214 PALACE OF THE ROYAL FAMILY. 
with a knife. Bedsteads made of bamboo- 
canes, and. filled with soft matting, are placed 
along the walls, and make very comfortable, 
easy couches. These pleasant little abodes, in 
which the greatest cleanliness is everywhere 
observable, are all surrounded by cultivated 
gardens. In the evening, they are lighted by 
the oily nuts of the taper-tree, fastened in rows 
on splinters. 
Mr. Hoffman’s visit to the house of his 
friend Maititi, excited the greatest joy. His 
host presented to him his wife and children, 
and entertained him in the most splendid man- 
ner his means would allow. 
In the capital Mr. Hoffman found nothing 
remarkable. The palace inhabited by the 
Royal Family, was a spacious hut, with an 
ante-chamber or outer house, in which eight of 
the guard kept watch. Their only weapon 
was an old pistol fastened on a plank; this 
was frequently fired, probably to accustom the 
young King to the tumult of battle. The old 
King hes buried under a stone monument, in 
front of which three guns are kept; but, to 
prevent accidents, they are nailed up. 
