path which he had travelled that morning, and on the day before. If the personal appearance of the stranger seemed to mark him as one fitted to shine in the strife and tumult of battle, his conversation no less clearly proved him to be an intelligent and genial companion. He enlivened the journey with an inexhaustible fund of anecdote and observation. Every object on the way seemed to give occasion to interesting and animated discussion; and the tedious path, under the influence of his profuse animal spirits, and his versatile talent for amusement, would have seemed short and easy to any one whose mind was less pre-occupied and engrossed than that of Philokalos. He appeared to be one who loved excitement and danger for their own sake, and to be moved, not so much, as Philokalos had been, by the romantic love of glory and renown, but by a robust hardiness of mind and body which caused him to delight in the mere exercise of strength and skill. Hence, he seemed to care little what was the particular adventure in which he might be engaged, and his enthusiasm for the Trojan war did not prevent him from receiving with pleasure the information given him by Philokalos that there were wild boars, of considerable strength and ferocity, to be found in the island; and, finding that Philokalos also professed to be fond of the chase, he began openly to express his satisfaction that his vessel had proved leaky, and to promise himself a pleasant sojourn upon the island. Although Philokalos was not in a frame of mind to enter into the schemes of his new acquaintance with an eagerness comparable to his own, yet he could not but feel himself somewhat influenced by the animation and cheerfulness of his tone and conversation; and he had besides already grasped the idea that, by entering into the sports and amusements of the other, he might manage to make his stay so agreeable that he might be willing to delay his departure. So, with different ends and motives, they followed the varied path across the island, and, towards sunset, they arrived at their destination. BY THE RIVER. IN the beautiful greenwood's charmèd light, Where the mandrakes grow, and the pale, thin grass By dim, enchanted paths I pass, Crushing the twigs and the last year's leaves. Over the wave, by the crystal brink, I know where an old tree leans across In its bosom swims the fair phantasm Of a subterraneous azure chasm, So soft and clear, you would say the stream Where the noontide basks, and its warm rays tint In sheets of splendour it lies outspread. In the twilight stillness and solitude Of green caves roofed by the brooding wood, Where the woodbine swings, and beneath the trailing Sprays of the queenly elm-tree sailing,— By ribbed and wave-worn ledges shimmering, Gilding the rocks with a rippled glimmering, All pictured over in shade and sun, Upon this mossy trunk I sit, A shadowed face peeps up at me; The broad boughs curve their spreading fans From side to side, in the nether air; And phantom birds in the phantom branches The white clouds roll the crumbling snow Of ever-pendulous avalanches, Till the brain grows giddy, gazing through II. THROUGH the river, and through the rifts While Thought on dreamy pinion drifts, Into the deep ethereal sea Of her own serene eternity. Transfigured by my trancèd eye, Wood and meadow, and stream and sky, THE WORLD is the River that flickers by. Its skies are the blue-arched centuries; By the steadfast shores of a fadeless clime. There are banks of Peace, whose lilies pure And many a holy influence, That climbs to God like the breath of prayer, Through realms of Poesy, whose white cliffs By hills of truth, whose glories show pass Distorted, broken, and dimmed, as we know— Kissed by the tremulous long green trees Of the glistening tree of Happiness, Which ever our aching grasp eludes With sweet illusive similitudes, The orb that burns in the rifts of space My Soul leans over the murmuring flow, VOL. L-No. 8. THE WAITARA. THE interest in the Waitara is fast sinking into insignificance. It is doubtful whether a debate on the question can be got up in the House of Representatives. Event follows event with such rapidity-each succeeding act of the drama now being played out, explaining with more or less fulness the mystery hidden in the one which immediately preceded it, that even curiosity about the "new circumstances" so mysteriously hinted at in the proclamation abandoning the block, can scarcely be excited. It is rather a relief than otherwise to all parties that, in the present struggle Waitara "is well out of the way," and that no land question or difference of opinion about Maori title is mixed up with the issue now being fought out. Nevertheless, however willing and thankful we may be that, by the exercise of ministerial legerdemain, Waitara has been got rid of, we must confess to a certain lingering desire to take a peep behind the scenes, and ascertain how the thing was done. No sooner will the Assembly be in session than all will be revealed. It can hardly be supposed that the Waitara papers will then be any longer withheld; and though we do not in the least anticipate that the fate of the Government will at all depend upon the case they can make out, or that the abandonment of that block will be regarded as a good ground to