pleasant; till at length Captain Maxwell gave them to understand,
tha t he wished to go to the top of the hills under
the tree s; but that, as he did not mean to advance a single
step beyond what was approved of, he would return instantly
to the ship if they persisted in confining him to the beach.
A consultation was held upon this, during which, frequent
reference was made to several elderly men, whose opinions
appeared to have great weight. They did not wear the
dress of chiefs, but, from all that passed, we suspected
them to be persons about court, who had been sent to
assist the councils of the local commission, without superseding
its authority. They at last agreed to our going to
the top of The hill, taking the precaution before we set out,
of sending .on a couple of runners, probably to give warning
to the women who might be in that direction. About half
way up the road, which winds along a steep face, there is a
neatly-built well, supplied by a stream which runs along a
carved water-course, and near it were three or four rudely
carved stones about a foot long and four inches across, with
slow matches and a small quantity of rice laid upon each.
Mr. Clifford distinctly made out that this was meant as a
religious offering, but its- precise object could not be discovered,
though it was conjectured that the guardian deity
of.the well might have some title to the honour. The side
of the hill is cut into horizontal irregular terraces, which
are cultivated with apparent care, and irrigated by means
of ditches leading from the well. On gaining the brow
of the hill which overlooks the anchorage, the chiefs
stopped, but as we were within a few yards of the summit,
where we saw a shady grove, we begged them to
proceed, to which, after a short deliberation, they consented.
By gaining this eminence, we commanded a view
of an extensive valley more beautiful than any thing we had
ever seen; and. on the side opposite to us we saw the large
building spoken of before, generally suspected to be the
King’s palace : our questions, however, on this subject were
always answered in so evasive a manner, and with such apparent
distress, that we seldom made any allusion either to
it or to the King.
Here we remained under the trees for an hour, drinking
tea and smoking pipes in company with all the chiefs,
besides four or five of the old men mentioned before. We
amused them by lighting their pipes with a burning glass;
but one old gentleman, who suspected some trick, and
did not join in the surprise shewn by the rest, held out
his hand that it might be exposed to the focus; and he
was soon undeceived, to the great amusement of the circle.
The magnifying power of the glass engaged the attention
of them all, but they were differently affected by it:
Q