Chap. XVII. ABSURD GRAVITY OF A MISSIONARY. 467 
not a muscle changed, for miles and miles together. 
And his dress and attitude made me feel quite uncom- 
fortable, from my certainty that it was all forced and 
annoying to himself. The black tail-coat, trousers 
strapped down, waistcoat and stiff cravat, black beaver 
hat and rusty kid gloves, could not possibly be agreeable 
in this weather ; for I was quite warm enough in my 
shirt-sleeves, white duck trousers, and open collar. 
Then he sat on one of the thwarts of the canoe, not 
above three inches in breadth, perfectly upright, looking 
straight ahead, with his two hands leaning on a cane 
well before him. He seemed to keep his crew at a dis- 
tance. No one sat or stood within a yard of him, and 
he hardly ever spoke. A bare " good morning" was 
the only answer to my greeting the first time we passed ; 
and during the whole of this, to me, highly exciting 
journey, neither jokes, laughter, nor songs, neither the 
scenery nor the weather, not even the nervous passage 
of some of the dangerous rapids, which made me look 
about for a place to swim to in case of upsetting, had 
the least effect upon Mr. Mason's automaton stillness. 
I could not help thinking how much more permanent 
an effect might attend the teaching of a man of educa- 
tion and discernment, who would have joined to a cer- 
tain degree, on such an occasion, in the playful humour 
of these grown-up children. 
The passage up the rapids, some of them having a 
fall of six feet in a short space, excited my admiration 
as soon as I had got over the nervousness. It was a 
good instance of the excellent time which the natives 
keep in their songs and dances, although perfectly 
ignorant of and unable to appreciate music. 
On reaching the foot of a rapid, the crew abandon 
the paddles, stand up in the canoe, and handle long 
poles made of manuka^ toa toa, or other hard wood. 
