ing on in the group of which the
brothers form the centre. They are a little dazed, and do not venture to
speak; but they are canny for all that, and bide their time. Amid the
babel of voices that surrounds us on all sides, we catch a few
utterances as follows:--

"Five shillings a day, and your tucker!"

"Five and threepence, lads!"

"He'll give you nothing but salt pork; try me at the same wage!"

"And you'll have to live on potatoes and pumpkins with him!"

"Five and six, and as much mutton as you want!"

"Too much, perhaps, and braxy at that!"

"Come, a cottage to yourselves, rations, and five and six a day!"

"Cottage! A tumble-down whare is what he means!"

"Fresh meat every day with me, boys--beef, mutton, and pork!"

"Yes; and he'll want you to work twelve hours!"

"Better engage with me at five and nine; I'll lodge you well, and feed
you first chop!"

And so on and so on, until at last the brothers pluck up determination,
and make choice of an employer. So our Caledonian friends begin to
gather together their traps and make preparations to accompany their
complaisant and well-satisfied boss to his farm on the banks of the
Waikato. And an indescribable joy is in their hearts, for they are to
receive six shillings and sixpence a day, and to be provided with
comfortable lodging and lavish "tucker" withal; and though, no doubt,
they will prove worthy of that high wage to their employer, yet what
marvellous wealth it is, compared to the most they could have earned had
they remained to toil upon the braes of Albyn!

Of course, very few of the other immigrants get such a wage as that. The
two young Scots are the picked men of the crowd. Five shillings a day
and "all found" is the ordinary wage for an agricultural, and though
some are worth more, new-chums are generally held to be worth a good
deal less for their first year. The distich--

"Eight hours' sleep and eight hours' play,
Eight hours' work and eight bob a day,"

has been, and is, verified literally over and over again in New Zealand;
but the "eight bob a day" cannot be called an ordinary wage. A man must
be worth his salt and something over to get it, and will not do so
unless labour is scarce and in much demand. Those who contract, or do
work by the piece, often make as much and more if they are first-rate
workers; and that kind of engagement is preferred by both employers and
employes, as a rule.

All sorts of skilled labourers get h