FROM ENGLAND TO NEW ZEALAND.

Globe, Volume XXIII, Issue 2145, 10 January 1881, Page 3

FROM ENGLAND TO NEW ZEALAND.

[Sphoiailt wbittbn fob the "Globb."] The day appointed for the sailing of the Li »uiin from Gravesend was so dense with foj> that we could not start —one of those fogs that are not often seen in New Zealand, but which every Lmdoner knows only too well, when you ha7e to go to the gas light to read your morning letters, and to perform many other atrooities of a like nature. Accordingly we did not weigh anohor till the 16th of October, and on the 17th reaching Plymouth and getting the balance of our passengers on board, we started in very reality for Melbourne. The ship was orowded from stem to stern —indeed, many applications for berth* had been refused in the London office—there being about 600 who were bound for tho antipodes. Nothing of importance occurred until the 24th, when we got to St. Vincent, whioh place we reached in the afternoon. There was no sign of its being Sunday, and there was no difficulty about our coaling on that day. St. Vincent has very little to recommend itself to the sight-seer ; bu 6 wo were very delighted to get to the oranges, which are very cheap—three of us got 150 for 6s, and I believe might have got them cheaper had we haggled sufficiently. The Natives seem to be more comfortably off than in the Arabian towns, but their food is very inexpensive, consisting chiefly of bananas and other fruit. Wine and some spirits are also at very low prices, but they are cheap and nasty. One of the curiosities of the town, at least to us, was a piebald man, whose son inherited the same peculiarity; he did not, however, seem to attract any attention from his fellow citizens. On Monday evening we again made a start, and soon after we began to put our heads together, and to think that we might have a little excitement on board, so, on the 29th, wo gave a. concert, and invited the second saloon passengers to be present. The concert was given on deck, and was a great sucoess. During the concert an episode occurred to me, which was lather amusing. I was to sing a song in the charaoter of an old woman, and accordingly in that costume I went on deck, on the arm of one of my chums. We paced up and down on the opposite side of the deck to which the concert was being held. The captain happened also to be on that side, and, aftar looking very hard at me for some seconds, he called the chief officer and told him to order a quarter-master to remove me to my proper place in the steerage, but on my answering his questions he discovered the joke. On the 30th Oct. and Ist and 2nd Nov. we had athletic sports, wbich were excellent, and a very amusing feature was the tug of war between the married and single ladies, the latter, after a long struggle, winning two out of three. The prize was £7, which we expended in ostrioh feathers, which were presented to the winners, On the 4th November we had an excellent entertainment, consisting of tableaux vivants and the amusing farce of " The Area Belle," and on the following night those in the second saloon kept the ball rolling, and gave a splendid oonoert. All denominations of religion were well supplied, as we had on board one Anglican and eleven Soman Oatholio olergy, one Presbyterian and five Werleyan preachers, and on Sunday the church bell went very frequently. On the 7th (Sunday), about four in the afternoon, we anchored off Oape Town, but as it was very rough, no small boats came off, and we had to wait till a large sailing boat took a few venturesome frionds and myself on shore. Three of us crept under the bow, bub the roat got well ducked. We went to the George Hotel, a very good one, and partook largely of fresh butter and other luxuries, aftor whioh we went to visit the botanical gardens, the avenue to which is lined wfth magnificent oaks. The shops were all closed, and the town consequently looked dismal. In the morning, after visiting the Government buildings we drove up to a place called Wynburg. We had a delicious drive, notwithstanding the intense heat, and the horses —such a thing is scarcely ever seen there as a one-horse chaise—trotted along merrily. After Wynberg came Constantia, where they manufactured Oape wines, which are very pleasant and refreshing. In the neighbourhood are some ostrioh farms, and it is great fun to see the young birds let out in the morning ; they take a little preliminary galop, and then valse round in couples for two or throe minutes ; of course, you can get magnillcont feathers at Oape Town, but they do not dress them there,

