swampy country. The roads were fearfully muddy and irregular. At one
time the coach was running on two wheels, and the next moment we were
out on the road helping it out of a clay-pit.
The Thames is a large place with better hotels than Auckland. The
people here appear to be chiefly Irish. We spent a day at the Thames,
walking round the gold mines. At one end of the town the gold which
occurs in quartz reefs is only near the surface, while at the other end
it is deep. The gold is alloyed with silver, and is pale in colour and
very poor. Some of it is only worth £2 17s. per ounce, while gold in
other districts has fetched £4 5s. per ounce. The method of extraction
is by mercury plates and blankets.
At one mine we were shown some heavy pumping machinery. We had often
heard of this machinery before reaching the Thames. By-and-by it will
be sent to a museum.
Great excitement prevailed in this part of the world about some
new furnaces which were being put up to extract gold and silver by
smelting. They had been used very successfully in Victoria and New
South Wales.
From the Thames we returned to Auckland in a dirty little steamer
called the _Enterprise_. There were two notices in the saloon. One was
for passengers to take off their boots before lying on the cushions.
The cushions were strips of dirty carpet. The second was, that smoking
was strictly prohibited.
The steward enforced the first regulation, but he and the captain
disregarded the second notice by smoking and expectorating all over the
cabin.
_A SYSTEMATIC GUIDE-BOOK._
When I was in New Zealand I commenced to write a guide-book for the
country. My objects were manifold. I wished to increase the traveller’s
pleasure by pointing out to him the sights best worth visiting. I
was desirous of placing in the hands of those who had visited this
Wonderland the means of reviving their impressions. I wanted to give
to those who live in distant countries, and are not blessed with the
ways and means of journeying to New Zealand, an accurate and faithful
account of all its marvels. In short, I wanted to benefit mankind. I
did not want to sell thousands of editions of my work. I did not want
to induce people to go by steamers or stay at hotels in which I had an
interest. All that I wanted was to be purely and ideally philanthropic.
I regret to say that my noble intentions have been frustrated. Others
have been before me in the field, and authors have already launched
upon the traveller’s world many a _vade mecum_ to New Zealand. I
have read these books with the greatest interest, and their accurate
and vivid descriptions have made an indelible impression on my mind.
The phraseology of these works, among which ‘Maori-land’ stands
pre-eminent, have entered so deeply into my soul, that I feel I shall
in future be continually in danger of jeopardizing my reputation by
plagiaristic quotations.
If therefore, in the following brief samples of what my guide-book
would have been, quotations from ‘Maori-land’ and other books are
recognised, I trust that the authors of these monuments of literary art
will grant me their forgiveness.
All that I can claim for my notes is that they are a _faithful_ and
_systematic_ description of my impressions. The charge of overcolouring
the pictures I have endeavoured to present has been studiously avoided.
Ethereal nothingness has been carefully suppressed. The only fault
of which critics can accuse me, is that I have unavoidably presented
pictures in tints which are too subdued. I have endeavoured to curb
imagination, and to describe things as they really are; and in this I
feel that I have admirably succeeded.
To be systematic, I have constructed my book on a plan--the
descriptions are numbered, and they run in the following order:
1. All that it is impossible to describe by the medium of words.
2. All that strikes the stranger dumb with admiration.
3. All that exceeds the wildest flights of Eastern imagination, and
holds the wanderer spell-bound with enchantment.
4. All natural creations which can never be obliterated from the
feeblest memory.
5. All that you can only sigh and gush about.
6. Tableau and revelations of beauty.
_THE JOURNEY TO NEW ZEALAND._
1. By the medium of mere words it is impossible to convey an adequate
idea of the grandeur--the surprising loveliness we may say--of the
elegant and palatial-like appearance of the steamers which carry the
wanderer to New Zealand.
(New Zealand being an island surrounded by water, it is necessary to
approach it by boat or balloon. I went in a boat.)
2. When a stranger stands for the first time before a New Zealand
steamer, and views the magnificence and completeness of the
arrangements, he is struck dumb with admiration.
(These steamers are managed entirely for the benefit of the public,
and not as a source of revenue. The round trip costs £21, wines not
included.)
