Page:Voyage in search of La Perouse, volume 2 (Stockdale).djvu/161

] to those of the young women, at first with their feet, and frequently carrying one of their hands to the opposite arm.

We took the words of this air (apou lelley, charming evening) as a compliment from the islanders, congratulating themselves on spending the afternoon with us.

The queen tasted the different dishes we offered her, but she gave a particular preference to preserved bananas. Our maître-d'hotel stood behind her in readiness to remove her plate, but she saved him the trouble, by keeping both it and the table-cloth for herself.

Tiné was extremely tenacious of the honours, which the chiefs could not refuse to pay when they met her; and hence some of them avoided her presence. Feenou, and the brother of King Toobou were on board, and had just promised to stay and dine with us when she arrived. They immediately intreated, with great earnestness, that she might not be permitted to come upon deck; but she came on board at once without ceremony, and the two chiefs hastened into their canoes, because otherwise they would have been obliged, as many of the natives assured us, to come and take her right foot, and carry it very respectfully to their heads, as a token of their inferiority. The queen informed us with an air