THREE IN A COACH.

Press, Volume XLVIII, Issue 7803, 5 March 1891, Page 6

THREE IN A COACH.

By Two op Them. A TOUR THROUGH THK HOT LAKES DISTRICT. : Weekly Press. s . m " But, my dear boy, you lone sight ot the point we set out with: that life la a continual adjustment of our internal to our external relations." ... " And therefore—to give a practical application of it—pass the claret, please. Thauks very much. Don t you thine, by the bye, Russell, we had better drop the discussion for to night t" ' "Oh. positively; lam agreeable. Anothe cigar ?" • " Thanks. And now, to change the subject, how do you propose to spend the Christmas holidays f The speaker was Clark. He and Stevens ■were seated in Russell's armchairs enjoying an after-supper smoke, and engaged in one of the usual Sunday evening discus* sions. "In a country like New Zealand, Stevens put in, " one never need be at a loss how to spend a vacation; there are 80 many delightful trips one can make in a short time, and at small expense. For my part I have been thinkine of Mount Cook, or a cauoeing trip up the Wanganui." "Either would be very enjoyable, no doubt," said Russell, bat as it i* far from likely that we should equal what Green and Mannering have accomplished, I don't think much of your Mount Cook suggestion. As far as lam concerned, I'd sooner get to the top of a molehill than half-way up the highest mountain in the world." " Pooh! half a loaf is better than no bread."

" Oh, of course I can't expect you to byD&pathise with my feelings; you are the man who, when we were within fifteen minutes of the top of Mount Herbert that Sunday, proposed that •We do now , consider we have reached the summit. , "

" Come now, Russell, you didn't, oppose ifc so very vigorously when I did move if, Stevens rejoined. " Oppose it! of course not. You simply squatted on the ground, and refused to move; and as you were carryiug the liquor and the luncheon at the time, it was a moral that all the party would vote foe your motion." "Well, theu," said Stevens, "as you don't seem to approve of my method of • ascendiiig mouutains by unauimous resolution, , what do you suggest) we should do?"

After a puff or two at his cigar Russell gave us his views. " E versincethe eruption of'B6l have been keenly anxious to renew my acquaintance with the Lake Country. Much as I admit ed the Terraces, it's all nousense to suppose there is nothing left to see because they are lost; the effects of so recent an eruption of surh magnitude must be a fine sight. : I have been ' bodily present,' as you know, at a good many interesting spots on the can h's surface and tbe rent of the globe 1 have ' done' pretty thoroughly in Doctor Johnson's fashion—in my armchair ; but I don't know of any region that o/lers so many marvels to the tourist, within so small a space, as the Taupo zone. If you fellows are agreeable Mrs Russell and I will make the trip with you; we shall have a very cosy little party 'do ' the Lake district thoroughly. What do you say ?" Stevens at once tell in with the • suggestion ; Clarke, however, found phat other engagements would prevent his being of of the party. This we much regretted as in all previous excursions we had been inseparable. We were soon deeply immersed in maps, guide-tooks, &c, drawing up an " itinerary," and making estimates of the expenditure. We calculated that the trip could be done comfortably for thirty to forty pounds a head; and subsequent events verified the estimate. We decided to leave a week or two bef<.re Christmas, to spend a fortnight or more on the overland journey betweeu Wellington and Auckland, and get to that place on the first day of the year, in time to see the Derby run. Of course we had to promise Clarke that we would write him long accounts of our experiences. " . " dome of our other friends would probably also be glad to get an account from us?" Stevens suggested. "Suppose we collaborate on a sort of circular letter to Clarke, which he can 'pass on.'" . , •'I am agreeable," said Russell, "and to carry your suggestion further we might perhaps find an editor hungry enough for * copy ' to accept it for his paper." " Right you are; we'd jot down a .fewnotes from time to time; you, as a man experienced in the district, and well furnished with reminiscences of other travels, shall supply the materials, and I'll perform the hack work and write them up." And this, good reader, or readers (if ,we are lucky enough to have you in the plural) is the origin of the following attempt to give some account of the New Zealand wonderland, aud of the experiences and adventures of ■ " Thkee in a Coach."