VISIT FROM THE QUEEN; 199 
his voice was lost amid the din and clamour of the 
crowds that accompanied the exhausted and fright¬ 
ened animal to the land. At length he reached the 
beach in safety; and, as he rose out of the water, the 
natives on the shore fled with precipitation, climbing 
the trees, or crouching behind the rocks and the 
bushes for security. When, however, they saw 
one of the seamen, who had landed with the cap¬ 
tain from the ship, take hold of the halter that was 
on his neck, they returned, to gratify their curi¬ 
osity. Most of them had heard of horses, and 
some of them had, perhaps, seen those belonging 
to Mai, (Omai,) landed on the island by Captain 
Cook, forty years before; but it was undoubtedly 
the first animal of the kind the greater part of 
them had ever seen. 
The king had not been long on board, when the 
queen arrived, and was ushered into the cabin. Her 
person was about the middle stature; her complexion 
fairer than any other native I have seen ; her form 
elegant, and her whole appearance prepossessing. 
Her voice, however, was by no means soft, and her 
manners were less engaging than those of several 
of her companions. She was habited in a light 
loose and flowing dress of beautifully white native 
cloth, tastefully fastened on the left shoulder, and 
reaching to the ankle : her hair was rather lighter 
than that of the natives in general; and on her head 
she wore a light and elegant native bonnet, of green 
and yellow cocoa-nut leaves; each ear was perfo¬ 
rated, and in the perforation two or three flowers 
of the fragrant Cape jessamine were inserted. She 
was accompanied by her sister, Pomare - vahine. 
Aimata, the young princess, only daughter of 
Pomare and the queen, who appeared about six 
years of age, was brought by her nurse, and fol- 
