cir.vr. x. PREPARING PACKAGES FOR THE JOURNEY. 
263 
whole to the queen; hut that her majesty had declined the 
proffered gift, observing that messages by relays of runners, be¬ 
tween the capital and the coast, were quite quick enough for 
her, and much more sure than the proposed telegraphic wires 
would be, which would most likely soon get out of order and 
become useless. 
The whole apparatus of the electric telegraph had been 
packed in one large case, and other articles had been brought 
in the same way. I had therefore to open and repack them 
in smaller boxes for the convenience of transit, as all had to 
be carried on men’s shoulders. Happening to mention to the 
aide-de-camp of the prince that an article which I was placing 
in one of the boxes was a present for the queen, I was sur¬ 
prised a day or two afterwards by noticing the same aide-de- 
camp request a young officer, who was sitting on the box, to 
change his seat immediately, assigning as a reason that the 
box contained something belonging to the sovereign. He was 
instantly obeyed, and the native servant who attended me was 
charged to inform every one who might come to the house 
not to sit on that box, as it was a great offence to sit 
upon, or even to sit above, anything intended for the sove¬ 
reign. 
When the alteration in my boxes was finished, a number of 
natives came and covered all the packages with the long leaves 
of a species of pandanus, which they tied on with the stalks 
of a tough creeper, abundant in the forest. All articles are 
conveyed on men’s shoulders to the capital, and are uniformly 
covered with these leaves, which when carefully put in are so 
impervious to rain, that not only piece goods, but even sugar 
and salt, are carried two or three hundred miles, and exposed 
to frequent rains without injury. 
In reducing the size of my packages, nails and iron fasten¬ 
ings for the corners were required, and these when not found 
in the market were furnished by the native smiths. An axe 
