O V O L A U. 51 



This was at once assuming authority over him, and after the fashion 

 (as I understood) of the country; but it was doubted by some whether 

 he would come, as he was old, and a powerful chief. I thought the 

 experiment was worth trying, as, in case he obeyed, it would be 

 considered that he acknowledged me as his superior, which I thought 

 might be beneficial in case of any difficulty occurring during our 

 stay ; I believed, moreover, that it would add greatly to the respect 

 which the natives would hold us in. 



The town of Levuka contains about forty houses ; it is situated on 

 the east side of the island of Ovolau, in a quiet and peaceful valley, 

 surrounded by a dense grove of cocoa-nut and bread-fruit trees, with 

 a fine stream of fresh and pure water running through it to the 

 beach ; high, broken volcanic peaks rise to the west, forming the 

 background. 



The frames of the houses are built of the bread-fruit tree, and 

 are filled in with reeds, whilst the roof is covered with a thatch 

 of the wild sugar-cane. They are usually oblong in shape, and from 

 twenty to twenty-five feet in length by fifteen in breadth. 



The most conspicuous and remarkable structure is the Mbure, or 

 spirit-house, which is built on a raised and walled mound : its pro- 

 portions are exceedingly uncouth, being nearly twice as high as it is 

 broad at its base, and forming a singular, sharp-peaked roof; the 

 piece of timber serving for the ridge-pole, projects three or four feet 

 at each end, is covered with numbers of white shells (Ovula cyprsea), 

 and has two long poles or spears crossing it at right angles. A draw- 

 ing of one of these Mbure will be seen in the succeeding chapter. At 

 the termination of the thatching, the roofs of all the houses are about 

 a foot thick, and project eighteen inches or two feet, forming eaves, 

 which secure them from the wet. For the most part they have two 

 doors, and a fire-place in the centre, composed of a few stones. The 

 furniture consists of a few boxes, mats, several large clay jars, and 

 many drinking vessels, the manufacture of pottery being extensively 

 carried on by them. The sleeping-place is generally screened off, 

 and raised about a foot above the other part of the floor. 



Having settled definitively the mode of operation I intended to 

 pursue in surveying the group, I was desirous of fixing some of the 

 main points in my own mind, as well as in that of the officers, and 

 therefore ordered a large party from each ship to be prepared to 

 accompany me on the following morning, to one of the high peaks of 

 the island, called Andulong, taking with us the barometers, &c, for 

 measuring its altitude. I likewise issued an order, directing officers 



