bridge: one of the gentlemen who were with us carried an
axe in case of emergency, and in a moment we heard the sharp ringing
sounds foretelling the fall of a tree.  In the mean-time, others of
the party were dragging out fallen logs--of course small and
manageable ones--and laying them from one huge boulder to another,
working up to their knees in water.  So many of these prostrate
trunks were "convenient," that a cry soon arose to the woodman to
"spare the trees," for there were quite enough on the ground.
However, two substantial poles had been felled, and these were laid
over the deepest and most dangerous part of the current.  The bridge
was soon declared passable, and loud shouts from the opposite side
proclaimed that luncheon was quite ready.  I was called, as having a
most undeserved reputation for "pluck," to make trial of the
aerial-looking fabric.  I did not like it at all, and entreated some
one else to lead the forlorn hope; so a very quiet young lady, who
really possessed more courage in her little finger than I do in my
whole body, volunteered to go first.  The effect from the bank was
something like tight-rope dancing, and it was very difficult to keep
one's balance.  Miss Kate, our pioneer, walked on very steadily,
amid great applause, till she reached the middle of the stream,
where fortunately the water was shallow, but strewed with masses of
boulders.  She paused an instant on the large rock on which the ends
of the saplings rested, and then started afresh for the last half of
her journey.  The instant she put her foot on the second part of the
bridge, it gave way with a loud crash; and the poor girl, with great
presence of mind, caught at the tree she, had just crossed, and so
saved herself from a ducking.  Of course, she had plenty of help in
an instant, but the difficulty was to regain any sort of footing.
She could not drop into the water, and there was apparently no way
of dragging herself up again; but one of the gentlemen crept on
hands and knees along the unbroken part of the bridge, and
eventually helped her up the sides of the large boulder which acted
as a pier, and from which the log had slipped.  From the other side
they now pushed across tall, slim trees, freshly cut, and the rest
of the passage was safe enough.  I did not like the mode of transit
at all, though I got over without a slip, but it requires a steady
head to cross a noisy stream on two slippery round poles--for really
the trees were little thicker--laid side by side, bending with every
step.  It was a great comfort to me all luncheon-time to know that
we were not to return by the same path through the Bush.  We had a
good rest after lunch: I lay back on a bed of fern, watching the
numbers of little birds around us; they boldly picked up our crumbs,
without a thought of possible danger.  Presently I felt a tug at the
shawl on which I was lying: I was too lazy and dreamy to turn my
head, so the next thing was a sharp dig on my arm, which hurt me
dreadfully.  I looked round, and there was a weka bent on thoroughly
investigating the intruder into its domain.  The bird looked so cool
and unconcerned, that I had not the heart to follow my first impulse
and throw my stick at it; but my forbearance was presently rewarded
by a stab on the ankle, which fairly made me jump up with a scream,
when my persecutor glided gracefully away among the bushes, leaving
me, like Lord Ullin, "lamenting."

We sauntered home slowly, gathering armfuls of, fern and a large
variety of a stag's-head moss so common on the west coast of
Scotland; and as soon as we had had some tea, the gentlemen went off
with their towels to bathe in the creek, and the five ladies set to
work at the decorations for the ball-room, weaving wreaths and
arranging enormous bouquets very rapidly: we had such a wealth of
flowers to work with that our task was not difficult.  The most
amusing part of the story is, however, that the ball took place in
my bed-room!  A very pompous lady of my acquaintance always prefaces
the slenderest anecdote with these words, "And it happened in this
wise," so I think I shall avail myself of the _tour de phrase_.

It happened in this wise, then:-a large well-proportioned room had
been added to the house lately; it was intended for a drawing-room,
but for some reason has only been used as a: spare bed-room, but as
it may possibly return to its original destination, very little
bed-room furniture has been put in it, and many of its belongings
are appropriate to a sitting-room.  We called in the servants, the
light cane bedstead was soon deposited under the shade of a tree in
the garden, the washing-stand was similarly disposed of, and an
hour's work with hammer and nails and a ball of string turned the
room into a perfect bower of ferns and flowers: great ingenuity was
displayed in the arrangement of lights, and the result was a very
pretty ball-room.

We are always eating in this country, so you will not be surprised
to hear that there was yet another meal to be disposed of before we
separated to dress in all sorts of nooks and corners.  White muslin
was the universal costume, as it can be packed flat and smooth.  My
gown had been carried over by F--- in front of his saddle in a very
small parcel: I covered it almost entirely with sprays of the
light-green stag's-head, moss, and made a wreath of it also for my
hair.  I think that with the other ladies roses were the most
popular decoration, and they looked very fresh and nice.  I was the
universal _coiffeuse_, and I dressed all the girls' heads with
flowers, as I was supposed to be best up in the latest fashions.  In
the meantime, the piano had been moved to the bay-window of the
ball-room, and at ten o'clock dancing commenced, and may be truly
said to have been kept up with great spirit until four o'clock: it
only ceased then on account of the state of exhaustion of the
unfortunate five ladies, who had been nearly killed with incessant
dancing.  I threw a shawl over my head, and sauntered alone up one
of the many paths close to the house which led into the Bush.  Tired
as I was, I shall never forget the beauty and romance of that hour,
--the delicious crisp _new_ feeling of the morning air; the very
roses, growing like a red fringe on the skirts of the great Bush,
seemed awaking to fresh life and perfume; the numbers of gay lizards
and flies coming out for their morning meal, and, above all, the
first awakening of the myriads of Bush-birds; every conceivable
twitter and chatter and chirrup; the last cry of a very pretty
little owl, called, from its distinctly uttered words, the
"More-pork," as it flitted away before the dawn to the highest
trees: all made up a jubilant uproar compared to which one of the
Crystal Palace choruses is silence.  I sat down on a fallen tree,
and listened and waited: every moment added to the lovely dawn
around me, and I enjoyed to the full the fragrant smells and joyous
sounds of another day in this fresh young land.

All too soon came a loud "coo-ee" from the house, which I allowed
them to repeat before I answered; this was to tell me that the ball-
room was deserted, and had been again turned into a bed-room.  When
I opened my eyes later, after a six hours' nap, the room looked like
a fairy bower, the flowers still unfaded.  We had another picnic the
next day up the gorge of a river, amid very wild and beautiful
scenery; but everything had been arranged so as to make the
expedition an easy one, out of consideration to the weary five.  The
day after this we rode home again, and I had to set to work directly
to prepare for my own Christmas party to the shepherds and
shearers,--for we have just commenced to muster the sheep, and the
shearing will be in full force by Christmas Day.  One great object I
have in view in giving this party is to prevent the shearers from
going over to the nearest accommodation-house and getting tipsy, as
they otherwise would; so I have taken care to issue my invitations
early.  I found great difficulty in persuading some of the men to
accept, as they had not brought any tidy clothes with them; and as
the others would be decently, indeed well dressed, they did not like
putting in a shabby appearance.  This difficulty was obviated by
F--- hunting up some of the things he had worn on the voyage, and
rigging-out the invited guests.  For two days before the great day I
had been working hard, studying recipes for pies and puddings, and
scouring the country in search of delicacies.  Every lady was most
kind, knowing that our poor, exposed garden was backward; I had
sacks of green peas, bushels of young potatoes, and baskets of
strawberries and cherries sent to me from all round the country; I
made poor F--- ride twenty miles to get me a sirloin of beef, and,
to my great joy, two beautiful young geese arrived as a present only
the day before.  It is a point of honour to have as little mutton as
possible on these occasions, as the great treat is the complete
change of fare.  I only ventured to introduce it very much disguised
as curry, or in pies.  We were all up at daylight on Christmas
morning, and off to the nearest little copse in one of the gullies,
where a few shrubs and small trees and ferns grow, to gather boughs
for the decoration of the washhouse.  Marvels were done in the
carpentering line to arrange tables around its walls.  The copper,
which at first presented such an obstacle to the symmetry of the
adornments, became their chief glory; it was boarded over, its sides
completely hidden by flags and ferns, and the dessert placed on it
peeped out from a bower of greenery.  I don't know how we got our
own breakfast; from eleven o'clock there was the constant
announcement "A horseman coming up the flat;" and by twelve, when I
as beadle announced that all was ready, a large congregation of
thirty-six came trooping into my little drawing-room.  As soon as it
was filled the others clustered round the door; but all could hear,
I think.  F--- began the service; and as the notes of the Christmas
Anthem swelled up, I found the tears trembling in my eyes.  My
overwhelming thought was that it actually was the very first time
those words had ever been sung or said in that valley--you in
England can hardly realize the immensity of such a thought--"the
first time since the world was made."  I think the next sensation
was one of extreme happiness; it seemed such a privilege to be
allowed to hold the initial Christmas service.  I had to grasp this
idea very tight to keep down the terrible home-sickness which I felt
all day for almost the first time.  There are moments when no
advantages or privileges can repress what Aytoun calls "the deep,
unutterable woe which none save exiles feel."

The service only lasted half an hour, beginning and ending with a
hymn; there were three women present besides me--my two servants,
and the nice young wife of a neighbouring shepherd.  It was a sultry
day, not a breath of air; but still it is never oppressive at this
elevation.  We wound up a big musical-box, set it going in the
banqueting-hall (late washhouse), and marshalled the guests in they
were extremely shy as a rule, and so we soon went away and left them
to themselves.  They ate incessantly for two hours--and I hope they
enjoyed themselves; then the men lounged about the stables and
smoked, and the three women cleared away a little.  F--- and our
gentlemen guests got up athletic sports in the shade which seemed
very popular, though it appeared a great deal of trouble to take on
such a hot day.  As the sun sank below the hills it grew much
cooler, and my two maids came with a shamefaced request to be
allowed to dance in the kitchen.  I inquired about the music?--that
was provided for by a fiddle and some pipes; so I consented, but I
found they wanted me to start them.  I selected as my partner a very
decent young farmer who lives near, but has left his farm and is at
work branding our sheep all shearing-time.  The pride and delight of
his mate was much greater than my partner's; he stood near his
friend, prompting him through the mazes of the most extraordinary
quadrille you ever saw, with two extra figures.  Then there was an
endless polka, in which everybody danced, like Queen Elizabeth,
"high and disposedly;" but the ball ended at nine o'clock, and we
were given some cold dinner, for which we were all very ready.  The
next morning saw the remains of the festivity cleared away, and
every one hard at work again; for this is our very busiest season.
The work of the station, however, is carried on at the homestead two
miles off.  F--- is there all day long, but I see nothing of it.
While the shearers' hearts were tender, I asked them to come over to
church on Sunday, and they have promised to do so: I lend them
quantities of books and papers also, so as to keep them amused and
away from the accommodation-house.



Letter XV: Everyday station life.


Broomielaw, January 1867.
You tell me to describe our daily home-life and domestic
surroundings.  I dare say it: will appear to be a monotonous and
insignificant existence enough when put on paper, but it suits me
exactly; and, for the first time in my life, I have enough to do,
and also the satisfaction of feeling that I am of some little use to
my fellow-creatures.  A lady's influence out here appears to be very
great, and capable of indefinite expansion.  She represents
refinement and culture (in Mr. Arnold's sense of the words), and her
footsteps on a new soil such as this should be marked by a trail of
light.  Of course every improvement must be the work of time, but I
find my neighbours very willing to help me in my attempts.

A few lines will be sufficient to sketch a day's routine.  The first
of my duties is one I especially delight in.  I am out very early
with a large tin dish of scraps mixed with a few handfuls of wheat,
and my appearance is the signal for a great commotion among all my
fowls and ducks and pigeons.  Such waddling and flying and running
with outstretched wings to me: in fact, I receive a morning greeting
from all the live-stock about the place.  I am nearly knocked down
by the big sheep-dogs; the calves come rushing with awkward gambols
towards me for a bit of the fowls' bread, whilst the dogs look out
for a bone; but, in the midst of the confusion, the poultry hold
their own; indeed, an anxious hen eager to secure a breakfast for
her chicks will fly at a big dog, and beat him away from a savoury
morsel.  I think I ought not to omit mentioning the devotion of a
small pig; it is an exact illustration of the French proverb which
speaks of the inequality of love, for I am quite passive and do not
respond in the least to the little beastie's affection, which is the
most absurd thing you ever saw, especially as it proceeds from so
unromantic an animal.  Late in the spring (that is to say, about
November last) we were all returning from a great pig-hunting
expedition, when I saw one of the party coming down a steep hill
near the house with a small and glossy-black wild pig under each
arm; he was very proud of his captives, placed them in a box with
some straw, and fed them like babies out of a bottle.  We laughed at
him very much; but when he went away he begged so earnestly that the
pigs should be reared that we promised to keep them.  In a few days
they became perfectly tame, and were very handsome little creatures;
and one of them attached itself to me, following me all about, even
into the house (but _that_ I really could not stand), accompanying
me in all my walks, and, as far as it could, in my rides.  Many a
time have I seen poor little piggy carried down a creek by the
current, squealing piteously, but it was evidently a case of "many
waters cannot quench love," for a little further on piggy would
appear, very much baked, but holding out gallantly, till sheer
exhaustion compelled him to give in, when he would lie down under a
tussock, apparently dying; but, as we were coming home in the dusk,
Helen, my pretty bay mare, has given many a shy at piggy starting up
from his shelter with gambols and squeals of joy.

It is always a great temptation to loiter about in the lovely fresh
morning air, but I have to be dressed in time for prayers and
breakfast at nine; directly after breakfast I go into the kitchen;
sometimes, it is only necessary to give orders or instructions, but
generally I find that practice is much better than precept, and I
see to the soup myself, and make the pudding--the joint can take
care of itself.

You have often asked me what we have to eat, so this will be a good
opportunity of introducing our daily bill of fare, prefacing it with
my recorded opinion that here is no place in the world where you can
live so cheaply and so well as on a New Zealand sheep station, when
once you get a start.  Of course, it is expensive at first, setting
everything going, but that would be the case in any country.  I will
begin at the very beginning:--Porridge for breakfast, with new milk
and cream _a discretion_; to follow--mutton chops, mutton ham, or
mutton curry, or broiled mutton and mushrooms, not shabby little
fragments of meat broiled, but beautiful tender steaks off a leg;
tea or coffee, and bread and butter, with as many new-laid eggs as
we choose to consume.  Then, for dinner, at half-past one, we have
soup, a joint, vegetables, and a pudding; in summer, we have fresh
fruit stewed, instead of a pudding, with whipped cream.  I was a
proud and happy woman the first day my cream remained cream, and did
not turn into butter; for generally my zeal outran my discretion,
and I did not know when to leave off whipping.  We have supper about
seven; but this is a moveable feast, consisting of tea again, mutton
cooked in some form of entree, eggs, bread and butter, and a cake of
my manufacture.  I must, however, acknowledge, that at almost every
other station you would get more dainties, such as jam and preserves
of all sorts, than we can boast of yet; for, as Littimer says to
David Copperfield, "We are very young, exceedingly young, sir," our
fruit-trees, have not come into full bearing, and our other
resources are still quite undeveloped.

However, I have wandered away terribly from my first intention of
telling you of the daily occupations to a description of our daily
food.  After I have finished all my little fussings about the house,
I join F--- who has probably been for some time quietly settled down
at his writing-table, and we work together at books and writing till
dinner; after that meal, F--- like Mr. Tootes, "resumes his
studies," but I go and feed my fowls again, and if I am very idly
disposed I sit on a hencoop in the shade and watch the various
tempers of my chickens and ducklings.  A little later F--- and I go
out for some hours: if it is not too hot, he takes his rifle and we
go over the hills pig-stalking, but this is really only suitable
exercise for a fine winter's day; at this time of year we either go
for a walk or a ride, generally the latter--not a little shabby
canter, but a long stretching gallop for miles and miles; perhaps
stopping to have a cup of tea with a neighbour twelve or fifteen
miles off, and then coming slowly home in the delicious gloaming,
with the peculiar fresh crisp feeling which the atmosphere always
has here the moment the sun sets, no matter how hot the day has
been. I can hardly hope to make you understand how enjoyable our
twilight hours are, with no fear of damp or malaria to spoil them;
every turn of the track as we slowly wind up the valley showing us
some beautiful glimpse of distant mountain peaks, and, above all,
such sunset splendours, gradually fading away into the deep, pure
beauty of a summer night.

In one of our rides the other day, after crossing a low range of
hills, we suddenly dropped down on what would be called in England a
hamlet, but here it is designated by the extraordinary name of a
"nest of cockatoos."  This expression puzzled me so much when I
first heard it, that I must give you as minute an explanation as I
myself found necessary to the comprehension of the subject.

When a shepherd has saved a hundred pounds, or the better class of
immigrant arrives with a little capital, the favourite investment is
in freehold land, which they can purchase, in sections of twenty
acres and upwards, at 2 pounds the acre.  The next step is to build
a sod but with two rooms on their property, thatching it with Tohi,
or swamp grass; a door and a couple of window-frames all ready
glazed are brought from Christchurch in the dray with the family and
the household goods.  After this rough and ready shelter is
provided, the father and sons begin fencing their land and gradually
it all assumes a cultivated appearance.  Pig-sties and fowl-houses
are added; a little garden, gay with common English flowers, is made
in front of the house, whose ugly walls are gradually hidden by
creepers, and the homestead looks both picturesque and prosperous.
These small farmers are called Cockatoos in Australia by the
squatters or sheep-farmers, who dislike them for buying up the best
bits of land on their runs; and say that, like a cockatoo, the small
freeholder alights on good ground, extracts all he can from it, and
then flies away to "fresh fields and pastures new."  But the real
fact is, that the poor farmer perhaps finds his section is too far
from a market, so he is forced to abandon it and move nearer a town,
where the best and most productive land has been bought up already;
and he has to begin again at a disadvantage.  However, whether the
name is just or not, it is a recognized one here; and I have heard a
man say in answer to a question about his usual occupation, "I'm a
Cockatoo."

This particular "nest" appeared to me very well off, comparatively
speaking; for though the men complained sadly of the low price of
their wheat and oats, still there was nothing like poverty to be
seen.  Ready money was doubtless scarce, and an extensive system of
barter appeared to prevail; but still they all looked well fed and
well clothed; sickness was unknown among them, and it did one's
heart good to see the children--such sturdy limbs, bright fearless
eyes, and glowing faces.  They have abundance of excellent food.
Each cottager has one or two cows, and the little ones take these
out to pasture on the hills, so they are in the open air nearly all
day: but their ignorance is appalling!  Many of them had never even
been christened; there was no school or church within thirty miles
or more, and although the parents seemed all tidy, decent people,
and deplored the state of things, they were powerless to help it.
The father and elder sons work hard all day; the mother has to do
everything, even to making the candles, for the family; there is no
time or possibility of teaching the children.  The neighbouring
squatters do not like to encourage settlers to buy up their land,
therefore they carefully avoid making things pleasant for a new
"nest," and the Cockatoos are "nobody's business;" so, as far as
educational advantages go, they are perfectly destitute.

When I mentioned my discovery of this hamlet, and my dismay at the
state of neglect in which so many fine intelligent-looking children
were growing up, every one warned me not to interfere, assuring me
the Cockatoo was a very independent bird, that he considered he had
left all the Ladies Bountiful and blanket and coal charities behind
him in the old country; that, in short, as it is generally put,
"Jack is as good as his master" out here, and any attempt at
patronage would be deeply resented.  But I determined to try the
effect of a little visiting among the cottages, and was most
agreeably surprised at the kind and cordial welcome I received.  The
women liked to have some one to chat to about their domestic
affairs, and were most hospitable in offers of tea, etc., and
everywhere invitations to "come again" were given; so the next week
I ventured to invite the men over to our Sunday services.  Those who
were fond of reading eagerly accepted the offer to join the
book-club, and at last we started the educational subject.  Many
plans were discussed, and finally we arranged for one woman, who had
received an excellent education and was quite fitted for the post,
to commence a day-school; but this entailed so much loss of her
valuable time that the terms she is obliged to ask seem
disproportionately high to the people's means.  She wants 2
shillings and 6 pence a week with each child, and this is terrible
heavy on the head of a family who is anxious and willing to give
them some "schooling."  However, the plan is to be tried, and I have
promised to start them with books, slates, copybooks, etc.  It was
quite touching to hear their earnest entreaties that F--- would come
over on Sunday sometimes and hold a service there, but I tried to
show them this could not be managed.  The tears actually came into
their eyes when I talked of the happiness it would be to see a
little church and school in their midst; and the almost invariable
remark was, "Ah, but it'll be a far day first."  And so I fear it
will--a very far day; but I have often heard it said, that if you
propose one definite object to yourself as the serious purpose of
your life, you will accomplish it some day.  Well, the purpose of my
life henceforward is to raise money somehow or somewhere to build a
little wooden school-room (licensed for service, to be held whenever
a missionary clergyman comes by), and to pay the salary of a
schoolmaster and mistress, so that the poor Cockatoo need not be
charged more than threepence a week for each child.  The Board of
Education will give a third of the sum required, when two-thirds
have been already raised; but it is difficult to collect
subscriptions, or indeed to induce the squatters to listen to any
plan for improving the condition of the small farmers, and every
year which slips away and leaves these swarms of children in
ignorance adds to the difficulty of training them.  [Note: Since
this was written, a school-house, also used as a church, has been
built in this district by private subscription and Government aid.
A clergyman, who lives some twenty-five miles away, rides over and
holds service once a month.]



