sent his canoe ashore to bring him off. At the same time he gave
orders to bring on board his two favourites, a cock and a paroquet.
While the canoe was gone on this errand, I had time to regard the
savage chief attentively. He was a man of immense size, with
massive but beautifully moulded limbs and figure, only parts of
which, the broad chest and muscular arms, were uncovered; for,
although the lower orders generally wore no other clothing than a
strip of cloth called MARO round their loins, the chief, on
particular occasions, wrapped his person in voluminous folds of a
species of native cloth made from the bark of the Chinese paper-
mulberry. Romata wore a magnificent black beard and moustache, and
his hair was frizzed out to such an extent that it resembled a
large turban, in which was stuck a long wooden pin! I afterwards
found that this pin served for scratching the head, for which
purpose the fingers were too short without disarranging the hair.
But Romata put himself to much greater inconvenience on account of
his hair, for we found that he slept with his head resting on a
wooden pillow, in which was cut a hollow for the neck, so that the
hair of the sleeper might not be disarranged.

In ten minutes the canoe returned, bringing the other chief, who
certainly presented a most extraordinary appearance, having painted
one half of his face red and the other half yellow, besides
ornamenting it with various designs in black! Otherwise he was
much the same in appearance as Romata, though not so powerfully
built. As this chief had never seen a ship before, except,
perchance, some of the petty traders that at long intervals visit
these remote islands, he was much taken up with the neatness and
beauty of all the fittings of the schooner. He was particularly
struck with a musket which was shown to him, and asked where the