"`And I said, if there's peace in this world to be found'--Go on, Joey,
will you?--`The--he heart that is humble might welcome it here,'" sang
and said a sturdy-looking, hard-faced man, with cleanly-shaven chin and
upper lip, and a pair of well-trimmed grizzly whiskers. He was somewhat
sun-browned, but wore a broad-brimmed straw hat, and in addition, as he
strode a very weedy, meditative-looking pony, he carried up a large
gingham umbrella.
"Well, Joey!" he continued, apostrophising the pony, which had come to a
full stop; "you're a sensible beast, and it _is_ a beautiful spot, and
`the heart that is humble' might truly `welcome it here.' What a
paradise! They may well call it Golden Gap! Golden, indeed! A
heavenly gilding--no dross here! No more like Battersea Fields than I'm
like an archangel. Well, Joey, suppose we meditate, then, for half an
hour. You shall chew your herb, and I'll smoke mine, even if it be not
canonical. I don't like good things to be wasted, as my old mother used
to say. Savages smoke, so why should not a parson?"
Slowly dismounting, he closed his umbrella, unbuckled the pony's bridle,
that he might graze, and then, seating himself beneath a huge tree-fern,
he filled and lit his pipe, and began to enjoy its fragrance.
For he was seated far up on the side of a mountain, whose exact
similitude was on the other side of the valley, so that it seemed as if,
in some wild convulsion, Nature had divided one vast eminence, and then
clothed the jagged and rugged sides from the point where the glittering,
snow-tipped summits peered forth, down to the lovely stream in the
valley, with the riches of her wondrous arboretum. The fattest of
pastures by the little river, and deepest of arable rich soil; and then,
as step by step the mountain rose, everywhere shone forth the glory of
the New Zealand foliage, with its fern and palm-like fronds, parasite
and creeper, of the most golden greens, and here and there blushing with
blossom; while in scores of places tiny silver threads could be seen
dashing, plashing, and flashing in the sun-rays, as they descended from
the never-exhausted storehouses of ice and snow far above, which glowed
in turn, like some wondrous collection of gold and gems.
Some three miles away there shone the sparkling waters of a tiny bay,
whose shores, at that distance, could be seen framed in emerald green,
as the forest trees grew right down to where the sea could almost lave
their roots, and goodly ships have made fast cable or hawser to their
trunks. And yet, in all the length and breadth of the glorious vale,
stood but one house, sheltered in another tiny valley, running off at
right angles; while right up and up, higher and higher, tree, crag, and
mossy bank were piled with a profuseness of grandeur that displayed
novel beauties at every glance.
"`And I said, if there's peace,'--I don't believe any place could be
more lovely, even in this land of beauty," muttered the traveller,
tapping the ashes out of his smoked pipe on to a mossy boulder, and then
blowing them carefully away. "Here am I, too, defiling Nature's
beauties with my vile nicotine. But beauty is beauty, Joey; and it only
satisfies the eye; and man has a stomach, and bones that ache if they
don't have a bed; so, my gallant steed, we'll finish our journey to the
Moa's Nest, and see what friend Lee will say to us, and whether he will
bestow on thy master, damper, tea, and bacon, and on thee some corn."
The gallant steed did not even sniff at the prospect of the feed of
corn, but submitted, like the well-broken animal he was, to the
replacing of his bit; when, arranging his bridle, his master mounted,
put up his umbrella again, and then, leaving the pony to pick his way,
slowly descended the zigzag track which led to old Martin Lee's station,
known far and wide, from an old Maori tradition, as the Moa's Nest.
The distance seemed nothing from where he had been seated; but the track
wound and doubled so much, from the steepness of the descent, that it
was getting towards sundown before the traveller rode up to the long,
straggling, wooden building, that had evidently been erected at various
times, as the prosperity of its occupant had called for farther
increase; when, slowly dismounting, he closed the great umbrella, hung
his bridle upon a hook, and stalked in to where the family were at tea,
if the substantial meal spread out could be so called.
"God bless all here!" he said heartily, as he brought down the umbrella
with a thump; "How's friend Lee?"
"Right well am I, parson, thank you!" exclaimed a bluff, sturdy-looking
farmer. "Won't you draw up to the log fire?"
There was a merry laugh at these words; for it was midsummer, and the
Gap was famed for its hot days and nights.
"And how is the good wife, and my little queen, too?" continued the
new-comer, shaking hands with Mrs Lee, a sharp, eager little woman; and
then taking their daughter's blooming face between his hands, to kiss
her lovingly, as if she had been his own child. "All well? That's
right! Yours obediently, sir," he continued, to a tall, dark man of
about thirty, who had risen from the table with the others.
"A neighbour of ours, Mr Meadows," said Mrs Lee; "Mr Anthony Bray."
"Your servant, sir," said the new-comer stiffly. "A neighbour, eh?
Lives close by--six or eight miles off, I suppose?" And then he
muttered to himself, "I know what's your business."
"Well, I think you've made a pretty good guess at the distance," said
the other; "it _is_ seven miles."
"Great blessing sometimes, but it makes one's parish too extended to be
pleasant. I find it a long journey to visit all my people in the nooks
and corners--"
"And Moas' Nests."
"Ay, and Moas' Nests, they get into. Well, I've come to ask a bed and a
meal, if you'll give them to me, friend Lee."
"Always welcome, parson, so long as you don't come begging," said the
head of the family.
"But I have come begging," he said, standing with one hand upon his
umbrella, and the other stuck under his grey frock coat. "I want a
subscription towards our new church; so, if we are not welcome, Joey and
I will have to--There, bless me, child, don't take away my umbrella!" he
exclaimed, to the pretty daughter of the household, who, in true
patriarchal fashion, was divesting him of his sunshade and hat, and
placing him in a chair.
