Sketcher.

Southern Cross, Volume 1, Issue 9, 27 May 1893, Page 4

Sketcher.

MAORILAND TO BRITAIN. NOTES BY THE WAY. (By Aurora.) No. 3. W hat an utter absence of ideas one seems to have in one’s brain after travelling - in one of the U.S.S. boats for a night! Where there was once fertility and abundance, there is now sterility and poverty. The whole range of one’s vision seems to be reduced to the compass of a ten by six cabin, and with a groan of despair one is almost tempted to write the words “ blank, blank, blank,” and then lay down one’s pen. Nothing could exceed the beauty of the day upon which we left Bluff Harbour -Behind us. The sun shone biilliantly, and the little township looked its ’very best as we sailed away to the gloaming. The last “good-bye ” had -heen said, and the last hand shake . had been given, and as the flutter of pocket-handkerchiefs faded silently ; away in the distance, we turned our attention to a careful study of our travelling companions. What a mixed crowd they are ! Yonder is a mai with a head of long black frizzly hair ; his face strikes you in a moment; you know at once that he must be a man with some special trade or profession ; that head can surely never belong to any ordinary , individual! Later on you find out that you are right in your surmise : he is one of those people who go about healing the halt, lame, deaf, and dumb, “ free, gratis, for nothing.” You study him after you have made this discovery as you would study some ancient piece of antique architecture, or some old “ Egyptian mummy.” Then, sitting down on that seat over there, is the anxious mother. .And what food for reflection one

finds in a study of this interesting personage ! With her voice raised two notes above concert pitch she shrieks orders to her scattered offspring. She keeps half the ship’s passengers amused as she vainly strives to bring - them to order—they are utterly regardless of her commands, utterly deaf to her cries. With a cool indifference, which would have been the death of some of our Scotch grandmothers, they g'o their own way, and reap their OAvn punishment. Further on is a gentleman evidently in the last stages of consumption, and as one watches him an involuntary sigh of relief escapes one’s lips, and the thought in one’s heaif is—“ How thankful I am that I am strong’.” They are there of all sorts and all sizes —-business and pleasure, sorrow and joy all mixed up together. As night approaches a “ sea-side sleepiness ” overcomes one ; g’radually the decks are cleared, and one by one we disappear to our cabins. Some of us have to content ourselves with beds made up on the sofas in the “ Ladies’ cabin,” and were ever beds half so hard as these beds p One feels that it must be almost easier to sleep standing up; it seems almost impossible to get into any easy position. With tossing and turning, and turning and tossing again, half the night is gone, and as the grey dawn creeps over the sky we gradually sink into a troubled sleep. Almost before we know it Port Chalmers is reached, so hastily throwing on our things we go up on deck to see what is to be seen. Of course ojnnions may differ, but certainly in my eyes Port Chalmers looked very beautiful. It was a lovely morning, and the little houses dotted up and down the hills gave it a charm Avhich one never finds in a fiat district. We did not tarry here long, though, but Avending our Avay to the upper station Ave started off for Dunedin, and if it was “ Tussock to right of us, tussock to left of us ” down South, it is “ Hills to right of us, hills to left

o£ tis ” xi]3 here. There seems to be very little flat country, and to one accustomed to long’ stretches of level ground, walking soon becomes very wearisome. But this is no “ onehorse car” city! There are trams running’ in all directions almost every five minutes, so when one wants to see a lot in a little time the best way is to jump into a car and go on as far as it will take you. There are many points of interest in Dunedin, though, as in Invercargill, one has to go up to see them. For the small sum of threepence one can take the car either to Mornington or Roslyn, from whence one has a most delightful panoramic view of the whole city lying beneath. These cars are a kind of modified “ switchback,” and are about the most delightful means of transit you can possibly imagine. I was fortunate enough to have a drive round the Peninsula to Anderson’s Bay, and to anyone who has only a short time in the city, nothing could be more beautiful than a drive round here on a fine day. You see Dunedin from twenty different aspects, and each one seems to be more beautiful than the last. But I think the most magnificent picture of all was at night. During the afternoon the wind had risen to a perfect hui’ricane —a regular gale. The clouds had gathered thick and black above, and as we etepjaed out into the darkness from the light and warmth inside, it was “ a darkness that could be feltbut, suddenly, when turning a bend in the road, the whole of the brilliantly lighted city lay beneath us. It contrasted so with the black sky overhead, that it just seemed as though the earth and sky had changed places ; from its apear-p ance, millions of stars might have been employed to light the streets of Dunedin. You have all heard of the young man who wanted to compose an epic poem on the ocean, so, for six days in succession he arose at daybreak and paced the sea shore ; on the seventh day the inspiration came, and

lie began : —“ Prodigious dampness ” —but, having got so far, he was so overcome with the vastness of his subject that he couldn’t get any further. This was the kind of feeling that took possession of me last night the city looked so wonderful, and the darkness surrounding it so impenetrable, that it almost looked like fairy land.

The weather here is lovely just now, and I think they deserve it after the three solid weeks of Scotch mist they have been suffering from. These hills have their drawbacks after all, in spite of their beauty ! There is an epidemic of measles in the town; most of the schools are closed ; teachers are idle ; and mothers more actively employed. The Misses Albu are giving concerts to crowded houses, and the for-tune-telling fraternity seem to be doing a thriving trade.

The Fashions, as far as I can see, so far, are in no way ahead of th« southern city —there are a few more “ grannie bonnets,” perhaps, but that is all.