NEW ZEALAND. 275 



chariots of her woad-stained warriors. A few years since the 

 ague was the scourge of my native swamps in Lincolnshire, 

 and fen infants, like myself, were only preserved by copious 

 cups of bark and wine. But now, reed and rush, and snake, 

 and buzzard rat, and eel have vanished before the plough; 

 the ' reek o' the rotten fen' is gone, and the'ague a tradition 

 ,of the past. It is difficult to credit that the climate of Canada 

 could ever have been more inclement than it now is, yet old 

 greybeards of the bush tell us that sixty years ;'ago Canadian 

 winters were winters worthy of the Arctic zone. Settlement 

 and cultivation will produce like effects in] New Zealand, so 

 that we may plume ourselves on the thought, that if the 

 climate be good now, it will be better ere long, and perfect for 

 our posterity. 



SCENERY OF NEW ZEALAND. 



"The natural scenery of New Zealand is both bold and 

 beautiful, though to an English eye, accustomed to trim 

 fields, clipped edges, and to the smooth-rolled, finished look 

 of every acre in England, it would frequently appear more 

 bold than beautiful. Indeed, many a district would strike the 

 Norfolk farmer, or the Cockney sketcher, whose ideal of 

 beauty was the Holkham turnip field or the highlands of 

 liampstead, with far more of amazement than delight. The 

 scenery we admire in England is often the costly coat of art, 

 rather than the primeval dress of nature. j^'As regards polish 

 of cultivation, the garden's glories, the plough's court robes, 

 New Zealand is much in the state that Britain was when 

 Caesar landed ; and if Caesar's Britain could now be shown 

 us, many a bright champaign country which we call beautiful 

 would vanish, to reveal the gloomy forest and the [repulsive 

 rugged waste. 



Bearing in mind the extent of the country ; that the land 

 is equally verdant and leafy through summer and winter; that 



