560 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
husband. We walked down to the settlement^ to witness 
the meeting of the youthful pair. A small open house, 
belonging to the governor, was the place appointed for 
their first interview. When we reached the spot, we 
beheld the young chieftain, who, for his age, was re¬ 
markably stout, dressed in full native costume, with a 
large purau, and a flowing tiputa; he wore, also, an 
English beaver hat. He was seated at one end of the 
building on an iri^ or native seat, waiting with gravity 
of appearance the arrival of Aimata. 
About a quarter of an hour after we had reached the 
place, two or three boats from the vessel rowed towards 
the shore. Several of the attendants of the young prin¬ 
cess arrived in the first; and the queen and her sister, 
with the youthful Aimata, landed from the second. The 
visitors were met on the beach by the governor of the 
island, and a number of chief women, who conducted 
Aimata to the house where Pomare and his friends were 
waiting. They entered, and, after greeting the friends 
present, took their seats near where the young chief was 
sitting. 
Pomare continued motionless, neither rising to wel¬ 
come his guests, nor uncovering his head. Aimata sat 
close by her mother’s side, occasionally glancing at the 
individual who was to be her husband, and who sat like 
a statue before her. 
This was the first time either Pomare or Aimata had 
seen each other, and the interview was certainly a sin¬ 
gular one; for, after sitting together for about twenty 
minutes, the queen and her companions rose, and re¬ 
paired to the house provided for their accommodation, 
and Pomare and his friends returned to their encamp¬ 
ment. During the whole of the time they had been in 
