en old punt) the materials
for at least two substantial meals, in case of being kept out by a
sudden head-wind. I was especially glad to notice a little kettle among
the _impedimenta_, and there were cloaks and wraps of all kinds to
provide against the worst. Four gentlemen and I made up the crew and
passengers, and a very merry set we were, behaving extremely like
children out for a holiday. The wind was a trifle light for sailing, so
the gentlemen pulled, but very lazily and not at all in good "form,"
as the object of each oarsman seemed to be to do as little work as
possible. However, we got on somehow, a light puff helping us now and
then, but our progress was hardly perceptible. I had been for a long
time gazing down into the clear blue depth of water, every now and then
seeing a flash of the white sand shining at the bottom, when I was half
startled by our host standing suddenly up in the bow of the boat;
and then I found that we were a couple of miles away from our
starting-point, and that we had turned a corner formed by a steep spur,
and were running right into what appeared a grove of rata-trees growing
at the water's edge. The rata only grows in the hills and near water; it
is a species of broad-leaf myrtle, with a flower exactly like a myrtle
in character, but of a brilliant deep scarlet colour, and twice as
large.

When the bowsprit touched the rata-branches, which drooped like a
curtain into the water, Mr. H---- made a signal to lower the mast, and
parting the thick, blossom-covered foliage before us, with both hands,
the way the boat had on her sent us gently through the screen of scarlet
flowers and glossy green leaves into such a lovely fairy cove! Before us
was a little white beach of fine sparkling sand, against which the water
broke in tiny wavelets, and all around a perfect bower of every variety
of fern and moss, kept green by streams no thicker than a silver thread
trickling down here and there with a subdued tinkling sound. We all
sat quite silent, the boat kept back just inside the entrance by the
steersman holding on to a branch. It was a sudden contrast from the
sparkling sunshine and brightness outside, all life and colour and
warmth, to the tender, green, profound shade and quiet in this "Mossy
Hum," as the people about here call it. Do not fancy anything damp or
chilly. No; it was like a natural temple--perfect repose and refreshment
to the eyes dazzled with the brilliant outside colouring.