3. The lawn-like evenness of the ocean, the incomprehensibility of the
surrounding space, and the changing constellations in the heavens,
surpass the wildest flights of Eastern imagination.
(Prussic acid is not a good cure for sea-sickness. It is poison.)
The elegance of the cabins, which by day are princely parlours, and
by night gorgeously furnished couches for repose, hold you spell-bound
with enchantment.
(We think it is well to undress when you go to bed. Some travellers
sleep in their boots.)
4. The prodigality in the equipment, the skill in construction, the
perfection of management, are creations of gigantic intellects which
can never be obliterated from the feeblest mind.
(Never tell the captain that he is going the wrong way, or the engineer
that there is a rat in the cylinder.)
5. Oh! electric luminosity! Oh! soft and downy couches! Oh! Lucullian
food, what are ye to the lamps, and beds, and dinners on board vessels
going to New Zealand?
(Bar closes at 10, and lights are put out at 10.30 sharp.) You struggle
over tables in the dark, and end by reaching the wrong cabin. A cry of
_thieves_ awakens the whole ship, and you make a public apology to a
lot of people dressed in long white clothes.
6. Tableau: what revelations of beauty!
_COACHING IN NEW ZEALAND._
1. By the medium of mere words it is impossible to convey an adequate
idea of the grandeur--the surprising loveliness we may say--of a New
Zealand coach. (Children free.)
2. When a stranger stands for the first time before a New Zealand
coach, and views the mechanism of its marvellously constructed wheels,
he is struck dumb with admiration.
(From the movement I once experienced in one, I had the vehicle stopped
and got out to see if the wheels were square.)
3. As you roll along in these palaces on wheels, the prodigality of
unalloyed pleasure which the traveller experiences surpasses the
wildest flights of Eastern imagination.
(I recommend the traveller to take one or two good-sized feather-beds
along. They may save the expense of a doctor’s account.)
The vast museum of natural wonders and marvellous panoramic effects
which pass before the traveller’s eyes, hold him spell-bound with
enchantment.
(If you should tumble out of the vehicle the panoramic effects that
will cross your eyes for the next fortnight are truly marvellous.)
4. The gigantic insects which cross your path, the cataracts descending
from the clouds, the marvellous sensational and grand effects
challenging the attention of the two hemispheres, are natural creations
never to be obliterated from the feeblest memory.
(When it rains, the cataracts which come through the roof, or in at the
sides of the vehicle, are quite appalling.)
5. Oh! velvet roads! Oh! luxuries undreamt of! Oh! marvels of creation!
What are ye to a trip in a square-wheeled coach?
In the evening you apply _arnica_ to your bruises, which gives to your
body an appearance not unlike that of a leopard.
6. Tableau: what revelations of beauty!
_THE HOT LAKES._
1. By the medium of mere words it is impossible to convey an adequate
idea of the grandeur--the supreme loveliness we may say--of the
enchanting and ravishing beauty of the Hot Lakes of the Northern
Island. (You can cook potatoes in them.)
2. When a stranger stands for the first time before the White Terrace
he is struck dumb in admiration.
3. The wonderful lithic incrustation before him surpasses the wildest
flight of Eastern imagination.
The delicate tracery and champfered fretwork of the stony drapery hold
him spell-bound with enchantment.
He sees before him foaming cascades that have been mesmerized into
marble. The tiers of snow-white basins, like steps of alabaster or
Parian stone, are creations of nature never to be obliterated from
the feeblest mind. (A friend suggests that they may be partially
obliterated by a whisky cocktail.)
4. Each basin with its limpid contents, more delicate and iridescent
than the shades of opal, appeals to the senses as a petrologic poem. As
a background you have the battlements of a craggy mountain, looming up
with awe-inspiring majesty, also reminding one of natural creations
which can never be obliterated from the feeblest mind. What revelations
of beauty! N.B. If so disposed, the visitors may take a bath in the
cerulean depths of Te Terata. (Before doing so, we privately advise him
to make his will, for he will be boiled ‘as sure as eggs is eggs.’)
5. Oh! pinky white terraces where you lay in marble bows, ‘which are
described as sensuous heavens.’ Oh! polished walls of alabaster and
powdered silica, like the finest silver sand. In a glade, Nature has
supplied a dressing-room sheltered from the luminosity of the heavenly
orb.
