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Show 496 NEW ZEALAND. Dec. 1835. some po.m ts, as soon as the decision was madel,i the law1 wt ads I. ssued verb al lY on the spot. This Tahitian par am· enFt' aRs e l h . r for severa ours ' d when it was over Captam ~ ttz oy c. n . . invited the queen to pay the Beagle .a vtstt: NOVEMBER 2 6 TH. -In the evenmg' w1th a gentle land- breeze a course Was steered for New Zeala.n d, af nTd has. .t he sun se't we too k a £a re well look at the mountams o. a'b ltl,-f the t. sland to wh 1' c h every voya!oJ 'er has offered up hts tn ute o admiration. N z 1 d DECEMBER 19TH.-In the evening we saw ew ea ~n m. the d1' s t ance. We may now consider ourselves as h·1a VIng near1 y crosse d the Pacific ocean. It is . necessary ·t o sat ·o kvle r this great sea to understand its immensi.ty. M~vmg qmc y d for Weeks together we meet wtth nothmg, but the onwar s · h' h A h' same blu e, pro f oun dly deep ' ocean. Even w1t m t. e rc I-pelagoes, the I.S 1 a n ds are mere specks, and far distant one from the other. Accustomed to look at maps, drawn on a small scale, where dots, shading, and ~ame.s are crowded tog eth er, we d o not J'udcor e rightly how mf. imtely small 'lt'hhe . f d land is to the water of tlus great sea. e pro~do~twn fo threyAntipodes likewise has now been passed; men 1an o · h an d every 1e agu e, thanks to our 0c rood fortune, whiC h we t el onwards is one league nearer to England. T ese l::ipodes call ;o mind old recollections of childish dou~t a~d d 0 1 the other day I looked forward to this mry won er. n Y ' 1 b t w barrier, as a definite point in our voyage h~me~arc ~ ; u n.o I find it, and all such resting-places for the Imagmatwn,are hke shadows which a man moving onwards cannot c~tch. A ~ale f . d which lasted for some days, has lately given us time owm, · lng and inclination to measure the future stages. m . our o voyage, and to wish most earnestly for its. termmatwn. DECEMBER 21sT.-Early in the mornmg we entered the Bay of Islands, and being becalmed for some ho~rs near the mouth we did not reach the anchorage till the mid?le of the day. The country is hilly, but with a smooth outh~e; an~ it is deeply intersected by numerous arms, exten~mg fr:ed the bay. The surface appears from a distance, as If clot Dec. 1835. BAY OF ISLANDS, 497 with coarse pa.sture, ~ut this in truth is nothing but fern. On the more distant htlls, as well as in patches in some of t~e valleys, there is a good deal of wood-land. The general tmt of the landscape is not a bright green; and it resembles the country a short distance to the southward of Concepcion in Chile. In several parts of the bay, little villages of square tidy-looking houses were scattered close down to the water's edge. Three whaling ships were lying at anchor ; but with the exception of these, and of a few canoes, now and then crossing from one shore to the other, an air of e~treme quietness reigned over the whole district. Only a smgle canoe came alongside. This, and the aspect of the whole scene, afforded a remarkable, and not very pleasing contrast, with our joyful and boisterous welcome at Tahiti. In the afternoon we went on shore to one of the lar!J'er b groups of houses, which yet hardly deserves the title of a vil-lage. Its name is Pahia: it is the residence of the missionaries; and with the exception of their servants and labourers, there are no native residents. In the vicinity of the Bay of Islands, the number of Englishmen, including their families, amounts to between two and three hundred. All the cottages, many of which are white washed, and look as I have said very neat, are the property of the English. The hovels of the natives are so diminutive and paltry, that they can scarcely be perceived from any distance. At Pahia, it was quite pleasing to behold the English flowers in the platforms before the houses ; there were roses of several kinds, honeysuckle, jasmine, stocks, and whole hedges of sweetbriar. DECEMBER 22o.-In the morning I went out walking; but I soon found, that the country was very impracticab]e. All the hills are thickly covered by tall fern, together with a low bush which grows like a cypress; and very little ground has been cleared or cultivated in this neighbourhood. I then tried the sea-beach ; but proceeding towards either hand, my walk was soon stopped short, by creeks and deep streams of fresh water. The communication between the inhabitants VOL. III. 2K |