Our Contributors.

Akaroa Mail and Banks Peninsula Advertiser, Volume VI, Issue 524, 22 July 1881, Page 2

Our Contributors.

ACROSS THE TLAINS.

m '" Jii [from OUU OWN CORRESPONDENT,! C/y i 0

A bitterly cold morning. Frbs\'" frost, frost. The delicate network covered the window panes, and the nose of the unfortunate watcher was as cold as if it had been gradually tumod into a lump of Arctic ice. Now, my nose is not a pug nose, or, as the >■ French call it, nez reiroussee, and I ani very sorry, for the simple reason' that I think the extremity of the organ is too remote from the centre of vital heat, and is therefore extremely susceptible of cold. Thank Heaven I am not a Jew, or cceteris paribus I might find myself driven to invent a nose-warmer of some peculiar shape, or hire a portable miniature stove. But with a nose or without a nose the above said watcher, to whom as the writer I must introduce you, had to get up. Now, mark the cruelty of fate, and you will notice at once that destiny always contrives to make our worst troubles out of our little ones and our personal ones. We can with a surprising degree of calmness look on the country being ruined, by the prodigality, the recklessness, and the unscrupulosity '•' of the powers that be (Query, I am/not , ';'. | quite certain about the legitimacy of f I that last word, aud I am a purist in morals and literature) ; We; are not very deeply moved when we hear of dreadful earthquakes in divers parts, or of the slaughter of thousands in the little tvars of South America; we can. even look with a certain amount of indifference on the misfortunes of our most dearlybeloved friends ; but I defy any man to get up out of bed three hours before his customary time on a cold morning, go into a cold, tireless room, and not feel that life has its' hardships. Equanimity even compulsory has, however, its advantages, ancl as I am a practical pro- ... lessor, up 1 jumped with noble resolution and faced tho evil. The Dunedin climate seems to be made up of all the contradictions that obtain elsewhere. The inhuman deli hi: it takes in diligently refusing to be wlint yo'i hope and indeed expect it to be/can: o.dy l.v experienced to be appreciated. All tlio-sea-'''

sons have each their turn in one day, and the variety, if not -very pleasant, is at least instructive, and gives, the. student ati opportunity' of studying''climatic variations with -aU-ra&Yaiitages. . On Thursday, morning<King Frost.was presiding, and he gave us a fair Idea 1 of his rjower.' There. ;was a thin coating of ice on the water, there was a piercing, blast from snow-covered Cargill. The ground was hard, and the echoes of the footsteps of the early passer resounded in the quiet street long after he had disappeared. All together I was not exactly " the thing " when I left the door and made the best of my way to the Railway Station with a favorite cutty in mouth, Vto impart a little heat to the aforesaid troublesome nose. - • Did you ever notice that there is something in an intending passenger by an early train which immediately marks him * as a man about to undergo punishment ? He may be the mostjcvialfellow possible, he may hare kept the room in a roar, * and been the delight of an admiring - audience the evening before, but alas 1 in the morning everything is changed when he reaches the platform, with ulster, rugs, wraps, mufflers and a dozen or so papers which in a short time will be - listlessly thrown aside in utter weariness. We hadn't many passengers as we slowly steamed out of Dunedin station. There was one little gentleman in a ** brilliant red smoking-cap and with a brilliant red nose, I tried to screw my eyes so as to get a glance at my own and make comparisons, but it would't do. There was another gentleman with a little boy, who in the after part of the day spent his time with a wonderful top which he had bought for the youth in the house of " Yankee Notions " m George street.. They are cute, customers .those Yankees. The top was a real curiosity. There were two other gentlemen who seemed !to have been too- merry the even-, ing before, and who now seemed to think that they had bought their fuu dear enough l '; oite'subsided* into' a cotnatos'e state which he retained until we reached Palmerston. ; The railway from Port Chalmers to Bmeskin and over the ranges is a curiosity in its way—l wish the passengers luck if one of these fine days a coupling breaks or a wheel gives way—if you look down from the platform to the sea some hundreds of feet below, you recollect that one step would carry you sheer over the side and land you on the ugly black rocks on which the ocean appears to be always breaking in anger ; and you will be inclined to begin to think what sort of a place Heaven is— know .we have cut out the other place,' ! imd therefore we don't consider it, It is really awful to think that it is within the bounds of possibility, that the would take one leap oyer the side and carry carriages and all with it. A two pounds stone placed with any sort of care could bring about a& good a case n! of calamity-as we have ever read of. rt« When I pasjHt I usually shut my eyes 07 an d—emqlke', 1 but as I have now several : ', times 'goiqr between Pigeon Bay and ,: Akaroa-by, coach, my nerves are being •strengthened, and possibly I shall be able to look on the danger with the calm courage of my race. /'Palmerston.reniinds'one of the dead cities of Holland—l dislike the place. It is a sort of city of promise, and when you reach it you find your fondest hopes blighted. It:is the. place where the weary traveller, hopes to get breakfast, and no breakfast is there for him. A cup of .thick- coffee brought byj a slatternly girl, an ar.tiquated sandwich, and a demoralizing drop of brandy are all the refreshment room affords, and-, they are scarcely adequate to the occasion. The scenery from Dunedin to Palmerston is very fine, and whether the engineer possessed an eye to the picturesque or not, he succeeded in feasting that of railway traveller with one of the most delightful *panoramas ever seen.'. Seaward we look down on a succession of bays and nooks protected on either side by bold promontories, against which the surf beats in endless foam, while within the tiny wavelets glancing, in the sunshine creep lazily on to kiss the, sandy shore. Landward are the lofty hills clothed with forests, and every now and then the train rushes headlong into the clearings, and we catch a glimpse of the sturdy woodman leaning on his axe and watching carelessly the p- ssing carriages. Though Colonial trains .are not famous for speed, it is almost aVpity'that there fe-jwot more time on the waj\ but we must confess that- it is a .", caution to snakes " how tho engine goes down the incline. From engineering necessities there are a great number of. curves on the line, - wild when the-steam is cut off the affair takes something of the "happy-go-lucky " complexion, and is not altogether pleasant to a new chum. Hfe* (To he continued.)