(I undressed in a small clearing amongst almost leafless shrubs. It was
wet and dirty underfoot, and open to the wind in all directions. It was
even open to the gaze of our guide Sophia. The alabaster wall of the
bath took so much skin off one of my knees, that for the next fortnight
I had to pay my devotions standing.)
(When we had finished, Sophia had a bath.)
_THE COLD LAKES._
1. By the medium of mere words it is impossible to convey an adequate
idea of the grandeur--the surpassing loveliness we may say--of the
enchanting and ravishing beauty of the Cold Lakes of the Southern
Island. (Don’t bathe unless you can swim.)
2. When a stranger stands for the first time in the land of the
mountain and flood--the home of the ice-king--all of which are within
easy reach of the Cold Lakes, he is struck dumb with admiration.
3. The barren desolate grandeur of the haggard jagged pinnacles, which
fringe the shore of the Cold Lakes, surpass the wildest flights of the
Eastern imagination.
The everlasting snows, the culminating peaks, the primeval forests,
hold him spell-bound with enchantment.
4. Lakes of enormous depth, and pinnacles of enormous height, are
creations of Nature, the memory of which will never be obliterated from
the feeblest mind.
5. Oh! crashing thunder, which reverberates from crag to crag. Oh!
avalanches that hurtle in the air! Oh! light of laughing flowers;
what are you to the Cold Lakes of New Zealand? (A small avalanche
costs 2s. 6d. A large one 5s. The visitor ought to secure an example
of this remarkable _lusus naturæ_. They make an effective addition to
an ordinary rockery.) A township that has been squashed flat by an
avalanche has a peculiar appearance.
Tableau: What revelations of beauty!
_SUNRISES AND SUNSETS._
1. By the medium of mere words, it is impossible to convey an adequate
idea of the grandeur--the surprising loveliness we may say--of the
enchanting and ravishing beauty of the sunsets in New Zealand.
(Good lodgings at the neighbouring hotel for 20s. a night. Try dry
curaçoa.)
2. When a stranger stands for the first time before a New Zealand
sunset, and views Nature in her wildest moods for colouring, he is
struck dumb with admiration.
(The application of a pin will often relieve the trouble.)
3. The waning light, the deepening shadows, the varieties of crimson,
opal, and sapphire, surpass the wildest flights of Eastern imagination.
(The rising moon, held up by Nature’s fingers, in the departing glories
of a setting sun, holds him spell-bound with enchantment.)
4. Glittering like serpents with golden scales, the scarlet canopy
above, the waving flames of clouds, mottled like drifting fleecy wings
of angels, are natural creations never to be obliterated from the
feeblest memory.
5. Oh! molten rubies. Oh! golden veils and red flamingoes; what are ye
to the sunsets of New Zealand?
(I have not referred to sunrises, being always asleep at that time of
night.)
6. Tableau: What revelations of beauty!
_THE GENERAL ASPECT OF NATURE IN NEW ZEALAND._
1. By the medium of mere words, it is impossible to convey an adequate
idea of the grandeur--the supreme loveliness we may say--of the
enchanting and ravishing beauty of the general aspect of nature in New
Zealand.
2. When a stranger stands for the first time before the general aspect
of nature in New Zealand to interview its fairy nooks, filled with
umbrageous ferns, he is petrified with admiration.
(Don’t stand too long, or you may get your feet damp.)
3. The green glory of the mountain’s bosky brow, the streamlets
gleaming like diamonds, surpass the wildest flights of the Eastern
imagination.
(If it rains put up your umbrella.)
The silver sheen of waterfalls, the merry laugh of bubbling brooks,
hold the traveller spell-bound with enchantment.
(If you linger too long, the guide may become impatient; an extra
shilling will cure the complaint.)
4. The palaces of nature--lakes clasping islets in their arms and
wasting themselves away in kissing pebbly shores--are natural
creations never to be obliterated from the feeblest mind.
5. Oh! drops of sparkling diamonds. Oh! awe-inspiring magnitudes of
Alpine greatness. Oh! unsullied crowns of snow, stupendous cliffs, and
gossamer-like films of poetic mist; what are ye to the general aspect
of nature in New Zealand?
