JSjjfc As ,foon as her quality was known, an offer was made tó
conduct her to the {hip. Of this fhe readily accepted, and
icame -on hoard with two men and feveral women,;: who;
feemed to. be all .of her family; I received her with fuch
marks of diftindtion as I thought would gratify her moft,
arid was not fparing of my prefents, among which this au-
guft perfonage feemed particularly delighted with a child’s
doll. After fome time fpent on hoard, I attended her back
to the fhorc ; and as foon as we landed, fhe prefented me
with a hog, and feveral bunches of plantains, which fhe
caufed to be carried from her canoes up to the fort in a kind
o f proceffion, o f which fhe and myfelf brought up the rear.
In our way to the fort we met Tootahah, who, though not
King, appeared to be at this time invefled with the foyereign
authority ; he feemed not to be well pleafed with the dif-
itin&ion that was fbewqd to the lady, and became fo jealous
when fhe produced her doll, that to propitiate him it was
thought proper to compliment him with another. At this
time he thought fit to prefer a doll to a hatchet; but this
preference .arofe only from a childifh jealoufy, which could
not be foothed but by a gift of exactly the fame kind with
that which had been prefented to Oberea; for dolls in a
w ,y fhort time were univerfally confidered as trifles of no
value.
The men who had vifited us from time to time had, with«
out fcyuple, eaten of our provifions; but the women had
never yet been prevailed upon to tafte a morfel. To-day,
however, though they refufed the moft prefling felicitations
to dine with the Gentlemen, they afterwards retired to the
fervants’ apartment, and eat of plantains very heartily; a
myftery of female oeconomy here, which none of us could
explain..
On-the agth.mot very early.in the. forenoon, Mr. Banks J7*j£
-went- to pay his-éoîirt-'tô Obfefea, and was told that fhe was c-—
•ftilf afleep under the bwning-of her canoe : thither therefore
•he went.'m'tending'tó call her up, a liberty-which he thought
he might take, without any danger of giving offence: but,
-upon looking into her-chamber,- to his great aftonifhment,
-he found her in bed with a handfome young fellow about
five and twenty, whofe name was Ob'ÂMë : he retreated with
'fotnë hafte and eonfufion, but was fbon made to underftand,
t-ha-t fuch amours gave no ócëafiöiï to fcandal, and that Oba-
dée was univerfally known to have been feleéted by her as
the objeft of her private favours. The lady being too polite
to fuffer Mr. Banks to wait long in her antichamber, drefïèd
herfelf with more than ufual expedition, and as a token of
fpecial grace, clothed him in a fuit of fine cloth and proceeded
with him to the tents. In the evening, Mr. Banks
paid a vifit to Tubourai Tamaide, as he had often done before,
by candle light, and was equally grieved and furprized
to find him and his family in a melancholy mood, and mofl
o f them in tears: he endeavoured in vain tó difCover the
caufe, and therefore His flay among them was but fhoit.
When he reported this circumftance to the officers at the
fort, they recollected that Owhaw had foretold, that in four
days we fhould fire our great guns ; and as this was the eve
of the third day, the lituation in which Tubourai Tamaide
and his family had been found, alarmed them. The fentrifes
therefore were doubled at the fort,' and the Gentlemen flejtt
under arms ; at two in i the morning, Mr. Banks himfelf
went round the point, but found every thing fo quiet, thkt
1 he gave up all fufpicions of mifchief intended by the natives
as groundlefs. We had however another fource of fecurity ;
our little -fortification was now complete. : The north arid
I V ol. II. P fouth •