NARRATIVE OF THE CRUISE. 495 



occupying this quarter of Mbau, for even on this small island the people were often much 

 divided. On going up the hill we came suddenly upon two old women bathing in a fresh 

 water pool ; they made for deep water in a hurry, but I saw that they were tattooed of 

 a uniform indigo blue colour, from the hips to near the knees, just like the Samoan men. 

 " King Thackombau was visited in the morning by two of our party, who took him 

 by surprise ; he was found lying on his stomach, reading his Bible. I went with a party 

 afterwards and we were regularly announced. The King, who was dressed in a flannel 

 shirt, and a waist cloth reaching to his knees, rose to receive us, and came forward and 

 shook hands. He is a very fine looking man, 6 feet high, with his dark face set off 

 by an abundance of grey hair ; his eyes are bright and intelligent, and his face full of 

 expression, in this respect very different from that of the ordinary Fijian of lower 

 rank. Three chairs were produced, this being the whole stock in the house, and those 

 of our party without chairs sat on the matted floor. The King reclined on his stomach 

 as before, on his own peculiar mat, at the head of our circle, with his Bible and Prayer 

 Book neatly piled on the right hand front corner of the mat. We said, through our 

 interpreter, that we were glad to see His Majesty looking so well, and explained the 

 nature of the voyage we were making in the Challenger. I was then deputed to give 

 an account of the wonders of the deep sea. In this subject Thackombau took the 

 liveliest interest, inquiring about what kinds of animals existed in the deep water, 

 evidently knowing the shallow water ones well. He was very much interested in the 

 fact that they are so often blind. He said he could not understand the depth in miles, 

 but comprehended it perfectly in fathoms. He then inquired the strength of the various 

 navies, asking after that of England, Germany, France, Russia, and America, and 

 wanting to know even the numbers of wooden and iron ships. The information we 

 gave him drew from him the remark that the English were a wonderful people, far 

 greater than the Fijians. The house was a large barn-like one of ordinary Fijian 

 structure, with tall open roof, and a sleeping place separated off at one end with a 

 ' tappa ' curtain. There was the usual square hearth, with its edging of stone. Over- 

 head were stored the heads of canoe masts. A European chest of drawers, a table, a 

 lamp, and two tin coffee-pots, were the only visible articles of luxury. Against the 

 door-post hung a fine club, freshly painted blue, belonging to the king's youngest son. 

 We asked the king for a pilot to take us up the mouth of the Wai Levu, the great river 

 which opens nearly opposite Mbau. He sent out at once to order one for us, and we took 

 our leave of this knowing old Christian, who is currently reported to have partaken of two 

 thousand human bodies, and is certainly known to have cut out, cooked, and eaten a man's 

 tongue, in the man's sight, as a preparation to putting the rest of him in the oven, and 

 that merely to spite the man because he begged hard not to be tortured, but clubbed at 

 once. The contrast between Thackombau and King George of Tonga was very striking, 

 at least as far as concerns their behaviour before visitors : Thackombau took the liveliest 



