When the pumps were ready, he was escorted to the main deck, where he sat for some time in great admiration of the machinery; and seeing the labour required to work it, he seemed really affected at our situation, which he naturally thought must be very bad, from the immense quantity of water thrown out by the pumps. The ship being upright, the water did not run off freely from the deck, and in a short time it flowed round the chair in which the old man was seated. Three or four of the sailors seeing him somewhat uneasy at this inundation, took him up chair and all, and placed him on a dry spot. The old gentleman was surprised, not displeased, and very graciously replied to the low bows which the sailors made him. On returning to the cabin, they were all entertained as usual with sweet wine, cherry brandy, and pipes. The old man filled pipes for us, and as soon as this part of the ceremonial had been gone through, a formal request was made for permission to land the Alceste's casks and stores, in order to stop the leak and make other repairs. This produced a long discussion amongst the chiefs, in which the old man joined but little; he spoke, however, now and then, and whatever he said, appeared to be to the purpose. Whenever the chiefs spoke, they rose and addressed themselves to him in a most respectful manner. At length, having agreed about an answer, they communicated to Captain Maxwell that there was no good place here for the purposes he wanted, and that as our present anchorage was unsafe, they recommended our going round to the harbour alluded to on a former occasion. At this place, which they call Winching or Oonching, he said we might put on shore whatever we chose. On our asking if in Winching the water was deep enough to admit a large ship, a long discussion arose, during which they appeared to be considering the merits of the harbour. They seemed apprehensive of giving it too high a character, and that on our reaching it we should be disappointed. The old man at length suggested sending the "little ship" to see whether it would answer. To this Captain Maxwell agreed, only requesting that a person might accompany us, in order to save time in the search. Simple as this appears, they took a long time to consider it, and ended by saying that no reply could be given till the next day. While the subject of this harbour was under discussion, the old man drew on a sheet of paper, a chart of the island, and pointed out the place where the harbour lay. It proved afterwards, when we had surveyed the island, that this sketch possessed considerable accuracy, as the situation of the harbour of which they spoke corresponds exactly with that of Port Melville, discovered in the Lyra. It is much to be regretted that this curious sketch is lost.