FROM A COUNTRY HOUSE IN NEW ZEALAND.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXI, Issue 65, 17 March 1900, Page 3 (Supplement)

FROM A COUNTRY HOUSE IN NEW ZEALAND.

By Mrs A. S. Boyd

(From "Blackwood's Magazine")

I The wharves and streets of Auckland bespeak .industrial prosperity, I and the clear exhilarating air is redolent of health. Not that the climate invariably strikes the visitor as per- ! feet. During our first few weeks in ! Auckland thie rain rained and the wind blew to such an extent as to keep our friends in a chronic stale of apology for their weather. Our later experience, however, atoned for all, and convinced us that the much- | lauded climate deserves ail, or nearly j all, the admiration it claims. Though the sun's rays arc stronger than in England, the sea breezes pleasantly temper the air, and even in the height of summer the nights are cool enough to necessitate (lie use of a blanket— ian article one is only too glad to dispense with during the same season at Home. A long-continued thunder shower in England gives a mo'dilicd idea of what tropical or semi-tropical rain can be, but the possibiltie.s oi' colonial dust are practically unknown to dwellers in Britain. New Zealand rain lias been known to keep a large excursion party penned up in a railway' train at. a station during a complete day, a step beyond the shelter of the carriages meaning a- complete drenching. To gain a remote conception of antipodean dust is to picture us on lloxing Day driving1 tlirougTi A viekl aml to Ili< k wharf,- 'our faces co;iti-(.l with :t thick layer of grey dust which penetrated even through double gossamer veils, L'vcvy little while being obliged to stop the horses and sit with closed eyes and bowed heads until that particular segment of the dense dust cloud had blown past. Dress is expensive in Xew Zealand, and, in consequence of siK-h weather vagaries, lasts Init a short time.l reckoned that were I resident ill Auckland it would cost me fc-ur times as much money to dress aa it does ill London, in 1110 first place the materials ami making would cost twice the sum,

iuid in the second the. combined influences of sun, dust, and rain are such that, the completed g-armonts would last only half the period. Light washing materials are cheap, and as a rule girls wear coloured cambric frocks in the morning and white pique or muslin Inter. The shortness of their skirls amused us until we realised that their arrangements Jn that way were dominated by the depth of the dust on the roads.

A pleasant ihing among ninny pleasant things recordable of this country is the interest taken by the female" portion of the community in literature. True, their rending is n\most exclusively confined to the easy paths of Contemporary fiction. But in that study they are rarely more than six weeks behind the mother country. English magazines are sold at a premium; but the colonial editions of the newest books are handy, cheap, and well up to date. As hinted .above, it is I ho women who read. The average native-born New Zealand male cultivates his muscles. He rides, rows, shoots, plays football, and attends races, and none can expect a mind engrossed with like pursuits to take kindly to less robust occupations. Also he develops late. At home we. are accustomed to put the dimpled limbs of our infants into trousers, and to see their chubby faces overshadowed by preposterous chimney-pot hats. In Auckland it amazed us to find huge Inds of sixteen still wearing kniekerbockev sailor suits and enjoying schoolboy games.

Auckland street-ears are a wonderful institution. The number of passengers is only limited by (he eling-ing-on space. There are no seats on the top, so that smokers have to find accommodation on the front and back platforms. At busy hours it is customary to see ten people squeezed on to the place originally set apart for the driver, and a dozen or more hilarious travellers crowding the conductor oil' the back step; the inside being crammed with sitting und standing passengers. Even under these circumstances none need hesitate to hail the ear and insist upon admittance.

Coming direct from our stern, workaday England, New Zealand impressed us us a land of perpetual leisure. Workmen enjoyed high wages and ail eight hours' day; and no event was deemed too small to be made the occasion of a holiday.

