THE PELEW ISLANDS. 
beft to defer launching the veflel, as it was judged the 
next tide would not rife fufficiently high for that purpofe. 
i ' 
—The King with his attendants (but unaccompanied by any 
women) came over land to the tents very early, and imme¬ 
diately fet his men to work to make good the places where 
the temped: of the night had wafhed away the paint.— Abba 
Thulle, converting with the Captain, gave him to under- 
ftand, that they would have bad weather until the moon 
quartered, and, left he fhould not be fully explicit, he took, 
up a large leaf, and with his fingers tore it till it became 
round, to figure the full moon, that being the then ftate of 
that planet; which when he had fliewn, he altered the ro¬ 
tundity into the form of a crefent, intimating by this, that 
the weather would continue unfettled, until that alteration 
took place in the moon’s appearance : but, as the remaining 
fuch a length of time would have been very irkfome to all, 
who now felt an increafed impatience to get away, Captain 
Wilson afligned, as a reafon againft any longer delay, that 
by it, they might arrive in all probability, at China (whi¬ 
ther he knew they were bound) after all the fhips of his 
country were failed for Europe, which would detain them 
there till the fubfequent feafon. 
While painting the veflel this morning, the ftern was par- 
ticularly decorated by Raa Kook, under the immediate di¬ 
rection of the King; our people took notice that he made 
on each fide of the ftern two circles, one within another, in 
G g 2 black 
227 
i 7 8 3 - 
NOVEMBERS 
Saturday 8 „ 
