Yesterday, when we were absent at Reef Island, the chiefs had come on board to say that we might land, but that our walk must be confined to the beach, and that we were neither to enter the town, nor to go into the country. At one o'clock several of the chiefs came on board and accompanied us to the beach, where we landed amidst an immense crowd, and were handed along by Ookooma and the rest, who, in their desire to be civil, held us by the arms. The day, however, being excessively hot, and the sand deep, we found this troublesome, and begged leave to walk alone, to which they reluctantly consented, and we proceeded along the beach for a quarter of a mile. Beginning to get tired of our walk, we stopped and expressed some surprise at such a reception, and told them how disagreeable it was to us to be in the sun at such an hour. But our remonstrances did not produce much effect, for, on our objecting particularly to the heat, they shewed us to a sort of cave in a rock on the beach, where they put down a mat and wished us to drink tea in the shade, since we disliked the sun. This could not be submitted to, however, and we told them that our object in landing was not to sit down on the beach to drink tea, but to walk about under the trees in order to recover our health, impaired by a long stay on board ship. They tried all their eloquence to persuade us that our walk, thus limited, was perfectly pleasant; till at length Captain Maxwell gave them to understand, that he wished to go to the top of the hills under the trees; but that, as he did not mean to advance a single step beyond what was approved of, he would return instantly to the ship if they persisted in confining him to the beach. A consultation was held upon this, during which, frequent reference was made to several elderly men, whose opinions appeared to have great weight. They did not wear the dress of chiefs, but, from all that passed, we suspected them to be persons about court, who had been sent to assist the councils of the local commission, without superseding its authority. They at last agreed to our going to the top of the hill, taking the precaution before we set out, of sending on a couple of runners, probably to give warning to the women who might be in that direction. About half way up the road, which winds along a steep face, there is a neatly-built well, supplied by a stream which runs along a carved water-course, and near it were three or four rudely carved stones about a foot long and four inches across, with slow matches and a small quantity of rice laid upon each. Mr. Clifford distinctly made out that this was meant as a religious offering, but its precise object could not be discovered, though it was conjectured that the guardian deity of the well might have some title to the honour. The side of the hill is cut into horizontal irregular terraces, which are cultivated with apparent care, and irrigated by means of ditches leading from the well.