The harbour was full of boats, from the goodly steam yacht- to the veriest till) thnt ever supported sail, and each Saturday the owners of these vessels embarked with, companies of high-spirited guests, to return early on Monday, having spent the intervening hours cruising about among the islands; camping1 on shore, or sleeping on board if the accommodation admitted of it. Parties of schoolboys spent their holidays camping out, under canvas, in water gullies, where they could bathe, fish, shoot, and play at wild Indians as (heir souls desired. The craving for gipsying, born of the perfect climate, sometimes even infested sedate families, end it was no uncommon thing, when having a riding picnic, to chance upon some lovely fernbanked gulch where—under a cluster of more, or Jess ramshackle tents —a staid respectable family might be found leading a nomad life. Horses vare so cheap in Auckland that pedestriauism bids fair to become, extinct. The postman does his rounds on horseback; the butcher, a huge basket slung over his arm, canters up with ordered provender. Schoolboys, two frequently sharing a mount, ride to school, where a paddock is reserved for their ponies. Even the lamplighter performs his duties perched on an ambling nag, while the droves of live stock passing along the roads are always under the care of a mounted escort. When an outdoor man is sent an errand that would entail walking a quarter of. a mile, he invariably spends ten minutes in catching a horse that he may ride. But more ludicrous than all else was it to see a sweep, his attention to' the kitchen chimney completed, canter off on his nag,

with the. bag of soot perched on t«be saddle before him.

As tin Instance of the topsy-turvy state of thing's antipodean, it may be mentioned that it is considered smarter to drive in a hired carriage than in your own trap.

"Oh, did you notice how stylish the So-and-so's were on Saturday? They had a hired landau," was one of the colonial remarks that impressed us. With our usual desire, for information we inquired, "Is hiring1 supposed to be stylish? You all had your own carriages, and that is surely much nicer?"

"Oh yes; but you see horses are so cheap to buy here, and hiring- is so dear, that it is considered smarter, because it is more expensive to hire."

The friends to whom we paid a delightful visit lived near the base of One Tree Hill, an extinct volcano three miles from Auckland. Their home was typically colonial, having many rooms on one floor, and v wide veranda!).

Before the verandah steps two tall cabbage palms stood sentinel. The sloping lawn was decorated, colonial fashion, with flowering1 trees, magnolia, hibiscus, laseudria, deodar, plumbago, pepper, lemon, loquat, and orange, each set solitary in a round bed. Hoses bloomed about the verandah posts, and at one end a great bongainvillea rioted in purple glory. In the wide flower borders under the verandah gorgeous Japanese lilies jostled homely sweet-peas and mignonette; and giant red and pink geraniums and blue hydrangeas outgrew their bounds and strove to block the paths. A long row of guava bushes, laden with embryonic fruit, edged one side of the lawn; over the trellis work the smooth green eggs of the passion fruit were suspended in thousands; and between a double line of % trees a path led to the prolific kitchen garden, in "December, when we landed, green peas were plentiful; and in March, when we sailed, a third succession was in bloom. Tomatoes fruited with little attention. Squashes, pumpkins, and marrows needed only to have their seeds inserted in the" ground to yield a bountiful harvest. Of beans alone there were five varieties: broad, haricot (for winter use), runner, French, and butter beans.

The rich brown volcanic earth was clean ami unpolluted—one could sit on the dry soil in n muslin, frock without getting it- soiled. Flies were plentiful,' but the minor pests oJ: a garden, such as wasps Mill caterpillars, earwigs and wootllice, were but scantily represented. At the upper end of the grounds was the tiny cottage set apart for the use of the outdoor man, and to him, as :i colonial institution, a paragraph may be devoted. He is a nondescript individual of multifarious duties. He waters and feeds the horses, grooms them in ■ rough fashion, cleans the buggies—a task rendered no light one by the dusty roads —drives in the cow, milks her, pumps the water for the house supply, cultivates the kitchen garden, trims Hie flower borders, mows the lawn, and sweeps the paths.

It goes without saying that this specie's of creature, being half animal and half vegetable, is rarely satisfactory. If he understands horses, and can' groom tolerably, lie despises gardening; and if he loves the gentle art of floriculture, he goes in terror of the horse. Also his meals are served at the kitchen table, which is a source either of love-making- or of bickering. "John, you must dimis.s Joe —lie has spoken rudely to cook again," said our hostess one morning.

"Very well," acquiesced the liost; "I'll advertise for another man today."

