1835.] THE BAY OF ISLANDS. 411 



to one's mind old recollections of childish doubt and wonder. 

 Only the other day I looked forward to this airy barrier as 

 a definite point in our voyage homewards ; but now I find 

 it, and all such resting-places for the imagination, are like 

 shadows, which a man moving onwards cannot catch. A 

 gale of wind lasting for some days, has lately given us full 

 leisure to measure the future stages in our long homeward 

 voyage, and to wish most earnestly for its termination. 



December 2iJ^.— Early in the morning we entered the 

 Bay of Islands, and being becalmed for some hours near 

 the mouth, we did not reach the anchorage till the middle 

 of the day. The country is hilly, with a smooth outline, 

 and is deeply intersected by numerous arms of the sea 

 extending from the bay. The surface appears from a 

 distance as if clothed with coarse pasture, but this in truth 

 is nothing but fern. On the more distant hills, as well as 

 in parts of the valleys, there is a good deal of woodland. 

 The general tint of the landscape is not a bright green ; 

 and it resembles the country a short distance to the south 

 of Concepcion in Chile. In several parts of the bay, little 

 villages of square tidy-looking houses are scattered close 

 down to the water's edge. Three whaling-ships were lying 

 at anchor, and a canoe every now and then crossed from 

 shore to shore ; with these exceptions, an air of extreme 

 quietness reigned over the whole district. Only a single 

 canoe came alongside. This, and the aspect of the whole 

 scene, afforded a remarkable, and not very pleasing contrast, 

 with our joyful and boisterous welcome at Tahiti. 



In the afternoon we went on shore to one of the larger 

 groups of houses, which yet hardly deserves the title of a 

 village. Its name is Pahia : it is the residence of the 

 missionaries ; and there are no native residents except 

 servants and labourers. In the vicinity of the Bay of 

 Islands, the numberof Englishmen, including their families, 

 amounts to between two and three hundred. All the 

 cottages, many of which are whitewashed and look very 

 neat, are the property of the English. The hovels of the 

 natives are so diminutive and paltry, that they can scarcely 

 be perceived from a distance. At Pahia, it was quite pleas- 

 ing to behold the English flowers in ths gardens brfore tli<- 

 houses; there were roses of several kinds, honeysuckle, 

 jnsmine, stocks, and whole hedges of sweetbriar. 



December 22nd. — In the morning 1 went out walking, 

 but 1 soon found that the country was very impracticable. 