impeach the Ministers, as some eager journalists suggested when first the intelligence shocked the public out of its sense of propriety; yet, as a matter in itself of grave public importance, there are few who take interest in the political history of the Colony who will not read with eagerness the story as the parliamentary papers will tell it. So far, but little has been written on the subject, and that little has not gained much credence. An article in the Canterbury Press, the writer of which boasts that he knows all about it, appeared on the 9th July, and though the story which he tells is, in many respects, very remarkable, and no doubt contains much which is true, it can hardly be accepted as the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. The writer of that article was evidently anxious to make the most of the facts which had come to his knowledge, and these he has dressed up with all the charm of style and power of language to which we are so much accustomed in the Press; so that, what with the facts which he relates, the inferences which he shows, and the illustrations he uses, he makes the story of Waitara to reveal one of the most tragic blunders on record. He would have people believe that the forces of Great Britain had been used to turn from their houses and their cultivations a large, defenceless, and peaceable population of Natives, for no other reason on earth but to extend the limits of settlement of the Province of Taranaki. He compares the resistance of William King to the resistance of Hampden, and his heroism and chivalry to that of Garibaldi. In his eyes, William King is no rebel opposing an authority superior to his own, that the dominion over this country should vest in the Maori and not in the European; but a justice-loving patriot, impelled to opposition by the tyrannical and oppressive acts of the land-grasping stranger. This picture is as nearly like the truth as a brigand on the stage is like the brigand of the Apennines, or as the frontispiece to the "merry Swiss boy" is like the youthful inhabitant of the valleys of the Alps. Whatever may be the truth, whatever we may think of the Waitara purchase originally, and of the various blunders that have been made in reference thereto, we are quite certain that an historical statement of the facts that have transpired will lead no one else but the writer in the Press to the conclusions which he has drawn. The position taken up by Governor Browne and his Ministers was, that Teira and his people were the sole owners of the land they were desirous to sell; that their title was disputed by no one; that there was no good reason to allege against the purchase; that William King's opposition was purely factious, and for no other reason than to resist the Queen's authority and to prevent the further alienation of land. Great stress has been laid by the supporters of Colonel Browne on the fact that the "investigation" into Teira's title was going on for a period of nine or ten months; that during that time every effort was made to ascertain whether there were any other claimants, and that none could be found. Now, there can be very little doubt that this much boasted investigation was all a farce. Mr. Parris was the Government agent; Mr. Parris was the Land-Purchase Commissioner; Mr. Parris was deeply interested in the extension of the Taranaki settlement; Mr. Parris received instructions from the Government to buy the land if possible; Mr. Parris was the Investigator; Mr. Parris was, in fact, Judge, Jury, Prosecutor, Counsel, and Witness, all in one. There was not even so much as the formality of a Court. No particular time was fixed for this celebrated investigation.. According to Mr. Parris's own showing, it consisted of nothing but occasional loose talk at a Maori pa between him and any Maori he could get hold of. This is his own statement: " I went to Waitara to have an interview with William King and his people on the subject of resuming the negociation (not investigation mind) for Teira's land. I spent this day and many others with them endeavouring to induce them to meet Teira's party, and discuss quietly and deliberately the claims to the block of land (thus admitting that they had claims), but they never would consent to do it; I, therefore, was obliged to get information from other natives." No one need be surprised at a crop of "new circumstances" arising out of such an investigation as this; indeed, the surprise would be if there were any other result. The main point is to ascertain what the "new circumstances" really are, and how they came to be discovered, for whatever else is known or unknown, it is clear that there has been no more formal investigation this time than there was before by Mr. Parris. It is said that the "new circumstances" rest entirely on Teira's own confession. That Teira had an interview at Taranaki with Mr. Bell. That on that occasion the talk turned upon the emigration of the Ngatiawa from Waikanae, and that Mr. Bell asked Teira to tell him how it was that William King resided on the south bank of the river instead of on his own territory on the north. The reply which it is understood Teira made is very curious. He said that, in the first instance, King had fully intended to reside on the north bank, but the |