y resource, with that in view, would be to
warehouse them in Auckland, and the expense of even this dead weight
would make too large a hole in our possible earnings. Finally, there was
hardly anything in our entire outfit that would be of much practical use
to us.

Aghast and grieving, we comprehended at last that we should have to rid
ourselves of the too heavy burden with which Messrs. Argent and
Joy had weighted us, in consideration of that prodigious and
ever-to-be-regretted cheque. There was no help for it. An Israelitish
dealer, who happily abided in the city, would have to be called in. And
it could scarcely be said that he bought our property of us; it was a
nearer approach to our having to pay him to take it away.

Our friend contemptuously examined parcel after parcel of things. Dress
suits and white waistcoats, broadcloth and doeskin, scarves and gloves,
white shirts, collars, and cuffs all appeared to move his derision. He
kicked aside a dozen pairs of boots with the remark that--

"There's nothing there fit for this country. Rough-hide and hobnails is
what you want."

Certain tweed suits that the fancy of our London tailor had invested
with the title "New Zealand Specialities" were, said our friend, only
suitable for colonists who intended to settle on the top of the Southern
Alps. Various knick-knacks, dressing-cases, writing-cases, clocks,
etcetera, were regarded by him as contemptible lumber. Some silk socks
he looked upon almost as a criminal possession.

In the end we were reduced to a single box apiece, containing something
like the following assortment, several items of which had to be
purchased in Auckland. Six flannel shirts, two blankets, two pair
moleskin breeches, one light pilot coat, one light tweed coat and
trousers (which we wore at the time), some handkerchiefs, some socks,
two towels, brush and comb, two pairs of boots, and one pair of
leggings, a wide-awake hat, and a few odds and ends. Such books as we
had we were allowed to retain, for, although the time for reading is
very limited in the bush, yet, books being a rare commodity, are much
prized there.

Of course, there was much merriment among the colonials at our expense,
but I think the greatest mirth was excited by our cases of revolvers.
These we had brought under the idea that they would prove to be a
necessity, imagining that war with the Maoris was the normal condition
of things, and that society was constituted something