lbs shops are excellent. There was gome excitement oyer a large robbery of jewels that had taken place, the perpetrator of the deed had wounded his hand so severely with the glass that he was tracked all the way to a certain house, and then all trace was lost. It is supposed that he must have got away by a Bt amer that left that night. Amongst other celebrities I saw Dr. Oolenso. An old stage friend of New Zealanders, Miss Ada Ward, wns to play the title role in a pieoe called " Mary Warner," the day we were in town, but the steamer sailed too early to allow us to witness the play. She has married a writer for comic papers. The fighting amongst the natives wis waxing very hot, and 500 Volunteers ware to leave for the Beat of war the day following our departure. The German cockatoos (in New Zealand phraseology) were daily sending deputations to see if they could not esoape having to fight. The fruit at Capo Town in very fine. They have a species of oranges called quaties, which are deliciour. They are smaller than oranges, and you can easily pull them to pieces with the peel on. I dined at the Civil Service Club, where everything was. extremely comfortable. We sailed about eight o'clock at night, not to touch land again till we got to the Semaphore, and everything went on in a very monotonous way. At last we were obliged to have resource to Calcutta sweeps on the runs, a 1; which I aoted as auctioneer. These provod very successful, and the bidding for what were considered to be likely winners was of ton very spirited. On the 20th we had another entertainment in the first saloon, consisting of tableaux vivants and "Done on Both Sides," a screaming farce, which took immensely. On the 22nd they had a concert in the second saloon, and on the 24th another entertainment, at which the capital farce of " Brother Bill and I" was admirably produced. We had numerous dances on the deck, which were always very enjoyable, though sometimes you did run the risk of getting your head split open, or some other of a like nature. Our commander (Captain Conlan), who is the commodore of the P.N.S. Company, did his utmost, backed up by his officers, to make the voyage an enjoyable one, and he certainly succeeded. On the 2Gth we got to Adelaide, and stopt the night there. Tho Botanical Gardens were in their prime, indeed, I do not think I have overseen a better laid out garden, though, as to natural position, they cannot compare with Melbourne, and certainly not with Hobart Town. The Australian Eleven were having a match on with New South Wales, but we had not time to go and see any of the game, as the steamer was to sail; indeed, we left behind nine of our party as it was, they thinking that, as is the general rule, the steamer would not sail till two or three hours after her advertised time ; fortunately, however, the mail steamer, the Bokhara, left a few hours afterwards, and they came on in her, feeling very sheepish. We went to the Theatre Royal at Adelaide, und there saw some more old friends, viz., Mr and Mrs Johnny Hall and Miss Laura Wiseman. They were playing in " Old Soldiers" and "H.M.S. Spitfire," to, I'm sorry to say, a wretohed house. We made Hobson's Bay early in the morning of the 29th, and I managed to get my luggage passed sat the Customs, where they are now very .strict, there having been a good deal of smuggling lately, and on to breakfast in Melbourne. The parting at the steamer was one of universal regret throughout, as we had been more like one big family than a number of Btrangers boxed up together. I went to etay with my old friend Asche, of the Union Olub Hotel, and was fortunately able to get a room. Of course, during the eight days I was in Melbourne, I spent the greater part of the time at the Exhibition, and was much gratified at what I saw. The New Zealand Court looked extremely well, though it waß cramped up, and might with advantage have been double the size. Amongst otter things that seemed to attract much attention were Mr Wtigg's very clever pen and ink drawings. I must say that I was disappointed in the picture galleries; of course there were many gems, but the majority I thought below the mark. I was fortunate enough to obtain from Mr Graham Berry an order to visit Fentridge Stockade, which is kept in splendid order' I was shown over all the departments, and saw the prisoners at their various trades. The place is kept most exquisitely clean, and the cells looked almost comfortable. I had some of the food which they are allowed, and found it

excellent. One of the warders told me that many of them come in to put in their winter months, and that one of the habitues excsained to his companions, on being brought in again for the third or fourth time, " Home, Sweet Home; there's no place like Home." Mr Berry also gave me an order to see the Mint, of which I availed myself. The owners of Mata came in for a large share of opprobrium, and it was, I believe, thought that he could have won if he hud been permitted. The theatres were very poor, considering the Exhibition is open. Miss Louise Pomeroy is certainly overrated, while poor old Billy Hojkins could lardly be heard. I myself think ii is quite time now that ho rested on the laurels he has so honestly earned, and gave up the stage entirely. The Kelly and Loon Minstrels were doing fairly well. On Monday, the sth December, I attended a promenade concert given by the Strauss Band at the Melbourne cricket ground ia honor of the return of the Australian Eleven. There was an immense concourse of people. There was supposed to be a gre.tt display of fireworks, but it was extremely feeble, and not to be compared with displays that I have seen in Ohristohurch, Lyttelton, or Kaiapoi. On Tuesday, the 7th, I sailed for Lyttelton in the Bingarooma. She, too, was crowded to excesß; indeed, shakedowns had to be made up on the transom. During our trip we had two lectures, one by Mr Short on the advantages to be derived from insuring in the Australian Mutual Provident Company, and one by Mr W. Lant Carpenter on electricity. We arrived in Lyttelton on the ninth day from"our departure, having had splendid weather, with the exception of the run from Port Chalmers to Lyttelton. I for one wus very glad to get my feet on Canterbury ground, having covered about 30,000 miles of water within six months.