'Visions of a cook as a large, rawboned female with a knowledge of horse-flesh, and skilled in the uses of the "totulisator" to the replenishing of her purse on race days; and of Joe as a meek, broken down looking individual, of exceedingly limited wardrobe—the first, exhibition of his linen on a, clothes line brougftt him instant and lavish contributions from the. male members of the family—flashed across mv consciousness.

'•But cook may be in the wrong," I hinted. "Won't yon inquire into the rights of the case?" "Oh, of course the qnarel is about nothing at all. He said his eggs at breakfast were over-boiled, or something like that; bnt lie must go. I warned him when he came that if there were any rows in the kitchen he would go instantly. Yon see," she added explanatory, "I can get an outdoor man any day, and X can't get a tolerable cook."

So Joe—with n largely augmented wardrobe —fared forth; and his place was speedily filled by an Italian exile answering to the name of Gilbert. A smart young man, with a huge trunk, who confided to the boy that he occupied his spare moments in writing a diary of his life and adventures, which lie was gradually bringing up to date. At that time he was engaged in penning the record of 1592, only seven years behind time!

Gilbert was an admirable and tasteful gardener, so.it stands to reason that during his reign the horses were but half groomed and the buggies smeary. When, a month later, he left to wed a. large, plump country girl whose opulent charms had caught his fancy, Sam filled his empty shoes. As Sam's up-bringing had tended to the possession of many wise saws regarding horse feed, grooming-, and doctoring, ami as he was at the same time a- passable gardener, Sam is likely to remain.

The Maoris rarely condescend to accept a menial position; but when they" do,' they make admirable and loyal servitors. We knew one household wherein a Maori acted as general' factotum. He had been, born and reared in the family of his mistress, and was an admirable* specimen of a fine race. So highly was his integrity esteemed by his employers that when an ignorant white woman-servant refused to eat with him, she was at once discharged; and until her date of exodus had arrived the family showed their disapproval of her action by insisting upon Heniora taking1 his meals at their table—a privilege upon which the Maori gentleman did. not presume. When we left Auckland, Hemora had just declined the tempting invitation proffered by his tribe, who sought to induce him to take tip his rightful position as a leading member of their community, lie was devoted to his master and mistress, and to their children, and even the added allurement of a young Maori bride could not entice him from his allegiance.

Although in the colonies female servants get mttcli higher wages than at Home, it must be conceded that they do far more work for their money. The lowest wages of an Auckland plain cook are 16/ a week; a house-

maid's 12; their highest being" whatever sum. the employer's necessity; offers or their qualifications demand. Still, a colonial cook, in addition to. her purely culinary ditties, will "wash, iron, clean, and bake for a goodly, household; and besides her legitimate sweeping and dusting, the housemaid ■will wait at table, clean lamps and silver, cut and arrange flowers, undertake darning also, and the care of the linen cupboard.

In her dealings with, the autocrats of her kitchen, the New Zealand mistress requires to exercise especial tact. Servants must be engaged on their own representations. A colonial maid would deem it a dire insult were she asked for a character.

While we were calling on some friends several miles from town, a carriage, drawn by a pair of horses, drove up to the front door, and a presence, gorgeous in frills and nipperies, alighted. It was a domestic condescending to apply for a vacant situation.

Among her other privileges—which she considers rights—the colonial maid claims that of seeing her personal friends when she chooses. One Sunday afieiMioon, as we lounged on the verandah, a buggy, crammed with white-robed pink-parasoled beings, was seen approaching. Instead of, entering the drive,. It branched off towards the stable entrance. "Visitors for the kitchen," said the hostess, in answer to an inquiring look. And one wet morning, as we sewed indoors, the aggressive and persistent click-clack of- a sewing machine came from the back premises. The housemaid explained the unwonted sound by volunteering the information that cook's aunt had come to spend the day, that she had brought her handmachine, and was occupying her time in making her niece a blouse.

