Wednesday, February 12th

A very hot morning from the first—one of our hottest Sundays. Wind from S.W. slightly. Finished a long letter to dear Mary to go to Wellington by Perseverance. Bought today 5,000 feet of timber, on which Andy is to set to work on the frame of a house at once. The choices have gone down to twenty-two without touching the Island, so that it is now a matter of certainty that we shall get it, or part of it.