46 ADVENTURE IN NEW ZEALAND. Chaf. UI. 
lose, assisted ai the disembarkation. Captain Hobson 
at last got rid of the troublesome jockey, and walked 
from the boat to the hotel, looking much mortified. 
He was attended by Lieutenant Smart as his aide-de- 
camp, by his private secrefciry, Edward Shortland, and 
by a " mounted policeman on foot," as an orderly. The 
whole affair looked as little like dignity and power as 
it possibly could. Five or six natives from Pipitea pa 
told us, as they went homewards, that they were much 
disappointed ; that he did not look like a chief at all ; 
and that they could not understand why he was said to 
have so much authority over all the white people. 
A levee, held on the Tuesday following, was an 
equally complete failure. Besides the officers of the 
Government and of the Company, the latter headed by 
Colonel Wakefield, only about forty persons attended, 
chiefly new arrivals ; and several of even this small 
number were butchers or shopmen dressed up for the 
occasion, who were delighted to be able to attend a 
levee at any price. But the real leaders of the com- 
munity, whether by birth, influence, talents, education, 
wealth, or honourable feelings, did not afford his Ex- 
cellency an opportunity of meeting them. One was at 
his farm, another fishing or shooting, a third building 
a chimney, or riding after cattle, another planing a 
plank, and all going on with their usual avocations, as 
though no Governor had been there. I passed the 
door of the hotel on horseback a few minutes after the 
levee had begun : I could see through the window that 
the room was nearly empty ; and the aide-de-camp, who 
had to present the cards of visitors, stood on the steps 
of the outer door jingling his spurs, and sunning his 
gay uniform, without being able to catch a single other 
customer for a peep at the lions. I could not help 
thinking of the four hundred well-behaved people who 
