ral beauties, so filled
with the glories and magnificences of the Creator's hand, is surely--

"Meet nurse for a poetic child."

It is not surprising, then, that we find the Maori character actively
alive to such impressions. The oldest men absolutely revel in the
abundance of the tales, both prose and poetry, that they are able to
relate about the scenes around them. But Young Maori is more civilized,
and does not trouble his head so much with these old narratives. It is
well, then, that some should be preserved while that is possible.

Old Colonial is a great hand at yarns. He loves to hear himself talk,
and, in truth, he can tell a tale in first-class dramatic fashion.
O'Gaygun and Dandy Jack are both given to the same thing a good deal.
They run Old Colonial pretty close in all respects save one, and that is
when he gets into a peculiarly Maori vein. There they cannot follow him,
for neither has achieved his command over the intricacies of Maori
rhetoric, nor has that intimate experience of the natives, which enables
Old Colonial to enter so thoroughly into the spirit and character of
their narrations.

As I know that Old Colonial's hands are more accustomed to the axe than
to the pen, and that he will never take the trouble to give his
wonderful collection of anecdotes to a larger audience than his voice
can reach, I have made notes of his narratives, and some day, perhaps,
shall put them in print. In the meantime, I may as well mention, that,
it was from his lips that I heard the tale of our show-place.

One day, some lime was wanted on the farm for some purpose or other, and
it became a question as to how we had better get it. The usual method
employed in the neighbourhood was to utilize oysters for this purpose. A
rude kiln would be constructed in the bank, where it sloped down to the
river-beach. In this would be placed alternate layers of dead wood and
of living oysters, with a proper vent. The burn usually resulted in a
fair supply of good shell-lime, than which there can be no better.

But on this occasion we wanted a tolerably large quantity of lime, so
that there were objections to the plan I have just detailed. For though
oysters abounded on our beach, and covered the rocks that low-tide laid
bare, yet, when a good many tons of them were wanted, all of which must
be gathered with a handshovel and carried on men's backs to the kiln, it
became evident that a considerable amount of labour must be u