TRAVELS IN WONDERLANE.

Gisborne Times, Volume VI, Issue 253, 2 November 1901, Page 4

TRAVELS IN WONDERLANE.

!!y .1. $. J. P; V-.VI.U.'

No. IT. "Oh I.o i’ll, it Vv great ate Thy wonts, and , Thy ilijughi:' arc very detp; t ; - \v!j jle earth rrciToles before Thee, ai* ; irai! muo.i poiukis at Thy ininuiwork." Earth ciusßot produce a more varied or a t Liu re ijiteru&iing landscape Ukui inat winch io visible from one oi tiie pcaiv? at Kutorua, nor cati a sight be as period l:s fie o>:e embracing so many menuluenfs of human g.eatn-. ss, or oi ’hva . omnipotence. it 'is ;i living amt vivid picture of ail tuat lire# the imagination, and deligtiU the i* \ e ol me u a velio.. Fan- ami beautiful, too. lit itM-lf, o' tins j uttciiua at tmp i- f■- n y.-. . i its ill i.a)..: ili.d luc-gi ving w -iters : i.-'kigt:

peaks in delicate brainy rising towares the biuo vault of heaven; it’ many and j luxuriant fountains; and, above all, its; matchless terraces and geysers, forming a constellation of local beauties and charms ‘ that confound the visitor by their gorgeousness and number. No fairy talc aas yet . iivadod the beauties of Wonderland, no i imagination exceeded its luxuriant i ;e- j I ounce. The golden light of the. western j ! si;v was sinking ns 1 viewed the great , i picture before me, and as it east its mantle ; over the earth and closed the day it ; rellectcd a variety of colors ever the j smoking columns around me. Darkness j followed, and the sight was weird in the j extreme. The movn broKo with a sight j of true magnificence, and I was soon j basking in the sunshine, and mingling my ; pleasures with that of the birds oi' the air, . the trees, and the fragrance from tiic ; i (lowers. No tie on earth could keep me ; | inside on such an occasion ; but I soon got i to treat the new toy as the boy would do. j About a miie from llotorua wo visit the old township, called Ohinemutu, amt | spend a few hours watching the Maoris in | their domestic work. here _ they are I washing the family clothing in the hot

springs surrounding the settlement, with ! steam-clouds rising in great fury from me very earth tic tread. Small to large cauldrons are on our pathway, v, tin ; bubbling, boiling streams—one false step 1 and then we know the great secret called ‘ Death. Oh! life, sly, sice!:, treacherous' I life, how are we ever to trust you' 1 Show i jus your worst and we can face if: but it ! I is when you arc sweetest that we have ; most to fear from you. Cautiously L ! slepp -d over the almost bare crust ofNorth ditiding me from eternity, and wend: d a; serpentine course among the steaming j cauldrons, occasionally pausing alongside i a great entity with a roaring torrent, and j then gn/.ing at the upheaval heavenwards j of masses of black iiguid. A bread in tno i circuit is to view some ot the carvings at j

the various pahs into which 1 was invited. 1 found the Maoris a good race ol people, ; intelligent, industrious, kind, and extremely generous. t.icntlcmaulincss is a trait which they are possessed of, and the

women true m their sex. i ma\ be mistaken, but that is the opinion i hold of the r-.-tce. In my first article I referred io a ( sea view on arrival. The Lake is about , nine miles across—a uiiniubue sea—where ' \vc leaeii gfouli :i Is.antt. Oil ti-.id island ' a groat chief was once banished from the 1 tribe for contracting a marriage with a girl Lciow Ids own station in file. The j marriage had not been duly solemnized, and at eventide ids would-be bride wended her way to the seaside and there played a i concertina, the music of which was wafted across the waters, a distance of only three j Hides, for tile girl selected vho nearest j proximity. So regularly was this performed that the chief, in his solitude, arranged with those of his associates to | bear witness to Ins marriage, providing the one of Ins choice would go to him. lie could neither semi or go tor her, but it was told iter that if site could gel there all would be well. True and tlevulcd as litis lonely girl was, and heedless of danger, site plunged into the waters, swam the distance and mturied llie banished duel. Tncre was a great row among the servants, but through her kindness site cadentcd herself to those who hated her, became a beloved woman, a fond mother, and a treasure to a good and truthful busbund. And it is in eases such as these

