202 LAKE MBA AND SAVU-SAVU. 



visited by her majesty the queen of Ambau, one of Tanoa's hundred 

 wives. She was not dressed differently from the rest of the females. 

 The usual liki was worn ; she had a trochus ring on her arm, and 

 a spondylus hung from her neck, and her head was covered with a 

 prodigious mass of party-coloured hair. Her majesty and retinue soon 

 cleared the table of its contents ; and it was quite fortunate that the 

 officers had finished their dinner before she arrived. 



Mr. Eld procured from her majesty her bracelets and two baskets, 

 in return for which he presented her with a small looking-glass and a 

 few brass rings, with coloured glass in them, with which her majesty 

 and the attendants were highly delighted. 



The ladies of the seraglio were constant visiters, and seemed 

 determined to obtain all the presents from us they could possibly 

 extract. The expense of gratifying them was trifling; but after 

 seeing many of them they became tiresome, and were not a little 

 annoying by leaving large grease spots where they sat, from the profu- 

 sion of oil and turmeric with which they were covered. The highest 

 queen of Ambau came last, and she took great pains to impress this 

 on every one. She brought a large retinue with her, among whom 

 was a young son of Tanoa. 



Among the natives who had been round the observatory, were some 

 from the town of Lebouni, mountaineers who had been living in the 

 neighbourhood, and doing some little jobs for the men stationed there. 

 This young son of Tanoa began throwing stones at the cocoa-nut 

 trees, to insult these natives ; and when they remonstrated, he threat- 

 ened to stone them also. Some of these natives soon secured the 

 youth, near the village of Vi Tonga, and had his head on a stone, and 

 their clubs raised to knock his brains out, when he was rescued by 

 some of the white men. The affair was finally settled by the queen 

 and the chiefs of Levuka and Vi Tonga. 



On the breaking up of the observatoi-y, when I was desirous of 

 building the stone pile, the natives of Lebouni, or mountaineers, 

 would not assist, alleging that the three who had been working for 

 the cook and men had not been treated to extra presents, although 

 they could not deny that they had been liberally paid, and, as we 

 looked upon this conduct as an attempt at extortion, no more notice 

 was taken of them, and they sat idle during the whole time. 



The white residents at Levuka were very desirous of obtaining a 

 mission-school for their children, and Mr. Waldron took a lively 

 interest in promoting this object. Having bought a piece of ground 



