THIRD VOYAGE 261 



served out, but I observed that not a fourth part of the 

 company had tasted either the victuals or the drink. 



" As I intended to make some stay at Tongataboo we 

 pitched a tent in the forenoon, just by the house which 

 Poulaho had assigned for our use. The horses, cattle, and 

 sheep, were afterwards landed, and a party of marines, with 

 their officer, stationed there as a guard. The observatory 

 was then set up, at a small distance from the other tent, 

 and Mr. King resided on shore, to attend the observations. 

 The gunners were ordered to conduct the traffic with the 

 natives, who thronged from every part of the island with 

 hogs, yams, cocoa-nuts, and other articles of their produce. 

 In a short time our land post was like a fair, and the ships 

 were so crowded with visitors that we had hardly room to 

 stir upon the decks. 



" Feenou had taken up his residence in our neighbour- 

 hood, but he was no longer the leading man. However, we 

 still found him to be a person of consequence, and we had 

 daily proofs of his opulence and liberality, by the con- 

 tinuance of his valuable presents. But the king was 

 equally attentive in this respect ; for scarcely a day passed 

 without receiving from him some considerable donation. 

 We now heard that there were other great men of the island 

 whom we had not as yet seen. Otago and Toobou, in 

 particular, mentioned a person named Mareewagee, who, 

 they said, was of the first consequence in the place. Some 

 of the natives even hinted that he was too great a man to 

 confer the honour of a visit upon us. This account exciting 

 my curiosity, I mentioned to Poulaho that I was very 

 desirous of waiting upon Mareewagee, and he readily agreed 

 to accompany me to the place of his residence ; but we 

 did not find him at home. 



" About noon the next day, this chief actually came to 

 the neighbourhood of our post on shore, and with him a 

 very considerable number of people of all ranks. I was 

 informed that he had taken this trouble on purpose to give 

 me an opportunity of waiting upon him. In the afternoon 

 a party of us, therefore, accompanied by Feenou, landed 

 to pay him a visit. We found a person sitting under a 

 large tree, near the shore, a little to the right of the tent. 

 A piece of cloth, at least forty yards long, was spread before 

 him, round which a great number of persons of both sexes 

 were seated. It was natural to suppose that this was the 

 great man ; but we were undeceived by Feenou, who 

 informed us, that another, who sat on a piece of mat, a 

 little way from this chief, to the right hand, was Mareewa- 

 gee, who received us very kindly, and desired us to sit down 

 by him. The person who sat under the tree, fronting us, 