the astute mistress. "It's so near Christmas that if I make any complaint cook will be glad of the excuse to throw up her place, and have a gay time till the holidays are over. I would find it impossible to get another cook at this season; but she would have no difficulty in finding a new situation whenever her money was done and she was tired of play." Apart from such slight domestic mischances, any family combining the possession of. a small settled income—say £400 or £500 a year— with a desire for unlimited sport, might take a worse step than that of emigrating to New Zealand. There sports such as polo, hunting, fishing, shooting, and boating—the indulgence in any one of which in Britain entails considerable outlay-r-can nil be enjoyed for a minimum of expense. Land and house-rent near town ai-e comparatively expensive; but the land once acquired, the customary wooden house with corrugated iron roof, and a space beneath, for your hens to lay away in, is cheap to erect, and speedily ready' for occiipation. And one must remember that the ground is amazingly fertile; and that horses can feed out all the year round. Servants' wages are high; but two will do more work than four can undertake at home. A strip of kitchen garden will supply a constant succession of fruitand vegetables; and for a fee of 10/ a year a cow is supplied with, a zinc badge and permitted to glean a comfortable subsistence along the waysides. Eeef is absurdly cheap: a sirloin lllb in weight will cost 4/; a whole shin of beef may be bought for 1/ in. town—in country districts the price falls to 9d. Mutton and lamb, I imagine, may almost be had for the asking.

Like that of most lately developed countries, the so-called social life of Xew Zealand is devoted to the amusement of the rising generation. Dances, balls, tennis tournaments, progressive euchre parties, and boating or riding- picnics—into these and other forms of entertainment suited for young people do the amusements resolve themselves.

From the instant when the fully fledged Xew Zealand belle bursts her pinafore cocoon until the fatal moment when she dons her bridal robes, her wings ore kept hard at work bearing her dainty form, from one species of gaiety to another. The colonial girl has all the American maiden's freedom from espionage, and- like her rejoices in giving huge lunches and afternoon teas to her; girl companions.

Her smallest doings are chronicled. The society papers lose no time ire informing their- sympathising- readers that Miss Tottie Teasdale has sprained her ankle; or in announcing to a listening- world that Miss Tilly Milliken (of Wairapara) has arrived at Auckland on a visit to her. friend Mrs O'Brady in Ponsonby. And the knowledge that an omnipresent press has duly proclaimed that she appeared in yellow at the Hunt Ball compels any self-respecting damsel- all untimely to discard the yellow, frock and exhibit herself at the Yacht Club dance in blue. And thereby her expenditure for dress is agreeably increased. Small wonder, then, that these pampered ■ maidens hesitate long on the brink of matrimony, before throwing aside oil these advantages, and condescending to become sober matter-of-fact wives and1 mothers.

For older folks there are, pei'haps,more card parties where money stakes are played for than is quite' desirable; and sometimes there is a garden party to which, by favour, men ai-c admitted; or an afternoon "At Home" for "ladies only." "Men never go to these parties,'* explained our hostess, when a card for one reached me. 'It would make a sensation if your husband or mine walked in." And in truth :,t was my name only that was inscribed on the invitation.

This especial reception was given in a handsome and well-appointed house, and the guests must have numbered nearly two hundred. They were all women, and mostly all matrons, too. Some vague order of precedence was in force, and for once the damsels were in the background. The draw-ing-rooms, where music and gossip were served, and the dining-room, with all manner of delectable refreshments on tap, Avere crowded with the married ladies, while the maidens, in two neglected rows, lined the halls.

Coming out from a debauch of fruit-salad, ices, and tea, 1 noticed two pretty girls I knew, sitting disconsolate among, the other pariahs. The looked hungry. "Have you had tea?" I asked. "No, not yet."

"Well, hurry i n now . There are some vacant seats." ■

"But we can't, dear Mrs Boyd We mustn't go until we are asked," they replied dolefully.. ' y' And when we mounted our re-

