girls and boys are never
weary of admiring or caressing or spoiling her. She can coax and wheedle
her father and Arama, mihonere and kuremata alike, to do almost anything
she desires, and through them she may be said to reign over the
Ngatewhatua. She is the delight and darling of all the settlers round.
She is the idyll of our shanty, and our regard for her approaches to
idolatry. O Rakope, Rakope! I hope you will some day marry a Pakeha
rangatira, and endow him with your ten thousand acres; for if you mate
with even an ariki from among your own people, your lot will be but a
hard one when age has dimmed the brighter glories of your beauty!

There was a spree at the township; an event that had been looked forward
to by everybody for months past. English people are given to associating
the idea of a "spree" with that of a bacchanal orgy. Not so we. With us
the word is simply colonial for a festivity of any kind, private or
public. And whatever may be the primary object of the spree, it is
pretty certain to conclude with a dance.

On this occasion "The Pahi Minstrels," who had advertised themselves for
long beforehand, were to give a musical entertainment, disguised as
niggers. It is, perhaps, unnecessary to explain who these personages
were, since it will be remembered that our shanty was given to sending
out serenading expeditions. _We_ were the Pahi Minstrels; having
laboriously trained ourselves in a certain _repertoire_, and having been
reinforced by one or two other amateur instrumentalists.

In the bush a very little is accepted as an excuse for amusement. The
public festivities of our district are confined to two events in the
year--the Otamatea races and the Pahi regatta; so that any addition to
these is received with unanimous pleasure and applause. Our present
intention had met with a hearty reception.

On the appointed evening, just about sundown and after, there was a
grand gathering at the township. All along the beach boats lay drawn up,
and the number of people walking about made the place seem quite
populous. Of course, everybody was there from our own river, and from
Paparoa and Matakohe besides. There were people, too, from the Wairoa
settlements, from the Oruawharo, even from Maungaturoto and distant
Mangawai. Our hearts sunk into our boots when we saw the prodigious
audience that was assembling to hear our crude attempts at minstrelsy.

Our Maori friends were there in full force. Rakope, Piha, Me