400 TAHITI. [CIIAI-. xvni. 



grace, or dignity. She has only one royal attribute: a perfect 

 immovability of expression tinder all circumstances, and that 

 rather a sullen one. The rockets were most admired ; and a deep 

 " Oh ! " could be heard from the shore, all round the dark bay, 

 after each explosion. The sailors' songs were also much admired ; 

 and the queen said she thought that one of the most boisterous 

 ones certainly could not be a hymn! The royal party did not 

 return on shore till past midnight. 



26M. In the evening, with a gentle land-breeze, a course was 

 steered for New Zealand ; and as the sun set, we had a farewell view 

 of the mountains of Tahiti the island to which every voyager has 

 offered up his tribute of admiration. 



December l$th. In the evening we saw in the distance New 

 Zealand. We may now consider that we have nearly crossed the 

 Pacific. It is necessary to sail over this gr.eat ocean to comprehend 

 its immensity. Moving quickly onwards for weeks together, we 

 meet with nothing but the same blue, profoundly deep, ocean. 

 Even within the archipelagoes, the islands are mere specks, and 

 far distant one from the other. Accustomed to look at maps 

 drawn on a small scale, where dots, shading, and names are crowded 

 together, we do not rightly judge how infinitely small the propor- 

 tion of dry land is to the water of this vast expanse. The meridian 

 of the Antipodes has likewise been passed ; and now every league, 

 it made us happy to think, was one league nearer to England. 

 These Antipodes call 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 mea- 

 sure the future stages in our long homeward voyage, and to wish 

 most earnestly for its termination. 



December '21st. 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 sur- 

 face 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. 



