Overview
Fri. Sept. 4.
Very windy - Father + I went round shepherding ewes. Mother drove me down to catch the Napier Express which left at 11.50am. In the train I read up the war news in the "Dominion":- In France the fighting a lá yesterday continues, but the invaderes [sic] attack is said to be weakening. The Franco-British line remains unbroken. In Galicia the Russians defeated the Austrians in a big battle near Limberg + took 30,000 prisoners + 150 guns. The Russians experienced a slight local reverse in East Prussia but their general advance on Danzig continues. The German press is informing its readers that the Brit[ish] Colonies are mobilising to throw off the British yoke while the latter is embroiled on the Continent. £13,000,000 worth of German ships have been captured to date. As we went north there was a very black storm on the Ruahine Range + rain fell at different points along the line. The
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physiography of Hawkes Bay appears to be most interesting - north of Dannevirke the rivers draining the country are surmounted by a very conspicuous old floodplain at a high level - the formation seems to be papa capped to a large extent by the old river gravels. Between Ormondville + Kopua, at about the 48 mile peg, a very remarkable stream channel crosses the railway line - it may be the upper Manawatu - the channel is sharply zigzag on a small scale with deep circular holes of clear water between each pair of corners - these curious features may be due to the stratification thereabouts. After dark I read "The Kingdom of Slender Swords" by Hallie Erminie Rives - a charming tale of modern Japan. Ralph + Mr. Herd met me with the trap at Hastings station + as the latter drove me down to Grays Road we encountered a very sharp + heavy rain storm so that it was fortunate that Maud was not down to meet me. I saw her on reaching the house however + she looked pretty well in spite of a slight cold.
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I was very kindly received, well fed + entertained. Later Maud + I retired to drawing-room for a little while, nominally to look at Ladies' Home Jnls [Jounals] but in reality to renew our confidences + to make up generally for our long separation.