FONDNESS OF NATIVES FOR BOOKS. 25 



guard against the centrifugal tendency of Fiji and pre- 

 serve its political superiority ; and giving Bauan women 

 of rank to petty chiefs has been one of the means em- 

 ployed. A queen thus married would still hold the 

 same position she did before marriage, and her sons 

 would, as " vasus" have great privileges at Bau, and be 

 identified with her prosperity. Eleanor was a tall, fine- 

 looking woman, of much lighter colour than the gene- 

 rality of her countrywomen, a cheerful countenance, 

 and possessed of dignity and self-possession. Consider- 

 ing the scantiness of her dress, this is saying very 

 much in her praise. Though her husband and most of 

 his other wives were still heathens, she was a Christian, 

 and I believe a sincere one, judging from the almost 

 frantic manner in which she endeavoured to obtain a 

 Fijian Bible seen in my possession. She exhausted 

 every argument to get it, and her joy was indescribable 

 when her wishes were acceded to. It was much in- 

 creased by the volume being the Viwa edition, which 

 is preferred to the London, not only because it is a 

 larger book and printed in the islands, but also be- 

 cause in the recent London edition some changes have 

 been introduced of which the natives do not approve. 

 The Fijians are fond of books, especially large ones, 

 even if written in languages not understood by them. 

 Some of the whites maintain that this is simply be- 

 cause they use them as cartridge paper, but I do not 

 believe this to be generally the case. I had several 

 good offers for Endlicher's 'Genera Plantarum,' and 

 other large well-bound volumes, though never any for 

 the bales of botanical drying-paper I carried about with 