spective buggies to depart, two tealess drooping maidens accompanied 11S . Need I say I wickedly rejoiced to have discovered one instance, at jeast, in which the colonial girl had failed to have an innings? To any one with a. love of horticulture, northern New Zealand presents boundless possibilities. One private garden which we visited within Auckland city seemed to hold healthy specimens of all known, plants, from bananas and palms to lotus liliesall flourishing, lie it noted, in the open air. The stone-walled ponds held a collection of flowering aquatic plants which were far before any display we have seen during- frequent visits to the Royal Botanic Gardens in London. In the borders, in exquisite profusion, bloomed countless varieties of flower and shrub. The complete absence of frost renders class unnecessary, though in many instances it is used to ensure the earlier ripening of grapes. " The market gardening of Auckland is ehieily in the hands of Chinamen. One sxich garden was situated within view ol our shady verandah, and all day and every day rinarnt figures, topped with conical straw hats, bent over the long- rows of flourishing vegetables. When darkness fell the pointed hats were still busy and dawn found them still as industriously engaged as though thenwork had not ceased through the dark °Unlike Australia, New Zealand has few native wild flowers, though imported seedlings flourish so well as to speedily outgrow their garden bounds, and overflow into the highways. During a stroll along a suburban by-way a choice bouquet may easily be gleaned from the roadside. I have picked great bunches of damask roses which grew wild in the hedgerows; and geraniums, nasturtiums, and arum lilies were to be had for the taking. Our scentless dog-rose is unknown; but the sweetbriar is so plentiful as to threaten to become a nuisance to farmers. Early m December, when we arrived, every lane ..-lowed pink with countless blossoms, and the air was full of its fragrance. The Maoris christened sweetbriar the "missionary plant," as it owed its introduction'to the home-sick wife of an early missionary, who, t>y carrying a plant into her exile, sought to endow her new habitation with something of the essence of home. During slimmer picnicking is a distinctive feature of New Zealand life. Our host had a little steam launch called the. Kaituna, a tubby and unornamental, but comfortable and roomy craft; and in her we had many adventurous excursions to one or other of the islands which dot the harbour. Sometimes we landed on islands in whose gullies the bush vegetation still prevailed; grand prim-eval'tree-ferns waved overhead, and a luxuriant growth of lessex- ferns carpeted the ground. . " On Boxing Day we picnicked at Quarantine Island, under the shadow of a great pohutukawa, or "Christmas tree," its spreading branches laden with grey-green leaves aiidjthe large scarlet blossoms, resembling chrysanthemums, suspended overhead like a gigantic garland. This tree is peculiar to New Zealand, where it grows abundantly near the sea, blossoming most profusely when swept with the salt spray. On the high cliffs behind us grand clumps of pampas grass grew side by side with.the regal spikes of native flax. A fire was soon kindled, and while tlie ''billy" (a huge milk-can) boiled, lunch was spread. The meal disposed of, the company bathed, fished, or gathered the sweet little oysters which abound on the rocks and can be easily collected when the tide falls.

The New Zealand shells are many and distinctive. On the ocean beaches varieties peculiar to this latitude, and not all beautiful, can be found; while the widespread waters of the Pacific bring thither specimens native to furdistant countries. The violet-hued lanthina, or "storm shell," as it is liere named, can be dug- from the sand after a tempest, and on many beaches the blood-red Anomia are" almost plentiful.

Rabies is unknown in New Zealand, and exhaiistive precautions are taken to guard against its importation. Every dog before setting paw on the mainland has to pass six months of isolated probation on Quarantine Island. There was one prisoner there when we visited it, a fine collie, who hail evidently been a woman's pet, for he followed us about all day, and wailed disconsolately .on the little wharf when the inexorable hour of parting- had come. Looking- back as we steamed homewards towards the sunset, flaring and glowing- behind Mount Eden, we saw that he had scrambled out to the farthest point of rock, and was gazing wistfully after us across the cruel waters thatlay between him and freedom.

frills sun

'In direct contrast to the vital Auckland may be mentioned Tauranga, ■where we sojourned for a space. It seems inconsistent, when writing- of ,a country still in its first freshness to speak of one of its towns as obsolete, forgotten. Yet, of a truth, Tauranga impressed us as the embodiment of decay. Before the installation of railway communication between Auckland and Kotorua, Taiirang-a was the point from which tourists took coach to the Hot Lake district; but now that the traffic has heen diverted elsewhere, Tauranga almost to have lost- its reason for existence.

