A JOURNEY WITH BISHOP JULIUS TO SOUTH WESTLAND.

[by f. p. p,] ">., It wa9 on Wednesday July 30 that we rode out of Kobb n our »ay t» Jaekoon'a Bay. As far as Okarito, »hieh wa> reached on Thursday, the road lay alone . tue foot of the hil's '1 he sceuery called forth from my companions co'mtitit ex elamation* of delight Now it was the glimpse of some emwcappd mountain, 'now some fairy landscape of waving, migh r y pines castin, diep shadows on he ferns below, or the still wa ers of a lake nestling away among the bills with its wonderful reflections, rivken here and t'aere by the stir of wi>d fowl. At the Waitangi we were met by a a number ot equestrians from nkanto ana the Lake. The Bish >p havicg walked into the school as we passed we soon found ourselves at host Patrick's in Okarito. The next day, with an escort of frit nds, we set uff for the Franz Joset glacier. Leaving the horses ht Mr Nesbit's we made our way on foot up the river bed of the Waiho, over gre^t boulders and • through black scrub till we stood at the , ' base of the great ice-stream. Here we forded the riper and bad a couple of hours scramble over the ice which was lighted up by the setting sun. As the sun dipped ' behind the bills we made onr way back to the gorge where we were hospitably entertained by Mr Nesbit and housed for the night. In the morning it was raiting, as it only knows how to, in the gorge. Our party ot ten coveted the eighteen miles to Okarito in double quick time, needless to say " one of the ladies took the lead and made the pace. The duckiug, however, was soon forgotten as tbe Bishop lecturing in the schooUhouse, took our th >ughts away to "Life among the Poor in London." Sunday was again stormier tban ever and many who intended to come in from the country were stopped by tbe floods. At 2 o'clock the Bishop administered the rite of .Confirmation in the Court-bouse, seven candidates presenting themselves As we could not go oa to Gillespios* as intended, the Bishop preached again in the evening to a crowded congregation. The rain had ceased towards nightfall, so we determined to b off tbe first thing in the morning. Everyone in Okari o thought it madness to attempt it, but we couldn't keep onr appointments otherwise, to with horses fresh after their spell we set off over the Three Mile Bluff. Having inspected the dredge and turned our backs on the Five Mile we came to tbe dreaded Waiho, which was still in flood, the track lately formed by the County enabled us to ford some distance up the river aud we got across easily. Some friends who had come with us, here said good-bye and at dinner time we reached tbe Waikukupa. Tbe tide kept us here till 3 o'clock and then with only twelve miles to co, took to the beach again. Tbree miles took us to the first bluff we had to go round. Tbe high sea of the day before had cleaned out every bluff along the coast and it was rough work clambering over rocks and leading our horses* Just before we got round, the rooks being almost too rougb, we went down on tbe sand and mounted. Another thirty yards and we would hare been clear. Before we had gone half tbe dis'ance a " roller" was upon us and we had to stand and try and keep our horses still. They stood the inrush quietly, but when the surging waters curled back from the rocks the Bishop's horse got scared and made a jump for a rock and nearly fell. Before he could recover, tbe next sea caught him and turned him ovei on tbe rocks, pinning the Bishop down beneath Lira, The depth of the water kept the weight of the horse off him or tbe end might have been different. The girth b-oke and tbe horse recovered himself while the water was ■till deep. The Bishop was drawn out a few yards by the retiring water, bnt the next wave drove him in again, wiih bis head between the beaut's heels. Tbe horse stood quiet and in a moment more all danger was over. Four mileeon wa« theGalway ßluff which was awfully rough. As we came to Gilbspies' Bluff it was getting dark and by the time we were round it was pitch dark, a beavy thunder cloud overhead and torrents of rain making it worse. The high sea had scoured out the sand from mmong the rocks at tbe foot of the tunnel track and our matches being wet I couldn't find tbe'approaoh to the track. In the darkness we couldn't get one way or the other by the beach, to, leaving the horses in charge of the Bishop, who by tbis time was nearly perished with the cold, I climbed back over the rock, found another track and coming to tbe other end of the tunnel turned back through it so found the approach for which I had been looking, tniß took me three hours and rougb work it was. Half an hour later, drenched to tbe skin and shivering with the cold, we were at Ryan's hotel. Then we found out tbe extent of tbe damages. Theßlshop'shatgone,his ;vatch a delicate repeater, full of water. Fortunately his vestments were not wet though they were under water for Borne time. The next day we had a rough time of t again with the bluffs. It took us sixteen hours to do the tbirty-two miles to the Paringa, all the tracks were damaged, being swept away or cut about by the northerly sea. It waß one o'clock when wt reach Paringa, From here to the Haast is at any time a long stage, being 40 miles, over mountainous com t y with a vil* lainous piece of bog at tbe end, and then the Haast river to swim your horses over I left my own horse at Paringa and tbe mount I got in bis place, being on winter feed, was not up to We journey, con* lequently it was 8 o'clock when we at lane stood en the Haast river bed and hailed the ferryman on the further side. The, w,ind from the hill», a cold snow wind, prevented our beii g heard, and our fire Was not noticed 6o tbere we had to stay for twelve dreary ho >tb', 'In the morning w,e,wese crossed in the boat, had breakfast, and on fresh mounts rode on to the .Bay. That night the Bishop held a Confirmation service in the school at the Arawata, and at 7 next morning we ■tartfd on our return journey. At the pkora there was a Confirmation service

held. By olgbt we had covered 45 miles and we put up ia Mr Adair's iron but, midway between Haast and Parioga. From here to brace Bay was an easy day. ; On Sunday morning there was matins • with Confirmatioa and Holy Communion at Brace Bay and la the evening, Even" song and Confirmation at Gillespies' I Beacb. On Monday the Biabop Confirmed Home candidates at Mr Glbb'a boufe at the Waikukupa and we reached Okarito in the evening much to the aßtoniehment ot our ' friends who thought we couldn't travel j ' ineuch weathei. Here, upon the earnest : solicitation of a great number wbo had ! assembled irom far and near, the' Bis.op gave a lecture upon hi-* experiences in fcomer et, 1 think it will be a long time before t* c people of Okarito forget the ! pleasant eveniog thus afforded them. Biddisg them sll good bye, we set off in the morning, and at eleven o'clock that night reacb the Waitaha, a distance of 4ft I miles. A short ndo o£ 15 miles the next day brought us iat> Roas The whole journey, including two days spent in visitiug the glacier, and one day when we were de'ain d by i trots of weather in Okarito, oc upied 14 days and two hour's Th« Bishop confirmed alfco» gtther seventeen candidates during the trip.