18 ADVENTURE IN NEW ZEALAND, Coaf. h 
A body of intending colonists was already collected ; 
and they were to follow the first expedition even 
before hearing of its proceedings. A rendezvous was 
appointed for the 10th of January, 1840, in Port 
Hardy, a harbour in Cook's Strait, which was known 
to be good for the largest ships. I intended to see 
the landing of the first body of colonists, and then 
to return in one of the ships which should have borne 
them to their destination. So interesting, however, 
did it become to watch the first steps of the infant 
colony, and so exciting to march among the ranks of 
its hardy founders, that I was tempted to postpone my 
return for four years after their arrival. I can only 
explain this by the narrative contained in subsequent 
chapters. 
