"I mean to invest the greater part of it in land"--with decision. "All right; as to that, I won't offer an opinion. I know next to nothing about New Zealand. Look out when you _do_ buy. Some fellow told me there was trouble with the native titles; and lawsuits about land are no joke, as we have reason to know." "Good-bye, my dear fellow," said our hero; "I shall always be grateful for your valuable hints. I hate the word 'advice.'" And as this happened in London, the two young men had dined together at the Reform Club, of which Massinger was a member, and gone to the theatre afterwards, wisely reflecting that such an opportunity might not again occur for a considerable period. Before the day of departure he received, among others, a letter of feminine form and superscription, which read as follows:-- "MY DEAR SIR ROLAND, "As you are betaking yourself to the ends of the earth, after the unreasoning fashion which men affect, you won't be alarmed at my affectionate mode of address. I really _have_ a strong friendly interest in your welfare, though the nature of such a feeling on a girl's part is generally suspected. Perhaps, as you cannot get over your temporary grief about Hypatia, you are right to do something desperate. She will respect you all the more for this piece of foolishness. (Excuse me.) Women mostly do, if they have hearts (some haven't, of course), but they themselves generally believe they are not worth any serious sacrifice. A really 'nice' woman is about the best prize going, if a man can get her; only the mistake he makes is in not knowing that there are lots of other women in the world--'fish in the sea,' etc.--who are certain to appreciate him if they get a chance, so nearly as good, or so alike in essentials, that he would hardly find any difference after a year or two. "So, for the present, you are right to go away and found more Englands, and chop down trees, and fight with wild beasts--are there any in New Zealand, or only natives? Doing all this with a view of knocking all the nonsense, as we girls say, out of your head. Time will probably cure you, as it has done many another man. With us women--foolish creatures!--more time is generally needed; why, I'm sure I don't know. Perhaps because we can't smoke or drink, in our dark hours, like you men when you are thrown over. "I wish you luck, anyhow. Some day when you come back--for I refuse to believe you will never see Massinger Court again--you will tell me if I am a true prophet. My tip is this:-- "Within the next five years Hypatia will have got tired of slumming, lecturing, teaching, and generally sacrificing herself for the heathen, and will hear reason; or you will find a _replica_ of her in Australia or Kamtschatka, or wherever your wandering steps may lead, who will do nearly or quite as well to ornament your humble home.