Letter XVI: A sailing excursion on Lake Coleridge.


Lake Coleridge, February 1867.
A violent storm of wind and rain from the south-west keeps us all
indoors to-day, and gives me time to write my letter for the Panama
mail, which will be made up to-morrow.  The post-office is ten miles
off, and rejoices in the appropriate name of  "Wind-whistle;" it
stands at the mouth of a deep mountain gorge, and there never was
such a temple of the winds.

This bad weather comes after a long spell of lovely bright summer
days, and is very welcome to fill up the failing creeks in the lower
ranges of hills.  I must tell you how much we have been enjoying our
visit here.  F--- knows this part of the country well, but it is
quite new to me, and a great contrast to the other scenery I have
described to you We had long talked of paying Mr. C. H--- a visit at
his bachelor cottage on his station far back among the high ranges
of hills, but no time was fixed, so I was rather taken by surprise
when last week he drove up to Broomielaw in a light American waggon
with a pair of stout horses, and announced that he had come to take
us to his place next day.  There was no reason against this plan,
and we agreed at once; the next morning saw us on the road, after an
early breakfast.  We had to drive about thirty-five miles round,
whereas it would have been only twenty miles riding across the
hills; but our kind host thought that it would be much more
comfortable for me to be able to take a carpet-bag in the carriage
instead of the usual system of saddle-bags one is obliged to adopt
travelling on horseback.  We made our first stage at the
ever-hospitable station of the C---'s, on the Horarata, but we could
not remain to luncheon, as they wished, having to push on further;
and, as it turned out, it was most fortunate we took advantage of
the first part of the day to get over the ground between us and our
destination, for the gentle breeze which had been blowing since we
started gradually freshened into a tremendous "nor'-wester," right
in our teeth all the rest of our way.  The poor horses bent their
heads as low as possible and pulled bravely at their collars, up
hill the whole time.  Among the mountains the wind rushed with
redoubled fury down the narrow gorges, and became icily cold as we
neared the snowy ranges.  It was impossible to see the hills for the
thick mist, though I knew we must have a magnificent view before us.
We took refuge for an hour just to rest the horses, at Windwhistle,
and I certainly expected the house to come down whilst we were
there.  I can hardly tell you anything of the rest of the drive, for
I was really frightened at my first experience of a "howling
nor'-wester" out of doors, and Mr. H--- made me sit down at the
bottom of the carriage and heaped over me all the cloaks and shawls
we had brought.  It was delightful to find ourselves under shelter
at last in a pretty bright snug room, with lots of books and
arm-chairs, and a blazing fire; _this_, you must remember, in
midsummer.

The next morning was perfectly calm, and the lake as serene as if no
storm had been dashing its water in huge breakers against the beach
only a few hours before.  The view from the sitting-room was lovely:
just beneath the window there was a little lawn, as green as
possible from the spray with which the lake had washed it yesterday;
beyond this a low hedge, an open meadow, a fringe of white pebbly
beach, and then a wide expanse of water within one little wooded
island, and shut in gradually from our view by spurs of hills
running down to the shore, sometimes in bold steep cliffs, and again
in gentle declivities, with little strips of bush or scrub growing
in the steep gullies between them.  The lake extends some way beyond
where we lose sight of it, being twelve miles long and four miles
broad.  A few yards from the beach it is over six hundred feet deep.
Nothing but a painting could give you any idea of the blue of sky
and water that morning; the violent wind of yesterday seemed to have
blown every cloud below the horizon, for I could not see the least
white film anywhere.  Behind the lower hills which surround the lake
rises a splendid snowy range; altogether, you cannot imagine a more
enchanting prospect than the one I stood and looked at; it made me
think of Miss Procter's lines--

               "My eyes grow dim,
          As still I gaze and gaze
     Upon that mountain pass,
          That leads--or so it seems--
     To some far happy land
          Known in a world of dreams."

All this time, whilst I was looking out of the window in most
unusual idleness, Mr. H--- and F--- were making constant journeys
between the boat-house and the store-room, and at last I was
entreated to go and put on my hat.  While doing this I heard
cupboards being opened, and a great bustle; so when I reached the
shore I was not so much surprised as they expected, to see in the
pretty little sailing-boat (which was moored to a primitive sort of
jetty made out of a broken old punt) the materials for at least two
substantial meals, in case of being kept out by a sudden head-wind.
I was especially glad to notice a little kettle among the
_impedimenta_, and there were cloaks and wraps of all kinds to
provide against the worst.  Four gentlemen and I made up the crew
and passengers, and a very merry set we were, behaving extremely
like children out for a holiday.  The wind was a trifle light for
sailing, so the gentlemen pulled, but very lazily and not at all in
good "form," as the object of each oarsman seemed to be to do as
little work as possible.  However, we got on somehow, a light puff
helping us now and then, but our progress was hardly perceptible.  I
had been for a long time gazing down into the clear blue depth of
water, every now and then seeing a flash of the white sand shining
at the bottom, when I was half startled by our host standing
suddenly up in the bow of the boat; and then I found that we were a
couple of miles away from our starting-point, and that we had turned
a corner formed by a steep spur, and were running right into what
appeared a grove of rata-trees growing at the water's edge.  The
rata only grows in the hills and near water; it is a species of
broad-leaf myrtle, with a flower exactly like a myrtle in character,
but of a brilliant deep scarlet colour, and twice as large.

When the bowsprit touched the rata-branches, which drooped like a
curtain into the water, Mr. H--- made a signal to lower the mast,
and parting the thick, blossom-covered foliage before us, with both
hands, the way the boat had on her sent us gently through the screen
of scarlet flowers and glossy green leaves into such a lovely fairy
cove!  Before us was a little white beach of fine sparkling sand,
against which the water broke in tiny wavelets, and all around a
perfect bower of every variety of fern and moss, kept green by
streams no thicker than a silver thread trickling down here and
there with a subdued tinkling sound.  We all sat quite silent, the
boat kept back just inside the entrance by the steersman holding on
to a branch.  It was a sudden contrast from the sparkling sunshine
and brightness outside, all life and colour and warmth, to the
tender, green, profound shade and quiet in this "Mossy Hum," as the
people about here call it.  Do not fancy anything damp or chilly.
No; it was like a natural temple--perfect repose and refreshment to
the eyes dazzled with the brilliant outside colouring.  Centuries
ago there must have been a great landslip here, for the side of the
mountain is quite hollowed out, and Nature has gradually covered the
ugly brown rent with the thickest tapestry of her most delicate
handiwork.  I noticed two varieties of the maiden-hair, its slender
black stem making the most exquisite tracery among the vivid greens.
There was no tint of colour except green when once we passed the
red-fringed curtain of rata-branches, only the white and shining
fairy beach and the gleaming threads of water.  As we sat there,
perfectly still, and entranced, a sort of delicious mesmeric feeling
stole over me; I thought of the lotus-eater's chant, "There is no
joy but calm," with, for, the first time in my life, a dim
perception of what they meant, perhaps; but it was over all too
quickly: prosaic words of direction to back water called us from
shade to light, and in a moment more we were in front of the
rata-trees, admiring their splendid colouring, and our little boat
was dancing away over the bright waves, with her white wings set and
her bows pointed towards the little toy island in the middle of the
lake; it was no question now of rowing, a nice fresh breeze from the
south (the _cold_ point here) sent us swiftly and steadily through
the water.  What a morning it was!  The air was positively
intoxicating, making you feel that the mere fact of being a living
creature with lungs to inhale such an atmosphere was a great boon.
We have a good deal of disagreeable weather, and a small proportion
of bad weather, but in no other part of the world, I believe, does
Nature so thoroughly understand how to make a fine day as in New
Zealand.

A little after mid-day we ran our boat to the lee of the island,
and: whilst she was steadied by the same primitive method of holding
on to branches of manuka and other scrub, I scrambled out and up a
little cliff, where a goat could hardly have found footing, till I
reached a spot big enough to stand on, from whence I anxiously
watched the disembarkation of some of the provisions, and of the
gridiron and kettle.  In a few moments we were all safely ashore,
and busy collecting dry fern and brushwood for a fire; it was rather
a trial of patience to wait till the great blaze had subsided before
we attempted to cook our chops, which were all neatly prepared ready
for us.  Some large potatoes were put to bake in the ashes; the tin
plates were warmed (it is a great art not to overheat them when you
have to keep them on your lap whilst you eat your chop).  We were
all so terribly hungry that we were obliged to have a course of
bread and cheese and sardines _first_; it was really quite
impossible to wait patiently for the chops.  The officiating cook
scolded us well for our Vandalism, and the next moment we detected
him in the act of devouring a half-raw potato.  The fragments of our
meal must have been a great boon to the colony of wekas who inhabit
the island, for as they increase and multiply prodigiously their
provisions must often fall short in so small a space.  No one can
imagine how these birds originally came here, for the island is at
least two miles from the nearest point of land; they can neither
swim nor fly; and as every man's hand is against them, no one would
have thought it worth while to bring them over: but here they are,
in spite of all the apparent impossibilities attending their
arrival, more tame and impudent than ever.  It was dangerous to
leave your bread unwatched for an instant, and indeed I saw one
gliding off with an empty sardine tin in its beak; I wonder how it
liked oil and little scales.  They considered a cork a great prize,
and carried several off triumphantly.

After luncheon there was the usual interval of rest, and pipes on
the part of the gentlemen.  I explored a little, but there is
nothing very pretty or abundant in the way of wild flowers in the
parts of New Zealand which I have seen.  White violets and a ground
clematis are the only ones I have come across in any quantity.  The
manuka, a sort of scrub, has a pretty blossom like a diminutive
Michaelmas daisy, white petals and a brown centre, with a very
aromatic odour; and this little flower is succeeded by a berry with
the same strong smell and taste of spice.  The shepherds sometimes
make an infusion of these when they are very hard-up for tea; but it
must be like drinking a decoction of cloves.

About three o'clock we re-embarked, and sailed a little higher up
the lake beyond the point where we lose sight of it from Mr. H---'s
house, every moment opening out fresh and more beautiful glimpses.
Quite the opposite end of the shore is fringed with a thick deep
forest, and another station has been built there, at which, I am
told, the scenery is still more magnificent.  At first I was
inclined to wonder where the sheep live amid all this picturesque
but mountainous country: however, I find that between and among
these hills stretch immense valleys (or "flats," as they are called
here), which are warm and sheltered in winter, and afford plenty of
food for them; then, in summer, they go up to the mountains: but it
is very difficult to "muster" these ranges.  I am almost ashamed to
confess to another meal before we returned home, but there was a
lovely tempting spot in a little harbour, and so we landed and
boiled some water and had a capital cup of tea.  You require to be
out as we were from morning till night in such an air as this to
know what it is to feel either hungry or sleepy in perfection!  The
next day we made a similar excursion, exploring the opposite shore
of the lake; but, before we started, our host distrusted the
appearance of certain clouds, and sent round horses to meet us at
the point where we were going to lunch; and it was just as well he
did so, for a stiff breeze sprang up from the south-west, which
would have kept us out all night.  So we mounted the horses instead
of re-embarking, having first secured the boat, and cantered home.
We passed several smaller lakes; there is a perfect chain of them
among these hills, and I was much amused at the names bestowed on
them, according to the tastes or caprice of the station-owners whose
runs happen to include them: for instance, two are called
respectively "Geraldine" and "Ida," whilst three, which lie close
together, rejoice in the somewhat extraordinary names of "the
World," "the Flesh," and "the Devil."



Letter XVII: My first and last experience of "camping out."


Broomielaw, April 1867.
I have nothing to tell you this mail, except of a rather ridiculous
expedition which we made last week, and which involved our spending
the whole night on the top of the highest hill on our run.  You will
probably wonder what put such an idea into our heads, so I must
preface my account by a little explanation.  Whenever I meet any
people who came here in the very early days of the colony--only
sixteen years ago, after all!--I delight in persuading them to tell
me about their adventures and hardships during those primitive
times, and these narratives have the greatest fascination for me, as
they always end happily.  No one ever seems to have died of his
miseries, or even to have suffered seriously in any way from them,
so I find the greatest delight in listening to the stories of the
Pilgrims.  I envy them dreadfully for having gone through so much
with such spirit and cheerfulness, and ever since I came here I have
regretted that the rapid advance of civilization in New Zealand
precludes the possibility of being really uncomfortable; this makes
me feel like an impostor, for I am convinced that my English friends
think of me with the deepest pity, as of one cut off from the
refinements and comforts of life, whereas I really am surrounded by
every necessary, and many of its luxuries, and there is no reason
but that of expense why one should not have all of these.

One class of narratives is peculiarly attractive to me.  I like to
hear of benighted or belated travellers when they have had to "camp
out," as it is technically called; and have lived in constant hope
of meeting with an adventure which would give me a similar
experience.  But I am gradually becoming convinced that this is
almost impossible by fair means, so I have been trying for some time
past to excite in the breasts of our home party and of our nearest
neighbours an ardent desire to see the sun rise from the top of
"Flagpole," a hill 3,000 feet above the level of the sea, and only
a: couple of miles from the house.  As soon as they were
sufficiently enthusiastic on the subject, I broached my favourite
project of our all going up there over-night, and camping out on the
highest peak.  Strange to say, the plan did not meet with any
opposition, even from F---, who has had to camp out many a winter's
night, and with whom, therefore, the novelty may be said to have
worn off.  Two gentlemen of the proposed party were "new chums" like
myself, and were strongly in favour of a little roughing; new-chums
always are, I observe.  F--- hesitated a little about giving a final
consent on the score of its being rather too late in the year, and
talked of a postponement till next summer, but we would not listen
to such an idea; so he ended by entering so heartily into it, that
when at last the happy day and hour came, an untoward shower had not
the least effect in discouraging him.

There was a great bustle about the little homestead on that eventful
Tuesday afternoon.  Two very steady old horses were saddled, one for
me and the other for one of the "new chums," who was not supposed to
be in good form for a long walk, owing to a weak knee.  Everything
which we thought we could possibly want was heaped on and around us
after we had mounted; the rest of the gentlemen, four in number,
walked, and we reached the first stage of our expedition in about an
hour.  Here we dismounted, as the horses could go no further in
safety.  The first thing done was to see to their comfort and
security; the saddles were carefully deposited under a large
flax-bush in case of rain, and the long tether ropes were arranged
so as to ensure plenty of good feed and water for both horses,
without the possibility of the ropes becoming entangled in each
other or in anything else.  Then came a time of great excitement and
laughing and talking, for all the "swags" had to be packed and
apportioned for the very long and steep ascent before us.

And now I must tell you exactly what we took up.  A pair of large
double blankets to make the tent of,--that was one swag, and a very
unwieldy one it was, strapped knapsack fashion, with straps of
flax-leaves, on the back, and the bearer's coat and waistcoat
fastened on the top of the whole.  The next load consisted of one
small single blanket for my sole use, inside of which was packed a
cold leg of lamb.  I carried the luncheon basket, also strapped on
my shoulders, filled with two large bottles of cream, some tea and
sugar, and, I think, teaspoons.  It looked a very insignificant load
by the side of the others, but I assure you I found it frightfully
heavy long before I had gone half-way up the hill.  The rest
distributed among them a couple of large heavy axes, a small coil of
rope, some bread, a cake, tin plates and pannikins, knives and
forks, and a fine pigeon-pie.  Concerning this pie there were two
abominable propositions; one was to leave it behind, and the other
was to eat it then and there: both of these suggestions were,
however, indignantly rejected.  I must not forget to say we included
in the commissariat department two bottles of whisky, and a tiny
bottle of essence of lemon, for the manufacture of toddy.  We never
see a real lemon, except two or three times a year when a ship
arrives from the Fiji islands, and then they are sixpence or a
shilling apiece.  All these things were divided into two large heavy
"swags," and to poor F--- was assigned the heaviest and most
difficult load of all--the water.  He must have suffered great
anxiety all the way, for if any accident had happened to his load,
he would have had to go back again to refill his big kettle; this he
carried in his hand, whilst a large tin vessel with a screw lid over
its mouth was strapped on his back also full of water, but he was
particularly charged not to let a drop escape from the spout of the
kettle; and I may mention here, that though he took a long time
about it, for he could not go as straight up the hill as we did, he
reached the top with the kettle full to the brim--the other vessel
was of course quite safe.  All these packings and repackings, and
the comfortable adjustment of the "swags," occupied a long time, so
it was past five when we began our climb, and half-past six when we
reached the top of the hill, and getting so rapidly dark that we had
to hurry our preparations for the night, though we were all so
breathless that a "spell" (do you know that means _rest_?) would
have been most acceptable.  The ascent was very steep, and there
were no sheep-tracks to guide us; our way lay through thick high
flax-bushes, and we never could have got on without their help.  I
started with a stick, but soon threw it aside and pulled myself up
by the flax, hand over hand.  Of course I had to stop every now and
then to rest, and once I chose the same flax-bush where three young
wild pigs had retired for the night, having first made themselves
the most beautiful bed of tussock grass bitten into short lengths;
the tussocks are very much scattered here, so it must have been an
afternoon's work for them; but the shepherds say these wild pigs
make themselves a fresh bed every night.

The first thing to be done was to pitch the tent on the little flat
at the very top of the hill: it was a very primitive affair; two of
the thinnest and longest pieces of totara, with which Flagpole is
strewed, we used for poles, fastening another piece lengthwise to
these upright sticks as a roof-tree: this frame was then covered
with the large double blanket, whose ends were kept down on the
ground by a row of the heaviest stones to be found.  The rope we had
brought up served to tie the poles together at the top, and to
fasten the blanket on them; but as soon as the tent had reached this
stage, it was discovered that the wind blew through it from end to
end, and that it afforded very little protection.  We also found it
much colder at the top of this hill than in our valley; so under
these circumstances it became necessary to appropriate my solitary
blanket to block up one end of the tent and make it more comfortable
for the whole party.  It was very little shelter before this was
done.  The next step was to collect wood for a fire, which was not
difficult, for at some distant time the whole of the hill must have
been covered by a forest of totara trees; it has apparently been
destroyed by fire, for the huge trunks and branches which still
strew the steep sides are charred and half burnt.  It is a beautiful
wood, with a strong aromatic odour, and blazed and crackled
splendidly in the clear, cool evening air, as we piled up a huge
bonfire, and put the kettle on to boil.  It was quite dusk by this
time, so the gentlemen worked hard at collecting a great supply of
wood, as the night promised to be a very cold one, whilst I remained
to watch the kettle, full of that precious liquid poor F--- had
carried up with such care, and to prevent the wekas from carrying
off our supper, which I had arranged just inside the tent.  In this
latter task I was nobly assisted by my little black terrier Dick, of
whose sad fate I must tell you later.

By eight o'clock a noble pile of firewood had been collected, and we
were very tired and hungry; so we all crept inside the tent, which
did not afford very spacious accommodation, and began our supper.
At this point of the entertainment everybody voted it a great
success; although the wind was slowly rising and blowing from a cold
point, and our blanket-tent did not afford the perfect warmth and
shelter we had fondly credited it with.  The gentlemen began to
button up their coats.  I had only a light serge jacket on, so I
coaxed Dick to sit at my back and keep it warm; for, whilst our
faces were roasted by the huge beacon-fire, there was a keen and icy
draught behind us.  The hot tea was a great comfort, and we enjoyed
it thoroughly, and after it was over the gentlemen lit their pipes,
and I told them a story: presently we had glees, but by ten o'clock
there was no concealing the fact that we were all very sleepy
indeed; however, we still loudly declared that camping out was the
most delightful experiment.  F--- and another gentleman (that kind
and most good-natured Mr. U---, who lives with us) went outside the
tent, armed with knives, and cut all the tussocks they could feel in
the darkness, to make me a bed after the fashion of the pigs; they
brought in several armfuls, and the warmest corner in the tent was
heaped with them; I had my luncheon-basket for a pillow, and
announced that I had turned in and was very comfortable, and that
camping out was charming; the gentlemen were still cheery, though
sleepy; and the last thing I remember was seeing preparations being
made for what a Frenchman of my acquaintance always will call a
"grogs."  When I awoke, I thought I must have slept several hours.
Though the fire was blazing grandly, the cold was intense: I was so
stiff I could hardly move; all my limbs ached dreadfully, and my
sensations altogether were new and very disagreeable.  I sat up with
great difficulty and many groans, and looked round: two figures were
coiled up, like huge dogs, near me; two more, moody and sulky, were
smoking by the fire; with their knees drawn up to their noses and
their hands in their pockets, collars well up round their throats--
statues of cold and disgust.  To my inquiries about the hour, the
answer, given in tones of the deepest despondency, was "Only eleven
o'clock, and the sun doesn't rise till six, and its going to be the
coldest night we've had this year."  The speaker added, "If it
wasn't so dark that we'd break our necks on the way, we might go
home."

