306 MEMOIR OF DR. BAR VEY. 



is often deeply covered with a plentiful supply of very fertile 

 vegetable mould. There are no streams, and the wells, which, 

 along the shores of the harbour, spring close to the sea, are all 

 brackish, being overflowed at high tide. The missionaries 

 collect rain-water for the table and for washing. The natives 

 mostly drink the milk of the young cocoa-nut — a very different 

 beverage from the vile stuff you find in the old nuts brought 

 from the West Indies : the juice of the half-ripened nut 

 plucked fresh from the tree is delicious, "a real fountain of 

 sweet waters," always cool, even in the hottest day, so admi- 

 rably has nature guarded it by a thick husk; but if the nut be 

 kept many days after being gathered, the juice becomes sour. 

 The natives mostly use the sea-water for washing, and the bark 

 of a shrub nearly allied to Rhamnus, and which is common 

 along the seashore, serves as soap. They wrap parings of this 

 bark round the garment or piece of cloth to be washed, and 

 then knead the article under water in washerwoman fashion, 

 beating, pulling, and squeezing till a strong lather is formed, 

 along with which the dirt oozes out. It is said, however, to rot 

 the clothes from excess of alkali, but this may in part arise 

 from the use of the sea- water. 



The form of the hills in Vavau bespeaks volcanic action, and 

 the whole island seems to have been slowly raised up at suc- 

 cessive periods by a force acting below it. The rock appears to 

 have been hardened by heat, but not to the extent of destroying 

 its fossils. Close to the town a remarkable conical hill affords 

 a beautiful and extensive view over a wide margin of sea, 

 studded with small islands, and flecked with coral reefs, con- 

 spicuous at many miles' distance by the lines of white breakers 

 which constantly mark their position. 



Hardly had we reached the Mission-house on our landing, 

 when a long procession of the natives was seen, slowly winding 

 along the narrow roads, and singing hymns on their way. It 

 was composed of men, women, and children, dressed in their best, 

 and ornamented with leaves and flowers. None were empty- 

 handed, every one bearing some offering of " mea ofa " (love things) 

 in gratitude to the missionaries for their teaching. One carried 

 a pig, others a yam, a piece of cloth, a fowl, &c. Some few 

 brought money, and the children bore long wreaths, ingeniously 

 made, of sweet-scented flowers. Our party stood before the 