Situated in the Bay of Plenty, the harbour of Tauranga is enclosed by a fiat peninsula ending abruptly in a high conical hill—the Mount. Overlooking' the bay stands the deserted foi't, which was the headquarters of our troops during the greater part of the Maori war; but it is now fast falling to ruin. The enclosing- trenches are overgrown with grasses, the high earthen banks are luxuriant with sweetbriar and wreathed with convolvulus. Near it, commanding a magnificent view, is the Soldiers' Cemetery: its many graves recall the reah'ty of the Avar, which even' now seems a thing of ancient history. Beyond that is the beautiful old orehardencireled mission station, at present u sed as a private residence. That Tauranjra was or'ig'mally planned to fill an important part in the fortunes of the colony may be noted from the proportions.,of its broad, boulevard-like streets, shaded on either s'3e with long rows of giant weeping wn]<3ws, trees whose drooping habit afMs fo the undeflnable air of sadness overhanging the town. A handsome Post office, surely designed in the days .?* Tauraftga's glory, holds a promin?flt position, and close circling the *"rye of the water runs n short line of shops—"The Strand"—but further

sign of business there is none. Living- there is cheap even for New Zealand, how cheap 1 can only judge by inference. The best hotel in the town boarded us adults for 30/ a week, which included the exclusive use of a. private sitting-room, three heavy meals a day, afternoon tea, and frequent quite gratuitous services of apricots and peaches. Our first experience of a. colonial country hotel had at least the charm or novelty. There is no class distinction there. Your next neighbour at tablrt | may be a steward from the ship that ; brought you, or the driver of tin i coach you propose leaving with on tho morrow.

Strips of muslin were laid over the long tables between meals to frustrate the ravages of the, flies, and the samv reason supplied • every sugar basin with a lid. Tumblers were set by each cover, but as only tea was drunk at table they were evidently placed there as a. matter of tradition, and probably with a view to the exclusion of dust, Avere invariably inverted. Every bed' room was tho.iig-b.tfu.lly provided with a comb and brush, a fact which gained our credence for the story of a way-back colonial girl who on her first visit to. an Auckland hotel was insulted to find that her own was the only occupied room unprovided with brushes. "But T wasn't going- to let that hotelkeeper think he could take advantage of me,'" she said, when relating her experience. "1 just, walked into, the next room where the folk.* were out and used the hair brushes he had given them, and jolly nice silver-backed ones they were too!" A threaded needle was stuck in the wall beside the mirror, while a knotted rope wasi suspended from the window sill for use in case of fire. And—to the gratification, doubtless, of the majority of her father's guests—the one or other of the innkeeper's buxom daughters, who waited on us, nightly performed at the drawing-room pianoforte. rendering- "The Lost Chord" and like ditties with all the vigour of a fine pair of lungs. Property was amazingly low In value in the Bay of Plenty. During our short residence a pretty house set in an acre and a quarter of fruitful ground, in a good position, sold for £350. When I add that the leader of Taurauga society kept up a carriage and a justly earned reputation for hospitality upon an income of less than £100 a year I need say nothing- more to prove the economy of living- there.

The tone of Tauranga is high. No shadow has ever overlain its reputation for decorum, though within a brief day's journey lies a district said to be mainly inhabited by "remittance" folks, within whose precincts the arrival of periodic mails is tho signal for outbursts of feasting, tho times between being marked by shortness °f commons. Vague rumours, brought by stray travellers, whose route has led .through this lauct, whisper that its denizens reck not oi times and seasons, and are fast losing all idea of the fitness of things. Ladies attired in decolletee evening dress, »with unkempt hair and unshod feet, have been descried by the light of the noonday sun scattering- grain to their fowls, their silken and broidered robes trailing in the dust, a use whereof was surely never dreamt by those well-intentioned relatives who despatched their discarded raiment to clothe their exiled friends.

In Auckland and Tauranga, both towns frequented by the natives, we had many opportunities of studying the Maori, both on holiday and in his workaday, or,, to.put it more exactly, lazo-a-day life.