Here was a pretty end to our amusement.  I slowly let myself down
again, and tried to go to sleep, but that relief was at an end for
the night; the ground seemed to grow harder every moment, or, at all
events, I ached more, and the wind certainly blew higher and keener.
Dick proved himself a most selfish doggie; he would creep round to
leeward of _me_, whilst I wanted.  him to let me get leeward of him,
but he would not consent to this arrangement.  Whenever I heard a
deeper moan or sigh than usual, I whispered an inquiry as to the
hour, but the usual reply, in the most cynical voice, was, "Oh, you
need not whisper, nobody is asleep."  I heard one plaintive murmur
"Think of all our warm beds, and of our coming up here from choice."
I must say I felt dreadfully ashamed of myself for my plan; it was
impossible to express my contrition and remorse, for, always
excepting Mr. U---, they were all too cross to be spoken to.  It
certainly was a weary, long night.    About one o'clock I pretended
to want some hot tea, and the preparation for that got through half
an hour, and it warmed us a little; but everybody still was deeply
dejected, not to say morose.  After an interval of only two hours
more of thorough and intense wretchedness we had a "grogs," but
there was no attempt at conviviality--subdued savageness was the
prevailing state of mind.  I tried to infuse a little hope into the
party, by suggestions of a speedy termination to our misery, but my
own private opinion was that we should all be laid up for weeks to
come with illness.  I allotted to myself in this imaginary
distribution of ills a severe rheumatic fever; oh! how I ached, and
I felt as if I never could be warm again.  The fire was no use;
except to afford occupation in putting on wood; it roasted a little
bit of you at a time, and that bit suffered doubly from the cold
when it was obliged to take its share of exposure to the wind.  I
cannot say whether the proverb is true of other nights, but this
particular night, certainly, was both darkest and coldest just
before dawn.

At last, to our deep joy, and after many false alarms, we really all
agreed that there was a faint streak of grey in the east.  My first
impulse was to set off home, and I believe I tried to get up
expressing some such intention, but F--- recalled me to myself by
saying, in great surprise, "Are you not going to stop and see the
sun rise?"  I had quite forgotten that this was the avowed object of
the expedition, but I was far too stiff to walk a yard, so I was
obliged to wait to see what effect the sunrise would have on my
frozen limbs, for I could not think of any higher motive.  Presently
some one called out "There's the sea," and so it was, as distinct as
though it were not fifty miles off; none of us had seen it since we
landed; to all of us it is associated with the idea of going home
some day: whilst we were feasting our eyes on it a golden line
seemed drawn on its horizon; it spread and spread, and as all the
water became flooded with a light and glory which hardly seemed to
belong to this world, the blessed sun came up to restore us all to
life and warmth again.  In a moment, in less than a moment, all our
little privations and sufferings vanished as if they had never
existed, or existed only to be laughed at.  Who could think of their
"Ego" in such a glorious presence, and with such a panorama before
them?  I did not know which side to turn to first.  Behind me rose a
giant forest in the far hills to the west--a deep shadow for miles,
till the dark outline of the pines stood out against the dazzling
snow of the mountains behind it; here the sky was still sheltering
the flying night, and the white outlines looked ghostly against the
dull neutral tints, though every peak was sharply and clearly
defined; then I turned round to see before me such a glow of light
and beauty!  For an immense distance I could see the vast Canterbury
plains; to the left the Waimakiriri river, flowing in many streams,
"like a tangled bunch of silver ribbons" (as Mr. Butler calls it in
his charming book on New Zealand), down to the sea; beyond its banks
the sun shone on the windows of the houses at Oxford, thirty miles
off as the crow would fly, and threw its dense bush into strong
relief against the yellow plains.  The Port Hills took the most
lovely lights and shadows as we gazed on them; beyond them lay the
hills of Akaroa, beautiful beyond the power of words to describe.
Christchurch looked quite a large place from the great extent of
ground it appeared to cover.  We looked onto the south: there was a
slight haze over the great Ellesmere Lake, the water of which is
quite fresh, though only separated from the sea by a slight bar of
sand; the high banks of the Rakaia made a deep dark line extending
right back into the mountains, and beyond it we could see the
Rangitata faintly gleaming in the distance; between us and the coast
were green patches and tiny homesteads, but still few and far
between; close under our feet, and looking like a thread beneath the
shadow of the mountain, ran the Selwyn in a narrow gorge, and on its
bank stood the shepherd's hut that I have told you once afforded us
such a good luncheon; it looked a mere toy, as if it came out of a
child's box of playthings, and yet so snug for all its lonely
position.  On the other hand lay our own little home, with the faint
wreath of smoke stealing up through the calm air (for the wind had
dropped at sunrise).  Here and there we saw strings of sheep going
down from their high camping-grounds to feed on the sunny slopes and
in the warm valleys.  Every moment added to our delight and
enjoyment; but unfortunately it was a sort of happiness which one
can neither speak of at the time, nor write about afterwards:
silence is its most expressive language.  Whilst I was drinking in
all the glory and beauty before me, some of the others had been busy
striking the tent, repacking the loads, very much lighter without
the provisions; and we had one more excellent cup of tea before
abandoning the encampment to the wekas, who must have breakfasted
splendidly that morning.  Our last act was to collect all the stones
we could move into a huge cairn, which was built round a tall pole
of totara; on the summit of this we tied securely, with flax, the
largest and strongest pocket-handkerchief, and then, after one look
round to the west--now as glowing and bright as the radiant east--we
set off homewards about seven o'clock; but it was long before we
reached the place where we left the horses, for the gentlemen began
rolling huge rocks down the sides of the hills and watching them
crashing and thundering into the valleys, sometimes striking another
rock and then bounding high into the air.  They were all as eager
and excited as schoolboys, and I could not go on and leave them,
lest I should get below them and be crushed under a small stone of
twenty tons or so.  I was therefore forced to keep well _above_ them
all the time.  At last we reached the spur where the horses were
tethered, re-saddled and loaded them, and arrived quite safely at
home, just in time for baths and breakfast.  I was amused to see
that no one seemed to remember or allude to the miseries and aches
of that long cold night; all were full of professions of enjoyment.
But I noticed that the day was unusually quiet; the gentlemen
preferred a bask in the verandah to any other amusement, and I have
reason to believe they indulged in a good many naps.



Letter XVIII: A journey "down south."


Waimate, May 1867.
In one of my early letters from Heathstock I told you that the
Hurunui, which is the boundary of that run, marks the extreme north
of the Province of Canterbury; and now I am writing to you from the
extreme south.  I hope you do not forget to reverse in your own mind
the ordinary ideas of heat and cold, as connected with those points
of the compass.  The distance from our house to this is about 160
miles, and we actually took two days and a half to get here!--
besides, into these miles was compressed the fatigue of a dozen
English railway journeys of the same length.  But, I suppose, as
usual, you will not be satisfied unless I begin at the very
beginning.  The first difficulty was to reach the point where we
were to join the coach on the Great South Road.  It was less than
thirty miles, so we could easily have ridden the distance; but the
difficulty was to get our clothes all that way.  They could not be
carried on horseback, and just then the station-dray was
particularly employed; besides which it would have taken three days
to come and go,--rather a useless expenditure of the man's time, as
well as of the horses' legs, where only two little portmanteaus were
concerned.  Fortunately for us, however, this is a country where
each man is ready and willing to help his neighbour, without any
inquiry as to who he is; so the moment our dilemma was known various
plans were suggested for our assistance, of which this was the one
selected:--

On a certain bright but cold Wednesday afternoon, F--- and I and our
modest luggage started in a neighbour's "trap" for the station I
have already mentioned on the Horarata, where Mr. C. H--- and I
stopped on our way to Lake Coleridge.  It is on the plains at the
foot of a low range of downs, and about twelve miles from us.  You
cannot imagine a more charming little cottage _ornee_ than the house
is, capable of holding, apparently, an indefinite number of people,
and with owners whose hospitality always prompts them to try its
capabilities to the utmost.  A creek runs near the house, and on its
banks, sloping to the sun, lies a lovely garden, as trim as any
English parterre, and a mass of fruit and flowers.  Nothing can be
more picturesque than the mixture of both.  For instance, on the
wall of the house is a peach-tree laden every autumn with rosy,
velvet-cheeked fruit; and jasmine and passion-flowers growing
luxuriantly near it.  Inside all is bright neatness and such a
welcome!  As for our supper, on this particular day it comprised
every dainty you can imagine, and made me think of my housekeeping
with shame and confusion of face.  We had a very merry evening, with
round games; but there was a strong prejudice in favour of going to
bed early, as we all had to be up by three o'clock: and so we were,
to find a delicious breakfast prepared for us, which our kind
hostess was quite disappointed to see we could not eat much of.
Coffee and toast was all I could manage at that hour.  We started in
the dark, and the first thing we had to cross was a dry river-bed,
in which one of the horses lay deliberately down, and refused to
move.  This eccentricity delayed us very much; but we got him into a
better frame of mind, and accomplished our early drive of sixteen
miles in safety, reaching the accommodation-house, or inn, where the
coach from Christchurch to Timaru changes horses for its first
stage, by six o'clock.  There we had a good breakfast, and were in
great "form" by the time the coach was ready to start.  These
conveyances have a world-wide celebrity as "Cobb's coaches," both in
America and Australia, where they are invariably the pioneers of all
wheeled vehicles, being better adapted to travel on a bad road, or
no road at all, than any other four-wheeled "trap."  They are both
strong and light, with leathern springs and a powerful break; but I
cannot conscientiously say they are at all handsome carriages;
indeed I think them extremely ugly and not very comfortable except
on the box-seat next the driver.  Fortunately, this is made to hold
three, so F--- and I scrambled up, and off we started with four good
strong horses, bearing less harness about them than any quadrupeds I
ever saw; a small collar, slender traces, and very thin reins
comprised all their accoutrements.  The first half of the journey
was slow, but there was no jolting.  The road was level, though it
had not been made at all, only the tussocks removed from it; but it
was naturally good--a great exception to New Zealand roads.  The
driver was a steady, respectable man, very intelligent; and when F---
could make him talk of his experiences in Australia in the early
coaching days, I was much interested.

We crossed the Rakaia and the Rangitata in ferry-boats, and stopped
on the banks of the Ashburton, to dine about one o'clock, having
changed horses twice since we started from "Gigg's," as our place of
junction was elegantly called.  Here all my troubles began.  When we
came out of the little inn, much comforted and refreshed by a good
dinner, I found to my regret that we were to change drivers as well
as horses, and that a very popular and well known individual was to
be the new coachman.  As our former driver very politely assisted me
to clamber up on the box-seat, he recommended F--- to sit on the
outside part of the seat, and to put me next the driver, "where," he
added, "the lady won't be so likely to tumble out."  As I had shown
no disposition to fall off the coach hitherto, I was much astonished
by this precaution, but said nothing.  So he was emboldened to
whisper, after looking round furtively, "And you jest take and don't
be afraid, marm; _he_ handles the ribbings jest as well when he's
had a drop too much as when he's sober, which ain't often, however."
This last caution alarmed me extremely.  The horses were not yet put
in, nor the driver put _up_, so I begged F--- to get down and see if
I could not go inside.  But, after a hasty survey, he, said it was
quite impossible: men smoking, children crying, and, in addition, a
policeman with a lunatic in his charge, made the inside worse than
the outside, especially in point of atmosphere; so he repeated the
substance of our ex-driver's farewell speech; and when I saw our new
charioteer emerge at last from the bar, looking only very jovial and
tolerably steady as to gait, I thought perhaps my panic was
premature.  But, oh, what a time I had of it for nine hours
afterwards!  The moment the grooms let go the horses' heads he stood
up on his seat, shook the reins, flourished his long whip, and with
one wild yell from him we dashed down a steep cutting into the
Ashburton.  The water flew in spray far over our heads, and the
plunge wetted me as effectually as if I had fallen into the river.
I expected the front part of the coach to part from the back, on
account of the enormous strain caused by dragging it over the
boulders.  We lurched like a boat in a heavy sea; the "insides"
screamed; "Jim"  (that was the driver's name) swore and yelled; the
horses reared and plunged.  All this time I was holding on like grim
death to a light iron railing above my head, and one glance to my
left showed me F--- thrown off the very small portion of cushion
which fell to his share, and clinging desperately to a rude sort of
lamp-frame.  I speculated for an instant whether this would break;
and, if so, what would become of him.  But it took all my ideas to
keep myself from being jerked off among the horses' heels.  We
dashed through the river; Jim gathered up the reins, and with a
different set of oaths swore he would punish the horses for jibbing
in the water.  And he did punish them; he put the break hard down
for some way, flogged them with all his strength, dancing about the
coach-box and yelling like a madman.  Every now and then, in the
course of his bounds from place to place, he would come plump down
on my lap; but I was too much frightened to remonstrate; indeed, we
were going at such a pace against the wind, I had very little breath
to spare.

We got over the first stage of twenty miles at this rate very
quickly, as you may imagine; but, unfortunately, there was an
accommodation-house close to the stables, and Jim had a good deal
more refreshment.  Strange to say, this did not make him any wilder
in manner--that he could not be; but after we started again he
became extremely friendly with me, addressing me invariably as "my
dear," and offering to "treat me" at every inn from that to Timaru.
I declined, as briefly as I could, whereupon he became extremely
angry, at my doubting his pecuniary resources apparently, for,
holding the reins carelessly with one hand, though we were still
tearing recklessly along, he searched his pockets with the other
hand, and produced from them a quantity of greasy, dirty one-pound
notes, all of which he laid on my lap, saying, "There, and there,
and there, if you think I'm a beggar!"  I fully expected them to
blow away, for I could not spare a hand to hold them; but I watched
my opportunity when he was punishing the unfortunate fresh team, and
pounced on them, thrusting the dirty heap back into his great-coat
pocket.  At the next stage a very tidy woman came out, with a rather
large bundle, containing fresh linen, she said, for her son, who was
ill in the hospital at Timaru.  She booked this, and paid her
half-crown for its carriage, entreating the drunken wretch to see
that it reached her son that night.  He wildly promised he should
have it in half-an-hour, and we set off as if he meant to keep his
word, though we were some forty miles off yet; but he soon changed
his mind, and took a hatred to the parcel, saying it would "sink the
ship," and finally tried to kick it over the splash-board.  I seized
it at the risk of losing my balance, and hugged it tight all the way
to Timaru, carrying it off to the hotel, where I induced a waiter to
take it up to the hospital.

After we had changed horses for the last time, and I was comforting
myself by the reflection that the  journey was nearly over, we heard
shouts and screams from the inside passengers.  F--- persuaded Jim
with much trouble to pull up, and jumped down to see what was the
matter.  A strong smell of burning and a good deal of smoke arose
from inside the coach, caused by the lunatic having taken off both
his boots and lighted a fire in them.  It was getting dark and
chilly; the other passengers, including the policeman, had dozed off
and the madman thought that as his feet were very cold, he would
"try and warm them a bit;" so he collected all the newspapers with
which his fellow-travellers had been solacing the tedium of their
journey, tore, them up into shreds, with the addition of the
contents of a poor woman's bundle, and made quite a cheerful blaze
out of these materials.  It was some time before the terrified women
could be induced to get into the coach again; and it was only by
Jims asseverations, couched in the strongest language, that if they
were not "all aboard" in half a minute, he would drive on and leave
them in the middle of the plains, that they were persuaded to
clamber in to their places once more.

How thankful I was when we saw the lights of Timaru!  I was stunned
and bewildered, tired beyond the power of words to describe, and
black and blue all over from being jolted about.  The road had been
an excellent one, all the way level and wide, with telegraph-poles
by its side.  We shaved these very closely often enough, but
certainly, amid all his tipsiness, Jim bore out his predecessors
remark.  Whenever we came to a little dip in the road, or a sharp
turn, as we were nearing Timaru, he would get the horses under
control as if by magic, and take us over as safely as the soberest
driver could have done; the moment the obstacle was passed, off we
were again like a whirlwind!

I was not at all surprised to hear that upsets and accidents were
common on the road, and that the horses lasted but a very short
time.

We found our host had driven in from his station forty-five miles
distant from Timaru, to meet us, and had ordered nice rooms and a
good dinner; so the next morning I was quite rested, and ready to
laugh over my miseries of the day before.  Nothing could be a
greater contrast than this day's journeying to yesterday's.  A low,
comfortable phaeton, and one of the most agreeable companions in the
world to drive us, beautiful scenery and a nice luncheon half-way,
at which meal F--- ate something like half a hundred cheese-cakes!
The last part of the road for a dozen miles or so was rather rough;
we had to cross a little river, the Waio, every few hundred yards;
and a New Zealand river has so much shingle about it!  The water can
never quite make up its mind where it would like to go, and has
half-a-dozen channels ready to choose from, and then in a heavy
fresh the chances are it will select and make quite a different
course after all.

This is late autumn with us, remember, so the evenings close in
early and, are very cold indeed.  It was quite dark when we reached
the house, and the blazing fires in every room were most welcome.
The house is very unlike the conventional station pattern, being
built of stone, large, very well arranged, and the perfection of
comfort inside.  There is no hostess at present; three bachelor
brothers do the honours, and, as far as my experience goes, do them
most efficiently.  Our visit has lasted three weeks already, and we
really must bring it to a termination soon.  The weather has been
beautiful, and we have made many delightful excursions, all on
horseback, to neighbouring stations, to a fine bush where we had a
picnic, or to some point of view.  I can truly say I have enjoyed
every moment of the time, indoors as well as out; I was the only
lady, and was petted and made much of to my heart's content.  There
were several other guests, and they were all nice and amusing.  One
wet day we had, and only one.  I must tell you an incident of it, to
show you what babies grown-up men can be at the Antipodes.  We
worked hard all the morning at acrostics, and after my five o'clock
tea I went upstairs to a charming little boudoir prepared for me, to
rest and read; in a short time I heard something like music and
stamping, and, though I was _en peignoir_, I stole softly down to
see what was going on; when I opened the door of the general
sitting-room a most unusual sight presented itself,--eight bearded
men, none of them very young, were dancing a set of quadrilles with
the utmost gravity and decorum to the tunes played by a large
musical-box, which was going at the most prodigious pace,
consequently the dancers were flying through the figures in silence
and breathless haste.  They could not stop or speak when I came in,
and seemed quite surprised at my laughing at them; but you have no
idea how ridiculous they looked, especially as their gravity and
earnestness were profound.

This is one of the very few stations where pheasants have been
introduced, but then, every arrangement has been made for their
comfort, and a beautiful house and yard built for their reception on
a flat, just beneath the high terrace on which the house stands.
More than a hundred young birds were turned out last spring, and
there will probably be three times that number at the end of this
year.  We actually had pheasant twice at dinner; the first, and
probably the last time we shall taste game in New Zealand.  There is
a good deal of thick scrub in the clefts of the home-terrace, and
this affords excellent shelter for the young.  Their greatest
enemies are the hawks, and every variety of trap and cunning device
for the destruction of these latter are in use, but as yet without
doing much execution among them, they are so wonderfully clever and
discerning.



Letter XIX: A Christening gathering.--the fate of Dick.


Broomielaw, June 1867.
We reached home quite safely the first week of this month, and I
immediately set to work to prepare for the Bishop's visit.  We met
him at a friend's house one day, just as we were starting homewards,
and something led to my telling him about the destitute spiritual
condition of my favourite "nest of Cockatoos."  With his usual
energy, as well as goodness, he immediately volunteered to come up
to our little place, hold a service, and christen all the children.
We were only too thankful to accept such an offer, as we well knew
what an inducement it would be to the people, who would take a great
deal of trouble and come from far and near to hear our dear Bishop,
who is universally beloved and respected.

For a week beforehand the house smelt all day long like a baker's
shop about noon on Sunday, for pies, tarts, cakes, etc., were
perpetually being "drawn" from the oven.  I borrowed every pie-dish
for miles round, and, as on another occasion I have mentioned,
plenty of good things which our own resources could not furnish
forth came pouring in on all sides with offers to help.  F--- and I
scoured the country for thirty miles round to invite everybody to
come over to us that Sunday; and I think I may truly say everybody
came.  When I rode over to my "nest" and made the announcement of
the Bishop's visit, the people were very much delighted; but a great
difficulty arose from the sudden demand for white frocks for all the
babies and older children.  I rashly promised each child should find
a clean white garment awaiting it on its arrival at my house, and
took away a memorandum of all the different ages and sizes; the
"order" never could have been accomplished without the aid of my
sewing-machine.  I had a few little frocks by me as patterns, and
cut up some very smart white embroidered petticoats which were quite
useless to me, to make into little skirts.  In spite of all that was
going on in the kitchen my maids found time to get these up most
beautifully, and by the Saturday night the little bed in the spare
room was a heap of snowy small garments, with a name written on
paper and pinned to each.  The Bishop also arrived quite safely,
late that evening, having driven himself up from Christchurch in a
little gig.

