CHAP. XXV,] THE ROTU-MAHANA. 381 



I afterwards heard from Mr. Chapman, the mission- 

 ary at Rotu-rua, are very interesting from their pe- 

 culiar petrifying qualities ; some specimens of which 

 we saw at his house. 



On the 1st of June we passed a hill at a short 

 distance to the northward of our route. It was of 

 considerable elevation, and had its original composi- 

 tion almost entirely converted into red or white 

 clay by the hot gases which issued from its whole 

 surface. Towards evening we reached the hills 

 which surround on all sides the Rotu-Mahana 

 (warm lake) . When we arrived on the crest of these 

 hills, the view which opened was one of the grandest 

 I had ever beheld. Let the reader imagine a deep 

 lake of a blue colour, surrounded by verdant 

 hills ; in the lake several islets, some showing the 

 bare rock, others covered with shrubs, while on all 

 of them steam issued from a hundred openings be- 

 tween the green foliage without impairing its fresh- 

 ness : on the opposite side a flight of broad steps of 

 the colour of white marble with a rosy tint, and a 

 cascade of boiling water falling over them into the 

 lake ! A part of the lake was separated from the 

 rest by a ledge of rocks, forming a lagoon in a state 

 of ebullition, which discharged its waters into the 

 Rotu-Mahana. We descended to the lake, but a 

 heavy rain came on, and night surprised us. 



After having crossed a streamlet of a blood-heat, 

 we found ourselves up to our knees in a muddy 

 swamp, without knowing how to proceed, as our 



