30 December 1859 Maraekakaho My dear Donald I have great pleasure in writing you a few lines in hopes you may get them at Canterbury. I found when Alex returned you only received one letter from me since you left and I wrote you no less than 4, one of them I sent by Munn when he was up here before he went to Wellington. It is very strange what can come over letters however I trust in God your health and strength is now restored to you and that you will soon be as active as ever. I was greatly concerned when I heard of your illness and never was satisfied till Alex returned then I had better hopes and was very glad he went to see you. I make no doubt but Jessy and John will make you as comfortable as they can and pay every attention to your requirements that is one comfort but I wish you had come here and when you would see everything going on and improving about it would help to cheer you and a little amusement about the gardin which has done very well considering the very dry season we have had. We have plenty of vegetable and potatoes. We are now very bussy with the harvest and sheep shearing. It is a bad thing in New Zealand to have both harvests at one time. The most of the wheat is cut and stacked and the oats is cutting, the grass was cut and we got 4 bags of excelent seed out of it this year and I trust next year we will have plenty. We got the sheep washed on the 24th and commenced shearing them on the 28th and I am glad to tell you everyone says they are well washed and clip very heavey. We have here 8 white men shearing and they shear very well. If the weather keeps dry I hope we will be finished in 14 days with the sheep. Alex would tell you of the increase of lambs this year. I gave him a note of the number and the tally of all the sheep when he went to see you. We had a capital muster a few days before he went away counted out the yard 5800 sheep fit for shearing. The number of lambs this year cutt 2260 or 100 per cent and their will be about 60 or 70 more John says. I told you all the local news in my former letters about the station which shurely you will have got before this. After the clip is over I will send you a proper a/c of the result as I am keeping a strick tally this year. It is awful to think that they never had any letters from me for ten months at home and I wrote in that time 5 or six. The last letter I had from my old girl she said she was going to write you to find out what I was about. Did you ever see the like of that beside I wrote to John and Jessy 4 letters and never got a reply to any of them which made me very sorry and caused me to feel if I was otherwise situated I would not have been so slighted. All I wanted was to know how they were once every three months, any way and I wanted to know from John if he sold the chr [?] but I am surprised and so is Alex he never writes. I do not think I have ever gaven him any reason or yet has Alex as far as I know. There is no use in me keeping up a correspondence if I do not get a reply besides I never heard from you since you left but that of course is not your fault but the misfortune that befell you by losing your health but I trust God will have restored it and that he may keep you among us for a patron and adviser for many years. Please answer this so that I may know you have received it and let us no particular how you health is. If I could be allowed to advise I think if you were to get your affairs in proper order you ought to get leave of absence for 2 years or 18 mos and go home and try and recrute again, leave off all your cares and troubles for a while but I supose your nature will be somewhat like my own that way to much anxiety will not let you take the world like other people. Besides it will soon be time to send Douglas home. Still he is rather young for a year or two yet. Dear brother see that you will have all your affairs in proper order for life is so uncertain we no not the moment we may be cut of the face of this earth. Alex was telling me you rented your other place to McLauchlin and I am pleased with the arrangements. I now must end wishing you a happy new year and happy returns of the season. Wishing John & Jessy the same. I remain your affectionate brother Archibald John McLean