"There, sit down, do!" exclaimed the settler, laughing; "it's quite a
treat to see a fresh face--and I daresay I can buy you off with a
crooked sixpence or so. Fall to, man; you look hot and worn."
"Little overdone, perhaps," said the visitor. "Phew! bother the flies!
How they always seem to settle on you, when a little out of sorts!
Scent sickness, I suppose. Thank you, my child; nothing like a cup of
tea for refreshment. Why, our Katie looks more blooming than ever, Mrs
Lee."
"Ay, she grows," said the father; "and we begin to want to see her
married and settled, eh, Mr Bray?"
Kate Lee's face crimsoned, and she darted an appealing look to her
mother, one not misinterpreted by the other visitor, who assumed not to
have heard his host's remark.
But farther remark was checked by a boisterous "Hillo!" a horse cantered
up to the door, and Edward Murray, flushed and heated, sprang to the
ground, to fold Kate Lee in his arms in an instant, and then heartily
salute the rest of the family.
"Couldn't overtake you, Mr Meadows," said the young sailor, "though I
saw your old umbrella bobbing down the valley like a travelling
mushroom."
"There, parson, there's no best bed for you to-night," said the settler.
"The woman-kind worship this fellow, and you'll only come off second
best."
"I can be happy anywhere," said Mr Meadows. "Don't incommode
yourselves for me."
Meanwhile it needed no interpreter to tell of the intimacy between
Edward Murray and Kate Lee. A love the growth of years--the love that
had induced him to quit the navy; for he had felt unable to settle when
old Lee had left his native town, driven by misfortunes to settle in one
of the colonies, New Zealand being his choice, where now, after some
years' hard fight with difficulties, he was living a wealthy,
patriarchal life in this pleasant valley.
So Edward Murray had found no difficulty in getting appointed to a
trader, which, however little in accordance with his tastes, took him at
least once a year to where he could visit the Lees in their new home.
At first, old Lee did not evince much pleasure at the sight of the young
man, for he had seen Anthony Bray's dark visage grow more dark as he
tugged at his handkerchief, and then, after a vain attempt at showing
his nonchalance, he rose hastily and quitted the place, followed by the
eyes of Mr Meadows, who generally contrived to see all, and to
interpret things pretty correctly.
And he made few mistakes in the conclusions he had that evening arrived
at; for, but that very afternoon, Anthony Bray had, after months of
unsuccessful wooing, asked the maiden to be his wife, but only to meet
with an unconditional refusal; for Katie Lee possessed a faith not
shared by both her parents, and it was with a triumphant joy in her
bright eyes that she took her place quietly by Edward Murray's side, as
he told of his long and stormy travels since he met them a year ago.
"And when did you get into the bay?" inquired old Lee.
"Only last night," said the young man.
"Then you have lost little time," said Mr Meadows.
"Well, no," said the other simply. "I wanted to get here, and see what
I've been thinking about for the last twelve months;" and he turned to
Katie, whose eyes met his for an instant, and then fell as her colour
heightened.
"Ah! it's all plain enough what it means, Mr Meadows," said Mrs Lee.
"Martin, there, used to tell me, years ago, that now I was a wife, I
must stay at home, and cry `clack, clack,' to the chickens; and now it
seems that I'm going to cry `clack, clack' in vain; for one's chick is
going to ran away, when she might be happily settled down here close by,
where we could see her."
Katie's wandering and troubled look fell upon Mr Meadows, who smiled
grimly, as he said, "I'm afraid, ma'am, that your poor mother would have
to cry `cluck, cluck' very loudly before you would hear her all these
thousand miles away. It's nature, ma'am, nature. As the old birds
mated in the pleasant spring of life, so will the young ones; and God
bless them, say I, and may they be happy!"
"Amen!" said old Martin; "there's no getting over that, wife. All I
want is to see some one happy; and I'm afraid it's rather a mistake when
old folks try to manufacture the youngsters' future. That's about the
best sermon I ever heard from you, Parson Meadows; it was short, and to
the point. I've been wrong, I know; but then she talked me into it."
And he nodded towards his wife, who rose and left the room, while Kate
crept to her father's side, Edward following Mrs Lee out into the
garden, where the long, conversation that ensued must have terminated
favourably; for when Kate, who had been anxiously watching for their
return, at length followed them out into the bright moonlit space in
front of the house, she was encountered by her mother, who whispered two
or three words, and then hurried in, having owned herself defeated.
"And where are the young folks?" said old Lee, as she entered.
Mrs Lee made a motion with her hand, and then bustled away to
superintend the arrangements for the night, besides receiving
deputations of shepherds and stockmen, and acting as her husband's prime
minister, so that he might be left at liberty to entertain his visitors.
"It's hard to manage matters, parson, when two children want the same
apple," he said.
"Yes, yes," said the minister; "all you have to do is to give it to the
most deserving. There's a simple straightforwardness about the young
sailor I like, though he did compare me to a mushroom."
"Yes, I like him," said old Lee; "but then the wife was set on this
Bray, because he's close at hand here. But I think she's come round,
though I know she did hope that time and the long journeys would tire
out the other; but he's true as--"
"The needle to the pole, as he'd say," laughed the other; "and if he's
that, what more would you have?"
"Who? I? Nothing, nothing. I only want to see the little lass happy.
I'm sorry for Bray, though. I suppose he could not bear to see it, for
he has gone."
"Yes, he went long enough ago, scowling furiously. I hope, friend Lee,
there will be no unpleasantry between them."
"O, nonsense!" ejaculated the old settler; and farther converse was
stopped by the entrance of the young people.
------------------------------------------------------------------------