The Maori is not strictly beautiful, but he is valiant, and, let ti.s trust, good. As for his better half, in her native dress, with tatooed lips and chin, and long, single eardrop of greenstone, and with an appropriate background ■of tree-fern or ti-treo scrub, she -is savage and not unpleasing. But in town, when her fancy has beeu permitted to riot among tho violent, aniline dyes of the draper*) cheap lots, and she is dressed to the bent of her barbaric taste, she is a hideosits

Begin, at the ground and picture r. pair of large, flat, brown feet and thick ankles appearing benea.th a badly cut skirt of some howling design in checks; above hangs a short and disproportionately full jacket of scarlet, purple, magenta, or green velveteen; a neckerchief of yellow, bhie, or crimson encircles the neck, and topping all, is a grotesque tatooed fane half concealed by the flapping

of a brilliant pink bonnet. No sketch oil a Maori lady of respectability is complete without a. pipefrequently a heavy silver-mounted on« WO rn in the mouth, the united effect of the pipes, the frilled bonnets and the "'orgeous gowns being' to bestow upon 0 the worthy dames the appearance of animated Aunt Sallies. One thing' notable regarding the Maori woman is that, though the child's tfuii bonnet is her favourite wear, she takes kindly to a man's soft felt hat, but seldom condescends to don an ordinary trimmed "confection.'* Her reason for this excluslveness would be interesting to learn.

The aspect of the men is decidedly less remarkable. Tatooing- is becoming- rare among them. As with other races, the women seem to cling1 to the old customs long after the mala portion of their community have discarded them. Only the very old tt-p-' are tatooed, and now some married women may be met who, on uucoiui: of the extremely painful nature of tllfi operation, have refused to undergo an ordeal that was once imperative. Truth to tell, a tatooed face accords but ill with a tall hat, though one old chief whom we met contrived to maintain a dignified demeanour while presenting both these attributes to the public gaze. Nose-rubbing, which is still In vo<nie among the Maoris, is an ugly and when performed in the earnest native fashion, a disgusting and lengthy performance. Two women meeting- after a. lengthy period will hand their babies to their docile husbands to hold, and placing- their faces together, will rub noses and weep floods of tears, until, when at the close of ten minutes or so the faces,are withdrawn, they, are streaming1 with, moisture. One day we saw a Maori boy meeting a number of lil* relatives in a.; street.',; car., lift gently pressed his nose against those of his tattooed grand-parents, liftinghis hat the while; then completed his salutations by kissing or shaking hands with his younger relatives. The fact that he only rubbed noses with the older people seemed to point to the fact that, like tattooing, noserubbing may soon be a custom of the past.

The genuine Maori is a noble savage, generous, hospitable, heroic, and loyal —a notable -warrior, a staunch com-

rade. An officer who commanded a regiment of friendly natives during ! the late Maori war assured us that so great was his respect for their martial capacity that he would feel no hesitation in leading- fifty Maori braves against a hundred British soldiers. Fighting for lighting's sake, they scorn to take advantage of an antagonist's weakness. Once when a tribe, i whose ammunition had become cxi hausted, declared themselves vanquished, their magnanimous conquerors insisted on their accepting half the stock of cartridges, and continuing the battle.

i The decadents of the Hot Lakes disjtrict exhibit few of these fine characteristics. Instead of being stalwart, muscular men, full of daring and actuated by that wealth of adventurous spirit which drove their forefathers to \ discover and colonise New Zealand, I they are inert, sensuous and exeeedi ingly adipose.

This complete degeneration need not surprise. The entire conditions of life in that region of geysers, mud volcanoes, and fumeroles are unnatural. The dues paid by visitors to the tribes owning the "wonderland" serve to supply them with necessities, permitting' those of the men —and they are many—who are disinclined to accept Government work, such as road-mak-ing, to pass their days in sheer idleness, loafing, smoking, and gambling, and dandling their babes.

