As we drew near to the place where we had landed, our companions surprised us by an invitation to a feast, prepared, they said, on our account in a temple close to the shore. Here they gave us painted eggs, smoked salt pork, and various preparations of eggs and fish, with sweet cakes in numberless forms, besides tea, pipes, and sackee, a light kind of wine made hot. Nothing could be more cheerful than they all were to-day: they placed us on the floor at the upper end of the room, and, for some time, they would not allow us to move; but Mr. Clifford, who, from the progress he has made in their language, has become a great favourite, was invited to join a merry party in the verandah, to which they brought flowers, fruits, and every thing they could think of, in order to learn their English names, and give in return those of Loo-choo.
On reaching the boats, Jeeroo and two of his friends seemed disposed to go on board; they were accordingly invited to do so, which made him so happy, that he took a rudely-carved ivory ornament, in the shape of a monkey, from his tobacco-pouch, and gave it to me. Dinner was on table when they came on board, but there was time before taking my friends below, to intimate to the servants, that these gentlemen were going to dine with me, so that when we reached the cabin, three plates were laid in addition. They had probably not expected to find dinner ready for them on board, for they expressed surprise at these preparations having been made, and would not sit down for some time. When the covers were removed, they became silent, and looked on either hand for directions how to proceed. On being helped to soup, they did not stir till they saw us take spoons, in the management of which they shewed but little awkwardness. The knife and fork gave them more trouble, but they set seriously about acquiring a knowledge of their use, and, in a short time, found no difficulty.
Their grave propriety on this occasion is the more worthy of remark, from its standing in some measure opposed to our own behaviour under similar circumstances: for instance, when we first tried to eat with their chopsticks: on that occasion there was a sort of giggling embarrassment shewn by some of us, a contempt as it were of ourselves, for condescending to employ an effort to acquire the use of a thing apparently so unimportant. Their diminutive cups and odd dishes, too, sometimes excited mirth amongst us. Our Loo-choo friends, however, never committed themselves in this way; a difference of manners, which may arise from their looking upon us as their superiors, and vice versâ; but even admitting this, which we were sufficiently disposed to do, it is certainly no excuse for us.
On this occasion Jeeroo and his friends had evidently made up their minds to find every thing quite new, for all three made a slight involuntary exclamation when one of the covers was lifted up, and shewed a dish of their own sweet potatoes. They ate of every thing, using a great deal of salt, with the fineness and whiteness of which they were much pleased. A tart, however, being put on the table, they all objected at first to touching it; they would not say why: they were at length prevailed upon to taste it, which they had no sooner done, than they exclaimed that it was "masa! masa!" (good! good!) It was made of Scotch marmalade, and Jeeroo, in recommending it to his friends, told them it was "injássa, amása," (bitter, sweet), a union which they appeared not to have met with before. They drank wine with us, but said they feared it would make them tipsy; upon which we shewed them our mode of mixing it with water, which was evidently new to them, for they relished it so much in this form, that they were in a fair way of running unconsciously into the very excess which they dreaded. As soon as the cloth was removed, they rose, and went to walk about the ship: on our shewing a wish to accompany them, they intreated us to keep our seats.
During dinner, though it was the first they had ever seen in the European style, these people not only betrayed no awkwardness, but adopted our customs, such as drinking wine with each other, so readily, that we were frequently at a loss to determine whether they had but just learned these customs, or whether their own usages in these cases were similar to ours. As they pushed off in their boat they were asked to sing, which they did at once, and by their manner we suspected that the song had some allusion to us, but we could not make out the words.
30th of September.—During the whole of this morning we were engaged in the survey, accompanied by several of the midshipmen of both ships. We measured a base, and continued taking angles till the tide rose and drove us off.
1st of October.—As a free intercourse was now established with the natives at this place, and little doubt remained of our being able to gain their permission in a day or two for landing the Alceste's stores, it became an object to ascertain, without further delay, whether or not this anchorage was better than the harbour described by the natives as being a few miles only to the northward. While any apprehensions existed of our not being able to land here, it was not thought prudent to send the Lyra to look for that harbour, lest the chiefs should become still more suspicious of our intentions. At this moment, however, there was reason to believe that the chiefs wished the Alceste to remain where she was, and it was expected that any show of moving to another harbour would stimulate their exertions to render our present situation agreeable.
The Lyra was accordingly ordered to weigh this morning at daylight, for the purpose of examining the coast for ten or twelve leagues to the northward. We went out by a narrow passage through the reefs, and in the course of the morning beat up to Sugar Loaf Island. We did not land upon it, but passed near enough to see that it is richly cultivated on the lower parts, and that all the houses are collected into villages, shaded as usual by large trees round the bottom, and for one-third of the way up the sides of the peak. As this was our furthest point in the present survey, we tacked on reaching the Sugar Loaf, and coasted round the shores of a large square bay on the west side of the great island. The wind shifted gradually as we sailed along, blowing directly off the shore at every place, by which means we were enabled to complete the circuit of the bay before dark, after which we anchored in sixty-five fathoms water. Next morning we resumed our examination of the coast, but as the weather was fine, we hoisted out a boat and pulled close along the shore, while the brig kept her course at the distance of several miles. In this manner we traced the whole shore, till we came close to Napakiang, without seeing any port. We tried to land at several places, but were every where kept off by coral reefs stretching along the coast, at the distance of two or three hundred yards, and forming, to strangers at least, an impenetrable barrier. The canoes of the natives paddled away from us, and passed through the surf by passages which we were afraid to approach. We returned to the brig about two o'clock, and at three anchored in our former place at Napakiang.
The departure of the Lyra had excited a great sensation on shore; the chiefs came off to inquire of Captain Maxwell where the "honee gua" (little ship) was; but he did not choose to satisfy them, except by saying that they had trifled with him so long, and refused to let him land his casks and stores with such obstinacy, that he must endeavour to find some more favourable place at which to refit his ship. The effect was exactly what he wished; they intreated him not to think of moving from Napakiang; offered him not only large boats to put his stores in, but said he should have store-rooms on shore for whatever he desired, while his ship was refitting. They moreover granted him permission to land with his officers, and to go to the top of the hill without being guarded as formerly.
On the Lyra's anchoring, the chiefs came on board in great agitation, desiring to know what we had discovered. As we had actually nothing to relate, there was little difficulty in keeping our secret. They accompanied me on board the Alceste when I went to make my report, but Captain Maxwell, having found the advantage he had already gained by keeping them in ignorance of his intentions, was nowise communicative. They now offered to allow his people to land for the purpose of washing their clothes, which they had before refused to do, and in short, were in a mood to grant any thing, provided we were willing to remain at this part of the island. They did not pretend that this was out of regard for us, and it was easy to see that they apprehended more trouble in managing us any where else than at this place. Amongst the arguments used by them to dissuade us from going to the other end of the island, they said it was inhabited by savages. It came out accidentally too, that in the event of the ship's actually proceeding to other parts of the island, the six chiefs were to accompany us: so that they were probably influenced by considerations of personal convenience to make every exertion to prevent our moving.