Christchurch, New Zealand, 23rd April 1888

Royal Hotel
Christchurch

23rd April 1888

My dearest Elliot,

These New Zealand mails are the most troublesome things I know. There was no mail between the 4th of April and the 20th, and now there is another on the 26th and there will, I think, be another on the 1st or 2nd of May - that is another week. Then, I suppose, we shall have to wait for a fortnight.

We have had no letters from home since the beginning of this month. I do not know if any English mails have been in, but I scarcely think so as General Algar has not received any letters either, and Alice or Willie write to him pretty regularly. I hope there will be letters either tomorrow or the next day.

You cannot understand how I long for letters from you all. I dream of them at night and sometimes I wake up in a fright thinking I have heard bad news. I have felt particularly depressed lately and I most sincerely trust I shall not get bad news - that I shall hear that you and Mamie and Fred are quite well. Anna and I are both well.

I think she is certainly stronger. She has gone off this morning to her school. This is the last week of the school and she wants to work pretty hard so as to get the full benefit of it. I was thinking of getting her some lessons with Mr Gear, but I find he charges 7 s/ a lesson and, as Anna would want twice a week, it would come to too much.

I expect Anna has told Mamie most of the news up to last Friday so I will only now tell you what has happened since then.

She had a great hurry to finish off her letter and her sketches for you in time for the post. Visitors of course, came to interrupt us. But we did get off at last to post the letter. One of our visitors - Miss Bowen - asked Anna to go yachting with her and her sisters the next day. We were invited to go to lunch with the Bowens on Sunday but Miss Bowen came to ask Anna to do this instead. Another visitor, Mrs Hallam, asked us to lunch on Sunday, which we accepted.

Later on Anna began to think that she did not at all like the idea of going yachting with a number of strangers and without me and she began casting about for an excuse. There was a very cold wind blowing the next morning and Anna declared she was catching cold so we tried to telegraph out to the Bowens that Anna would not go with them, but there was no telegraph office out at Riccarton, [ed: a major residential suburb of Christchurch] so I had to tell Miss Bowen when she called for Anna.

In the mean-time Anna had gone off to the rink with the Nidwill girls. She was in a great fright that she should meet the Bowens when she left the rink but she escaped that trouble. The rink is a new institution here and all the people are quite mad about it. It is free in the morning for the ladies to go and learn. I went one morning with Anna and it was very ridiculous to see the girls tumbling about.

In the evening it is the best fun as all the men go then, and they do not seem to care what idiots they make of themselves. They hang onto each others coat tails and go round in a string, and all fall down together. Anna and I shrieked with laughter at them. We are going again next Wednesday evening, if it is fine, to enjoy the sight.

Anna had some tennis on Saturday afternoon, but I had a very dull day. I was going for a drive with Mrs Nidwill but I had to sit and talk to her instead as she did not feel well enough to drive. Yesterday we went out to the Hallam's. They are such nice people. We like them more and more. You would like them particularly. They have just bought such a pretty mare. It is a bright chestnut with a white mark in the face, and she stands pretty high and seems to have very good paces, and they only gave £13 for it!

It is not in very good condition just now, but in a month or two it will be alright -it is only just four years old. I suppose a horse like that at home would be worth at least £60 or £70. I wish I could send it home to you. I wonder what it cost to send a horse home from here and whether it would be worth the risk. I will ask Mr Hallam the next time I see him.

This afternoon I am going, if Mr Nidwill is well enough to take me, to call on some people of the name of Chipold. They are very rich and yet two of their sons, who farm their father's property, do all the work of the farm themselves. They follow the plough and look after their sheep and scarcely employ any kind of labour. It is the only way here to make things pay.

Men here do all sorts of work. You hear of the sons of noblemen doing what they call 'rabbiting' - that is trapping and killing rabbits. There are some that are clerks in an office. The gentleman's son has become a farmer, which is scarcely supposed to be a gentlemanly profession at times. In fact they will do anything to make money.

General Algar is away in the country staying at a station with some people of the name of Wharton. They have 56,000 sheep in their run, besides cattle and horses. General Algar says it is a most lovely life as there are no other people for miles around and I believe Mrs Wharton is the only lady. There are Mrs Wharton, Mrs Wharton's two young brothers and another young fellow all living in the house. The men are out riding after their sheep and cattle all day.

Last Sunday I went to church with a Mrs Irvine who knows Willie Cairns very well. Her husband was at college with Willie and they are both great friends of his. I have not met Mr Irvine yet. He had a run near the mountains not far from here but he failed. Mrs Irvine told me that when they first came out they had a very comfortable income but that now they have nearly lost it all. They do not seem to be badly off, however, judging from the way they are living now.