tainty that
the dray would be delayed at least a day, and perhaps two; this was a
dreadful idea: for some time past we had been economising our resources
to make them last, and we knew that there was absolutely nothing at
the home-station, nor at our nearest neighbour's, for they had sent to
borrow tea and sugar from us. Just at dusk that evening, two gentlemen
rode up, not knowing F---- was from home, and asked if they might remain
for the night. I knew them both very well; in fact, one was our cousin
T----, and the other an old friend; so they put up their horses, and
housed their dogs (for each had a valuable sheep-dog with him) in
a barrel full of clean straw, and we all tried to spend a cheerful
evening, but everybody confessed to the same extraordinary depression of
spirits that I felt.

When I awoke the next morning, I was not much surprised to see the snow
falling thick and fast: no sheep were now visible, there was a great
silence, and the oppression in the atmosphere had if possible increased.
We had a very poor breakfast,--no porridge, very little mutton (for
in expectation of the house being nearly empty, the shepherd had not
brought any over the preceding day), and _very_ weak tea; coffee and
cocoa all finished, and about an ounce of tea in the chest. I don't know
how the gentlemen amused themselves that day; I believe they smoked a
good deal; I could only afford a small fire in the drawing-room, over
which I shivered. The snow continued to fall in dense fine clouds,
quite unlike any snow I ever saw before, and towards night I fancied the
garden fence was becoming very much dwarfed. Still the consolation was,
"Oh, it won't last; New Zealand snow never: does." However, on Wednesday
morning things began to look very serious indeed: the snow covered
the ground to a depth of four feet in the shallowest places, and still
continued to fall steadily; the cows we knew _must_ be in the paddock
were not to be seen anywhere; the fowl-house and pig-styes which stood
towards the weather quarter had entirely disappeared; every scrap of
wood (and several logs were lying about at the back) was quite covered
up; both the verandahs were impassable; in one the snow was six feet
deep, and the only door which could be opened was the back-kitchen door,
as that opened inwards; but here the snow was half-way over the roof, so
it took a good deal of work with the kitchen-shovel, for no spades could
be found, to dig out a passage. I