It is impossible for you to imagine a more beautiful winter's
morning than dawned on us that Sunday.  A sharp frost over-night
only made the air deliciously crisp, for the sun shone so brightly,
that by nine o'clock the light film of ice over the ponds had
disappeared, and I found the Bishop basking in the verandah when I
came out to breakfast, instead of sitting over the blazing wood-fire
in the dining-room.  We got our meal finished as quickly as
possible, and then F--- and Mr.  U--- set to work to fill the
verandah with forms extemporised out of empty boxes placed at each
end, and planks laid across them; every red blanket in the house was
pressed into service to cover these rough devices, and the effect at
last was quite tidy.  By eleven o'clock the drays began to arrive in
almost a continual stream; as each came up, its occupants were taken
into the kitchen, and given as much as they could eat of cold pies
made of either pork or mutton, bread and hot potatoes, and tea.  As
for teapots, they were discarded, and the tea was made in huge
kettles, whilst the milk stood in buckets, into which quart jugs
were dipped every five minutes.  I took care of all the women and
children whilst F--- and Mr. U--- looked after the men, showed them
where to put the horses, etc.  All this time several gentlemen and
two or three ladies had arrived, but there was no one to attend to
them, so they all very kindly came out and helped.  We insisted on
the Bishop keeping quiet in the drawing-room, or he would have
worked as hard as any one.  I never could have got the children into
their white frocks by two o'clock if it had not been for the help of
the other ladies; but at last they were all dressed, and the
congregation--not much under a hundred people--fed, and arranged in
their places.  There had been a difficulty about finding sufficient
godmothers and godfathers, so F--- and I were sponsors for every
child, and each parent wished me to hand the child to the Bishop;
but I could not lift up many of the bigger ones, and they roared
piteously when I touched their hands.  I felt it quite a beautiful
and thrilling scene; the sunburnt faces all around, the chubby,
pretty little group of white-clad children, every one well fed and
comfortably clothed, the dogs lying at their masters feet, the
bright winter sunshine and dazzling sky, and our dear Bishops
commanding figure and clear, penetrating voice!  He gave us a most
excellent sermon, short and simple, but so perfectly appropriate;
and after the service was over he went about, talking to all the
various groups such nice, helpful words.

The truest kindness was now to "speed the parting guest," so each
dray load, beginning with those whose homes were the most distant,
was collected.  They were first taken into the kitchen and given a
good meal of hot tea, cake, and bread and butter, for many had four
hours' jolting before them; the red blankets were again called into
requisition to act as wraps, besides every cloak and shawl I
possessed, for the moment the sun sunk, which would be about four
o'clock, the cold was sure to become intense. We lived that day in
the most scrambling fashion ourselves; there was plenty of cold
meat, etc., on the dining-room table, and piles of plates, and
whenever any of the party were hungry they went and helped
themselves, as my two servants were entirely occupied with looking
after the comfort of the congregation; it was such a treat to them
to have, even for a few hours, the society of other women.  They
have only one female neighbour, and she is generally too busy to see
much of them; besides which, I think the real reason of the want of
intimacy is that Mrs. M--- is a very superior person, and when she
comes up I generally like to have a chat with her myself.  It does
me good to see her bonny Scotch face, and hear the sweet kindly
"Scot's tongue;" besides which she is my great instructress in the
mysteries of knitting socks and stockings, spinning, making really
good butter (not an easy thing, madam), and in all sorts of useful
accomplishments; her husband is the head shepherd on the next
station.  They are both very fond of reading, and it was quite
pretty to see the delight they took in the Queen's book about the
Highlands.

To return, however, to that Sunday.  We were all dreadfully tired by
the time the last guest had departed, but we had a delightfully
quiet evening, and a long talk with the Bishop about our favourite
scheme of the church and school among the Cockatoos, and we may feel
certain of his hearty cooperation in any feasible plan for carrying
it out.  The next morning, much to our regret, the Bishop left us
for Christchurch, but he had to hold a Confirmation service there,
and could not give us even a few more hours.  We were so very
fortunate in our weather.  The following Sunday was a pouring wet
day, and we have had wind and rain almost ever since; it is
unusually wet, so I have nothing more to tell you of our doings,
which must seem very eccentric to you, by the way, but I assure you
I enjoy the gipsy unconventional life immensely.

You must not be critical about a jumble of subjects if I record poor
Dick's tragical fate here; it will serve to fill up my letter, and
if ever you have mourned for a pet dog you will sympathise with me.
I must first explain to you that on a sheep station strange dogs are
regarded with a most unfriendly eye by both master and shepherds.
There are the proper colleys,--generally each shepherd has two,--but
no other dogs are allowed, and I had great trouble to coax F--- to
allow me to accept two.  One is a beautiful water-spaniel, jet
black, Brisk by name, but his character is stainless in the matter
of sheep, and though very handsome he is only an amiable idiot, his
one amusement being to chase a weka, which he never catches.  The
other dog was, alas! Dick, a small black-and-tan terrier, very well
bred, and full of tricks and play.  We never even suspected him of
any wickedness, but as it turned out he must have been a hardened
offender.  A few weeks after he came to us, when the lambing season
was at its height, and the low sunny hills near the house were
covered with hundreds of the pretty little white creatures, F---
used sometimes to come and ask me where Dick was, and, strange to
say, Dick constantly did not answer to my call.  An evening or two
later, just as we were starting for our walk, Dick appeared in a
great hurry from the back of the stable.  F--- went up immediately
to him, and stooped down to examine his mouth, calling me to see.
Oh, horror! it was all covered with blood and wool.  I pleaded all
sorts of extenuating circumstances, but F--- said, with: judicial
sternness, "This cannot be allowed."  Dick was more fascinating than
usual, never looking at a sheep whilst we were out walking with him,
and behaving in the most exemplary manner.  F--- watched him all the
next day, and at last caught him in the act of killing a new-born
lamb a little way from the house; the culprit was brought to me
hanging his tail with the most guilty air, and F--- said, "I ought
to shoot him, but if you like I will try if a beating can cure him,
but it must be a tremendous one."  I was obliged to accept this
alternative, and retreated where I could not hear Dick's howls under
the lash, over the body of his victim.  A few hours after I went to
the spot, lifted Dick up, and carried him into my room to nurse him;
for he could not move, he had been beaten so severely.  For two
whole days he lay on the soft mat I gave him, only able to lap a
little warm milk; on the third morning he tried to get up, and
crawled into the verandah; I followed to watch him.  Imagine my
dismay at seeing him limp to the place where the body of his last
victim lay, and deliberately begin tearing it to pieces.  I followed
him with my little horsewhip and gave him a slight beating.  I could
not find it in my heart to hit him very hard.  I carefully concealed
this incident from F---, and for some days I never let Dick out of
my sight for a moment; but early one fine morning a knock came to
our bed-room door, and a voice said, "Please, sir, come and see
what's the matter with the sheep? there's a large mob of them at the
back of the house being driven, like."  Oh, my prophetic soul!  I
felt it was Dick.  Whilst F--- was huddling on some clothes I
implored him to temper justice with mercy, but never a word did he
say, and sternly took his gun in his hand and went out.  I buried my
head in the pillows, but for all my precautions I heard the report
of a shot in the clear morning air, and the echo ringing back from
all the hills; five minutes afterwards F--- came in with a little
blue collar in his hand, and said briefly, "He has worried more than
a dozen lambs this morning alone."  What could I say?  F---'s only
attempt at consolation was, "he died instantly; I shot him through
the head."  But for many days afterwards I felt quite lonely and sad
without my poor little pet--yet what could have been done?  No one
would have accepted him as a present, and it flashed on me
afterwards that perhaps this vice of his was the reason of Dick's
former owner being so anxious to give him to me.  I have had two
offers of successors to Dick since, but I shall never have another
dog on a sheep station, unless I know what Mr. Dickens' little
dressmaker calls "its tricks and its manners."



Letter XX: the New Zealand snowstorm of 1867.


Broomielaw, August 1867.
I have had my first experience of real hardships since I last wrote
to you.  Yes, we have all had to endure positive hunger and cold,
and, what I found much harder to bear, great anxiety of mind.  I
think I mentioned that the weather towards the end of July had been
unusually disagreeable, but not very cold This wet fortnight had a
great deal to do with our sufferings afterwards, for it came exactly
at the time we were accustomed to send our dray down to Christchurch
for supplies of flour and groceries, and to lay in a good stock of
coals for the winter; these latter had been ordered, and were
expected every day.  Just the last few days of July the weather
cleared up, and became like our usual most beautiful winter climate;
so, after waiting a day or two, to allow the roads to dry a little,
the dray was despatched to town, bearing a long list of orders, and
with many injunctions to the driver to return as quickly as
possible, for all the stores were at the lowest ebb.  I am obliged
to tell you these domestic details, in order that you may understand
the reason of our privations.  I acknowledge, humbly, that it was
not good management, but sometimes accidents _will_ occur.  It was
also necessary for F--- to make a journey to Christchurch on
business, and as he probably would be detained there for nearly a
week, it was arranged that one of the young gentlemen from Rockwood
should ride over and escort me back there, to remain during F---'s
absence.  I am going to give you all the exact dates, for this
snow-storm will be a matter of history, during the present
generation at all events: there is no tradition among the Maoris of
such a severe one ever having occurred; and what made it more fatal
in its financial consequences to every one was, that the lambing
season had only just commenced or terminated on most of the runs.
Only a few days before he left, F--- had taken me for a ride in the
sheltered valleys, that he might see the state of the lambs, and
pronounced it most satisfactory; thousands of the pretty little
creatures were skipping about by their mothers' side.

I find, by my Diary, July 29th marked, as the beginning of a
"sou'-wester."  F--- had arranged to start that morning, and as his
business was urgent, he did not like to delay his departure, though
the day was most unpromising, a steady, fine drizzle, and raw
atmosphere; however, we hurried breakfast, and he set off,
determining to push on to town as quickly as possible.  I never
spent such a dismal day in my life: my mind was disturbed by secret
anxieties about the possibility of the dray being detained by wet
weather, and there was such an extraordinary weight in the air, the
dense mist seemed pressing everything down to the ground; however, I
drew the sofa to the fire, made up a good blaze (the last I saw for
some time), and prepared to pass a lazy day with a book; but I felt
so restless and miserable I did not know what was the matter with
me.  I wandered from window to window, and still the same unusual
sight met my eyes; a long procession of ewes and lambs, all
travelling steadily down from the hills towards the large flat in
front of the house; the bleating was incessant, and added to the
intense melancholy of the whole affair.  When Mr. U--- came in to
dinner; at one o'clock, he agreed with me that it was most unusual
weather, and said, that on the other ranges the sheep were drifting
before the cold mist and rain just in the same way.  Our only
anxiety arose from the certainty that the dray would be delayed at
least a day, and perhaps two; this was a dreadful idea: for some
time past we had been economising our resources to make them last,
and we knew that there was absolutely nothing at the home-station,
nor at our nearest neighbour's, for they had sent to borrow tea and
sugar from us.  Just at dusk that evening, two gentlemen rode up,
not knowing F--- was from home, and asked if they might remain for
the night.  I knew them both very well; in fact, one was our cousin
T---, and the other an old friend; so they put up their horses, and
housed their dogs (for each had a valuable sheep-dog with him) in a
barrel full of clean straw, and we all tried to spend a cheerful
evening, but everybody confessed to the same extraordinary
depression of spirits that I felt.

When I awoke the next morning, I was not much surprised to see the
snow falling thick and fast: no sheep were now visible, there was a
great silence, and the oppression in the atmosphere had if possible
increased.  We had a very poor breakfast,--no porridge, very little
mutton (for in expectation of the house being nearly empty, the
shepherd had not brought any over the preceding day), and _very_
weak tea; coffee and cocoa all finished, and about an ounce of tea
in the chest.  I don't know how the gentlemen amused themselves that
day; I believe they smoked a good deal; I could only afford a small
fire in the drawing-room, over which I shivered.  The snow continued
to fall in dense fine clouds, quite unlike any snow I ever saw
before, and towards night I fancied the garden fence was becoming
very much dwarfed.  Still the consolation was, "Oh, it won't last;
New Zealand snow never: does."  However, on Wednesday morning things
began to look very serious indeed: the snow covered the ground to a
depth of four feet in the shallowest places, and still continued to
fall steadily; the cows we knew _must_ be in the paddock were not to
be seen anywhere; the fowl-house and pig-styes which stood towards
the weather quarter had entirely disappeared; every scrap of wood
(and several logs were lying about at the back) was quite covered
up; both the verandahs were impassable; in one the snow was six feet
deep, and the only door which could be opened was the back-kitchen
door, as that opened inwards; but here the snow was half-way over
the roof, so it took a good deal of work with the kitchen-shovel,
for no spades could be found, to dig out a passage.  Indoors, we
were approaching our last mouthful very rapidly, the tea at
breakfast was merely coloured hot water, and we had some picnic
biscuits with it.  For dinner we had the last tin of sardines, the
last pot of apricot jam, and a tin of ratifia biscuits a most
extraordinary mixture, I admit, but there was nothing else.  There
were six people to be fed every day, and nothing to feed them with.
Thursday's breakfast was a discovered crust of dry bread, very
stale, and our dinner that day was rice and salt--the last rice in
the store-room.  The snow still never ceased falling, and only one
window in the house afforded us any light; every box was broken up
and used for fuel.  The gentlemen used to go all together and cut,
or rather dig, a passage through the huge drift in front of the
stable, and with much difficulty get some food for the seven
starving horses outside, who were keeping a few yards clear by
incessantly moving about, the snow making high walls all around
them.

It was wonderful to see how completely the whole aspect of the
surrounding scenery was changed; the gullies were all filled up, and
nearly level with the downs; sharp-pointed cliffs were now round
bluffs; there was no vestige of a fence or gate or shrub to be seen,
and still the snow came down as if it had only just begun to fall;
out of doors the silence was like death, I was told, for I could
only peep down the tunnel dug every few hours at the back-kitchen
door.  My two maids now gave way, and sat clasped in each other's
arms all day, crying piteously, and bewailing their fate, asking me
whenever I came into the kitchen, which was about every half-hour,
for there was no fire elsewhere, "And oh, when do you think we'll be
found, mum?"  Of course this only referred to the ultimate discovery
of our bodies.  There was a great search to-day for the cows, but it
was useless, the gentlemen sank up to their shoulders in snow.
Friday, the same state of things: a little flour had been discovered
in a discarded flour-bag, and we had a sort of girdle-cake and
water.  The only thing remaining in the store-room was some
blacklead, and I was considering seriously how that could be cooked,
or whether it would be better raw: we were all more than half
starved, and quite frozen: very little fire in the kitchen, and none
in any other room.  Of course, the constant thought was, "Where are
the sheep?"  Not a sign or sound could be heard.  The dogs' kennels
were covered several feet deep; so we could not get at them at all.
Saturday morning: the first good news I heard was that the cows had
been found, and dragged by ropes down to the enclosure the horses
had made for them-selves: they were half dead, poor beasts; but
after struggling for four hours to and from a haystack two hundred
yards off, one end of which was unburied, some oaten hay was
procured for them.  There was now not a particle of food in the
house.  The servants remained in their beds, declining to get up,
and alleging that they might as well "die warm."  In the middle of
the day a sort of forlorn-hope was organized by the gentlemen to try
to find the fowl-house, but they could not get through the drift:
however, they dug a passage to the wash-house, and returned in
triumph with about a pound of very rusty bacon they had found
hanging up there; this was useless without fuel, so they dug for a
little gate leading to the garden, fortunately hit its whereabouts,
and soon had it broken up and in the kitchen grate.  By dint of
taking all the lead out of the tea-chests, shaking it, and
collecting every pinch of tea-dust, we got enough to make a teapot
of the weakest tea, a cup of which I took to my poor crying maids in
their beds, having first put a spoonful of the last bottle of whisky
which the house possessed into it, for there was neither, sugar nor.
milk to be had.  At midnight the snow ceased for a few hours, and a
hard sharp frost set in; this made our position worse, for they
could now make no impression on the snow, and only broke the:
shovels in trying.  I began to think seriously of following the
maids example, in order to "die warm."  We could do nothing but wait
patiently.  I went up to a sort of attic where odds and ends were
stowed away, in search of something to eat, but could find nothing
more tempting than a supply of wax matches.  We knew there was a cat
under the house, for we heard her mewing; and it was suggested to
take up the carpets first, then the boards, and have a hunt for the
poor old pussy but we agreed to bear our hunger a little longer,
chiefly, I am afraid, because she was known to be both thin and
aged.

Towards noon on Sunday the weather suddenly changed, and rain began
to come down heavily and steadily; this cheered us all immensely, as
it would wash the snow away probably, and so it did to some degree;
the highest drifts near the house lessened considerably in a few
hours, and the gentlemen, who by this time were desperately hungry,
made a final attempt in the direction of the fowl-house, found the
roof, tore off some shingles, and returned with a few aged hens,
which were mere bundles of feathers after their week's starvation.
The servants consented to rise and pluck them, whilst the gentlemen
sallied forth once more to the stock-yard, and with great difficulty
got off two of the cap or top rails, so we had a splendid though
transitory blaze, and some hot stewed fowl; it was more of a soup
than anything else, but still we thought it delicious: and then
everybody went to bed again, for the house was quite dark still, and
the oil and candles were running very low.  On Monday morning the
snow was washed off the roof a good deal by the deluge of rain which
had never ceased to come steadily down, and the windows were cleared
a little, just at the top; but we were delighted with the
improvement, and some cold weak fowl-soup for breakfast, which we
thought excellent.  On getting out of doors, the gentlemen reported
the creeks to be much swollen and rushing in yellow streams down the
sides of the hills over the snow, which was apparently as thick as
ever; but it was now easier to get through at the surface, though
quite solid for many feet from the ground.  A window was scraped
clear, through which I could see the desolate landscape out of
doors, and some hay was carried with much trouble to the starving
cows and horses, but this was a work of almost incredible
difficulty.  Some more fowls were procured to-day, nearly the last,
for a large hole in the roof showed most of them dead of cold and
hunger.

We were all in much better spirits on this night, for there were
signs of the wind shifting from south to north-west; and, for the
first time in our lives I suppose, we were anxiously watching and
desiring this change, as it was the only chance of saving the
thousands of sheep and lambs we now knew lay buried under the smooth
white winding-sheet of snow.  Before bedtime we heard the fitful
gusts we knew so well, and had never before hailed with such deep
joy and thankfulness.  Every time I woke the same welcome sound of
the roaring warm gale met my ears; and we were prepared for the
pleasant sight, on Tuesday morning, of the highest rocks on the
hill-tops standing out gaunt and bare once more.  The wind was
blowing the snow off the hills in clouds like spray, and melting it
everywhere so rapidly that we began to have a new anxiety, for the
creeks were rising fast, and running in wide, angry-looking rivers
over the frozen snow on the banks.  All immediate apprehension of
starvation, however, was removed, for the gentlemen dug a pig out of
his stye, where he had been warm and comfortable with plenty of
straw, and slaughtered him; and in the loft of the stable was found
a bag of Indian meal for fattening poultry, which made excellent
cakes of bread.  It was very nasty having only ice-cold water to
drink at every meal.  I especially missed my tea for breakfast; but
felt ashamed to grumble, for my disagreeables were very light
compared to those of the three gentlemen.  From morning to night
they were wet through, as the snow of course melted the moment they
came indoors.  All the first part of the last week they used to work
out of doors, trying to get food and fuel, or feeding the horses, in
the teeth of a bitter wind, with the snow driving like powdered
glass against their smarting hands and faces; and they were as
cheery and merry as possible through it all, trying hard to pretend
they were neither hungry nor cold, when they must have been both.
Going out of doors at this stage of affairs simply meant plunging up
to their middle in a slush of half-melted snow which wet them
thoroughly in a moment; and they never had dry clothes on again till
they changed after dark, when there was no more possibility of
outdoor work.

Wednesday morning broke bright and clear for the first time since
Sunday week; we actually saw the sun.  Although the "nor-wester" had
done so much good for us, and a light wind still blew softly from
that quarter, the snow was yet very deep; but I felt in such high
spirits that I determined to venture out, and equipped myself in a
huge pair of F---'s riding-boots made of kangaroo-skin, well greased
with weka-oil to keep the wet out, These I put on over my own thick
boots, but my precautions "did nought avail," for the first step I
took sank me deep in the snow over the tops of my enormous boots.
They filled immediately, and then merely served to keep the snow
securely packed round my ankles; however, I struggled bravely on,
every now and then sinking up to my shoulders, and having to be
hauled out by main force.  The first thing done was to dig out the
dogs, who assisted the process by  vigorously scratching away inside
and tunnelling towards us.  Poor things! how thin they looked, but
they were quite warm; and after indulging in a long drink at the
nearest creek, they bounded about, like mad creatures.  The only
casualties in the kennels were two little puppies, who were lying
cuddled up as if they were asleep, but proved to be stiff and cold;
and a very old but still valuable collie called "Gipsy."  She was
enduring such agonies from rheumatism that it was terrible to hear
her howls; and after trying to relieve her by rubbing, taking her
into the stable-and in fact doing all we could for her--it seemed
better and kinder to shoot her two days afterwards.

