mischief, and saw on the south-west horizon great fleecy masses of
cloud driving rapidly up before a chill icy breeze. Hurrah, here
comes a sou'-wester! The parched-up earth, the shrivelled leaves,
the dusty grass, all needed the blessed damp air. In an hour it was
upon us. We had barely time to house the cows and horses, to feed
the fowls, and secure them in their own shed, and to light a roaring
coal (or rather lignite, for it is not true coal) fire in the
drawing-room, when, with a few warning splashes, the deluge of cold
rain came steadily down, and we went to sleep to the welcome sound
of its refreshing patter.

All that I have been describing was the weather of the past week.
Disagreeable as it might have been, it was needed in both its hot
and cold, dry and wet extremes, to make a true New Zealand day. The
furious nor'-wester had blown every fleck of cloud below the
horizon, and dried the air until it was as light as ether. The
"s'utherly buster," on the other hand, had cooled and refreshed
everything in the most delicious way, and a perfect day had come at
last. What words can describe the pleasure it is to inhale such an
atmosphere? One feels as if old age or sickness or even sorrow,
could hardly exist beneath such a spotless vault of blue as
stretched out above our happy heads. I have often been told that
this feeling of intense pleasure on a fine day, which is peculiar to
New Zealand, is really a very low form of animal enjoyment. It may
be so, but I only know that I never stood in the verandah early in
the morning of such a day as I am trying to sketch in pen and ink
now, without feeling the highest spiritual joy, the deepest
thankfulness to the loving Father who had made His beautiful world
so fair, and who would fain lead us through its paths of
pleasantness to a still more glorious, home, which will be free from