222 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
Having been told how it was to be done, he 
jocosely charged his companions not to look very 
particularly at him, and not to laugh if he should 
not do it right. I put the printer's ink-ball into 
his hand, and directed him to strike it two or three 
times upon the face of the letters ; this he did, and 
then placing a sheet of clean paper upon the parch¬ 
ment, it was covered down, turned under the 
press, and the king was directed to pull the handle. 
He did so, and when the paper was removed from 
beneath the press, and the covering lifted up, the 
chiefs and assistants rushed towards it, to see 
what effect the king’s pressure had produced. 
When they beheld the letters black, and large, and 
well defined, there was one simultaneous expres¬ 
sion of wonder and delight. 
The king took up the sheet, and having looked 
first at the paper and then at the types with atten¬ 
tive admiration, handed it to one of his chiefs, and 
expressed a wish to take another. He printed two 
more; and, while he was so engaged, the first sheet 
was shewn to the crowd without, who, when they 
saw it, raised one general shout of astonish¬ 
ment and joy. When the king had printed three 
or four sheets, he examined the press in all its 
parts with great attention. On being asked what 
he thought of it, he said it was very surprising; 
but that he had supposed, notwithstanding all the 
descriptions which had been given of its operation, 
that the paper was laid down, and the letters by 
some means pressed upon it, instead of the paper 
being pressed upon the types. He remained atten¬ 
tively watching the press, and admiring the facility 
with which, by its mechanism, so many pages were 
printed at one time, until it was near sunset, when 
he left us; taking with him the sheets he had 
