The Newtown bee., 1903-05-08

Ol Ule uOuSe we Cdu Vorlly WTlue UQaU
 ''its glory has depart d." After lunch
 we visit the ruins. The house is in a
 fairly good state of preservation al-
 though many years have passed since
 i ts desertion took plseo. In one room
 downstairs (for it is a two-storied
 building) there are the remains ofan old
 bedStead, while in another room there
 are evidences of occupation since the
 eruption in 1886. Dead and dried veg
 citation is pushed into a corner, on
 which some one has rested, while
 empty bottles, suggestive of merri-
 ment, are scattered about. The walls
 of the various rooms are distigured by
 the signatures of many visitors. Op-
 posite, on the hill, is the ruined house
 of old Te Kapa, the Maori chief of the
 village. His son is now at Whakarew-
 arewa, and will not for any consider
 ation speak of the terrible night of
 June 1O,18s6. Close by is the whare
 of old Sophia, the Queen of Maori guides. She now resides at Whaka-
 rewarewa, where I visited her. She,
 on the dreadful night mentioned gath
 cred as many as possible to her whare, and is credited with being instrumental
 in saving 60 lives on that occasion. A little to the right, and lower down the
 village, are the ruins of Joe McRae's
 hotel, where young Bainbridge met
 his death. (Those ruins have since
 been destroyed by tire.) The full force of the volcanic showers must have come here, for everything is utterly smashed. Old iron bedsteads are twisted in all unimaginable shapes,
 while tanks and pumps were hurled in all directions as if the furies were holding high jinks. I uncovered my head when I stood on what appeared to be the veranda, for in the midst of that awful experience young Rain- bridge calmly pointed his fellow beings to the Great and Merciful God. His death affords a fine example of the consolatory power of the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ in the hour of peril.
 Leaving McRae's, I crossed the road and saw an old wagon buried in the debris of the volcano, after which
 joined my party, who had climbed a
 hill, and were looking at Lake Tara
 vera stretching out before them. The
 field glasses enabled us to see Hatipi
 water falls in the distance, and the old
 Mt TaraWera, with the awful chasm
 the eruption had cut into its brow. from which is sloping mass of ashes, 15 feet deep, running into the lake. The lake was seen on a beautiful clear day, and was the very embodiment of rest, and perfect picture of peace
 The evidences of unrest and upheaval surrounding us seemed absolutely inn possible from the placid scene before us. On good clear day, from this point there may be seen the river Te- aWaoteatua, into which Lake Tara vera empties itself. Returning from the lake, we passed through a pretty piece of bush, passing the remains of several Maori whares (huts) en route. and came to the ruins of the old Mis- sion house formerly occupied by Rev MT Spencer, of the Church of England. Here again we were reminded of the force of the tiefy, molten lava un that memorable night. The fowl house seemed to have fared best, and it is stated that two surveyors found shel- ter in it that night. In the house proper, 10 or 12 feet of debris was found. An old tank, still on it's piles, IS full of lava. Indeed, absolute des o lation reigns. There is growing near the old Mission house a small oak tree. | In another direction we look on the ruins of the old school and dwelling house of the master, where Mir Hazard (the mastery and his wife perished, but where two young children were saved-| rescued, l believe, by the surveyors referred to above. This was truly a wonderful freak of Nature, and a visi to the place is not calculated to send one singing to his home. This con- cluded our days wanderings, for at ?. 30 p. m. we started Rotoma- wards and reached our hotel at 5.3O.
 On the following Saturday another party was made up to proceed to Okere Falls, distance of 13 miles. We started at 945 a. m., but nothing of very great interest was met with until we reached the Native school at Nghae pronounced as near as possible to