(The round trip will cost you about £50. The best place at which to buy
your bowie-knife and general outfit will be found by reference to the
newspaper. I’m not interested in the transaction, but suppose my books
were examined?)
Tableau: Oh! what revelations!
THE END.
BILLING & SONS, PRINTERS, GUILDFORD.
PUBLISHED BY
Chatto & Windus,
214, PICCADILLY, LONDON, W.
_Sold by all Booksellers, or sent post-free for the published price by
the Publishers_:
About.--The Fellah: An Egyptian Novel. By Edmond About. Translated by
Sir Randal Roberts. Post 8vo, illustrated boards, 2s.; cloth limp,
2s. 6d.
Adams (W. Davenport), Works by:
A Dictionary of the Drama. Being a comprehensive Guide to the
Plays, Playwrights, Players, and Playhouses of the United
Kingdom and America, from the Earliest to the Present Times.
Crown 8vo, half-bound, 12s. 6d. [_Preparing._
Latter-Day Lyrics. Edited by W. Davenport Adams. Post
8vo, cloth limp, 2s. 6d.
Quips and Quiddities. Selected by W. Davenport Adams.
Post 8vo, cloth limp, 2s. 6d.
Advertising, A History of, from the Earliest Times. Illustrated by
Anecdotes, Curious Specimens, and Notices of Successful Advertisers.
By Henry Sampson. Crown 8vo, with Coloured Frontispiece and
Illustrations, cloth gilt, 7s. 6d.
Agony Column (The) of “The Times,” from 1800 to 1870. Edited, with an
Introduction, by Alice Clay. Post 8vo, cloth limp, 2s. 6d.
Aidë (Hamilton), Works by:
Post 8vo, Illustrated boards, 2s. each.
Carr of Carrlyon.
Confidences.
Alexander (Mrs.), Novels by:
Maid, Wife, or Widow? Crown 8vo, cloth extra, 3s. 6d.; post
8vo, illustrated boards, 2s.
Valerie’s Fate. Post 8vo, illust. bds., 2s.
Allen (Grant), Works by:
Crown 8vo, cloth extra, 6s. each.
The Evolutionist at Large. Second Edition, revised.
Vignettes from Nature.
Colin Clout’s Calendar.
Strange Stories. With Frontispiece by George Du
Maurier. Cr. 8vo, cl. ex., 6s.; post 8vo, illust. bds., 2s.
Philistia: A Novel. Crown 8vo, cloth extra, 3s. 6d.; post 8vo,
illust. bds., 2s.
Babylon: A Novel. With 12 Illusts. by P. Macnab.
Cheaper Edition. Crown 8vo, cloth extra, 3s. 6d.
For Maimie’s Sake: A Tale of Love and Dynamite. Cr. 8vo, cl.
ex., 6s.
Architectural Styles, A Handbook of. Translated from the German of A.
Rosengarten, by W. Collett-Sandars. Crown 8vo, cloth extra, with 639
Illustrations, 7s. 6d.
Artemus Ward:
Artemus Ward’s Works: The Works of Charles Farrer
Browne, better known as Artemus Ward. With
Portrait and Facsimile. Crown 8vo, cloth extra, 7s. 6d.
Artemus Ward’s Lecture on the Mormons. With 32 Illustrations.
Edited, with Preface, by Edward P. Hingston. Crown
8vo, 6d.
The Genial Showman: Life and Adventures of Artemus Ward. By
Edward P. Hingston. With a Frontispiece. Cr. 8vo, cl.
extra, 3s. 6d.
Art (The) of Amusing: A Collection of Graceful Arts, Games,
Tricks, Puzzles, and Charades. By Frank Bellew. With 300
Illustrations. Cr. 8vo, cloth extra, 4s. 6d.
Ashton (John), Works by: Crown 8vo, cloth extra, 7s. 6d. each.
A History of the Chap-Books of the Eighteenth Century. With
nearly 400 Illustrations, engraved in facsimile of the
originals.
Social Life In the Reign of Queen Anne. From Original Sources.
With nearly 100 Illustrations.
Humour, Wit, and Satire of the Seventeenth Century. With nearly
100 Illustrations.
English Caricature and Satire on Napoleon the First. With 120
Illustrations from Originals. Two Vols., demy 8vo, cloth extra,
28s.
