236 CHRISTCHURCH chap. 
before, however ; not to be done, he squeezed himself 
in between me and the driver, giving me the outside 
edge and barely anything to sit on ; then he objected to 
the way we were being driven, and once or twice seized 
the reins ; I thought for a moment or two the driver and 
he would come to blows ; finally the other passengers 
interfered, and amidst a shower of abuse they com- 
pelled him to take a back seat. Eventually they left 
us altogether to get on to the opposition coach, where, 
later on, they got their deserts by being upset. 
From the Otira Hotel where we lunched our ascent 
commenced. The zigzag road is cut out of the solid 
rock. The Otira River runs below, and our voices were 
drowned in the deep hoarse roar of its waters as they 
fell over and dashed round great masses of broken 
rock. The perpendicular cliffs towered above us, some 
thickly clothed with vegetation, and beyond them 
again others hid their bare peaks in the clouds. The 
Rolleston Glacier lay to our right, with the sun 
glistering on the ice. As we mounted higher, the 
scene became grander as other peaks came into view, 
and the valley lay behind us 7000 feet below them. 
I have seen much beautiful scenery, but familiarity 
deepens my awe of Nature at her grandest. I sat 
silent beside my one companion (all the passengers 
but this one girl and myself were walking), and she 
seemed as impressed as I was. At last she heaved 
a profound sigh and stealing a glance at me remarked, 
“Ain’t it pretty?” It brought me rudely back to earth 
again. 
After Arthur’s Pass was gained, the others all took 
their seats in the coach again and away we bowled 
down the other side. The character of the country 
now changed, the forest disappeared and only here 
and there were patches of manuca scrub and the so- 
