208 SENSIBILITY OF THE QUEEN: 



friendly manner, with many " Arohas r and in- 

 vited me to take a seat on a chair by her side. 

 Her memory was better than my own ; she re- 

 cognised me as the Russian officer who had vi- 

 sited the deceased monarch Tameamea, on the 

 island of O Wahi. On that occasion I had 

 been presented to the Queens ; but since that 

 time Nomahanna had so much increased in size, 

 that I did not know her again. She was aware 

 how highly I esteemed her departed consort ; my 

 appearance brought him vividly to her remem- 

 brance, and she could not restrain her tears, in 

 speaking of his death. " The people," said she, 

 "have lost in him a protector and a father. 

 What will now be the fate of these islands, the 

 God of the Christians only knows." She now 

 informed me with much self-gratulation that she 

 was a Christian, and attended the prayer-meeting 

 several times every day. Desirous to know 

 how far she had been instructed in the religion 

 she professed, I inquired through Marini the 

 grounds of her conversion. She replied that 

 she could not exactly describe them, but that 

 the missionary Bengham, who understood read- 

 ing and writing perfectly well, had assured her 



