February 21st, 1887

Wellington, New Zealand

I wrote to you last from Auckland also to Arundel and Harry and hope the letters have arrived safely - shall be very glad to hear from you all again in about 2 or 3 weeks by which time I expect to reach Melbourne D.V. My visit to Auckland was a very happy one in every way through the tender mercy and goodness of our Gracious God - the saints were very hearty and kind and were refreshed in their spirit - it would have taken 2 or 3 months to have visited them all after the colonial fashion - dear Mr. Gall drove me out to his farm and I spent the night with them and was made very comfortable - their love abounding indeed - dear Mrs. Gall and the children were all so kind and they appear to like their new life amid the bush - the dear lads work away felling the trees and splitting up the wood to make fences and other necessary things - they have a capital idea of it too - Mr. G. invited in some from neighbouring farms (Christians) to tea and afterward we had a nice reading - it would have amused you to see them leaving afterwards in their carts to drive away across fields and gullies that would have frightened a person from the old country - we followed a long way with lanterns and you may judge of what sort of climate it was that I carried a lighted candle a considerable distance and returned with it too. It is a lovely country and climate - as for my business at Auckland, it eclipsed anything in Canada or America. Seven names were given to me as first class reliable people and I did business with all of them - expect P.F. will be rather astonished when they receive the sheet. I left Auckland on Thursday last and dear Mr. Gall and his wife and many others in fellowship kindly came down to the ship to see me off. We reached a nice little town called Napier on Saturday morning and remained there until the afternoon - I had written to a large firm there sending lists and advising my proposed calls during the steamer stay, so on landing in the launch I took the bus to their warehouse with my case of samples and booked a splendid order for which I was indeed very thankful - saw a lot of the Maoris in the town and also met two young gentlemen from Philadelphia who came across the Pacific with us and are on a two year's tour round the world. We arrived here on Sunday morning a little after 9 after a splendid passage from Auckland, keeping near the coast all the way - it is a much bolder coast than ours - such immense ranges of mountains towering one above another – the steamers are superbly fitted up with every conceivable comfort and was very full of passengers going to the different southern towns and also to Hobart and Melbourne. There was a great number of people on the wharf at Wellington on our arrival and the brethren at Auckland had written to say I proposed being with them, so I looked about among the crowd from our lofty upper deck and recognised Mr. Powley and some others with him who had kindly come down to meet me. They gave me a real Christian greeting and one dear brother invited me to his house to stay, but I had to decline this for business reasons - a brother called ***[1] from Weymouth was also with them, who had heard of me through Miss Wilkins and Miss Keadle, he seems a very choice brother and of an excellent spirit. I got to the morning meeting and took the gospel in the evening - had a good day and dear Powley came to my hotel with me afterward and said goodbye. Tonight DV I give an address at the room - they seem to have a great readiness to hear a little simple truth - am hoping to get my work done here so as to leave again on Wednesday or Thursday for Christchurch - the following week Dunedin and Hobart and the following Melbourne where I hope to get good tidings from home once more. Trust the Lord graciously preserves and comforts you all, for which I pray unceasingly, in His mercy He keeps me in good health and does indeed give me mercies which all our praise excel.

February 22nd 1887

We had a nice meeting last night and dear Mr. Powley returned again with me to have a look at my samples which are all spread out in a very comfortable little room - I should never have believed it possible that our biscuits would have kept so well - the goods I am now showing left London after the Railway wreck so that they crossed the Atlantic and were knocking about with me in America for two months and constantly exposed - then a voyage through the tropics and yet many of them are as fresh and crisp today as when they left the Works. My business in New Zealand will eclipse anything I did in Canada and America - there are very large and first class firms of wholesale merchants here who cover the whole of New Zealand every month - called on them yesterday morning and was well received. They afterward came up and spent about 2 hours looking over my samples and were much pleased with them and to my joy have decided to take them up in real earnest - they requested me to make out a list of the kinds and quantities likely to suit the market which I have done - marking up about a 2 or 3 hundred pound order, should they confirm this it will be a grand a/c for P.F.Co. if I do nothing more in the colonies. This is a beautiful place such a grand and lovely harbour - the great steamers can come in at any time - the hills around are simply magnificent and the climate is so bright and refreshing. Propose moving on to Christchurch in a day or two.

Thursday February 24 1887

My order is confirmed with very little alteration and a second one given to follow a month or two after so as to arrive here in November. The saints are all very kind and I am out to tea every evening somewhere, last night at a brothers called Potter recently from Peckham – the night before at Mr. Powleys - Mrs. Powley sends her kind love to Miss Wilkins. And now I must send my kind love too and hope it will not be much longer before I shall be able to express it face to face - much love to yourself my dearly beloved wife also dear Arundel, Harriett and all the darling children, dear Harry & Emma and their darling children and all our dear friends at Ilfracombe and Barnstaple and believe me.

Your Affectionate Husband

The Captain of the ‘Alameda' gave me his photo and had a great wish for mine in return one of which is enclosed - I wonder if the dear children will know who it is - Daisy will see that I am crawling on the ceiling like a fly.

Footnote

[1] The name given here is unclear in the original, so a scan of the letter has been included here, with the location noted.

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