POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
399 
with them^ if Pomare would allow her to leave fahiti; 
but said she would see them again^ and^ before they re¬ 
turned, deliver her final reply/’ 
On the brow of a hill, forming the commencement of a 
range extending from the vicinity of the shore to the lofty 
interior mountains, Mr. Crook formerly, at this station, 
had erected his abode. Having waited on the queen, and 
other members of the royal family residing with her, I 
walked up the hill, which Mr. Crook had designated 
Mount Hope, and was happy to find himself and his fa¬ 
mily well. The situation he had selected for his abode- 
though inconvenient on account of its distance from the 
settlement, and the fatigue induced by the ascent, has 
nevertheless peculiar advantages | the air is remarkably 
pure, the temperature generally cooler than on the adja¬ 
cent lowlands, and the prospect most delightful and 
extensive. 
With his agreeable family I passed the remainder of 
this day, and the following, which was the Sabbath. The 
congregation at the public religious services consisted of 
about five hundred hearers, who were in general attentive | 
the singing was good, and the voices of the men better 
than I ever heard elsewhere. The female voices are gene¬ 
rally clear and distinct, and they sing well in most of the 
stations, but the voices of the men are seldom mellow or 
sonorous. 
About ten o’clock on the following day I took leave of 
the friends at Mount Hope, and, accompanied by the 
chiefs from Huahine, proceeded to Matavai, where Pomare 
resided. It was near noon when we arrived, and soon 
after landing, the messengers waited upon the king, told 
him they had been sent by the chiefs of Huahine, to 
request Teriitaria to return and reside there, and expressed 
