398 COOK S VOYAGE TO JULY, 



an old man seated himself in the road, and, with his 

 face toward them, pronounced a long oration in a 

 serious tone. He then retired back, and the others 

 advancing to the middle of the area, began to erect 

 a small shed ; employing for that purpose the ma- 

 terials above mentioned. When they had finished 

 their work, they all squatted down for a moment 

 before it, then rose up and retired to the rest of the 

 company. Soon after came Poulaho's son, preceded 

 by four or five men, and they seated themselves a 

 little aside from the shed, and rather behind it. 

 After them appeared twelve or fourteen women of 

 the first rank, walking slowly in pairs, each pair car- 

 rying between them a narrow piece of white cloth 

 extended about two or three yards in length. These 

 marched up to the prince, squatted down before 

 him ; and having wrapped some of the pieces of the 

 cloth they had brought round his body, they rose up 

 and retired in the same order, to some distance on 

 his left, and there seated themselves. Poulaho him- 

 self soon made his appearance, preceded by four men, 

 who walked two and two abreast, and sat down on 

 his son's left hand about twenty paces from him. 

 The young prince, then quitting his first position, 

 went and sat down under the shed with his attend- 

 ants ; and a considerable number more placed them- 

 selves on the grass before this royal canopy. The 

 prince himself sat facing the people, with his back to 

 the moral. This being done, three companies, of 

 ten or a dozen men in each, started up from amongst 

 the large crowd, a little after each other, and running 

 hastily to the opposite side of the area, sat down for 

 a few seconds, after which they returned in the same 

 manner to their former stations. To them succeeded 

 two men, each of whom held a small green branch in 

 his hand, who got up and approached the prince, 

 sitting down for a few seconds three different times, 

 as they advanced ; and then, turning their backs, 

 retired in the same manner, inclining their branches 



