er and
mother had still eight hundred pounds untouched; two hundred pounds,
together with the proceeds of his mother's trinkets and jewels, and the
sale of the ponies and pony carriage, which had been her own property,
having sufficed to pay for the passage of themselves and their two
labourers, and for all expenses up to the time of their arrival at
Wellington. "If we could get another piece of two hundred acres
adjoining it at the same price, I think my father would like to take
it," he said; "it would give more room for horses and cattle to graze.
Of course we should not want it at first; but if as we got on we wanted
more land, and had neighbours all round us and could not get it, it
would be a nuisance."

"I agree with you," Mr. Mitford said. "Two hundred acres is more than
you want if you are going to put it under the plough; it is not enough
if you are going to raise cattle and horses. I should certainly
recommend you to take up another two hundred. The next land on this side
is still vacant. Poor Langston chose the spot because it happened to be
particularly pretty, with an open glade down to the river, but the land
for fully two miles on this side is unoccupied. You can get it at ten
shillings an acre at present. I will see about it for you if you make up
your mind after seeing Langston's place, to take it."

"Of course I cannot settle it by myself, sir, not absolutely. I can only
recommend it to my father as the best place that I have seen. If it is
as you describe it they will be delighted."

"Well, we will ride over to-morrow and have a look at it. The only
possible objection I have is loneliness; but that will improve in time;
the natives here are perfectly peaceful, and we have never had the
slightest trouble with them."

"We are a good large party to begin with, you see," Wilfrid said.
"Having the two men with us will take away the feeling of loneliness,
especially if Mr. Atherton decides upon taking the piece of land next to
us. Then there are the two Allens who came out with us. I promised to
write and tell them if I found any nice place; and they said
particularly that they wanted ground on a river if they could get it, as
they are fond of boating and fishing, and fancied that if there were
other farms round that they could, until their own place paid, help to
keep themselves by taking their neighbours' crops down to market."

"Yes, it might pay if they got a large flat-boat capable of carrying
c