516 



QUEEN POMAKE — NATIVES. 



Nov. 



he was secretary of legation to the Marquis of Marialva, at 

 the congress of Vienna ; and that in 1815 he belonged to 

 the 23d Light Dragoons (English). In 1816 he was attache 

 to the French ambassador in London. In 1819 he was study- 

 ing divinity at Oxford. In 1820-21, he was a student of laws 

 at Cambridge. Afterwards he travelled on the continent : 

 and lately had been sojourning in the United States. He visited 

 and brought letters from the Governor of St. Thomas, in the 

 West Indies, He showed papers to prove these assertions : 

 had a wife and four children with him ; and he had succeeded 

 in duping a great many people. 



Mr. Pritchard had seen the queen (by courtesy called 

 Pomare, after her father, though her name was Aimatta) at 

 Eimeo, the day before he arrived at Otaheite ; and as she had 

 not intimated an intention of coming thence, I agreed to go 

 with him in a few days to pay my respects to her, and to make 

 a formal application upon the subject of the Truro, a mer- 

 chant vessel plundered and destroyed by the Low Islanders in 

 1830-31.* I returned to Matavai in the evening, and, after 

 landing Mr. Wilson, remained nearly two hours listening to 

 the natives singing. I asked them to dance ; but they said it 

 was forbidden, and that the watchman would take them to the 

 governor of the district, who would fine them heavily. Sing- 

 ing, except hymns, is also forbidden to the grown people, but 

 they seemed to like listening to the children. 



This evening, before dark, there was a sight upon the 

 Beagle's deck, which delighted us who wished to collect shells 

 but had not time to look for them. An Englishman-|- had 

 spread out a large collection which he had just brought from 

 the Low Islands, and soon found eager purchasers. 



19th. We weighed anchor, and went into the little cove of. 

 Papawa, for the sake of watering quickly, without exposing 

 the men and boats to a heavy surf. It is easy to avoid the 

 numerous rocky patches, while there is a breeze, and the sun 



* This I was requested to do by Commodore Mason. 

 . t John Middleton. . 



