OVALAU. 143 



CHAPTER VII. 



OVALAU— FIJI GROUP. 



(July 26 to 29.) 



The island of Neau — Anchorage at Levuka — A \isit on shore — The consul and 

 his clerk absent — Russell and his wares — A French lady and her turn for 

 natural history — Excursion into the interior — Pools at the waterfall of 

 Waitoba — Method of kindling wood — Appearance of the natives. 



On July 22, a little before midday, the ' Cura^oa ' weighed 

 and stood off from Tongatabu in order to make for the Fiji 

 Islands. The ' Falcon,' which was going to New Zealand, 

 left at the same time, having on board Commander Duff, 

 whose wound, received more than a year before in a fight 

 with the Maories, would not heal in the chmate of these 

 islands ; the commodore replaced him by Lieutenant Dent, 

 who had already on several occasions acted in this capacity. 



We had calculated upon taking with us the chief Maafu 

 as our pilot and interpreter, but, at the last moment, King 

 George objected to this, on the plausible ground that during 

 a previous stay in the Fiji Islands the young chief had given 

 himself up to drink. 



A gentle breeze and a superb sea enabled us to go under 

 sail all the way. On July 24, in the afternoon, we threaded 

 our way through some twenty small islands of different sizes, 



