17s 6d per head) £17 10s; 1700 sheep (at 5s 6d per head), £467 10s; a total of £885. Peat further deposed that he had “promised Gotty, as he was an old settler of the colony, that he could have a homestead and fifty acres of land as long as he lived.” At the end of the case the jury decided in favour of the plaintiff and awarded £174 5s damages against Gotty and Peat. Nevertheless, in answer to the question as to the adequacy of the price stated in the agreement for the converted chattels, the jury said, “Decidedly not, nor do the jury consider the purchase a creditable one on the part of the purchaser.” The reason for raising the mortgage was not stated during the case, and the writer raises the speculation as to whether Gotty had raised the money for meeting the cost of educating his sons The reader will remember that it has been stated in newspaper articles that Gotty sent his sons abroad to complete their education. One writer wrote:—“John and George, born and bred in Rangitikei, were educated at Oxford at a cost of £7000.”8 In another newspaper article it is stated: —“One of the few papers which Gotty left was an account of his sons' education. He says it cost him £7000—at a time when money had a far greater value than it has to-day.”9 It is from statements such as those quoted in the preceding paragraph that the Gotty family have formed the opinion that the writers of some of the newspaper articles have had access to the missing papers, previously referred to in this account. Members of the family have made widespread inquiries for these papers but so far without result. Gotty's son, John, left the papers with his solicitor, the late Alfred M. Lyon of Marton; the lawyer who also drew up his last will and testament on the 26th January 1917.10 RETIREMENT AND DEATH After the sale of his farm Gotty lived a retired life with Puhiwahine at Matahiwi, on the south side of the mouth of the Rangitikei River. Gotty's son, John, lived a few miles away at Ohinepuhiawe, and his children were often with their grandparents. Te Keehi says that they all had fond memories of their grandfather and his kindly nature. According to the family Gotty was in receipt of a regular remittance from Germany. He and Puhiwahine often attended tribal gatherings, and he was always made welcome by the tribesmen, all of whom held him in the highest regard. When he was unable to attend Gotty saw to it that Puhiwahine was well cared for on her journeys. He took a good deal of interest in tribal affairs, and his advice was often sought by the chiefs. He had by then become quite a fluent speaker of the Maori language. In his eighty-fourth year, after being confined to his bed for three months, Gotty passed away peacefully in the arms of his son, John, on the 30th April 1893. He was buried in the Matahiwi cemetery. The name Matahina for the cemetery is a typographical error in the Death Certificate. John registered his father's death and supplied the following particulars: Description of Deceased: John Gotty, Farmer, Age 84 Name and surname of father: Anonia von Goethe. Name and surname of mother: Emma von Goethe. Profession or occupation of father: Cavalry officer in the Prussian Army. Married at Poaru, Taupo, N.Z. at the age of 40, to Elizabeth Rangihiriawea. Deceased was born in Germany and had been in New Zealand 55 years. Living issue: Two sons aged 48 and 46. The Rihi—the other name of Puhiwahine—is the maorified form of Lizzie. The writer was under the impression that Rihi was a baptismal name, but according to John Rangimatiti the name originated with Gotty who gave her the name Elizabeth when they were married. The changing of names was quite a common thing among our Maori people. THE GOETHE STORY Various writers of newspaper articles, since the death of Gotty, have made the claim that he was a son of the famous German poet-dramatist, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. One of these articles goes on to relate that Gotty, whilst attending “one of the Fatherland's universities” had become the “leader” in some “political strife”, and had eventually been “deported by the appropriate authorities.” He then wandered “from place to place and clime to clime” until finally his “wanderings brought him to New Zealand.”11 Another article tells a story about “a visitor to the home of the poet-philosopher” who discovered that “his wild son Johann Goethe” had killed “a fellow student in a duel”, and had “departed to an unknown foreign land.” This story continues with the statement that the date of Johann's departure “coincided with that of the sailing of Yohann Gotty for Maoriland, and the identity was subsequently confirmed.”12 The third article13 mentions that an original portrait of Goethe by Georg Melchoir, which had been painted in 1779 and had been lost for a century, was traced by Professor Wahl, director of the National Museum at Weimar, to New Zealand. The portrait was retrieved and is now in the museum at Weimar. The portrait represents the poet in one of his plays, “Iphigenia”. This account went on to say, “The presence of the picture in New Zealand may be due to the fact that a son of Johann Wolfgang Goethe came to New Zealand nearly a century ago … It is reputed he had been involved in some agitation in Germany and he became a wanderer and eventually settled in New Zealand.” The fourth article states that “Family tradition says he wounded a nobleman in a duel at his university and was exiled. But other sources sug-