1777- THE PACIFIC OCEAN. 403 



I sat a full hour without any thing more going 

 forward beside what I have mentioned. At length 

 the prince, the women, and the king, all came in, as 

 they had done the day before. The prince, being 

 placed under the shed, after his father's arrival, two 

 men, each carrying a piece of mat, came, repeating 

 something seriously, and put them about him. The 

 assembled people now began their operations ; and 

 first, three companies ran backward and forward 

 across the area, as described in the account of the 

 proceedings of the former day. Soon after, the two men 

 who sat in the middle of the area, made a short 

 speech or prayer ; and then the whole body, amongst 

 whom I had my place, started up, and ran and seated 

 themselves before the shed under which the prince, 

 and three or four men, were sitting. I was now 

 partly under the management of one of the company, 

 who seemed very assiduous to serve me. By his 

 means, I was placed in such a situation, that if I had 

 been allowed to make use of my eyes, nothing that 

 passed could have escaped me. But it was necessary 

 to sit with down-cast looks, and demure as maids. 



Soon after, the procession came in, as on the day 

 before ; each two persons bearing on their shoulders 

 a pole, round the middle of which, a cocoa-nut leaf 

 was platted. These were deposited with ceremonies 

 similar to those observed on the preceding day. 

 This first procession was followed by a second ; the 

 men composing which brought baskets, such as are 

 usually employed by this people to carry provisions 

 in, and made of palm leaves. These were followed 

 by a third procession, in which were brought different 

 kinds of small fish ; each fixed at the end of a forked 

 stick. The baskets were carried up to an old man, 

 whom I took to be the chief priest, and who sat on 

 the prince's right hand, without the shed. He held 

 each in his hand, while he made a short speech or 

 prayer ; then laid it down, and called for another, 

 repeating the same words as before ; and thus he 



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