We now agreed to venture into the paddock and see what had happened
to the bathing-place about three hundred yards from the house.  I
don't think I have told you that the creek had been here dammed up
with a sod wall twelve feet high, and a fine deep and broad pond
made, which was cleared of weeds and grass, and kept entirely for
the gentlemen to have a plunge and swim at daylight of a summer's
morning; there had been a wide trench cut about two feet from the
top, so as to carry off the water, and hitherto this had answered
perfectly.  The first thing we had to do was to walk over the high
five-barred gate leading into the paddock just the topmost bar was
sticking up, but there was not a trace of the little garden-gate or
of the fence, which was quite a low one.  We were, however, rejoiced
to see that on the ridges of the sunny downs there were patches, or
rather streaks, of tussocks visible, and they spread in size every
moment, for the sun was quite warm, and the "nor'-wester," had done
much towards softening the snow.  It took us a long time to get down
to where the bathing-place _had been_, for the sod wall was quite
carried away, and there was now only a heap of ruin, with a muddy
torrent pouring through the large gap and washing it still more
away.  Close to this was a very sunny sheltered down, or rather
hill; and as the snow was rapidly melting off its warm sloping sides
we agreed to climb it and see if any sheep could be discovered, for
up to this time there had been none seen or heard, though we knew
several thousands must be on this flat and the adjoining ones.

As soon as we got to the top the first glance showed us a small
dusky patch close to the edge of one of the deepest and widest
creeks at the bottom of the pad-dock; experienced eyes saw they were
sheep, but to me they had not the shape of animals at all, though
they were quite near enough to be seen distinctly.  I observed the
gentlemen exchange looks of alarm, and they said to each other some
low words, from which I gathered that they feared the worst.  Before
we went down to the flat we took a long, careful look round, and
made out another patch, dark by comparison with the snow, some two
hundred yards lower down the creek, but apparently in the water.  On
the other side of the little hill the snow seemed to have drifted
even more deeply, for the long narrow valley which lay there
presented, as far as we could see, one smooth, level snow-field.  On
the dazzling white surface the least fleck shows, and I can never
forget how beautiful some swamp-hens, with their dark blue plumage,
short, pert, white tails, and long bright legs, looked, as they
searched slowly along the banks of the swollen creek for some traces
of their former haunts; but every tuft of tohi-grass lay bent and
buried deep beneath its heavy covering.  The gentlemen wanted me to
go home before they attempted to see the extent of the disaster,
which we all felt must be very great; but I found it impossible to
do anything but accompany them.  I am half glad and half sorry now
that I was obstinate; glad because I helped a little at a time when
the least help was precious, and sorry because it was really such a
horrible sight.  Even the first glance showed us that, as soon as we
got near the spot we had observed, we were walking on frozen sheep
embedded in the snow one over the other; but at all events their
misery had been over some time.  It was more horrible to see the
drowning, or just drowned, huddled-up "mob" (as sheep _en masse_ are
technically called) which had made the dusky patch we had noticed
from the hill.

No one can ever tell how many hundred ewes and lambs had taken
refuge under the high terrace which forms the bank of the creek.
The snow had soon covered them up, but they probably were quite warm
and dry at first.  The terrible mischief was caused by the creek
rising so rapidly, and, filtering through the snow which it
gradually dissolved, drowned them as they stood huddled together.
Those nearest the edge of the water of course went first, but we
were fortunately in time to save a good many, though the living
seemed as nothing compared to the heaps of dead.  We did not waste a
moment in regrets or idleness; the most experienced of the gentlemen
said briefly what was to be done, and took his coat off; the other
coats and my little Astrachan jacket were lying by its side in an
instant, and we all set to work, sometimes up to our knees in icy
water, digging at the bank of snow above us--if you can call it
digging when we had nothing but our hands to dig, or rather scratch,
with.  Oh, how hot we were in five minutes! the sun beating on us,
and the reflection from the snow making its rays almost blinding.
It was of no use my attempting to rescue the sheep, for I could not
move them, even when I had _scrattled_ the snow away from one.  A
sheep, especially with its fleece full of snow, is beyond my small
powers: even the lambs I found a tremendous weight, and it must have
been very absurd, if an idler had been by, to see me, with a little
lamb in my arms, tumbling down at every second step, but still
struggling manfully towards the dry oasis where we put each animal
as it was dug out.  The dear doggies helped us beautifully, working
so eagerly and yet so wisely under their master's eye, as patient
and gentle with the poor stiffened creatures as if they could feel
for them.  I was astonished at the vitality of some of the
survivors; if they had been very far back and not chilled by the
water, they were quite lively.  The strongest sheep were put across
the stream by the dogs, who were obedient to their master's finger,
and not to be induced on any terms to allow the sheep to land a yard
to one side of the place on the opposite bank, but just where they
were to go.  A good many were swept away, but after six hours' work
we counted 1,400 rescued ones slowly "trailing" up the low sunny
hill I have mentioned, and nibbling at the tussocks as they went.
The proportion of lambs was, of course, very small, but the only
wonder to me is that there were any alive at all.  If I had been
able to stop my scratching but for a moment, I would have had what
the servants call a "good cry" over one little group I laid bare.
Two fine young ewes were standing leaning against each other in a
sloping position, like a tent, frozen and immoveable: between them,
quite dry, and as lively as a kitten, was a dear little lamb of
about a month old belonging to one; the lamb of the other lay curled
up at her feet, dead and cold; I really believe they had hit upon
this way of keeping the other alive.  A more pathetic sight I never
beheld.

It is needless to say that we were all most dreadfully exhausted by
the time the sun went down, and it began to freeze; nothing but the
sheer impossibility of doing anything more in the hardening snow and
approaching darkness made us leave off even then, though we had not
tasted food all day.  The gentlemen took an old ewe, who could not
stand, though it was not actually dead, up to the stable and killed
it, to give the poor dogs a good meal, and then they had to get some
more rails off the stock-yard to cook our own supper of pork and
maize.

The next morning was again bright with a warm wind; so the effect of
the night's frost soon disappeared, and we were hard at work
directly after breakfast.  Nothing would induce me to stay at home,
but I armed myself with a coal-scoop to dig, and we made our way to
the other "mob;" but, alas! there was nothing to do in the way of
saving life, for all the sheep were dead.  There was a large island
formed at a bend in the creek, where the water had swept with such
fury round a point as to wash the snow and sheep all away together,
till at some little obstacle they began to accumulate in a heap.  I
counted ninety-two dead ewes in one spot, but I did not stay to
count the lambs.  We returned to the place where we had been digging
the day before, and set the dogs to hunt in the drifts; wherever
they began to scratch we shovelled the snow away, and were sure to
find sheep either dead or nearly so: however, we liberated a good
many more.  This sort of work continued till the following Saturday,
when F--- returned, having had a most dangerous journey, as the
roads are still blocked up in places with snow-drifts; but he was
anxious to get back, knowing I must have been going through "hard
times."  He was terribly shocked at the state of things among the
sheep; in Christchurch no definite news had reached them from any
quarter: all the coaches were stopped and the telegraph wires broken
down by the snow.  He arrived about mid-day, and, directly after the
meal we still called dinner, started off over the hills to my "nest
of Cockatoos," and brought back some of the men with him to help to
search for the sheep, and to skin those that were dead as fast as
possible.  He worked himself all day at the skinning,--a horrible
job; but the fleeces were worth something, and soon all the fences,
as they began to emerge from the snow, were tapestried with these
ghastly skins, and walking became most disagreeable, on account of
the evil odours arising every few yards.

We forgot all our personal sufferings in anxiety about the surviving
sheep, and when the long-expected dray arrived it seemed a small
boon compared to the discovery of a nice little "mob" feeding
tranquilly on a sunny spur.  It is impossible to estimate our loss
until the grand muster at shearing, but we may set it down at half
our flock, and _all_ our lambs, or at least 90 per cent. of them.
Our neighbours are all as busy as we are, so no accurate accounts of
their sufferings or losses have reached us; but, to judge by
appearances, the distant "back-country" ranges must have felt the
storm more severely even than we have; and although the snow did not
drift to such a depth on the plains as with us, or lie so long on
the ground, they suffered just as much,--for the sheep took shelter
under the high river-banks, and the tragedy of the creeks was
enacted on a still larger scale; or they drifted along before the
first day's gale till they came to a wire fence, and there they were
soon covered up, and trampled each other to death.  Not only were
sheep, but cattle, found dead in hundreds along the fences on the
plains.  The newspapers give half a million as a rough estimate of
the loss among the flocks in this province alone.  We have no
reliable news from other parts of the island, only vague rumours of
the storm having been still more severe in the Province of Otago,
which lies to the south, and would be right in its track; the only
thing which all are agreed in saying is, that there never has been
such a storm before, for the Maories are strong in weather
traditions, and though they prophesied this one, it is said they
have no legend of anything like it ever having happened.



Letter XXI: Wild cattle hunting in the Kowai Bush.


Mount Torlesse, October 1867.
We are staying for a week at a charming little white cottage covered
with roses and honeysuckles, nestled under the shadow of this grand
mountain, to make some expeditions after wild cattle in the great
Kowai Bush.  I am afraid that it does not sound a very orderly and
feminine occupation, but I enjoy it thoroughly, and have covered
myself with glory and honour by my powers of walking all day.

We have already spent three long happy days in the Bush, and
although they have not resulted in much slaughter of our big game,
still I for one am quite as well pleased as if we had returned laden
with as many beeves as used to come in from a border foray.  I am
not going to inflict an account of each expedition on you; one will
serve to give an idea of all, for though there is no monotony in
Nature, it may chance that frequent descriptions of her become so,
and this I will not risk.

Our ride over here was a sufficiently ridiculous affair, owing to
the misbehaviour of the pack-horse, for it was impossible upon this
occasion to manage with as little luggage as usual, so we arranged
to take a good-sized carpet-bag (a most unheard-of luxury), and on
each side of it was to be slung a rifle and a gun, and smaller bags
of bullets, shot, and powder-flasks, disposed to the best advantage
on the pack-saddle.  This was all very well in theory, but when it
came to the point, the proper steady old horse who was to bear the
pack was not forthcoming!  He had taken it into his head to go on a
visit to a neighbouring run, so the only available beast was a young
chestnut of most uncertain temper.  The process of saddling him was
a long one, as he objected to each item of his load as soon as it
was put on, especially to the guns; but F--- was very patient, and
took good care to tie and otherwise fasten everything so that it was
impossible for "Master Tucker" (called, I suppose, after the
immortal Tommy) to get rid of his load by either kicking or
plunging.  At last we mounted and rode by a bridle-path among the
hills for some twelve miles or so, then across half-a-dozen miles of
plain, and finally we forded a river.  The hill-track was about as
bad as a path could be, with several wide jumps across creeks at the
bottom of the numerous deep ravines, or gullies as we call them.
F--- rode first--for we could only go in single file--with the
detestable Tucker's bridle over his arm; then came the chestnut,
with his ears well back, and his eyes all whites, in his efforts to
look at his especial aversion, the guns; he kicked all the way down
the many hills, and pulled back in the most aggravating manner at
each ascent, and when we came to a creek sat down on his tail,
refusing to stir.  My position was a most trying one; the track was
so bad that I would fain have given my mind entirely to my own
safety, but instead of this all my attention was centred on Tucker
the odious.  When we first started I expressed to F--- my fear that
Tucker would fairly drag him off his own saddle, and he admitted
that it was very likely, adding, "You must flog him."  This made me
feel that it entirely depended on my efforts whether F--- was to be
killed or not, so I provided myself with a small stock-whip in
addition to my own little riding-whip, and we set off.  From the
first yard Tucker objected to go, but there were friendly sticks to
urge him on; however, we soon got beyond the reasonable limits of
help, and I tried desperately to impress upon Tucker that I was
going to be very severe: for this purpose I flourished my stock-whip
in a way that drove my own skittish mare nearly frantic, and never
touched Tucker, whom F--- was dragging along by main force.  At last
I gave up the stock-whip, with its unmanageable three yards of lash,
and dropped it on the track, to be picked up as we came home.  I now
tried to hit Tucker with my horse-whip, but he flung his heels up in
Helen's face the moment I touched him.  I was in perfect despair,
very much afraid of a sudden swerve on my mare's part sending us
both down the precipice, and in equal dread of seeing F--- pulled
off his saddle by Tucker's suddenly planting his fore-feet firmly
together: F--- himself, with the expression of a martyr, looking
round every now and then to say, "Can't you make him come on?" and I
hitting wildly and vainly, feeling all the time that I was worse
than useless.  At last the bright idea occurred to me to ride nearly
alongside of the fiendish Tucker, but a little above him on the
hill, so as to be able to strike him fairly without fear of his
heels.  As far as Tucker was concerned this plan answered perfectly,
for he soon found out he had to go; but Helen objected most
decidedly to being taken off the comparative safety of the track and
made to walk on a slippery, sloping hill, where she could hardly
keep her feet; however, we got on much faster this way.  Oh, how
tired I was of striking Tucker!  I don't believe I hurt him much,
but I felt quite cruel.  When we came to the plain, I begged F--- to
let me lead him; so we changed, and there was no holding back on the
chestnut's part then; it must have been like the grass and the
stones in the fable.  I never was more thankful than when that ride
was over, though its disagreeables were soon forgotten in the warm
welcome we received from our bachelor hosts, and the incessant
discussions about the next day's excursion.

We had finished breakfast by seven o'clock the following morning,
and were ready to start.  Of course the gentlemen were very fussy
about their equipments, and hung themselves all over with cartridges
and bags of bullets and powder-flasks; then they had to take care
that their tobacco-pouches and match-boxes were filled; and lastly,
each carried a little flask of brandy or sherry, in case of being
lost and having to camp out.  I felt quite unconcerned, having only
my flask with cold tea in it to see about, and a good walking-stick
was easily chosen.  My costume may be described as uncompromising,
for it had been explained to me that there were no paths but real
rough bush walking; so I dispensed with all little feminine
adornments even to the dearly-loved chignon, tucked my hair away as
if I was going to put on a bathing-cap, and covered it with a Scotch
bonnet.  The rest of my toilette must have been equally shocking to
the eyes of taste, and I have reason to believe the general effect
most hideous; but one great comfort was, no one looked at me, they
were all too much absorbed in preparations for a great slaughter,
and I only came at all upon sufferance; the unexpressed but
prevailing dread, I could plainly see, was that I should knock up
and become a bore, necessitating an early return home; but I knew
better!

An American waggon and some ponies were waiting to take the whole
party to the entrance of the bush, about four miles off, and, in
spite of having to cross a rough river-bed, which is always a slow
process, it did not take us very long to reach our first point.
Here we dismounted, just at the edge of the great dense forest, and,
with as little delay as possible in fine arrangements, struck into a
path or bullock-track, made for about three miles into the bush for
the convenience of dragging out the felled trees by ropes or chains
attached to bullocks; they are not placed upon a waggon, so you may
easily imagine the state the track was in, ploughed up by huge logs
of timber dragged on the ground, and by the bullocks' hoofs besides.
It was a mere slough with deep holes of mud in it, and we scrambled
along its extreme edge, chiefly trusting to the trees on each side,
which still lay as they had been felled, the men not considering
them good enough to remove.  At last we came to a clearing, and I
quite despair of making you understand how romantic and lovely this
open space in the midst of the tall trees looked that beautiful
spring morning.  I involuntarily thought of the descriptions in
"Paul and Virginia," for the luxuriance of the growth was quite
tropical.  For about two acres the trees had been nearly all felled,
only one or two giants remaining; their stumps were already hidden
by clematis and wild creepers of other kinds, or by a sort of fern
very like the hart's-tongue, which will only grow on the bark of
trees, and its glossy leaves made an exquisite contrast to the rough
old root.  The "bushmen"--as the men who have bought twenty-acre
sections and settled in the bush are called--had scattered English
grass-seed all over the rich leafy mould, and the ground was covered
with bright green grass, kept short and thick by a few tame goats
browsing about.  Before us was the steep bank of the river
Waimakiriri, and a few yards from its edge stood a picturesque
gable-ended little cottage surrounded by a rustic fence, which
enclosed a strip of garden gay with common English spring flowers,
besides more useful things, potatoes, etc.  The river was about two
hundred yards broad just here, and though it foamed below us, we
could also see it stretching away in the distance almost like a
lake, till a great bluff hid it from our eyes.  Overhead the trees
were alive with flocks of wild pigeons, ka-kas, parroquets, and
other birds, chattering and twittering incessantly and as we stood
on the steep bank and looked down, I don't think a minute passed
without a brace of wild ducks flying past, grey, blue, and Paradise.
These latter are the most beautiful plumaged birds I ever saw
belonging to the duck tribe, and, when young, are very good eating,
quite as delicate as the famous canvas-back.  This sight so excited
our younger sportsmen that they scrambled down the high precipice,
followed by a water-spaniel, and in five minutes had bagged as many
brace.  We could not give them any more time, for it was past nine
o'clock, and we were all eager to start on the serious business of
the day; but before we left, the mistress of this charming
"bush-hut" insisted on our having some hot coffee and scones and
wild honey, a most delicious second breakfast.  There was a pretty
little girl growing up, and a, younger child, both the picture of
health; the only drawback seemed to be the mosquitoes; it was not
very lonely, for one or two other huts stood in clearings adjoining,
and furnished us with three bushmen as guides and assistants.  I
must say, they were the most picturesque of the party, being all
handsome men, dressed in red flannel shirts and leathern
knickerbockers and gaiters; they had fine beards, and wore "diggers'
hats," a head-dress of American origin--a sort of wide-awake made of
plush, capable of being crushed into any shape, and very becoming.
All were armed with either rifle or gun, and one carried an axe and
a coil of rope; another had a gun such as is seldom seen out of an
arsenal; it was an old flint lock, but had been altered to a
percussion; its owner was very proud of it, not so much for its
intrinsic beauty, though it once had been a costly and splendid
weapon and was elaborately inlaid with mother-of-pearl, but because
it had belonged to a former Duke of Devonshire.  In spite of its
claims to consideration on this head as well as its own beauty, we
all eyed it with extreme disfavour on account of a peculiarity it
possessed of not going off when it was intended to do so, but about
five minutes afterwards.

It was suggested to me very politely that I might possibly prefer to
remain behind and spend the day in this picturesque spot, but this
offer I declined steadily; I think the bushmen objected to my
presence more than any one else, as they really meant work, and
dreaded having to turn back for a tired "female" (they never spoke
of me by any other term).  At last all the information was collected
about the probable whereabouts of the wild cattle--it was so
contradictory, that it must have been difficult to arrange any plan
by it,--and we started.  A few hundred yards took us past the
clearings and into the very heart of the forest.  We had left the
sun shining brightly overhead; here it was all a "great green
gloom."  I must describe to you the order in which we marched.
First came two of the most experienced "bush-hands," who carried a
tomahawk or light axe with which to clear the most cruel of the
brambles away, and to notch the trees as a guide to us on our
return; and also a compass, for we had to steer for a certain point,
the bearings of which we knew--of course the procession was in
Indian file: next to these pioneers walked, very cautiously, almost
on tiptoe, four of our sportsmen; then I came; and four or five
others, less keen or less well armed, brought up the rear.  I may
here confess that I endured in silence agonies of apprehension for
my personal safety all day.  It was so dreadful to see a bramble or
wild creeper catch in the lock of the rifle before me, and to
reflect that, unless its owner was very careful, it might "go off of
its own accord," and to know that I was exposed to a similar danger
from those behind.

