288 ADVENTURE IN NEW ZEALAND. Chap. XII. 
sionaries in New Zealand, that he had the best of 
everything in the place. He had not even so much as 
a garden at either of the two houses, one at TValkanae 
and the other at Otaki, between which he divided his 
time. That at TVaikanae was in the most crowded 
part of the ipa^ hemmed in by fences, and cook-houses, 
and noisy crowds of natives. That at Olaki was among 
the barren sand-hills close to the coast. At one, the 
outer fence of the territory which he occupied barely 
left. room for the stock-yard, in which the two horses, 
absolutely necessary for his constant journeys, were 
tied up ; and at the other, the fence pressed close upon 
the little kitchen and potato-store near the house. The 
furniture of both was such as was barely indispensable. 
Mr. Hadfield was most frugal in his diet, scarcely ever 
eating meat, but living principally on biscuit and an 
occasional fowl ; and would never allow even his de- 
licate state of health to interfere with his onerous 
duties. On one occasion, he very nearly killed himself 
by persevering for several days in contending against an 
adverse gale on board a schooner of ten tons, when 
bound on a mission to Otako in the Middle Island, 
although he was so severely affected as to spit blood 
the greater part of the time. 
I have already related how wisely Mr. Hadfield had 
availed himself of the influence of the chiefs to intro- 
duce the Christian faith with more permanance and 
authority, gently mingling the spiritual change with 
the preservation of the institutions to which the 
people whom he had to change were accustomed; 
and I have elsewhere dwelt on some remarkable in- 
stances of the effect of so merciful and well-devised a 
system. Nor need I repeat that his irreproachable 
character and winning demeanour had procured him 
the love and respect of all classes in both races ; of 
