98 COLLECTOR'S RAMBLES 



thoughts of the miles of stormy waves to be encoun- 

 tered in a small boat, and my past experiences of that 

 kind, quenched my ardor, and I concluded to remain 

 behind. My comfort was not much increased by this 

 arrangement, for one day while walking on the shore 

 several miles from town I was caught in the rain, and 

 drenched, and in attempting to take a short cut back 

 lost my way. Failing in the approaching darkness to 

 find a house, I was obliged to spend the night on the 

 beach in a tumbled-down shed, where I vainly strove 

 to keep warm under a pile of wet oyster-bags, wishing 

 myself a corpse in a quiet locality where it was warm. 

 The next morning I crawled out stiff as Rip Van 

 Winkle after his protracted slumber, but with this 

 difference between us: I had not slept a wink. Dis- 

 covering the right road, I " made tracks " through the 

 mud with all possible speed for Auckland, and on reach- 

 ing the hotel, immediately went to bed. 