We soon got on the fresh tracks of some cows, and proceeded most
cautiously and silently; but it could hardly be called walking, it
was alternately pushing through dense undergrowth, crawling beneath,
or climbing over, high barricades made by fallen trees.  These
latter obstacles I found the most difficult, for the bark was so
slippery; and once, when with much difficulty I had scrambled up a
pile of _debris_ at least ten feet high, I incautiously stepped on
some rotten wood at the top, and went through it into a sort of deep
pit, out of which it was very hard to climb.  On comparing notes
afterwards, we found, that although we had walked without a moment's
cessation for eleven hours during the day, a pedometer only gave
twenty-two miles as the distance accomplished.  Before we had been
in the bush half an hour our faces were terribly scratched and
bleeding, and so were the gentlemen's hands; my wrists also
suffered, as my gauntlets would not do their duty and lie flat.
There were myriads of birds around us, all perfectly tame; many flew
from twig to twig, accompanying us with their little pert heads on
one side full of curiosity; the only animals we saw were some wild
sheep looking very disreputable with their long tails and torn,
trailing fleeces of six or seven years' growth.  There are supposed
to be some hundreds of these in the bush who have strayed into it
years ago, when they were lambs, from neighbouring runs.  The last
man in the silent procession put a match into a dead tree every here
and there, to serve as a torch to guide us back in the dark; but
this required great judgment for fear of setting the whole forest on
fire: the tree required to be full of damp decay, which would only
smoulder and not blaze.  We intended to steer for a station on the
other side of a narrow neck of the Great Bush, ten miles off, as
nearly as we could guess, but we made many detours after fresh
tracks.  Once these hoof-marks led us to the brink of such a pretty
creek, exactly like a Scotch burn, wide and noisy, tumbling down
from rock to rock, but not very deep.  After a whispered
consultation, it was determined to follow up this creek to a
well-known favourite drinking-place of the cattle, but it was easier
walking in the water than on the densely-grown banks, so all the
gentlemen stepped in one after another.  I hesitated a moment with
one's usual cat-like antipathy to wet feet, when a, stalwart bushman
approached, with rather a victimised air and the remark: "Ye're
heavy, nae doot, to carry."  I was partly affronted at this
prejudgment of the case, and partly determined to show that I was
equal to the emergency, for I immediately jumped into the water,
frightening myself a good deal by the tremendous splash I made, and
meeting reproving glances; and nine heads were shaken violently at
me.

Nothing could be more beautiful than the winding banks of this
creek, fringed with large ferns in endless variety; it was
delightful to see the sun and sky once more overhead, but I cannot
say that it was the easiest possible walking, and I soon found out
that the cleverest thing to do was to wade a little way behind the
shortest gentleman of the party, for when he disappeared in a hole I
knew it in time to avoid a similar fate; whereas, as long as I
persisted in stalking solemnly after my own tall natural protector,
I found that I was always getting into difficulties in unexpectedly
deep places.  I saw the bushmen whispering together, and examining
the rocks in some places, but I found on inquiry that their thoughts
were occupied at the moment by other ideas than sport; one of them
had been a digger, and was pronouncing an opinion that this creek
was very likely to prove a "home of the gold" some day.  There is a
strong feeling prevalent that gold will be found in great quantities
all over the island.  At this time of the year the water is very
shallow, but the stream evidently comes down with tremendous force
in the winter; and they talk of having "found the colour" (of gold)
in some places.  We proceeded in this way for about three miles,
till we reached a beautiful, clear, deep pool, into which the water
fell from a height in a little cascade; the banks here were well
trodden, and the hoof-prints quite recent; great excitement was
caused by hearing a distant lowing, but after much listening, in
true Indian fashion, with the ear to the ground, everybody was of a
different opinion as to the side from whence the sound proceeded, so
we determined to keep on our original course; the compass was once
more produced, and we struck into a dense wood of black birch.

Ever since we left the clearing from which the start was made, we
had turned our backs on the river, but about three o'clock in the
afternoon we came suddenly on it again, and stood on the most
beautiful spot I ever saw in my life.  We were on the top of a high
precipice, densely wooded to the water's edge.  Some explorers in
bygone days must have camped here, for half-a-dozen trees were
felled, and the thick brush-wood had been burnt for a few yards,
just enough to let us take in the magnificent view before and around
us.  Below roared and foamed, among great boulders washed down from
the cliff, the Waimakiriri; in the middle of it lay a long narrow
strip of white shingle, covered with water in the winter floods, but
now shining like snow in the bright sunlight.  Beyond this the river
flowed as placidly as a lake, in cool green depths, reflecting every
leaf of the forest on the high bank or cliff opposite.  To our right
it stretched away, with round headlands covered with timber running
down in soft curves to the water.  But on our left was the most
perfect composition for a picture in the foreground a great reach of
smooth water, except just under the bank we stood on, where the
current was strong and rapid; a little sparkling beach, and a vast
forest rising up from its narrow border, extending over chain after
chain of hills, till they rose to the glacial region, and then the
splendid peaks of the snowy range broke the deep blue sky line with
their grand outlines.

All this beauty would have been almost too oppressive, it was on
such a large scale and the solitude was so intense, if it had not
been for the pretty little touch of life and movement afforded by
the hut belonging to the station we were bound for.  It was only a
rough building, made of slabs of wood with cob between; but there
was a bit of fence and the corner of a garden and an English grass
paddock, which looked about as big as a pocket-handkerchief from
where we stood.  A horse or two and a couple of cows were tethered
near, and we could hear the bark of a dog.  A more complete
hermitage could not have been desired by Diogenes himself, and for
the first time we felt ashamed of invading the recluse in such a
formidable body, but ungrudging, open-handed hospitality is so
universal in New Zealand that we took courage and began our descent.
It really was like walking down the side of a house, and no one
could stir a step without at least one arm round a tree.  I had no
gun to carry, so I clung frantically with both arms to each stem in
succession.  The steepness of the cliff was the reason we could take
in all the beauty of the scene before us, for the forest was as
thick as ever; but we could see over the tops of the trees, as the
ground dropped sheer down, almost in a straight line from the
plateau we had been travelling on all day.  As soon as we reached
the shingle, on which we had to walk for a few hundred yards, we
bethought ourselves of our toilettes; the needle and thread I had
brought did good service in making us more presentable.  We
discovered, however, that our faces were a perfect network of fine
scratches, some of which _would_ go on bleeding, in spite of cold-
water applications.  Our boots were nearly dry; and my petticoat,
short as it was, proved to be the only damp garment: this was the
fault of my first jump into the water.  We put the least scratched
and most respectable-looking member of the party in the van, and
followed him, amid much barking of dogs, to the low porch; and after
hearing a cheery "Come in," answering our modest tap at the door, we
trooped in one after the other till the little room was quite full.
I never saw such astonishment on any human face as on that of the
poor master of the house, who could not stir from his chair by the
fire, on account of a bad wound in his leg from an axe.  There he
sat quite helpless, a moment ago so solitary, arid now finding
himself the centre of a large, odd-looking crowd of strangers.  He
was a middle-aged Scotchman, probably of not a very elevated
position in life, and had passed many years in this lonely spot, and
yet he showed himself quite equal to the occasion.

After that first uncontrollable look of amazement he did the honours
of his poor hut with the utmost courtesy and true good-breeding.
His only apology was for being unable to rise from his arm-chair
(made out of half a barrel and an old flour-sack by the way); he
made us perfectly welcome, took it for granted we were hungry--
hunger is a very mild word to express my appetite, for one--called
by a loud coo-ee to his man Sandy, to whom he gave orders that the
best in the house should be put before us, and then began to inquire
by what road we had come, what sport we had, etc., all in the nicest
way possible.  I never felt more awkward in my life than when I
stooped to enter that low doorway, and yet in a minute I was quite
at my ease again; but of the whole party I was naturally the one who
puzzled him the most.  In the first place, I strongly suspect that
he had doubts as to my being anything but a boy in a rather long
kilt; and when this point was explained, he could not understand
what a "female," as he also called me, was doing on a rough hunting
expedition.  He particularly inquired more than once if I had come
of my own free will, and could not understand what pleasure I found
in walking so far.  Indeed he took it so completely for granted that
I must be exhausted, that he immediately began to make plans for
F--- and me to stop there all night, offering to give up his "bunk"
(some slabs of wood made into a shelf, with a tussock mattress and a
blanket), and to sleep himself in his arm-chair.

In the meantime, Sandy was preparing our meal.  There was an open
hearth with a fine fire, and a big black kettle hanging over it by a
hook fastened somewhere up the chimney.  As soon as this boiled he
went to a chest, or rather locker, and brought a double-handful of
tea, which he threw into the kettle; then he took from a cupboard
the biggest loaf, of bread I ever saw--a huge thing, which had been
baked in a camp-oven--and flapped it down on the table with a bang;
next he produced a tin milk-pan, and returned to the cupboard to
fetch out by the shank-bone a mutton-ham, which he placed in the
milk-dish: a bottle of capital whisky was forthcoming from the same
place; a little salt on one newspaper, and brown, or rather _black_,
sugar on another, completed the arrangements, and we were politely
told by Sandy to "wire in,"--digger's phraseology for an invitation
to commence, which we did immediately, as soon as we could make an
arrangement about the four tin plates and three pannikins.  I had
one all to myself, but the others managed by twos and threes to each
plate.  I never had a better luncheon in my life; everything was
excellent in its way, and we all possessed what we are told is the
best sauce.  Large as the supplies were, we left hardly anything,
and the more we devoured the more pleased our host seemed.  There
were no chairs; we sat on logs of trees rudely chopped into
something like horse-blocks, but to tired limbs which had known no
rest from six hours' walking they seemed delightful.  After we had
finished our meal, the gentlemen went outside to have half a pipe
before setting off again; they dared not smoke whilst we were after
the cattle, for fear of their perceiving some unusual smell; and I
remained for ten minutes with Mr---.  I found that he was very fond
of reading; his few books were all of a good stamp, but he was
terribly hard-up for anything which he had not read a hundred times
over.  I hastily ran over the names of some books of my own, which I
offered to lend him for as long a time as he liked: and we made
elaborate plans for sending them, of my share in which I took a
memorandum.  He seemed very grateful at the prospect of having
anything new, especially now that he was likely to be laid up for
some weeks, and I intend to make every effort to give him this great
pleasure as soon as possible.

We exchanged the most hearty farewells when the time of parting
came, and our host was most earnest in his entreaties to us to
remain; but it was a question of getting out of the bush before
dusk, so we could not delay.  He sent Sandy to guide us by a rather
longer but easier way than climbing up the steep cliff to the place
where the little clearing at its edge which I have mentioned had
been made; and we dismissed our guide quite happy with contributions
from all the tobacco-pouches, for no one had any money with him.  We
found our way back again by the notches on the trees as long as the
light lasted, and when it got too dark to see them easily, the
smouldering trunks guided us, and we reached the clearing from which
we started in perfect safety.  Good Mrs. D--- had a bountiful tea
ready; she was much concerned at our having yet some three miles of
bad walking before we could reach the hut on the outskirts of the
bush, where we had left the trap and the ponies.  When we got to
this point there was actually another and still more sumptuous meal
set out for us, to which, alas! we were unable to do any justice;
and then we found our way to the station across the flat, down a
steep cutting, and through the river-bed, all in the dark and cold.
We had supper as soon as we reached home, tumbling into bed as early
as might be afterwards for such a sleep as you Londoners don't know
anything about.

I have only described one expedition to you, and that the most
unsuccessful, as far as killing anything goes; but my hunting
instincts only lead me to the point of reaching the game; when it
comes to that, I always try to save its life, and if this can't be
done, I retire to a distance and stop my ears; indeed, if very much
over-excited, I can't help crying.  Consequently, I enjoy myself
much more when we don't kill anything; and, on the other occasions,
I never could stop and see even the shot fired which was to bring a
fine cow or a dear little calf down, but crept away as far as ever I
could, and muffled my head in my jacket.  The bushmen liked this
part of the performance the best, I believe, and acted as butchers
very readily, taking home a large joint each to their huts, a
welcome change after the eternal pigeons, ka-kas, and wild ducks on
which they live.



Letter XXII: The exceeding joy of "burning."


Broomielaw, December 1867.
I am quite sorry that the season for setting fire to the long grass,
or, as it is technically called, "burning the run," is fairly over
at last.  It has been later than usual this year, on account of the
snow having lain such an unusual time on the ground and kept the
grass damp.  Generally September is the earliest month in which it
begins, and November the latest for it to end; but this year the
shady side of "Flagpole" was too moist to take fire until December.

It is useless to think of setting out on a burning expedition unless
there is a pretty strong nor'-wester blowing; but it must not be
_too_ violent, or the flames will fly over the grass, just scorching
it instead of making "a clean burn."  But when F--- pronounces the
wind to be just right, and proposes that we should go to some place
where the grass is of two, or, still better, three years' growth,
then I am indeed happy.  I am obliged to be careful not to have on
any inflammable petticoats, even if it is quite a warm day, as they
are very dangerous; the wind will shift suddenly perhaps as, I am in
the very act of setting a tussock a-blaze, and for half a second I
find myself in the middle of the flames.  F--- generally gets his
beard well singed, and I have nearly lost my eyelashes more than
once.  We each provide ourselves with a good supply of matches, and
on the way we look out for the last year's tall blossom of those
horrid prickly bushes called "Spaniards," or a bundle of
flax-sticks, or, better than all, the top of a dead and dry Ti-ti
palm.  As soon as we come to the proper spot, and F--- has
ascertained that no sheep are in danger of being made into roast
mutton before their time, we begin to light our line of fire,
setting one large tussock blazing, lighting our impromptu torches at
it, and then starting from this "head-centre," one to the right and
the other to the left, dragging the blazing sticks along the grass.
It is a very exciting amusement, I assure you, and the effect is
beautiful, especially as it grows dusk and the fires are racing up
the hills all around us.  Every now and then they meet with a puff
of wind, which will perhaps strike a great wall of fire rushing
up-hill as straight as a line, and divide it into two fiery horns
like a crescent; then as the breeze changes again, the tips of flame
will gradually approach each other till they meet, and go on again
in a solid mass of fire.

If the weather has been very dry for some time and the wind is high,
we attempt to burn a great flax swamp, perhaps, in some of the
flats.  This makes a magnificent bonfire when once it is fairly
started, but it is more difficult to light in the first instance, as
you have to collect the dead flax-leaves and make a little fire of
them under the big green bush in order to coax it to blaze up: but
it crackles splendidly; indeed it sounds as if small explosions were
going on sometimes.  But another disadvantage of burning a swamp is,
that there are deep holes every yard or two, into which I always
tumble in my excitement, or in getting out of the way of a flax-bush
which has flared up just at the wrong moment, and is threatening to
set me on fire also.  These holes are quite full of water in the
winter, but now they contain just enough thin mud to come in over
the tops of my boots; so I do not like stepping into one every
moment.  We start numerous wild ducks and swamp-hens, and perhaps a
bittern or two, by these conflagrations.  On the whole, I like
burning the hill-sides better than the swamp--you get a more
satisfactory blaze with less trouble; but I sigh over these
degenerate days when the grass is kept short and a third part of a
run is burned regularly ever spring, and long for the good old times
of a dozen years ago, when the tussocks were six feet high.  What a
blaze they must have made!  The immediate results of our expeditions
are vast tracts of perfectly black and barren country, looking
desolate and hideous to a degree hardly to be imagined; but after
the first spring showers a beautiful tender green tint steals over
the bare hill-sides, and by and by they are a mass of delicious
young grass, and the especial favourite feeding-place of the ewes
and lambs.  The day after a good burn thousands of sea-gulls flock
to the black ground.  Where they spring from I cannot tell, as I
never see one at any other time, and their hoarse, incessant cry is
the first sign you have of their arrival.  They hover over the
ground, every moment darting down, for some insect.  They cannot
find much else but roasted lizards and, grasshoppers, for I have
never seen a caterpillar in New Zealand.

In the height of the burning season last month I had Alice S--- to
stay with me for two or three weeks, and to my great delight I found
our tastes about fires agreed exactly, and we both had the same
grievance--that we never were allowed to have half enough of it; so
we organized the most delightful expeditions together.  We used to
have a quiet old station-horse saddled, fasten the luncheon-basket
to the pommel with materials for a five o'clock tea, and start off
miles away to the back of the run, about three o'clock in the
afternoon, having previously bribed the shepherd to tell us where
the longest grass was to be found--and this he did very readily, as
our going saved him the trouble of a journey thither, and he was not
at all anxious for more work than he could help.  We used to ride
alternately, till we got to a deserted shepherd's hut in such a
lovely gully, quite at the far end of the run!  Here we tied up dear
quiet old Jack to the remnants of the fence, leaving him at liberty
to nibble a little grass.  We never took off the saddle  after the
first time, for upon that occasion we found that our united strength
was insufficient to girth it on again properly, and we made our
appearance at home in the most ignominious fashion--Alice leading
Jack, and I walking by his side holding the saddle _on_.  Whenever
we attempted to buckle the girths, this artful old screw swelled
himself out with such a long breath that it was impossible to pull
the strap to the proper hole; we could not even get it tight enough
to stay steady, without slipping under him at every step.  However,
this is a digression, and I must take you back to the scene of the
fire, and try to make you understand how delightful it was.  Alice
said that what made it so fascinating to her was a certain sense of
its being mischief, and a dim feeling that we might get into a
scrape.  I don't think I ever stopped to analyse my sensations;
fright was the only one I was conscious of, and yet I liked it so
much.  When after much consultation--in which I always deferred to
Alice's superior wisdom and experience--we determined on our line of
fire, we set to work vigorously, and the great thing was to see who
could make the finest blaze.  I used to feel very envious if my fire
got into a bare patch, where there were more rocks than tussocks,
and languished, whilst Alice's was roaring and rushing up a hill.
We always avoided burning where a grove of the pretty Ti-ti palms
grew; but sometimes there would be one or two on a hill-side growing
by themselves, and then it was most beautiful to see them burn.
Even before the flames reached them their long delicate leaves felt
the wind of the fire and shivered piteously; then the dry old ones
at the base of the stem caught the first spark like tinder, and in a
second the whole palm was in a blaze, making a sort of heart to the
furnace, as it had so much more substance than the grass.  For a
moment or two the poor palm would bend and sway, tossing its leaves
like fiery plumes in the air, and then it was reduced to a black
stump, and the fire swept on up the hill.

The worst of it all was that we never knew when to leave off and
come home.  We would pause for half an hour and boil our little
kettle, and have some tea and cake, and then go on again till quite
late, getting well scolded when we reached home at last dead-tired
and as black as little chimney-sweeps.  One evening F--- was away on
a visit of two nights to a distant friend, and Alice and I
determined on having splendid burns in his absence; so we made our
plans, and everything was favourable, wind and all.  We enjoyed
ourselves very much, but if Mr. U--- had not come out to look for us
at ten o'clock at night, and traced us by our blazing track, we
should have had to camp out, for we had no idea where we were, or
that we had wandered so many miles from home; nor had we any
intention of returning just yet.  We were very much ashamed of
ourselves upon that occasion, and took care to soften the story
considerably before it reached F---'s ears the next day.

However much I may rejoice at nor'-westers in the early spring as
aids to burning the run, I find them a great hindrance to my
attempts at a lawn.  Twice have we had the ground carefully dug up
and prepared; twice has it been sown with the best English seed for
the purpose, at some considerable expense; then has come much toil
on the part of F--- and Mr. U--- with a heavy garden-roller; and the
end of all the trouble has been that a strong nor'-wester has blown
both seed and soil away, leaving only the hard un-dug (I wonder
whether there is such a word) ground.  I could scarcely believe that
it really was all "clean gone," as children say, until a month or
two after the first venture, when I had been straining my eyes and
exercising my imagination all in vain to discover a blade where it
ought to have been, but had remarked in one of my walks an irregular
patch of nice English grass about half a mile from the house down
the flat.  I speculated for some time as to how it got there, and at
last F--- was roused from his reverie, and said coolly, "Oh, that's
your lawn!"  When this happens twice, it really becomes very
aggravating: there are the croquet things lying idle in the verandah
year after year, and, as far as I can see, they are likely to remain
unused for ever.

Before I close my letter I must tell you of an adventure I have had
with a wild boar, which was really dangerous.  F--- and another
gentleman were riding with me one afternoon in a very lonely gully
at the back of the run, when the dogs (who always accompany us) put
up a large, fierce, black, boar out of some thick flax-bushes.  Of
course the hunting instinct, which all young Englishmen possess, was
in full force instantly; and in default of any weapon these two
jumped off their horses and picked up, out of the creek close by,
the largest and heaviest stones they could lift.  I disapproved of
the chase under the circumstances, but my timid remonstrances were
not even heard.  The light riding-whips which each gentleman carried
were hastily given to me to hold, and in addition F--- thrust an
enormous boulder into my lap, saying, "Now, this is to be my second
gun; so keep close to me."  Imagine poor me, therefore, with all
three whips tucked under my left arm, whilst with my right I tried
to keep the big stone on my knee, Miss Helen all the time capering
about, as she always does when there is any excitement; and I
feeling very unequal to holding her back from joining in the chase
too ardently, for she always likes to be first everywhere, which is
not at all my "sentiments."  The ground was as rough as possible;
the creek winding about necessitated a good jump every few yards;
and the grass was so long and thick that it was difficult to get
through it, or to see any blind creeks or other pitfalls. _Mem_.
to burn this next spring.

