2ÔO

OCEANA.

and took their oars again, and in two more hours we were our­selves crawling up the same path from the Lake boat-house to Wairoa, on which we had watched the returning party of the preceding day. There were fine festivities in the village that evening, our four pounds being all converted into whisky. We did not stay to witness them, but drove back at once to Ohinemutu, the blue lake looking more mysterious than ever in the autumnal twilight, and the shadows in the forest deeper and grander. An hour later it would have been all ablaze with fire-flies, but we were hurrying home to be in time for dinner, and missed so appropriate a close for our generally witch-like expedition.

CHAPTER XVII.

Ohinemutu again.—Visitors.—A Maori Village.—An old Woman and her Portrait. —Mokoia Island.—The Inhabitants.—Maori Degeneracy.—Return to Auck­land.—Rumours of War with Russia.—Wars of the Future.—Probable Change in their Character.

The time of our stay at Ohinemutu depended on Sir George Grey. He had held out hopes of showing us the Maori monarch, He was to let us know whether he could come up, and when.

We found no letter from him as we expected, and E-, who

wished to see the utmost possible in the four weeks allowed us, was a little impatient. However we settled to remain a day or two longer. We had not half-seen the immediate neigh­bourhood. I for myself could be very happy, poking about among the springs and the native huts, and doing amateur geology and botany. The river of tourists was flowing full as ever. There had been thirty-five new arrivals at our single hotel during our brief absence. They were mainly Australians on an excursion trip, and I found that I had already met several of them at Melbourne or Sydney. The natives, when observed more at leisure, were not so absolutely inactive. There is a small fish in the lake like whitebait, which multiplies preter- naturally in the tepid water, especially as there is nothing there to eat it. The men net them in millions, spread them out on mats in the sun to dry them, and infect seriously, for