MBAU AND VITI-LEVU. ■ 175 



wliicli is worth describing. On reaching the top, the agile 

 nymphs liad kindled a fire, and made every thing ready for 

 a picnic. 



' The queen was seated on the top of a rock, the maids of 

 honour grouped around her. It was a pretty sight. The 

 dark beauties, the really artistic effects of their ornamental 

 leaves and flowers, the easy grace of their movements, made 

 them look like so many nymphs that one reads of in classic 

 story, but never seems to meet with nowadays.' ^ One 

 would be apt to suppose that the writer had warmed him- 

 self into a pardonable exaggeration, if the polish, engaging 

 gracefulness, and dignity of carriage, which mark the highest 

 classes of the natives of these islands was not attested by 

 every competent observer who has recorded his impressions. 

 It is to be regretted that her majesty's arguments in defence 

 of polygamy, as seen from her point of view, have not been 

 reported, as it would have been interesting to have com- 

 pared them with those of the ingenious lady in support of 

 the same cause whom I met at Deseret city, the well-known 

 capital of the Mormons.^ 



' Seemann, pp. 26, 27. 



^ 'A Journey to Great Salt Lake City, by Jules Remy and Julius 

 Brenchley, M.A., with a Sketch of the History, Religion, and Customs 

 of the Mormons, and an Introduction on the Religious Movement of 

 the United States; by Jules Remy, 1861,' vol. ii. pp. 97-109. This 

 work is a translation of the Fi-ench edition published in Paris in 1860. 



