FIJI LIFE, PAST AND PRESENT. 87 



humble birth at the mission-house. The old king was at first 

 very indignant at Joe's mesalliance, but eventually, like a 

 sensible man, came round, and prepared a sumptuous feast for 

 the propitiation of numerous friends and relatives. 



Society in Fiji is divided into six recognised classes, in 

 which there is much that resembles the system of caste. The 

 grades are : 



1. Kings and queens. 



2. Chiefs of large islands. 



3. Chiefs of towns and priests. 



4. Distinguished warriors, chiefs of carpenters 



and chiefs of the turtle-fishers. 



5. Common people. 



6. Slaves by war. 



Rank is hereditary, and descends through females. 



In cannibal days the dignity of a chief was estimated by the 

 number of his wives, which used to vary from ten to fifty, 

 or even one hundred. Polygamy was as much an institution 

 in Fiji as it is to this hour in Utah. The ex-King Cacobati for 

 a long time resisted the exhortations of the missionaries 

 to give up heathenism. His conversion to Christianity was 

 much owing to the earnest entreaties of his favourite wife 

 Andi Lydia. On one occasion he got very angry with her, 

 and said, ' You don't know at all what you are talking about. 

 If I become a Christian, I may marry one of my other wives, 

 not you.' She replied, ' I don't mind, so that you do become 

 a Christian.' 



Polygamy died hard in Fiji. A worthy Catholic priest told 

 me in Taviuni that a certain nameless chief was by no means a 

 bad sort of man, but now and again he would burst out into 

 polygamy. 



As regards the children now so well looked after and daily 



