current, before they can even realize that they are in danger. The
common saying in New Zealand is, that people only die from drowning
and drunkenness. I am afraid the former is generally the result of
the latter.

From the first our road lay with our backs to the hills; but as we
cantered along the plains, I was often obliged to turn round and
admire their grand outlines. The highest ranges were still
snow-white, and made a magnificent background against the summer
sky. An easy twelve miles' ride brought us to a charming little
station, called by the pretty native name of Waireka; here lived our
three bachelor hosts, and a nicer or more comfortable home in a
distant land could not be desired. The house has been built for
some years, consequently the plantations about it and the garden
have grown up well, and the willows, gum-trees, and poplars shelter
it perfectly, besides giving it such a snug home look. It stands on
a vast plain, without even an undulation of the ground near it; but
the mountains form a grand panoramic view. There is a large wide
verandah round two sides of the house, with French windows opening
into it; and I could not help feeling impatient to see my own
creepers in such luxuriant, beauty as these roses and honeysuckles
were. It was half amusing and half pathetic to notice the
preparations which had been made to receive a lady guest, and the
great anxiety of my hosts to ensure my being quite as comfortable as
I am at home. Much had been said beforehand about the necessity of
making up my mind to rough it in bachelor quarters, so I was
surprised to find all sorts of luxuries in my room, especially a
dainty little toilette-table, draped with white cloths (a big wooden
packing-case was its foundation). Its ornaments were all sorts of
nondescript treasures, placed in boxes at the last moment of leaving