2o6 CAPTAIN COOK 



and cheery face, an unusual thing among these 

 people. He displayed great attachment to the 

 Englishmen. 



Having passed ten peaceful days in Queen 

 Charlotte Sound, and taken in all necessary pro- 

 visions. Cook set sail, not before he had entrusted 

 several animals to various New Zealand chiefs, 

 who promised him not to kill them, as they had 

 previously done. 



As soon as the ships were out of sight of land, 

 the two young Maoris became living fountains of 

 tears. They never stopped weeping, and accom- 

 panied their tears with a homesick lament which 

 they sang in praise of their country. Seasickness 

 had something to do with their distress, for when 

 the sea became calmer their sadness diminished, 

 and they gradually forgot their native land and 

 their families, showing themselves "as much at- 

 tached to their new friends as though they had 

 been born in England." 



On leaving New Zealand, Cook steered north- 

 east. He proposed to make a regular circuit of 

 tropical waters in order to examine any islands 

 with which he might meet. 



After sailing more than a month without sight- 

 ing any land. Cook found, on March 29th, a little 

 island of smiling aspect and apparently of great 

 fertility. The islanders, who resembled the 

 Tahitians, were collected on the shore. The 



