so well as that of the others. They came to say that a
present of stock and vegetables had been sent to the ships.
I t was intimated to them that we intended to' land the next
day, and upon their objecting to this, we said that our wish
was to wait upon the Great M an ; to which they replied,
that no person answering to this description resided here.
We then said, that it was right we should return their visit.
This argument they combated by saying that they were men
of unequal rank to us, and therefore nowise entitled to such
an honour; and that we, at the same time, would be degrading
ourselves by such undue condescension. This having failed,
Captain Maxwell told them of his illness ; upon which, our
new acquaintance, who seemed more earnestly bent against
our landing than the others, offered to send a physician on
board to see him. Captain Maxwell replied, that his own
doctor had recommended a ride on shore; upon which they
laughed, and turned the discourse to something else.
In this way every proposal to land, or even allusion to the
shore, was industriously put aside; and as it was onr wish
to gain their good will, the matter was dropped for the
present. Before they went away, Captain Maxwell, pointing
to their pipes, begged them to smoke if they wished i t ; they
were grateful for this considerate attention, but would not
on any account begin till we shewed them the example, by
smoking with pipes, which they prepared for. us. They
appeared more a t their ease after this incident, and after
sitting for some time, took leave for the night on the most
friendly terms.
18th of September.—Captain Maxwell sent to me to say
.that he meant to land on a point a t some distance from the
town, in order to observe the sun's meridian altitude with an
artificial horizon. Just as I was setting out to accompany
him, I was taken by surprise by two well-dressed natives;
who were halfway down the cabin ladder before I knew of
their approach. One came to superintend the measurement
of the Lyra, and the other, who seemed of inferior rank, to
explain why some poultry, only then sent, had not come on
the preceding night, along with the other presents. I forgot
to mention, that a bullock, two hogs, two goats, a dozen and
a half of fowls, some candles, wood, and water, were sent to
each of the ships. I asked them to sit down, and they were
so well satisfied with the Constantia which I gave them, that
they remained for some tim e ; owing to which delay, I did
not reach the shore till the time for observing the sun had
gone by. I found Captain Maxwell with Ookooma and several
of the chiefs, and an immense crowd of the natives, all
of whom had left the town on seeing the boat put off, and
had hastened to this spot, either out of curiosity or respect,
i.