have hopes of being able to purchase some good country in the immediate
vicinity. There is a piece on which I have my eye, and which adjoins
that I have already. There can be, I imagine, no doubt that this is
excellent sheep country; still, I should like to see it in winter.

* * *

June, 1860.--The V hut is a fait accompli, if so small an undertaking
can be spoken of in so dignified a manner. It consists of a small roof
set upon the ground; it is a hut, all roof and no walls. I was very
clumsy, and so, in good truth, was my man. Still, at last, by dint of
perseverance, we have made it wind and water tight. It was a job that
should have taken us about a couple of days to have done in first-rate
style; as it was, I am not going to tell you how long it DID take. I
must certainly send the man to the right-about, but the difficulty is to
get another, for the aforesaid hut is five-and-twenty miles (at the very
least) from any human habitation, so that you may imagine men do not
abound. I had two cadets with me, and must explain that a cadet means a
young fellow who has lately come out, and who wants to see a little of
up-country life. He is neither paid nor pays. He receives his food and
lodging gratis, but works (or is supposed to work) in order to learn.
The two who accompanied me both left me in a very short time. I have
nothing to say against either of them; both did their best, and I am
much obliged to them for what they did, but a very few days' experience
showed me that the system is a bad one for all the parties concerned in
it. The cadet soon gets tired of working for nothing; and, as he is not
paid, it is difficult to come down upon him. If he is good for
anything, he is worth pay, as well as board and lodging. If not worth
more than these last, he is simply a nuisance, for he sets a bad
example, which cannot be checked otherwise than by dismissal; and it is