unfortunately, much larger than the supply of timber. Rough-hewn posts
for the two-foot piles and verandah supports could be had for the
cutting, and therefore did not give out; but the man used joists and
uprights with such reckless extravagance, that by the time the skeleton
of the building was up, the completion of the contract was impossible.
With philosophical indifference, however, he finished one room
completely; left a second a mere outline of uprights and tye-beams;
apparently forgot all about the bathroom and office; covered the whole
roof, including verandahs, with corrugated iron; surveyed his work with a
certain amount of stolid satisfaction; then announcing that "wood bin
finissem," applied for his cheque and departed; and from that day nothing
further has been done to the House, which stood before us "mostly
verandahs and promises."



Although Mac's description of the House had been apt, he had sadly
underrated the furniture. There were FOUR chairs, all "up" to my weight,
while two of them were up to the Maluka's. The cane was all gone,
certainly, but had been replaced with green-hide seats (not green in
colour, of course, only green in experience, never having seen a
tan-pit). In addition to the chairs, the dining-table, the four-poster
bed, the wire mattress, and the looking glass, there was a solid deal
side table, made from the side of a packing-case, with four solid legs
and a solid shelf underneath, also a remarkably steady washstand that had
no ware of any description, and a remarkably unsteady chest of four
drawers, one of which refused to open, while the other three refused to
shut. Further, the dining-table was more than "fairly" steady, three of
the legs being perfectly sound, and it therefore only threatened to fall
over when leaned upon. And lastly, although most of the plates and all