tlnit we me led to look upon woman as even move than human—a thing which has been fashioned for mail’s glorification 11 ml to lead hi in to view the works of God from a standpoint purely Divine, lint, ah ! reader, look back, fonder over the past, look at tho surroundings, liow many females have wrecked a home—• thrown it recklessly on a barren shore, there never to be restored. This chief lived down, by tho dire good deads of a noble woman, all the evil which was levelled upon hiirtsolf, mid rose to such a position as to direct the numerous tribe in paths of virtue. Aided by a good woman he accomplished this, and many to tiiis day, descendants from that particular tribe, look back with pleasure to the early days when they Avero taught right from wrong, and now arc living examples of the inlluence of a good ancl noble chieftain’s wife. Itoturmiig to tho customs of the Maoris in their domestic work, I was struck with their method of cooking. It is done by means of steam jets that lizzie up through crevices in the rocks. A packing ease is placed over these steam escapes, the bottom taken out and a grate substituted, with a sack thrown over the top ; thus they have a steam stove. Men and women may be seen lying down, basking in the merry sunshine, and smoking their pipes, the perfection of laziness. Hoys and girls may be seen running about, their attire varying from full dress to absolute nakedness. A good inspection of the old town, and wo adjourn to the Lake View Hotel, a fine hostelry commanding a beautiful view of the surroundings. Here wo pass a pica- j sant time in conversation, and then we go to the Iteereation Deserve, llotorua Iliil, some hundreds of feet high, the top of which is table-like, some acres in extent. This hill was presented to the Government by the Maoris, and is a spot of great antiquity. On tho mount once stood a Maori fortification, where the great chiefs and their followers sat in council discussing mighty warfare (juc-tions, or what was worse stiii, engaging in a cannibalistic feast. Contrast these days with the pro- ; sent ! Mow tho iiuropcans, half-castes, , and Maoris engage in games of football j and cricket. (J i this hid tho warriors of I old had a splendid vantage ground. The j surrounding country being ti lt, the move- | menu of an enemy could be easily de- j tected. Now it is of equal value as a ro j creation ground. Standing upon tiiis j summit, I v.-as held as one spellbound by j the magnificent panorama of superb i scenery, whir!, to those who have any ! appreciation of the beautiful cannot but be full of interest, back to ltotoma, and | we compute the sights of the town proper, first of nil visiting tho great sanatorium ~ j Nature's own dispensary for ail the ins of 1 man, woman, or child. It is a pretty j building, encircled with high tree growth. 1 with very active- geysers navel by, while j the eye falls upon choice tiov,Tritig shrubs | in garden see-tions. with gravelled patii- j ways leading to the gardens and prome- i mules. The hospital accommodation is limited, there being only room for ab ut t thirty patients, and these arc only ad- 1 uiitted on the recommendation of some • institution in the district to which the ! natieiil may belong. Tho charge is ; his j,.;r week, Vii.ivh includes even thin: • : and the place is always fully taxed. |tv paving t;os, an im.iipendent person u-a.v get access, providing there lie room. Then we inspect the Sulphur Vapour Bath, the Blue Hath, Madame J.achel and Priests, an 1 the Postmaster baths. The four large baths are all dike-rent in t’.cir properties. There are two apportioned to each sex, with a comfortable private dressing room attached, and provided with fresh water showers, and hot or tepid douches : and two private baths for very special cases, I nquestionably j they are the finest, most curative, and, ; fashioned by Nature to do the work of j healing, greatest in the world. And so it j can truly be said that there is Baku in j Hotorua* and, there, too, is the presence of i the Great- Physician. (To be continued.)