My brother was then
representative of a large mercantile firm at Bombay.
I think neither he nor the others at home had ever divested themselves
of the idea that I was not succeeding, and never would succeed in New
Zealand, because I had not at once made a fortune out of nothing, or
discovered gold for the picking up. Of course, they were not right. I
had, considering my youth and ignorance on going out to New Zealand,
done admirably. It was necessary to undergo a term of probation and
education for the work of a sheep-farmer or any other in the Colony, and
this I had not only accomplished, but I had been, and was, making money
and a living, and had fair prospects before me should I decide to adopt
the life of a squatter permanently. I consulted my friends and some of
them were for following my brother's advice, but something within myself
kept prompting me in the same direction, and I began to feel more and
more that I had mistaken my vocation, and that I was bound to try before
it would be too late to get into the swing of the more congenial
employment for which I was longing.
The wandering spirit, too, mastered me once more, and I wished now to
see India and all I had heard and read of that wonderful land, as I had
originally desired to see New Zealand.
I did not decide hastily.
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