There is certainly a novelty in buying and selling these slumbering giants. Of course the buyers and sellers trade in them on the understanding that they are dead. We hope they are.
There has been great competition for some of these phenomena on the north shore, a moderate-sized one selling for £5,000. The price, however, varies with the size and the shape. If it has a good crater, it may be very expensive. Of course, when buying a volcano, it is well to see that it is in a good position, for they are very difficult to move.
At night-time the streets of Auckland are dull and badly lighted, but during the day they are lively, and there is much to engage the attention of a stranger. Amongst the shops I was particularly struck with one of the book-stores, where the free-reading custom was licensed. To add a charm to the book you were studying, a piano discoursed lively music.
Auction-rooms were a great feature in the Auckland streets. At one of them I saw a man trying to sell a counterpane. His face was red, and his voice was hoarse. It was always ‘going, going!’—then he would pause, and appeal to his audience, which was one man and a boy:
‘Really, gentlemen, this fine counterpane for one and sixpence.’ Then persuasively: ‘Make it two bob.’
‘Well, two bob,’ says the man, and it was promptly knocked down as a cheap bargain.
There were many hoardings and advertisements in the street.
‘It will pay you to cross the street and look over our stock,’ was hung over one shop; but right before me, on my side of the street, there was a counter-blast:
‘It will pay you to walk twenty yards farther on, and look at our stock.’
The stocks in many of the shops were large and expensive.