We spent our Sunday on the island, in a very quiet manner, drinking from cocoa »ut», of which there were plenty on the Island, to which wo helped ourselves, as the owner, Mr, Leaf, was not within reaeU to

of natives kera-keraing (begging) for to bacco or souli, and if you want to buy anything from them they generally de mand about three times its value, and as to getting them to do the smallest thing for you, that is quite impossible, unless you pay them with the almighty shilling, which is their continual cry ; thus show ing that the noble savage of Fiji does not improve by teaching. On returning to the town after prospecting up the Naiida, our guides wished us to visit a town alittle further on, and, on asking the reason, we were told that the chief of Asinguarrie was only bound to provide us with two meals, but if we moved further on to the next town, our officer could demand other two meals and a house. This we declined to do. We found some difficulty in persuading the old chief to give us any more food ; but Josiah returning at this time from Mr. Lux, we could dispense with it. On the following morning we set out cm our return for Mr. Muir's. We reached the town of Na Wake about 12 o'clock, where we stayed for about an hour whilst the natives cooked some yams, which they made some natives give them on the road. We reached Muir's planta tion about 4 p.m., and were very glad to get once more amongst white men. The Messrs. Muir made us heartily welcome, and informed us of a reported discovery or gold on Mr. Blatchford's plantation by M'Dougall and Weston. We therefore went over there the following morning, and found the supposed gold to be nothing more nor less than iron pyrites. We stayed at Mr. Blatchford's rather more than a week, during which time I sunk (or, I should raiher say, some South Sea Glanders sunk) a hole about 30 feet deep, from the bottom of a creek, at least 12 feet below the surface of the plain. This 12 feet was soil. 