340 TE RAUPARAHA AND RANGIHAEATA. 
front of his house; fresh fern was strewed on the ground, and 
new mats laid on it for us. AVe were received with great respect, 
and welcomed with a loud haeremai. 'Vi e sat down on the Chief s 
right hand, and conversed on various subjects, until we were 
invited to enter a neighbouring house, where no one followed 
us, except a neatly dressed and good-looking lady, who was 
appointed to wait upon us ; this is Maori etiquette. We found 
a kind of table formed of two boxes, one placed on the other, 
with a new red blanket thrown over it, and a form similarly 
covered in regal style; on the table was placed a dish of good 
fresh-baked cakes, another containing sugar, a knife, spoon, 
and two basins, one nearly allied to a wash-hand basin in size. 
The lady then brought a tea-kettle, and filled our cups with 
an infusion of mint, which she called tea. The wash-hand 
basin was, of course, placed before the representative of 
Majesty, who viewed with dismay its enormous capacity, 
which being given him from respect, he could not well avoid 
draining to the bottom. After enjoying the Governor’s per¬ 
plexity, when the lady left the room, I emptied the contents ot 
our bowls into a calabash, from which one of our natives was 
drinking. Our repast being ended, we returned to the Chief, 
and sat by his side. The Governor requested me to ask the 
Chief to sell land, as has already been said, when Rangihaeata 
gave a savage look of defiance, thrusting out his tongue, and 
rolling about his eyes in such a way, that his Excellency, who 
had never seen such a display before, stared with amazement, 
and evidently felt anything but at ease. 
It need not be said that his land negociations were speedily 
terminated, and the Governor and his attendants were soon 
threading their way back along Rangihaeata’s swamp-girt road. 
He is now an old man, with a head white as the top of 
Tongariro, and with a spirit somewhat resembling that 
volcano, always fuming. His white hair strangely contrasts 
with his bronzed features, and highly tattooed countenance. 
He remains unchanged in his views, and will doubtless 
continue so during the short period still remaining for him 
on earth. His countenance has not the marked character of 
Te Rauparaha’s, neither does he appear to have equalled 
