124 A MISSION TO VITI. 
its habits, you are aware that at certain periods this king 
goes on shore to lay its eggs, and you, knowing its way, 
look for its footprints on the white coral sand of the 
beaches, and suddenly light upon what is hatching.” No 
further amplification was required to make the chief 
comprehend the drift of the story. The bystanders saw 
at a glance that the chief had put his foot in it the 
moment he identified himself with the king of the 
fishes, and that his plots were so clumsily constructed 
that anybody who knew him could easily trace them out. 
The public interview with King Cakobau, or Tha- 
kombau, was to take place on the 27th of July, when 
he would once more confirm the cession of his country 
made to Great Britain in 1858, through Mr. W. Prit- 
chard. In order to place the whole subject fairly before 
the reader, it will be necessary to insert here the ori- 
ginal deed of cession:— : 
“ Oession of Fiji to England, and Ratification of it by the Chiefs. 
“ HiBENEZER THaxompau, by the grace of God, sovereign 
chief of Bau and its dependencies, Vunivalu of the armies of 
Fiji, and Tui Viti, etc., to all and singular to whom these pre- 
sents shall come, greeting. 
“Whereas we, being duly, fully, and formally recognized in 
our aforesaid state, rank, and sovereignty, by Great Britain, 
France, and the United States of America, respectively ; 
« And having full and exclusive sovereignty and domain in 
and over the islands and territories constituting, forming, and 
being included in the group known as Fiji, or Viti; 
“ And being desirous to procure for our people and subjects 
a good and permanent form of government, whereby: our afore- 
said people and subjects shall enjoy and partake of the benefits, 
the prosperity, and the happiness, which it is the duty and the 