At sunset one evening we sauntered into a Maori village, and found ourselves in the grassy enclosure wherein sat the tribe eating its evening- meal. Some natives might have resented our invasion. Not so "the Maoris. With unaffected pleasure they made us welcome. Swarthy faces beamed upon us; many brown hands were outstretched to grasp ours; and tattooed lips, in hospitable if quite unintelligible language, invited us to partake. Round two large dishes (he entire party of men, women, girls, youths, and babes were squatted; and it was interesting to see that in this tribal commune the smallest child had evidently as much right to put his paw in the dish and help himself as had his elders. In a pool of gravy in a tin pan lay a largo ham-bone at which an infant was picking-; but the chief provision Jay in a great pie-dish full of kumaras (sweet-potatoes) and some green vegetable. In addition, there was a splendid loaf of bread, round, Hut, nicely browned, and closely resembling- a huge whenten .scone. The method of cooking was primitive but apparently efficient. Catching- the glimmering of firelight in one of the larger huts, we entered and found that it proceeded from sonic glowing woodashes on the floor. Over the embers were .set iron bars which formed a j-ude grill, whereon was placed a large tin pan containing- another loaf, while a third still in the dough stage stood on the floor ready for baking-. As usual, there was little' sign of occupation. The ground being fertile, the husbandry required to support a tribe was small in comparison to the number of its able-bodied members, and is consequently easily overtaken. Pio-s, thanks to Captain Cook. rim wild in the bush, wood - pigeons abound, and the rearing of sheep and fowls necessitates but little care.

In one thing is the Maori individual: in all else he is content to share the common stock, but each man grows the tobacco required for his own and his Avahi ne's consumption—which shows that there is one appetite that refuses to be governed by communism.

Declining many invitations to share the feast, we cordially shook the extended hands and departed.

We knew that, following the wont of most heathen nations, the Maoris have the habit of frankly accepting1 the tenets of a religion that is new to them, and of as frankly discarding them when the novelty has worn off; but- we did not expect to find them bent on evangelising. As we left the camp we met a little monkey - like old man, whose face was tattooed all over. He. wore a Salvation Army cup, and the chief who escorted us, indicating- the army badge fastened on his coat, said —

"He good Maori. He teach heathen.'1

"Xapai!" (Good!) said the Artist, approvingly patting the badge, at which the wizened face of the aforetime cannibal wrinkled up into a beatific grin.

Like all people living at close quarters with nature, the Maori is hedged about by a strong faith in the visionary. To this day he is afraid to visit many parts of the Tongariro group, which so long lay under a strict tapu. And no native, however brave, is so daring as to attempt to catch one of the wild horses abounding1 in that region, full credence being accorded th<\ belief that many malignant spirits inhabit this volcanic quarter, and that the horses have no actual existence, but are merely decoys in the service of these spectral fiends.

For superstitious reasons that ;ire resolutely kept secret, a tribe may suddenly vacate its settlement. From Tauranga we rowed across the bay to a native village, which some years earlier had been thus abruptly deserted. The real reason of the exodus had never transpired. Hidden from the lonely beach by a matted fence and a line of tall fix* 'and eucalyptus trees was the grassy lawn round, which the deserted homes were grouped. One lengthy whore, evidently erected for the temporary accommodation of a large influx of guests during some tangi or special ceremony, had succumbed to the weight of its raupo-thatched roof, and subsided in broken-kneed fashion on the dank grasps. Otherwise the dwellings looked us though they had been in occupation an hour earlier.

The sides and open portico of the meeting-house showed many images elaborately carved after the conventional design of the Maori gods— repulsive deities who a.re ever portrayed with leering eyes and protruding tongue. The figures were coloured red, the teeth blue, and the grossly exaggerated tongues white. The eyes were indicated loy circles rudely cut from the glittering inner surface of the pawa (Haliotis) shell, which are firmly fixed in their places by wooden pegs driven through the shell. As may be easily imagined, the slightest deviation from the centre in, the position of these nails gives the gods a sinister and utterly detestable leer.

Within the building lay that airless gloom clear to the barbaric heart. A prodigality of design carried out iv native pigments of red, white, black, and yellow, decorated the wooden posts and roof-trees. And the earthen floor was still littered with the dried rushes whereon the dusky worshippers were wont to squat. Despite the longcontinued isolation, all was in.tact — the knowledge of the inevitable vengeance of the natives doubtless proving deterrent to any collector whose cupidity might otherwise have tempted him to a.n,nex the valuable antique carved figures.

A hush seemed to have fallen over the place. Not a bird fluttered. Long flimsy shreds of the blue-gum bark depended from the branches, a|s though the trees were mourning in rent garments the decay of the shrine they guarded. A black pig-, looking like an. unclean spirit, was the only visible living creature in the abandoned spot. As, re-embarking, we left the nameless village, we agreed that it would be a hard matter to persuade any one of us to pass the night; there alone.