Bacteria.--A Synopsis of the Bacteria and Yeast Fungi and Allied
Species. By W. B. Grove, B.A. With 87 Illusts. Crown 8vo, cl.
extra, 3s. 6d.
Balzac’s “Comedie Humaine” and its Author. With Translations by H.
H. Walker. Post 8vo, cloth limp, 2s. 6d.
Bankers, A Handbook of London; together with Lists of Bankers from
1677. By F. G. Hilton Price. Crown 8vo, cloth extra, 7s. 6d.
Bardsley (Rev. C. W.), Works by:
Crown 8vo., cloth extra, 7s. 6d. each.
English Surnames: Their Sources and Significations. Third Ed.,
revised.
Curiosities of Puritan Nomenclature.
Bartholomew Fair, Memoirs of. By Henry Morley. With 100 Illusts. Crown
8vo, cloth extra, 7s. 6d.
Basil, Novels by: Crown 8vo, cloth extra, 3s. 6d. each; post 8vo,
illustrated boards, 2s. each.
A Drawn Game.
“The Wearing of the Green.”
Beaconsfield, Lord: A Biography. By T. P. O’Connor, M.P. Sixth
Edition, with a New Preface. Crown 8vo, cloth extra, 7s. 6d.
Beauchamp.--Grantley Grange: A Novel. By Shelsley Beauchamp.
Post 8vo, illust. bds., 2s.
Beautiful Pictures by British Artists: A Gathering of Favourites
from our Picture Galleries. In Two Series. All engraved on Steel in
the highest style of Art. Edited, with Notices of the Artists, by
Sydney Armytage, M.A. Imperial 4to, cloth extra, gilt and gilt
edges, 21s. per Vol.
Bechstein.--As Pretty as Seven, and other German Stories. Collected by
Ludwig Bechstein. With Additional Tales by the Brothers Grimm, and 100
Illusts. by Richter. Small 4to, green and gold, 6s. 6d.; gilt edges,
7s. 6d.
Beerbohm.--Wanderings in Patagonia; or, Life among the Ostrich-Hunters.
By Julius Beerbohm. With Illusts. Crown 8vo, cloth extra, 3s.
6d.
Belgravia for 1886.--One Shilling Monthly. Illustrated by P.
Macnab.--The first Chapters of Mohawks, a New Novel by M. E. Braddon,
Author of “Lady Audley’s Secret,” appeared in the January Number, and
the Story will be continued throughout the year. This Number contained
also the Opening Chapters of a New Novel entitled That other Person;
and several of those short stories for which _Belgravia_ is so famous.
⁂ _Now ready, the Volume for_ March _to_ June
1886, _cloth extra, gilt edges_, 7s. 6d.; _Cases for
binding Vols._, 2s. _each_.
Belgravia Annual for Christmas, 1885. With Stories by F. W. Robinson,
Mrs. Lynn Linton, Grant Allen, ‘Basil,’ B. Montgomerie Ranking, and
others. Demy 8vo, with Illustrations, 1s.
Bennett (W. C., LL.D.), Works by:
Post 8vo, cloth limp, 2s. each.
A Ballad History of England.
Songs for Sailors.
Besant (Walter) and James Rice, Novels by. Crown 8vo, cloth extra. 3s.
6d. each; post 8vo, illust. boards, 2s. each; cloth limp, 2s. 6d. each.
Ready-Money Mortiboy.
With Harp and Crown.
This Son of Vulcan.
My Little Girl.
The Case of Mr. Lucraft
The Golden Butterfly.
By Celia’s Arbour.
The Monks of Thelema.
’Twas in Trafalgar’s Bay.
The Seamy Side.
The Ten Years’ Tenant.
The Chaplain of the Fleet.
Besant (Walter), Novels by: Crown 8vo, cloth extra, 3s. 6d. each; post
8vo, illust. boards, 2s. each; cloth limp, 2s. 6d. each.
All Sorts and Conditions of Men: An Impossible Story. With
Illustrations by Fred. Barnard.
The Captains’ Room, &c. With Frontispiece by E. J.
Wheeler.
All In a Garden Fair. With 6 Illusts. by H. Furniss.
Dorothy Forster. With Frontispiece by Charles Green.
Uncle Jack, and other Stories.
