FIJI ISLANDS. 335 



four thousand people. It seemed astounding, whilst looking on 

 at these blue, red, and black-painted Fijians nourishing their 

 clubs and shouting their war-cries, to reflect that this was a 

 Wesleyan Missionary meeting. The representative of the power 

 which has tamed these savages was a little missionary, with 

 battered white tall hat and coat out at elbows, who stood beside 

 us and who took no prominent part in the ceremonies, but yet 

 had full sway over the whole, no dance having been prepared 

 without his previous sanction. 



There could be no doubt as to the amount of good which 

 had been done to these people, and it is sincerely to be hoped 

 that the Wesleyan Missionaries will be left unmolested to con- 

 tinue the work in which they have been so successful, and which 

 they have begun and carried out often at the risk, in some 

 instances with the loss, of their lives. 



The men and children attending the meeting vied with one 

 another in getting money to contribute, and were ready to sell 

 anything they had almost for what we would give them. One 

 boy pestered us to buy an old hen, and followed us about with 

 the bird. Others sold us clubs and ornaments. The great wish 

 was to have several pieces of silver to make a rattle on the table, 

 and two sixpences w T ere worth much more than a shilling, two 

 shillings more than half-a-crown. Immediately the ceremony 

 was over everything went up in value, and a good many articles 

 pressed on us before, were not now to be had at any price. 



Amongst the crowd was an Albino Boy. He was perfectly 

 white, his skin having a peculiar look, almost as if covered with 

 a white powder, in places. His eyes appeared as if the iris were 

 of a pale-grey colour. He hid his eyes either from the light or 

 because of shyness. His parents said he could see perfectly. 

 I could not examine him closely as he roared at the prospect. 

 Albinos seem unusually common amongst Melanesians, and are 

 constantly mentioned by travellers. Hence these savages, 

 when first seeing Whites, no doubt often took them for a 

 race of Albinos. I saw several hunch-backed dwarfs amongst 

 the crowd. 



We sailed from the Wai Levu, or Eewa Eiver, to Kandavu, 

 stopping at a small island on the way, to buy a pig and some 