The pig first turned to bay against a palm-tree, and soon disabled
the dogs.  You cannot think what a formidable weapon a wild boar's
tusk is--the least touch of it cuts like a razor; and they are so
swift in their jerks of the head when at bay that in a second they
will rip up both dogs and horses: nor are they the least afraid of
attacking a man on foot in self-defence; but they seldom or ever
strike the first blow.  As soon as he had disposed of both the dogs,
who lay howling piteously and bleeding on the ground, the boar made
at full speed for the spur of a hill close by.  The pace was too
good to last, especially up-hill; so the gentlemen soon caught him
up, and flung their stones at him, but they dared not bring their
valuable horses too near for fear of a wound which probably would
have lamed them for life; and a heavy, rock or stone is a very
unmanageable weapon.  I was not therefore at all surprised to see
that both shots missed, or only very slightly grazed the pig; but
what I confess to being perfectly unprepared for was the boar
charging violently down-hill on poor unoffending me, with his head
on one side ready for the fatal backward jerk, champing and foaming
as he came, with what Mr. Weller would call his "vicked old eye"
twinkling with rage.  Helen could not realize the situation at all.
I tried to turn her, and so get out of the infuriated brute's way;
but no, she would press on to meet him and join the other horses at
the top of the hill.  I had very little control over her, for I was
so laden with whips and stones that my hands were useless for the
reins.  I knew I was in great danger, but at the moment I could only
think of my poor pretty mare lamed for life, or even perhaps killed
on the spot.  I heard one wild shout of warning from above, and I
knew the others were galloping to my rescue; but in certainly less
than half a minute from the time the boar turned, he had reached me.
I slipped the reins over my left elbow, so as to leave my hands
free, took my whip in my teeth (I had to drop the others), and
lifting the heavy stone with both my hands waited a second till the
boar was near enough, leaning well over on the right-hand side of
the saddle so as to see what he did.  He made for poor Helen's near
fore-leg with his head well down, and I could hear his teeth
gnashing.  Just as he touched her with a prick from his tusk like a
stiletto and before he could jerk his head back so as to rip the leg
up, I flung my small rock with all the strength I possessed crash on
his head: but I could not take a good aim; for the moment Helen felt
the stab, she reared straight up on her hind-legs, and as we were
going up-hill, I had some trouble to keep myself from slipping off
over her tail.  However, my rock took some effect, for the pig was
so stunned that he dropped on his knees, and before he could recover
himself Helen had turned round, still on her hind-legs, as on a
pivot, and was plunging and jumping madly down the hill.  I could
not get back properly into my saddle, nor could I arrange the reins;
so I had to stick on anyhow.  It was not a case of fine riding at
all; I merely clung like a monkey, and F---, who was coming as fast
as he could to me, said he expected to see me on the ground every
moment; but, however, I did not come off upon that occasion.  Helen
was nearly beside herself with terror.  I tried to pat her neck and
soothe her, but the moment she felt my hand she bounded as if I had
struck her, and shivered so much that I thought she must be injured;
so the moment F--- could get near her I begged him to look at her
fetlock.  He led her down to the creek, and washed the place, and
examined it carefully, pronouncing, to my great joy, that the tusk
had hardly gone in at all--in fact had merely pricked her--and that
she was not in the least hurt.  I could hardly get the gentlemen to
go to the assistance of the poor dogs, one of which was very much
hurt.  Both F--- and Mr. B--- evidently thought I must have been
"kilt intirely," for my situation looked so critical at one moment
that they could scarcely be persuaded that neither Helen nor I were
in the least hurt.  I coaxed F--- that evening to write me a
doggerel version of the story for the little boys, which I send you
to show them:-

          St. Anne and the pig.
     You've heard of St. George and the dragon,
          Or seen them; and what can be finer,
     In silver or gold on a flagon,
     With Garrard or Hancock designer?

     Though we know very little about him
          (Saints mostly are shrouded in mystery),
     Britannia can't well do without him,
          He sets off her shillings and history.

     And from truth let such tales be defended,
          Bards at least should bestow them their blessing,
     As a rich sort of jewel suspended
          On History when she's done dressing.

     Some would have her downstairs to the present,
          In plain facts fresh from critical mangle;
     But let the nymph make herself pleasant,
          Here a bracelet, and there with a bangle

     Such as Bold Robin Hood or Red Riding,
          Who peasant and prince have delighted,
     Despite of all social dividing,
          And the times of their childhood united.

     Shall New Zealand have never a fable,
          A rhyme to be sung by the nurses,
     A romance of a famous Round Table,
          A "Death of Cock Robin" in verses?

     Or shall not a scribe be found gracious
          With pen and with parchment, inditing
     And setting a-sail down the spacious
          Deep day stream some suitable writing;

     Some action, some name so heroic
          That its sound shall be death to her foemen,
     And make her militia as stoic
          As St. George made the Cressy crossbowmen;

     A royal device for her banners,
          A reverse for her coinage as splendid,
     An example of primitive manners
          When all their simplicity's ended?

     Here it is, ye isles Antipodean!
          Leave Britain her great Cappadocian;
     I'll chant you a latter-day paean,
          And sing you a saint for devotion,

     Who on horseback slew also a monster,
          Though armed with no sharp lance to stab it,
     Though no helmet or hauberk ensconced her,
          But only a hat and a habit.

     This dame, for her bravery sainted,
          Set up for all times' adoration,
     With her picture in poetry painted,
          Was a lady who lived on a station.

     Her days--to proceed with the story
          In duties domestic dividing,
     But, or else she had never won glory,
          She now and then went out a-riding.
     It chanced, with two knights at her stirrup,
          She swept o'er the grass of the valleys,
     Heard the brooks run; and heard the birds chirrup,
          When a boar from the flax-bushes sallies.

     The cavaliers leaped from their horses;
          As for weapons, that day neither bore them;
     So they chose from the swift watercourses
          Heavy boulders, and held them before them.

     They gave one as well to the lady:
          She took it, and placed it undaunted
     On the pommel, and balanced it steady,
          While they searched where the animal haunted.

     A bowshot beyond her were riding
          The knights, each alert with his missile,
     But in doubt where the pig went a-hiding,
          For they had not kept sight of his bristle.

     When--the tale needs but little enlarging
          One turned round by chance on his courser;
     To his horror, the monster was charging
          At the lady, as if to unhorse her.

     But his fears for her safety were idle,
          No heart of a hero beat stouter:
     She poised the stone, gathered her bridle--
          A halo, 'tis said, shone about her.

     With his jaws all extended and horrid,
          Fierce and foaming, the brute leapt to gore her,
     When she dropped the rock full on his forehead,
          And lo! he fell dying before her.

     There he lay, bristling, tusky, and savage;
          Such a mouth, as was long ago written;
     Made Calydon lonely with ravage,
          By such teeth young Adonis was bitten.

     Then praise to our new Atalanta,
          Of the chase and of song spoils be brought her,
     Whose skill and whose strength did not want a
          Meleager to finish the slaughter.

     She is sung, and New Zealand shall take her,
          Thrice blest to possess such a matron,
     And give thanks to its first ballad-maker,
          Who found it a saint for a patron.



Letter XXIII: Concerning a great flood.


Broomielaw, February 1868.
Since I last wrote to you we have been nearly washed away, by all
the creeks and rivers in the country overflowing their banks!
Christchurch particularly was in great danger from the chance of
the Waimakiriri returning to its old channel, in which case it
would sweep away the town.  For several hours half the streets were
under water, the people going about in boats, and the Avon was
spread out like a lake over its banks for miles.  The weather had
been unusually sultry for some weeks, and during the last five days
the heat had been far greater, even in the hills, than anyone could
remember.  It is often very hot indeed during the mid-day hours in
summer, but a hot night is almost unknown; and, at the elevation we
live, there are few evenings in the year when a wood-fire is not
acceptable after sunset; as for a blanket at night, that is seldom
left off even in the plains, and is certainly necessary in the
hills.  Every one was anxiously looking for rain, as the grass was
getting very dry and the creeks low, and people were beginning to
talk of an Australian summer and to prophesy dismal things of a
drought.  On a Sunday night about eleven o'clock we were all
sauntering about out of doors, finding it too hot to remain in the
verandah; it was useless to think of going to bed; and F--- and Mr.
U--- agreed that some great change in the weather was near.  There
was a strange stillness and oppression in the air; the very animals
had not gone to sleep, but all seemed as restless and wakeful as we
were.  I remember we discussed the probability of a severe
earthquake, for the recent wave at St. Thomas's was in everybody's
mind.  F--- and I had spent a few days in Christchurch the week
before.  There was a regular low-fever epidemic there, and, he had
returned to the station feeling very unwell; but in this country
illness is so rare that one almost forgets that such a thing
exists, and we both attributed his seediness to the extraordinary
heat.

When we were out of doors that Sunday evening, we noticed immense
banks and masses of clouds, but they were not in the quarter from
whence our usual heavy rain comes; and besides, in New Zealand
clouds are more frequently a sign of high wind than of rain.
However, about midnight F--- felt so ill that he went in to bed,
and we had scarcely got under shelter when, after a very few
premonitory drops, the rain came down literally in sheets.  Almost
from the first F--- spoke of the peculiar and different sound on
the roof, but as he had a great deal of fever that night, I was too
anxious to notice anything but the welcome fact that the rain had
come at last, and too glad to hear it to be critical about the
sound it made in falling.  I came out to breakfast alone, leaving
F--- still ill, but the fever going off.  The atmosphere was much
lightened, but the rain seemed like a solid wall of water falling
fast and furiously; the noise on the wooden roof was so great that
we had to shout to each other to make ourselves heard; and when I
looked out I was astonished to see the dimensions to which the
ponds had.  swollen.  Down all the hill-sides new creeks and
waterfalls had sprung into existence during the night.  As soon as
I had taken F--- his tea and settled down comfortably to breakfast,
I noticed that instead of Mr. U--- looking the picture of bright
good-humour, he wore a troubled and anxious countenance.  I
immediately inquired if he had been out of doors that morning?
Yes, he had been to look at the horses in the stable.  Well, I did
not feel much interest in them, for they were big enough to take
care of themselves: so I proceeded to ask if he had chanced to see
anything of my fifty young ducks or my numerous broods of chickens.
Upon this question Mr. U--- looked still more unhappy and tried to
turn the conversation, but my suspicions were aroused and I
persisted; so at last he broke to me, with much precaution, that I
was absolutely without a duckling or a chicken in the world!  They
had been drowned in the night, and nothing was to be seen but
countless draggled little corpses, what Mr. Mantilini called "moist
unpleasant bodies," floating on the pond or whirling in the eddies
of the creek.  That was not even the worst.  Every one of my
sitting hens was drowned also, their nests washed away; so were the
half-dozen beautiful ducks, with some twelve or fourteen eggs under
each.  I felt angry with the ducks, and thought they might have at
any rate saved their own lives; but nothing could alter the
melancholy returns of the missing and dead.  My poultry-yard was,
for all practical purposes, annihilated, just as it was at its
greatest perfection and the pride and joy of my heart.  All that
day the rain descended steadily in torrents; there was not the
slightest break or variation in the downpour: it was as heavy as
that of the Jamaica _seasons_ of May and October.  F---'s fever
left him at the end of twelve hours, and he got up and came into
the drawing-room; his first glance out of the window, which
commanded a view of the flat for two or three miles, showed him how
much the waters had risen since midnight; and he said that in all
the years he had known those particular creeks he had never seen
them so high: still I thought nothing of it.  There was no
cessation in the rain for exactly twenty-four hours; but at
midnight on Monday, just as poor F--- was getting another attack of
fever, it changed into heavy, broken showers, with little pauses of
fine drizzle between, and by morning it showed signs of clearing,
but continued at intervals till midday.  The effect was
extraordinary, considering the comparatively short time the real
downpour had lasted.  The whole flat was under water, the creeks
were flooded beyond their banks for half a mile or so on each side,
and the river Selwyn, which ran under some hills, bounding our
view, was spread out, forming an enormous lake.  A very conspicuous
object on these opposite hills, which are between three and four
miles distant, was a bold cliff known by the name of the "White
Rocks," and serving as a landmark to all the countryside: we could
hardly believe our eyes when we missed the most prominent of these
and could see only a great bare rent in the mountain.  The house
was quite surrounded by water and stood on a small island; it was
impossible even to wade for more than a few yards beyond the dry
ground, for the water became quite deep and the current was running
fast.  F---'s fever lasted its twelve hours; but I began to be
fidgety at the state of prostration it left him in, and when
Tuesday night brought a third and sharper attack, I determined to
make him go to town and see a doctor during his next interval of
freedom from it.

Wednesday morning was bright and sunny, but the waters had not much
diminished: however, we knew every hour must lessen them, and I
only waited for F---'s paroxysm of fever to subside about mid-day
to send him off to Christchurch.  I had exhausted my simple
remedies, consisting of a spoonful of sweet spirits of nitre and a
little weak brandy and water and did not think it right to let
things go on in this way without advice: he was so weak he could
hardly mount his horse; indeed he had to be fairly lifted on the
old quiet station hack I have before mentioned with such deep
affection, dear old Jack.  It was impossible for him to go alone;
so the ever-kind and considerate Mr. U--- offered to accompany him.
This was the greatest comfort to me, though I and my two maids
would be left all alone during their absence: however, that was
much better than poor F--- going by himself in his weak state.  Six
hours of sunshine had greatly abated the floods, and as far as we
could see the water was quite shallow now where it had overflowed.
I saw them set off therefore with a good hope of their
accomplishing the journey safely.  Judge of my astonishment and
horror when, on going to see what the dogs were barking at, about
two hours later, I beheld F--- and Mr. U--- at the garden gate,
dripping wet up to their shoulders, but laughing very much.  Of
course I immediately thought of F---'s fever, and made him come in
and change; and have some hot tea directly; but he would not go to
bed as I suggested, declaring that the shock of his unexpected cold
bath, and the excitement of a swim for his life, had done him all
the good in the world; and I may tell you at once; that it had
completely cured him: he ate well that evening, slept well, and had
no return of his fever, regaining his strength completely in a few
days.  So much for kill-or-cure remedies!

It seems that as soon as they neared the first creek, with very
high banks, about a mile from the house, the water came up to the
horses' fetlocks, then to their knees, but still it was impossible
to tell exactly where the creek began, or rather, where its bank
ended; they went very cautiously, steering as well as they could
for where they imagined the cutting in the steep bank to be; but I
suppose they did not hit it off exactly, for suddenly they went
plump into deep water and found themselves whirling along like
straws down a tremendous current.  Jack was, however, quite equal
to the occasion; he never allows himself to be flurried or put out
by anything, and has, I imagine, been in nearly every difficulty
incident to New Zealand travelling.  Instead, therefore, of losing
his head as Helen did (Mr. U--- was riding her), and striking out
wildly with her forelegs to the great danger of the other horse,
Jack took it all as a matter of course, and set himself to swim
steadily down the stream, avoiding the eddies as much as possible:
he knew every yard of the bank, and did not therefore waste his
strength by trying to land in impossible places, but kept a
watchful eye for the easiest spot.  F--- knew the old horse so well
that he let him have his head and guide himself, only trying to
avoid Helen's forelegs, which were often unpleasantly near; his
only fear was lest they should have to go so far before a landing
was possible that poor old Jack's strength might not hold out, for
there is nothing so fatiguing to a horse as swimming in a strong
current with a rider on his back, especially a heavy man.  They
were swept down for a long distance, though it was impossible to
guess exactly how far they had gone, and F--- was getting very
uneasy about a certain wire fence which had been carried across the
creek; they were rapidly approaching it, and the danger was that
the horses might suddenly find themselves entangled in it, in which
case the riders would very likely have been drowned.  F--- called
to Mr. U---to get his feet free from the stirrups and loosened his
own; but he told me he was afraid lest Mr. U--- should not hear him
above the roaring of the water, and so perhaps be dragged under
water when the fence was reached.  However, Jack, knew all about
it, and was not going to be drowned ignominiously in a creek which
would not have wet his hoofs to cross three days before.  A few
yards from the fence he made one rush and a bound towards what
seemed only a clump of Tohi bushes, but they broke the force of the
current and gave him the chance he wanted, and he struggled up the
high crumbling bank more like a cat than a steady old screw.  Helen
would not be left behind, and, with a good spur from Mr. U---, she
followed Jack's example, and they stood dripping and shivering in
shallow water.  Both the horses were so _done_ that F--- and Mr. U-
-- had to jump off instantly and loose the girths, turning them
with their nostrils to the wind.  It was a very narrow escape, and
the disagreeable part of it was that they had scrambled out on the
wrong side of the creek and had to recross it to get home: however,
they rode on to the next stream, which looked so much more swollen
and angry, that they gave up the idea of going on to Christchurch
that night, especially as they were wet through to their chins, for
both horses swam very low in the water, with only their heads to be
seen above it.

The next thing to be considered was how to get back to the house.
It never would do to risk taking the horses into danger again when
they were so exhausted; so they rode round by the homestead,
crossed the creek higher up, where it was much wider but
comparatively shallow (if anything could be called shallow just
now), and came home over the hills.  Good old Jack had an extra
feed of oats that evening, a reward to which he is by no means
insensible; and indeed it probably is the only one he cares for.

The Fates had determined, apparently, that I also should come in
for my share of watery adventures, for we had an engagement of
rather long standing to ride across the hills, and visit a friend's
station about twelve miles distant, and the day we had promised to
go was rather more than a week after F---'s attempted journey.  In
the meantime, the waters had of course gone down considerably, and
there was quite an excitement in riding and walking about our own
run, and seeing the changes the flood had made, and the mischief it
had done to the fencing;--this was in process of being repaired.
We lost very few sheep; they were all up at the tops of the high
hills, their favourite summer pasture.

I think I have told you that between us and Christchurch there is
but one river, a most peaceable and orderly stream, a perfect
pattern to the eccentric New Zealand rivers, which are so
changeable and restless.  Upon this occasion, however, the Selwyn
behaved quite as badly as any of its fellows; it was not only
flooded for miles, carrying away quantities of fencing near its
banks, and drowning confiding sheep suddenly, but at one spot about
four miles from us, just under the White Rocks, it came down
suddenly, like what Miss Ingelow calls "a mighty eygre," and
deserted its old timeworn bed for two new ones: and the worst of
the story is that it has taken a fancy to our road, swept away a
good deal of it, breaking a course for itself in quite a different
place; so now, instead of one nice, wide, generally shallow river
to cross, about which there never has been an evil report, we have
two horrid mountain torrents of which we know nothing: no one has
been in yet to try their depth, or to find out the best place at
which to ford them, and it unfortunately happened that F--- and I
were the pioneers.  When we came to the first new channel, F---
with much care picked out what seemed the best place, and though it
was a most disagreeable bit of water to go through, still we
managed it all right; but when we came to the next curve, it was
far worse.  Here the river took a sharp turn, and came tearing
round a corner, the colour and consistency of pea-soup, and making
such a noise we could hardly hear ourselves speak standing close
together on the bank; once in the stream, of course it would be
hopeless to try to catch a word.  I am ashamed to say that my fixed
idea was to turn back, and this I proposed without hesitation; but
F--- has the greatest dislike to retracing his steps, and is
disagreeably like Excelsior in this respect; so he merely looked
astonished at my want of spirit, and proceeded very calmly to give
me my directions, and the more he impressed the necessity of
coolness and caution upon me, the more I quaked.  He was to go over
first, alone; I was to follow, having first tucked my habit well up
under my arm, and taken care that I was quite free so as not to be
entangled in any way _if_ Helen should be swept away, or if a
boulder should come down with the stream, and knock her feet from
under her: I was not to be at all frightened (!), and I was to keep
my eyes fixed on him, and guide Helen's head exactly by the motion
of his hand.  He plunged into the water as soon as he had issued
these encouraging directions; I saw him floundering in and out of
several deep holes, and presently he got safe to land, dripping
wet; then he dismounted, tied Leo to a flax bush, and took off his
coat and big riding-boots,--I thought, very naturally to dry them,
but I should have been still more alarmed, if possible, had I known
that this was to prepare to be ready to swim to my help in case of
danger.  As it was, my only hope was that Helen might not like the
look of the angry flood, and would refuse to go in;--how I should
have blessed her for such obstinacy!--but no, she was eager to
rejoin her stable companion, and plunged in without hesitation.  I
found it much worse even than I dreaded; the water felt so
resistless, as if it _must_ sweep me right out of the saddle; I
should like to have clutched Helen's mane or anything to have kept
me on, but both hands were wanted to hold the reins quite low down,
one on each side of her withers, so as to guide her exactly
according to F---'s pilot-hand on the opposite bank: steering
implicitly by this I escaped the holes and rocks which he had come
against, and got over safely, but trembling, and with chattering
teeth.  F---said, quite disdainfully, "You don't mean to say you're
really frightened?" So then I scolded him, rather incoherently, and
demanded to be praised for coming at all!  I wrung my habit out as
well as I could, F--- poured the water out of his boots, and we
proceeded, first over a plain, and then to climb a high steep hill.
I wonder if you have any idea how disagreeable and dangerous it is
to go zigzag up the side of a mountain after such rain as we have
had.  The soil was just like soap, nothing for the horses' hoofs to
take hold of, not a pebble or a tuft of grass; all had been washed
away, and only the slippery clay remained.  As usual, F--- went
first and I followed, taking care not to keep below him, lest he
and Leo should come "slithering" (that is the only word for it)
down upon me; but, alas, it was Helen and I who slithered!  Poor
dear, all her legs seemed to fly from under her at once, and she
came down on her side and on my legs.  I felt the leaping-crutch
snap, and found my left shoulder against the ground; I let go the
reins, and thought we had better part company, but found I could
not move for her weight; _she_ struggled to get up, and we both
slipped down, down--down: there was no reason why we should not
have gone on to the bottom of the hill, when a friendly tussock
afforded her an instant's resting-place for her hind hoofs, and she
scrambled to her feet like a cat.  I found myself still on her
back; so I picked up my reins and tried to pretend that I had never
thought of getting off.  F--- dared not stir from his "bad
eminence;" so Helen and I wended our slippery way up to him, and in
answer to his horrified "Where is your habit?"  I found I was torn
to ribbons; in fact, my skirt was little more than a kilt, and a
very short one too!  What was to be done?  We were only three or
four miles from our destination, so we pushed on, and at the last I
lingered behind, and made F--- go first and borrow a cloak or
shawl.  You would have laughed if you had heard my pathetic
adjurations to him to be sure to bring it by himself.  I was so
afraid that some one else would politely insist on accompanying
him.  But it was all right, though even with this assistance it was
very difficult to arrange matters so as to be tolerably
respectable.  My hostess was shocked at my tattered, wet plight,
and dried me, and dressed me up till I was quite smart, and then we
had a very pleasant day, and, best of all, came home by a different
road, so as to avoid the slippery descent and the rivers in the
dark; but I still mourn for my habit!-it was my last.  Three have
disappeared, owing to unfortunate accidents, this year, and now I
am reduced to what can be contrived out of a linsey dress.

