und the fertile fields, the
river flows below, and beyond it the untouched virginity of forest is
again picturesquely apparent.

But we are in a hurry to get up to the house, and so we walk at once
from the landing-place. A well-made gravelled path leads up from the
waterside, not straight to the house, which is rather to the right, but
along a neat paling, which encloses the gardens round it. On the left is
an orchard of some extent, within which we see a great many more
fruit-trees than we possess ourselves; they have been grown with care,
and the varied produce of that fruit-yard would be a mine of wealth in
Covent Garden.

Beyond the orchard, which is divided from the path by a hedge of orange,
lemon, and quince, cut down into a dense shrubbery, we catch a glimpse
through the trees of several labourers' cottages, and some barns or
wool-sheds. The path is shaded by an avenue of fine trees, very large
considering how young they are. Among them may be seen English oaks and
beeches, American maples and sumachs, Spanish chestnuts, Australian
blue-gums, Chinese and Japanese trees and shrubs, tropic palms, and some
of the indigenous ornaments of the bush.

A hundred yards up this avenue, and we pass to the right through a gate
in the garden paling. There we find ourselves in enchanted ground, for
there is surely no garden in the North, except, perhaps, that of the
Horticultural Society at Auckland, which is superior to this. It is
beautifully laid out, and to us, fresh from the uncouth barbarism of our
shanty and its surroundings, this place seems to breathe of the "Arabian
Nights." And is there not a certain princess within, into whose
seraphic presence we are now entering? We inhale a new atmosphere, and
tread lightly, almost on tiptoe, speaking unconsciously in whispers, and
with the blood running quicker through our veins.

The Member has money, as I have mentioned, and here, as elsewhere, money
is a magician's rod that will work wonders. To the Member labour and the
cost of it bear other relations than they do to us. He is able to look
on life in a different light, and may expend toil on other matters than
such as are of bare utility. And he has done so, wisely and lavishly,
and so his home is what a home should be in this fair land--an Eden of
natural beauty.

In this garden there are smooth lawns and dainty flower-beds, winding
walks and blossomy banks, trellised arbours and shady groves. Taste and
elegance ar