* * * * *
The Art of Fiction. Demy 8vo, 1s.
Betham-Edwards (M.), Novels by. Crown 8vo, cloth extra, 3s. 6d. each.;
post 8vo, illust. bds., 2s. each.
Felicia.
Kitty.
Bewick (Thos.) and his Pupils. By Austin Dobson. With 95 Illustrations.
Square 8vo, cloth extra, 10s. 6d.
Birthday Books:--
The Starry Heavens: A Poetical Birthday Book. Square 8vo,
handsomely bound in cloth, 2s. 6d.
Birthday Flowers: Their Language and Legends. By W. J. Gordon.
Beautifully Illustrated in Colours by Viola Boughton.
In illuminated cover, crown 4to, 6s.
The Lowell Birthday Book. With Illusts. Small 8vo, cloth extra,
4s. 6d.
Blackburn’s (Henry) Art Handbooks. Demy 8vo, Illustrated, uniform in
size for binding.
Academy Notes, separate years, from 1875 to 1885, each 1s.
Academy Notes, 1886. With numerous Illustrations. 1s.
Academy Notes, 1875-79. Complete in One Vol., with nearly 600
Illusts. in Facsimile. Demy 8vo, cloth limp, 6s.
Academy Notes, 1880-84. Complete in One Volume, with about 700
Facsimile Illustrations. Cloth limp, 6s.
Grosvenor Notes, 1877. 6d.
Grosvenor Notes, separate years, from 1878 to 1885, each 1s.
Grosvenor Notes, 1886. With numerous Illustrations. 1s.
Grosvenor Notes, 1877-82. With upwards of 300 Illustrations.
Demy 8vo, cloth limp, 6s.
Pictures at South Kensington. With 70 Illusts. 1s.
[_New Edit. preparing._
The English Pictures at the National Gallery. 114
Illustrations. 1s.
The Old Masters at the National Gallery. 128 Illustrations. 1s.
6d.
A Complete Illustrated Catalogue to the National Gallery. With
Notes by H. Blackburn, and 242 Illusts. Demy 8vo,
cloth limp, 3s.
Illustrated Catalogue of the Luxembourg Gallery. Containing
about 250 Reproductions after the Original Drawings of the
Artists. Edited by F. G. Dumas. Demy 8vo, 3s. 6d.
The Paris Salon, 1885. With about 300 Facsimile Sketches,
Edited by F. G. Dumas. Demy 8vo, 3s.
The Paris Salon, 1886. With about 300 Illusts. Edited by F.
G. Dumas, Demy 8vo, 3s.
The Art Annual, 1883-4. Edited by F. G. Dumas, With
300 full-page Illustrations. Demy 8vo, 5s.
Blake (William): Etchings from his Works. By W. B. Scott. With
descriptive Text. Folio, half-bound boards, India Proofs, 21s.
Boccaccio’s Decameron; or, Ten Days’ Entertainment. Translated into
English, with an Introduction by Thomas Wright, F.S.A. With Portrait,
and Stothard’s beautiful Copper plates. Cr. 8vo, cloth extra, gilt, 7s.
6d.
Bowers’ (G.) Hunting Sketches: Oblong 4to, half-bound boards, 21s. each.
Canters In Crampshire.
Leaves from a Hunting Journal. Coloured in facsimile of the
originals.
Boyle (Frederick), Works by: Crown 8vo, cloth extra, 3s. 6d. each; post
8vo, illustrated boards, 2s. each.
Camp Notes: Stories of Sport and Adventure in Asia, Africa, and
America.
Savage Life: Adventures of a Globe-Trotter.
* * * * *
Chronicles of No-Man’s Land. Post 8vo, illust. boards, 2s.
Braddon (M. E.)--Mohawks, a Novel, by Miss Braddon, Author of “Lady
Audley’s Secret,” was begun in Belgravia for January, and will be
continued throughout the year. Illustrated by P. Macnab. 1s. Monthly.
Brand’s Observations on Popular Antiquities, chiefly Illustrating the
Origin of our Vulgar Customs, Ceremonies, and Superstitions. With
the Additions of Sir Henry Ellis. Crown 8vo, cloth extra, gilt, with
numerous Illustrations, 7s. 6d.
Bret Harte, Works by: