East, West And South.

awakened the desire to become as hardy as they . I had at Miller ' s a supply of sketching materials , of which I had made good use at Wai-Karu-mumu , and , getting them , sketched a native group , in colours . They surrounded me with admiration , and a contract was at once made for me

to stay at their village , near Motupipi , until I had produced satisfactory portraits of all their chiefs , at the rate of £ 2 a head . At Motupipi , whence a schooner traded eveiy month to Nelson , my baggage had been deposited , and it suited me well for my next halting-place .

I remained some weeks in their village , living as they did , with the exception of sleeping out under an open shed ; the atmosphere of their long low ivarries being too overpowering , to say nothing of the fleas . Potatoes and shellfish were our staple diet . It was a new sensation to find

about an hour and a half after a hearty meal , that in the absence of solid animal food , I felt as hungry as ever . I swam in the creeks , waded in the mud-flats and partook of their sports and labours in the bush ( bee hunting , & c ) , until I could run fast over a rough shinkle beach without

the least inconvenience . I made duplicates of the portraits that doubtless to this day decorate the walls of their meeting-house , and retain some now in my possession . My most critical task was the accurate delineation of a large old meri or war-club , of greenstone , which had a

sacred character as tutelary genius , and was called " Kaikanohi . " The convolutions of every vein in white , green or grey , had to be exactly measured and reproduced . They paid me in pigs and potatoes , which the settler at Motupipi exchanged for gold-dust . To the chief "Ritemon "

or " Richmond " ( named after a well known member of the General Assembly ) I became much attached . He was , in every respect , one of the finest fellows I ever met . The physique of all of them was splendid , and their morale to match , those who had been born in slavery excepted . They

were Protestants , provided with testaments and good books , and could read and write in Maori fluently . This spoke well for the Missionaries , but I feel assured that the gradual influx of a low order of whites around them , must have since undone the good work . I left them with

the fixed conviction that , physically , intellectually and morally they were the superiors of the Europeans with whom they came in contact . Communication was carried on in mixed jargon of Maori and English , much resembling the Pidgin-English of the ports of China .

Sending my baggage to Nelson in the schooner , I preferred to walk thither overland ; having most keen appreciation of the beauties of the scenery on the way and of New Zealand summer air in the month of February . Discarding for ever the digger ' s dress , I donned a new

tweed tourist suit with civilised boots again , and substituted an Alpine knapsack for the unwieldy siuag . I passed a night at Miller ' s , one at Sparrow ' s in the valley , one with

my friend Dr . Cottrell at Motueka , one at the German village on the Moulterie , and on the fifth day , after substantial luncheon at the regular English Inn at Waimea , found myself on the last stage of the road to Nelson .

Some distance in advance , was marching vigorously a fine figure dressed in black , with an unusual beltopper hat . Being a fast walker , in good health and training , I began speculating as to which of us could walk the faster . Spurred by the comparison , I overtook and passed him ,

but was soon mortified by being passed in my turn . Putting on a spurt I passed him again , with the same result ; I again overtook him , and both of us seeming determined not to be beaten , we went striding on abreast . A smile and jocose remark were soon exchanged ; which , upon his

asking whence I came , led to a long conversation . Being full of facts about the Maoris and the diggings , I had plenty to say , and the remaining eight miles of our walk

slipped by unheeded . Arrived at the town , and our ways diverging , the stranger wound up with" Do me the pleasure of dining with me to-morrow , any one will show you my house—the Bishop . "

" So ! " thought I , " here have I , fresh from a lot of Maoris and unseemly diggers , been talking for ever so long with unguarded tongue , to a live Bishop , whose conventional notions and orthodox views I may have shocked

again and again without being aware of it . Truly a Bishop ia the Colonies must stand upon a broader platform than those dignitaries iu England ! He doesn't even know my name ! "

These reflections were cut short , upon passing the open gates of a livery-stable yard , where a crowd was attending an auction . I lingered to look on . A fine Australian roan ,

East, West And South.

but unmistakable buck-jumper , was being put up ; the remarks which passed about the beast were interspersed with talk of his late owner . "Poor fellow ! Licky in everything but that ! Nothing else would please him , aud he caught it too hot ! Wonder where that large nugget

he showed me came from ? " and so on . The description which followed my enquiries informed me that I was gazing upon the property of Maurice , my late comrade , who had purchased it at this stable a month before , and been pitched off , with a broken neck , on his first ride .

Poor Maurice ! My animosity was gone ; I remembered only his good qualities ; I was not certain he had meant to defraud me , and he had taken away nothing of mine .

Then , though the illustration was mean and ridiculous , his was an example of the end of an empty ambition . The hobby he had cherished and brooded over which , perhaps , he had sacrificed me to realise , had brought him—death .

Next day I dined at the snug villa of my pedestrian acquaintance , and found it replete with all the comforts and elegancies which the presence of ladies and refinement

can bestow . Though I fear I was too wild and headstrong to profit much by friendly advice , I hold ever in grateful remembrance the kind courtesy and genial welcome of Bishop Hobhouse . WALTEB SPENCER ,

The Lodge Les Sages D'Heliopolis.

THE LODGE LES SAGES D'HELIOPOLIS .

E are indebted to our esteemed Bro . Caubet for the following details in connection with this Lodge , as set forth by him in the August number of Le Monde Ma ^ onnvfie . Les Sages d'Heliopolis , Orient of Bucharest ( Roumania ) , under the jurisdiction of the Grand Orient of France , has been working for less than two years , yet

the results are eminently satisfactory , and merit the very flattering commendations our worthy brother bestows upon it . During the year , from 1 st March 1874 to 28 th February 1875 , the Lodge held sixty-five meetings ; namely , forty-seven in the 1 st degree , eight in the 2 nd ,

seven in the 3 rd , besides two Lodges of Emergency and a Funeral Lodge in memory of a deceased member , and of all deceased brethren in the two hemispheres . Eleven Lodges of Conference and Instruction were likewise held . The financial state of the Lod < ze shows the following

excellent results . According to the Treasurer ' s account , the receipts , including a balance in hand on 1 st March , amounted to Frs . 28 , 021-84 ; the expenditure for rent , furniture , & c , & c , being Frs . 21 , 454 ' 1 . 2 , leaving a balance in hand , on the 28 th February 1875 , of Frs . 6 , 567-72 .

The fund of Benevolence for the same period showed receipts Frs . 10 , 017-47 , inclusive of Frs . 886-67 , being the opening balance in haud for the year ; expenditure Frs . 4 , 733 ' 98 ; balance in hand and set apart for the school of arts and trades , which the Lodge proposes to establish ,

Frs . 0 , 283-49 . The aggregate of these funds amounts to Frs . 38 , 039-31 , and if to this be added the sum of Frs . 13 , 670 * 63 , received for the broken period of the preceding year , there will be a total receipt of Frs . 51 , 709 * 91 for the year and some months during which the Lodge has

been in full working . From these figures we find the pertinency of Bro . Ascher ' s remarks as quoted by Bro . Caubet . " In the presence of a will so firm , of sacrifices so eloquent , what may we not hope , " asks Bro . Ascher , in his

report , "from a mere handful of men , resolute , and entirely devoted to the public good ? For myself , I have the full conviction that if we go on as we have begun , we shall do honour to the name of Roumania , and , at the same time , fulfil our duties as good Masons . "

Our attention is next drawn to the services rendered by the Lodge during the period of its existence . The Sanitary Section , composed of medical men , members of the Lodge , has , in the course of the year , given gratuitous advice and medicines to 747 at the Lodge Dispensary , and to 113 at

their own residences , besides placing in the city hospitals fourteen others , whose cases were of a graver character . Altogether , 874 persons have been the subjects of medical relief administered on behalf of the Lodge by this section . The names of all these , who were of all nationalities and creeds ,

are entered in the Sectional Register . The Legal Section , composed of lawyers , has rendered services equally important . Besides numerous consultations held gratuitously on the Lodge premises , and sundry cases conducted in open court , without fee , by legal brethren for various of the non-