78 Transactions. 



Tlie appearance of Eapa, as we approaclied in tte " EuaMne," was very 

 picturesque, witli its sharp peaks thrust up, as it were, into the air through 

 the irregular but more rounded forms of the mountainous hills of the 

 island. The harbour lay just before us, with two coal ships securely moored 

 about two miles off, there being, seemingly, no obstruction between us and 

 them ; but beneath the quiet-looking surface lay the treacherous reefs, 

 which, difficult and dangerous as they are to approach heedlessly, form the 

 security of the harbour. "We stopped some time close to the entrance, 

 waiting for the boat to come off, the captain prudently hesitating to enter 

 lest the buoys might by accident have become displaced ; and the event 

 proved how wise this precaution was, for we found afterwards that one of 

 the principal buoys had been driven, by a recent gale, quite across the 

 channel. At length the expected boat came, with the captain of the 

 Company's coal ship and a native pilot. "We moved cautiously ahead, and 

 very soon the bottom was clearly visible under us. Then we approached the 

 entrance of the narrov/, tortuous channel among the reefs, the rocks 

 glistening just belov^ the surface, ominously close to the ship at times. The 

 captain and our two pilots were all on the qui vive as we threaded the 

 crooked passage, appearing as a blue line amid the black and green patches 

 of the reefs. It was with a feeling of relief we at length saw that we were 

 safely through the lines of buoys, and found ourselves in the most romantic, 

 snug harbour imaginable, the land rising on three sides like the walls of 

 an amphitheatre, and protected by the reefs and a beacon islet on the fourth 

 or eastern side, with the advantage of having fresh air from the open sea. 

 Twenty ships might moor safely there, and small craft innumerable. The 

 endless variety of form and colour around us was most enchanting. Near 

 our anchorage was a very small village, rejoicing in thirty-one inhabitants ', 

 but further off, on the opposite side, was another la^rger village, which we call 

 the capital — where the King and the French Sesident live. We only 

 regretted to see the French flag vfaving there instead of the English, and 

 there is not the slightest doubt but that the natives would themselves have 

 preferred it. It is perhaps matter of legitimate regret, that the simple 

 manners and customs — the primitive feudal sway of the native chiefs — 

 should be interfered with by either flag. 



Our coaling, of course, was proceeded with at once, and the greater part 

 of the passengers, anxious to escape for a while from their iron prison, 

 gradually dispersed on shore ; whilst those who remained made bargains 

 with the natives for coral, tropic birds' feathers, bananas, &c. I began doing 

 a little sketching, and after securing some of the very peculiar features of 

 the land, my next object was to determine with a moderate degree of 

 accuracy the height of the most prominent of the remarkable aiguilles, 



