life of it altogether;
the princess was very fond of me, and the people were easily governed.
The secret was to let them do exactly what they liked. I used, also, to
make them huge promises, which, though I never kept, served to amuse
them for the time, and I always had the knack of wriggling out of a
scrape, which is the secret of all government. The first thing I did
was to tell them that I would advise the king to abolish all taxes which
were made on bread-fruit, and when by this means I became very popular
as a liberal minister, I published an edict, ordaining that every man
should send twice as many cocoa-nuts to the imperial treasury as before.
The people had enjoyed a long peace, and had become unwarlike, so when
they cried out that it was useless trouble making spears and bows and
arrows and building war canoes, I let them have their own way, which
made me still more popular. I took the precaution, however, of keeping
my own musket ready in my house in case of accidents, as it was the only
fire-arm in the kingdom. There were numerous islands in the
neighbourhood, and on some of them King Rumfiz had in his youth
inflicted a signal chastisement, which they had never forgotten nor
forgiven.

"They had, in the meantime, knocked over two or three of their own
kings, and had established what they called a republic. From what I
could make out, one half of the people were trying to become governors,
and the other half trying not to be governed. They had for some time
past been eating each other up, but having got tired of that fun, and
wanting a change of diet, they thought it would be pleasanter to attack
some other people. I discovered that they had already a large
expedition on foot, and numerous canoes--ready to transport them, though
it was pretended that these forces were to attack another island to the
eastward of them. A spy, however, brought me the intelligence of what
they were about, so I endeavoured to make preparations to give them a
warm reception; but the people would not hear of it, and said it was a
great deal too much trouble to make bows and arrows, and build canoes to
guard against a danger which might never arrive.

"There were several fellows among them, some of whom, I verily believe,
had been bribed by the enemy, who persuaded them that it was much wiser
to make mats and hats and cloths to sell to the merchantmen than to
think of fighting.

"Such was the condition of the country, when