d a most eager desire to become possessed of it.
Captain Owen, however, notwithstanding his wish to conciliate the
natives as much as possible, did not think proper to gratify his
cupidity; but he promised, that it should be presented to the King at
the next interview with him. In the afternoon, a tornado arose and
drove most of the canoes away; the chiefs, however, remained on board
until it was over, and then left us under an arrangement that the
Captain should pay a visit to the King on the following Wednesday.

_Tuesday, Nov. 6_.--We had a wet morning, succeeded by a fine day. Many
canoes, full of natives, came alongside. About noon, a native was
discovered, by the master-at-arms, to have stolen an axe, which he had
secreted in a piece of canvas that he had picked up and tied round his
waist in the manner of an apron. On taking it from him, he made a
desperate attempt to escape, by running down the ship's side into a
canoe, from whence he made his way over several others, with a view of
reaching his own, but he was arrested in his progress. A warm
discussion now arose among the chiefs present, as to the punishment he
ought to be subjected to, having been taken _flagrante delicto_, under
their own eyes. Captain Owen, to evidence his high displeasure at the
transaction, cut the matter short, by ordering them all out of the
ship. This gave rise to another commotion and discussion, the result of
which was, that the culprit was assailed on all sides by his countrymen
with their paddles; even a boy in the same canoe inflicted several
blows, and he was finally severely injured about the head and body,
when, with the blood streaming from various parts, he was compelled to
leap into the sea, in order to wash it away, before they would allow
him to re-enter his own boat. His punishment, however, did not
terminate with the above discipline; for as he assisted in paddling his
canoe ashore, his countrymen followed him with every denunciation of
vengeance. On landing in the neighbourhood of our market, he was
seized, conducted a short distance from the beach, and surrounded by an
immense crowd of the natives. Mr. Jeffery, who happened to be near the
spot, penetrated into the midst of them, with a view of ascertaining
the nature of the affair, when, to his surprise, he was immediately
laid hold of, and tied hand to hand with the bleeding prisoner. It may
be imagined that this proceeding excited considerable alarm in Mr.
Jeffery, w