Page:Letters from New Zealand (Harper).djvu/71

Rh situation, and saying nothing myself, on purpose, I attended to my horse and, after performing my ablutions in a tin basin on a bench outside, went into the hut; a typical sailor's hut, clean and tidy, with a small separate room containing two bunks. In the living room he was already preparing supper, frying chops and potatoes, and arranging the table with pannikins and tin plates for two. We sat down, not a word passed between us, as I wanted to humour him and tempt him to begin. Presently, looking up, I noticed a little shelf, and on it, amongst other books, two volumes of D'Aubigné's History of the Reformation in a small well-bound edition, of which I happened to possess the full set. "I see you are a reader, have you read those?" The ice was broken, and he replied, "Yes, and I wish I could get the other volumes." I told him that I had them and would bring them on my next journey. After that he talked freely, and told me of his life as a bluejacket, and his voyages to various parts of the world, and it was nearly midnight before we left the fireside for bed. Next morning he begged me to come again, and he seemed quite a different man after the wholesome talk of the previous night.

There are many such shepherds here, leading solitary lives, and it is marvellous how, as a rule, they escape illness and accident in their work, which keeps them far from any friendly aid in case of need. Their going daily is in very rough country, mostly on foot, dangerous slopes, strewn with rough rocks, shingle slides, and precipitous tracks. Merino sheep are fond of high ground and as sure-footed as deer, and in shepherding nothing would be more probable than a serious sprain, or broken limb, yet I have scarcely