Letter XXIV: My only fall from horseback.


Broomielaw, June 1868.
The autumn has passed away so quickly that I can hardly believe the
winter has reached us so soon--the last winter we shall spend in
New Zealand.  I should like to have been able to boast, on my
return to England, that in three years' constant riding, on all
sorts of horses, good, bad, and indifferent, and over abominable
roads, I had escaped a fall; but not only have I had a very severe
one, but it was from my own favourite Helen, which is very trying
to reflect upon.  However, it was not in the least her fault, or
mine either; so she and I are still perfectly good friends.

We had been spending two days up at Lake Coleridge, as a sort of
farewell visit, and on our way down again to Rockwood, a distance
of about twenty miles, we stopped to lunch, by invitation, at a
station midway.  There was so much to be seen at this place that we
loitered much longer than was prudent in the short days, and by the
time we had thoroughly inspected a beautiful new wool-shed with all
the latest improvements (from which F--- could hardly tear himself
away), the fish-ponds elaborately arranged for the reception of the
young trout expected from Tasmania and the charming garden well
sheltered by a grove of large wattle-trees, it was growing dusk,
and we prepared to push on as fast as possible; for nothing is more
disagreeable than being caught in the dark on a New Zealand track,
with its creeks and swamps and wire fences: the last are the most
dangerous obstacles, if you get off the track, or if the gate
through the fence has been placed for convenience a few yards on
one side of it; the horses cannot see the slender wires in the
dark, and so fall over them, injuring themselves and their riders
most seriously sometimes.  Having still about eight miles to go, we
were galloping gaily over a wide open plain, our only anxiety
arising from the fast failing daylight; but the horses were still
quite fresh, and, as the French idiom would have it, devoured the
ground at a fine pace; when, in an instant, the ground appeared to
rise up to meet me, and I found myself dragged along on the extreme
point of my right shoulder, still grasping both reins and whip.  I
was almost under the feet of the other horse, and I saw Helen's
heels describing frantic circles in the air.  F--- shouted to me to
let go, which it had never occurred to me to do previously.  I did
so, and jumped up instantly, feeling quite unhurt, and rather
relieved to find that a fall was not so dreadful after all.  I then
saw the cause of the accident: the handle of a little travelling-
bag which had been hung over the pommel of my saddle had slipped
over the slight projection, and as it was still further secured by
a strap through the girth, it was dangling under poor Helen, whose
frantic bounds and leaps only increased the liveliness of her
tormentor.  I never saw such bucks and jumps high into the air as
she performed receiving a severe blow from the bag at each; it was
impossible to help laughing, though I did not see how it was all to
end.  She would not allow F--- to approach her, and was perfectly
mad with terror.  At last the girths gave way, and the saddle came
off, with the bag still fastened to it; the moment she found
herself free, she trotted up to me in the most engaging manner, and
stood rubbing her nose against my arm, though she was still
trembling all over, and covered with foam.

By this time I had made the discovery that I could not raise my
right arm; but still a careful investigation did not tell me it was
broken, for it gave me no pain to touch anywhere, except a very
little just on the point of the shoulder.  F--- now went to pick up
the saddle and the reins; it was difficult to find these latter in
the fast gathering darkness and I held his horse for him.  To my
horror I found after standing for a moment or two, that I was going
to faint; I could not utter a word; I knew that if my fast-relaxing
fingers let go their hold of the bridle the horse would set off
towards home at a gallop, Helen would assuredly follow him, and we
should be left eight miles from the nearest shelter to find our way
to it, with a deep creek to cross.  F--- was fifty yards off, with
his back to me, searching for some indispensable buckle; so there
was no help to be got from him at the moment.  I exerted every atom
of my remaining strength to slip the bridle over my left arm, which
I pressed against my waist; then I sat down as quietly as I could,
not to alarm the horse, bent forward so as to keep my left arm
under me lest the bridle should slip off, and fainted away in great
peace and comfort.  The cold was becoming so intense that it soon
revived me, and F---, suspecting something was wrong, came to
relieve me of the care of the horse, and contrived to get the
girths repaired with the ever-ready flax, and the bag secured in a
very short time.  But when it came to mounting again, that was not
so easy: every time I tried to spring, something jarred horribly in
the socket where the arm fits into the shoulder, and the pain was
so great that I had to lie down on the ground.  It was now nearly
seven o'clock, quite dark, and freezing hard; we were most anxious
to get on, and yet what was to be done?  I could not mount,
apparently, and there was no stone or bank to stand on and get up
by for an immense way.  At last F--- put me up by sheer strength.
I found myself so deadly sick and faint when I was fairly in the
saddle that it was some time before I could allow Helen to move;
and never shall I forget the torture of her first step, for my
shoulder was now stiffening in a most unpleasant way.  F--- said it
would be easier to canter; so we set off at full speed, and the
cold air against my face kept me from fainting as we went along,
though I fully expected to fall off every moment; if Helen had
shied, or stumbled, or even capered a little, I should have been on
the ground again.  In my torture and despair, I proposed to be left
behind, and for F--- to ride on and get help; but he would not hear
of this, declaring that I should die of cold before he could get
back with a cart, and that it was very doubtful if he should find
me again on the vast plain, with nothing to guide him, and in the
midnight darkness.  Whenever we came to a little creek which we
were obliged to jump, Helen's safe arrival on the opposite bank was
announced by a loud yell from me, caused by agony hardly to be
described.  The cold appeared to get _into_ the broken joint, and
make it so much worse.

At last we reached Rockwood, and never was its friendly shelter
more welcome.  Everything that could be thought of was done to
alleviate my sufferings; but I resembled Punch with his head on one
side, for I had a well-defined and gigantic hump on my back, and my
shoulder was swollen up to my ear.  The habit-body was unpicked, as
it was impossible to get it off any other way.  Of course, the
night was one of great agony; but I thought often, as I paced the
room, how much better it was to have a blazing fire to cheer me up,
and some delicious tea to put my lips to "when so dispoged" (like
the immortal Mrs. Gamp), than to be lying on the open plain in a
hard frost, wondering when F--- and his cart would arrive.

The next day we returned home, much against our host's wish; and I
walked all the way, some six miles of mountain road, for I could
not bear the idea of riding.  F--- led the horses, and we arrived
quite safely.  His first idea was to take me down to a doctor, but
the motion of driving was greater agony than riding, as the road
was rough; so after the first mile, I entreated to be taken back,
and we turned the horses' heads towards home again; and when we
reached it, I got out all my little books on surgery, medicine,
etc., and from them made out how to set my shoulder in some sort of
fashion, with F---'s help.  Of course it is still useless to me,
but I think it is mending itself; and after a week I could do
everything with my left hand, even to writing, after a fashion.
The only thing I could _not_ do was to arrange my hair, or even to
brush it; and though F--- was "willing," he was so exceedingly
awkward, that at last, after going through great anguish and having
it pulled out by handfuls, I got him to cut it off, and it is now
cropped like a small boy's.  He cuts up my dinner, etc. for me; but
it is a very trying process, and I don't wonder at children often
leaving the nasty cold mess half eaten.  I shall be very glad to be
able to use my own knife again.




Letter XXV: How We lost our horses and had to walk home.


Broomielaw, November 1868.
This will actually be my last letter from the Malvern Hills; and,
in spite of the joy I feel at the hope of seeing all my beloved
ones in England, I am _so_ sorry to leave my dear little happy
valley.  We have done nothing but pay farewell visits lately; and I
turn for a final look at each station or cottage as we ride away
with a great tightness at my heart, and moisture in my eyes, to
think I shall never see them again.  You must not be jealous at the
lingering regrets I feel, for unless you had been with me here you
can never understand how kind and friendly all our neighbours, high
and low, have been to us from the very first, or how dearly I have
grown to love them.  I don't at all know how I am to say good-bye
to my dear Mrs. M---, the shepherd's wife I told you of.  I believe
she will miss me more than any one; and I cannot bear to think of
her left to pass her days without the help of books and papers,
which I was always  so glad to lend her.  I often walk down the
valley to take tea with her of an afternoon and to say good-bye,
but I have not said it yet.  I wish you could see her parlour as I
saw it yesterday afternoon--her books in a bookcase of her
husband's manufacture, very nice and pretty; her spinning-wheel in
the comer; the large "beau-pot" of flowers in the window; and such
a tea on the table!--cream like clots of gold, scones, oat-cakes,
all sorts of delicacies!  She herself is quite charming--one of
Nature's ladies.  I have given her, as a parting gift, a couple of
Scotch views framed; and they hang on the wall as a memento of
places equally dear to both of us.

It is a sorrow to me to leave the horses and dogs and my pet calves
and poultry; even the trees and creepers I go round to look at,
with the melancholy feeling of other owners not loving them so much
as I have done.  However, I must not make my last letter too
dismal, or you will feel that I am not glad enough to return to you
all.  My only apology is, I have been so _very_ happy here.

Now for our latest adventure, as absurd as any, in its way.  Have I
ever told you that our post-office is ten miles off, with an
atrocious road between us and it?  I know you will throw down this
letter and feel rather disgusted with me for being sorry to leave
such a place, but we don't mind trifles here.  Lately, since our
own establishment has been broken up, we have been living in great
discomfort; and among other things we generally, if not always,
have to go for our own letters twice a week.  Upon this occasion F-
-- and I had ridden together up the gorge of the Selwyn rather late
in the afternoon, to avoid the extreme heat of the day.  When we
reached the shepherd's hut I have before mentioned, and which is
now deserted, I proposed to F--- to go on over the hills alone and
leave me there, as I was very hot and tired, and he could travel
much quicker without me--for I am ashamed to say that I still
object to riding fast up and down slippery hills.  I cannot get rid
of the idea that I shall break my neck if I attempt it, whereas F--
- goes on over the worst road just as if it was perfectly level.
Excuse this digression, for it is a relief to me to be a little
spiteful about his pace whenever I have an opportunity, and it will
probably be my last chance of expressing my entire disapproval of
it.

Helen was tied up to a post, and F---, after helping me to
dismount, set off at a canter over the adjoining swamp on his way
to cross the chain of hills between the river and the flat where
the great coach-road to the West Coast runs.  I had brought the
ingredients for my five o'clock tea (without which I am always a
lost and miserable creature), and I amused myself, during my
solitude, by picking up dry bits of scrub for my fire; but I had to
go down the river-bank for some driftwood to make the old kettle,
belonging to the hut, boil.  I could not help wondering how any
human being could endure such  solitude for years, as the occupant
of a hut like this is necessarily condemned to.  In itself it was
as snug and comfortable as possible, with a little paddock for the
shepherd's horse, an acre or so of garden, now overgrown with
self-sown potatoes, peas, strawberry, raspberry, and gooseberry
plants, the little thatched fowl-house near, and the dog-kennels;
all giving it a thoroughly home-like look.  The hoarse roar of the
river over its rocky bed was the only sound; now and then a flock
of wild ducks would come flying down to their roosting-place or
nests among the Tohi grass; and as the evening closed in the
melancholy cry of the bittern and the weka's loud call broke the
stillness, but only to make it appear more profound.  On each side
of the ravine in which the hut stands rise lofty hills so steeply
from the water's edge that in places we can find no footing for our
horses, and have to ride in the river.  At this time of the year
the sheep are all upon the hills; so you do not hear even a bleat:
but in winter, they come down to the sunny, sheltered flats.

It appeared to me as if I was alone there for hours, though it
really was less than one hour, when F--- returned with a large
bundle of letters and papers tied to his saddle-bow.  Tea was quite
ready now; so he tied up his horse next Helen, and we had tea and
looked at our letters.  One of the first I opened told me that some
friends from Christchurch, whom I expected to pay us a visit soon,
were on their way up that very day, and in fact might be expected
to arrive just about that hour.  I was filled with blank dismay,
for not only did the party consist of three grown-up people--nay,
four--but three little children.  I had made elaborate plans in my
head as to how and where they should all be stowed away for a
fortnight, but had naturally deferred till the last moment to carry
out my arrangements, for they entailed giving up our own bedroom,
and "camping" in the dining-room, besides wonderful substitutes of
big packing-cases for cribs, etc. etc.  But, alas! here we were
eight miles from home and nothing done, not even any extra food
ordered or prepared.  The obvious thing was to mount our horses and
return as fast as ever we could, and we hastened out of the hut to
the spot where we had left them both securely tied to the only
available post, through which unfortunately five wires ran, as it
was one of the "standards" of a fence which extended for miles.
Just as we came out of the hut in a great bustle, our evil destiny
induced F---'s horse to rub its nose against the top wire of the
fence; and in this process it caught the bar of its snaffle-bit,
and immediately pulled back: this made all the wires jingle.  Helen
instantly took alarm, and pulled back too: fresh and increased
vibration, extending up the hill-side and echoing back an appalling
sound, was the result of this movement.  In an instant there were
both the horses pulling with all their force against the fence,
terrified to death; and no wonder, for the more they pulled the
more the wires jingled.  F--- did all he could to soothe them with
blandishments.  I tried to coax Helen, but the nearer we drew the
more frantically they backed and plunged, and the more the noise
increased--till it was a case of "one struggle more and I am free;"
and leaving their bridles still fastened to the fatal fence by the
reins, we had the satisfaction of seeing both our horses careering
wildly about--first celebrating their escape from danger by joyous
and frantic bounds and kicks, and then setting off down the gorge
of the river as hard as they could go.  I fairly sat down and
whimpered a little, not only at the thought of our eight miles'
walk over shingle with a deep river to be crossed nine times, but
at the idea of my poor little guests arriving to find no supper, no
beds, "no nothing."

F--- tried to cheer me up, and said the only thing was to get home
as quick as possible; but he did not expect to find that our
friends had arrived, for it had been very hazy over the plains all
day, and probably had rained hard in Christchurch; so he thought
they would not have started on their journey at all.  But I refused
to accept any comfort from this idea, and bemoaned myself, entirely
on their account, incessantly.  When we came to the first crossing,
F--- picked me up and carried me over dry-shod, and this he did at
all the fords; but in one we very nearly came to grief, for I was
tilted like a sack over his shoulder, and when we were quite in the
middle, and the water was very deep, up to his waist, he kept
hoisting my feet higher and higher, quite forgetting that there was
plenty more of me on the other side of his shoulder; so it ended in
my arms getting very wet, which he did not seem to think mattered
at all so long as my feet were dry; whereas I rather preferred
having my feet than my head plunged into a surging, deafening
yellow current.  At the entrance of the gorge is a large stockyard,
and near to it, at least a mile or two off, a large mob of horses
is generally to be found feeding.  We heard great neighing and
galloping about amongst them as we came out of the gorge; it was
much too dark to distinguish anything, but we guessed that our
horses had joined these, and the sounds we heard were probably
those of welcome.  But the whole mob set off the moment we came
near, and crossed the river again, entailing a tenth wetting upon
poor F---.  I was posted at the entrance of the gorge, with
instructions to shout and otherwise keep them from going up by the
route we had just come; but it was more than an hour before F---
could get round the wary brutes, so as to turn them with their
heads towards the stockyard.  Of course, he had to bring up the
whole mob.  My talents in the shouting line were not called out
upon this occasion, for they all trotted into the stockyard of
their own accord, and I had nothing to do but put up the slip-rail
as fast as I could with only one available arm, for though it is
better, I cannot use the other yet.  When F--- came up we both went
into the yard, and could soon make out the two horses which had
their saddles on--that was the only way we could distinguish them
in the dark.  It was now nearly eleven o'clock, and though warm
enough it was very cloudy, not a star to be seen.  We fastened on
the patched up bridles as well as we could by feeling, and mounted,
and rode home, about three miles more, as fast as we could.  When
we entered the flat near our own house, we heard loud and prolonged
"coo-ees" from all sides.  The servants had made up their minds
that some terrible misfortune had happened to us, and were setting
out to look for us, "coo-eeing" as they came along.  F--- pointed
out to me, with a sort of "I-told-you-so" air, that there was no
light in the drawing-room--so it was evident our friends had not
arrived; and when we dismounted I found, to my great joy, that the
house was empty.  All our fatigue was forgotten in thankfulness
that the poor travellers had not been exposed to such a cold,
comfortless reception as would have awaited them if they had made
their journey that day.  I must tell you, they arrived quite safely
the next evening, but very tired, especially the poor children;
however, everything was ready, and the little boys were
particularly pleased with their box beds, greatly preferring the
difficulties of getting in and out of them to their own pretty
little cribs at home.  Such are boys all over the world!

Next month we leave this for ever, and go down to Christchurch to
make our final arrangements for the long voyage of a hundred days
before us.  As the time draws near I realize how strong is the tie
which has grown, even in these few short years, around my heart,
connecting it with this lovely land, and the kind friends I have
found in it.  F--- feels the parting more deeply than I do, if
possible, though for different reasons; he has lived so long among
these beautiful hills, and is so accustomed to have before his eyes
their grand outlines.  He was telling me this the other day, and
has put the same feelings into the following verses, which I now
send you.

          A farewell.
     The seamen shout once and together,
          The anchor breaks up from the ground,
     And the ship's head swings to the weather,
          To the wind and the sea swings round;
     With a clamour the great sail steadies,
          In extreme of a storm scarce furled;
     Already a short wake eddies,
          And a furrow is cleft and curled
                To the right and left.

     Float out from the harbour and highland
          That hides all the region I know,
     Let me look a last time on the island
          Well seen from the sea to the snow.
     The lines of the ranges I follow,
          I travel the hills with my eyes,
     For I know where they make a deep hollow,
          A valley of grass and the rise
               Of streams clearer than glass.

     That haunt is too far for me wingless,
          And the hills of it sink out of sight,
     Yet my thought were but broken and stringless,
          And the daylight of song were but night.
     If I could not at will a winged dream let
          Lift me and take me and set
     Me again by the trees and the streamlet;
          These leagues make a wide water, yet
               The whole world shall not hide.

     Now my days leave the soft silent byway,
          Arid clothed in a various sort,
     In iron or gold, on life's highway
          New feet shall succeed, or stop short
     Shod hard these maybe, or made splendid,
          Fair and many, or evil and few,
     But the going of bare feet has ended,
          Of naked feet set in the new
               Meadow grass sweet and wet.

     I will long for the ways of soft walking,
          Grown tired of the dust and the glare,
     And mute in the midst of much talking
          Will pine for the silences rare;
     Streets of peril and speech full of malice
          Will recall me the pastures and peace
     Which gardened and guarded those valleys
          With grasses as high as the knees,
               Calm as high as the sky:

     While the island secure in my spirit
          At ease on its own ocean rides,
     And Memory, a ship sailing near it,
          Shall float in with favouring tides,
     Shall enter the harbours and land me
          To visit the gorges and heights
     Whose aspects seemed once to command me,
          As queens by their charms command knights
               To achievements of arms.

     And as knights have caught sight of queens' faces
          Through the dust of the lists and the din,
     So, remembering these holiest places
          In the days when I lose or I win,
     I will yearn to them, all being over,
          Triumphant or trampled beneath,
     To this beautiful isle like a lover,
          To her evergreen brakes for a wreath,
               For a tear to her lakes.

     The last of her now is a brightening
          Far fire in the forested hills,
     The breeze as the night nears is heightening,
          The cordage draws tighter and thrills,
     Like a horse that is spurred by the rider
          The great vessel quivers and quails,
     And passes the billows beside her,
          The fair wind is strong in her sails,
               She is lifted along.

          THE END.







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