218 A MISSION TO VITI. 



we had previously stayed. Wishing to economize time, 

 we left Tavuki at sunset for Ovalau ; we had put to 

 sea scarcely an hour when the weather became squally 

 and very thick, compelling us to take in all canvas ex- 

 cept the foresail. We should have fared ill if it had 

 not been for the presence of the consular interpreter, 

 Mr. Charles Wise, who combines with a perfect know- 

 ledge of the Fijian language, customs, and manners, the 

 advantage of being one of the best pilots in the group, 

 the more appreciated amongst the maze of more than 

 two hundred islands, of which as yet no reliable chart 

 has been prepared, though the labours of Wilkes, Bel- 

 cher, Kellett, and Denham, have already done a great 

 deal towards that desirable end. After an anxious night 

 amongst reefs and shoals, we found ourselves off Rew r a, 

 and, as the wind had now become a gale, the rain was 

 coming down in torrents, and the sea was very high, we 

 took shelter inLaucala(=Lauthala) Bay, anchoring op- 

 posite the premises of Mr. Pickering, an old settler in 

 Fiji. The occupier was absent, but his people made us 

 comfortable. 



A small schooner had just arrived from New Zealand 

 with sixteen immigrants on board. The captain called 

 on the Consul, and brought a file of colonial newspapers 

 containing the latest European news. Vessels often 

 making Fiji a week after leaving Auckland, we gene- 

 rally had our latest intelligence via New Zealand. The 

 captain was going to return immediately, taking oranges, 

 pine-apples, and yams with him, and intending to come 

 back with a fresh number of immigrants. Those that 

 he had brought this time had found shelter at the 



