From that moment he has taken no retrograde step. Always resolute in whatever line of conduct he adopted, he has shown himself most truly so in the promotion of Christianity, and of every measure that promised to be for the good of his people. Determined and energetic in his relations to other chiefs, he has of late years thrown all his influence on behalf of peace and order, and now professes himself well content with the subordinate position he has accepted, believing that he has thereby consulted the best interests of all his countrymen. His eldest son, Ratu Abel, cannot look so placidly on the resignation of his birthright, and holds himself somewhat aloof from the foreign rulers. His half-brothers, Ratu Timothy and Ratu Joe, are more cordial, and, moreover, talk very good English. They are fine handsome fellows, and inherit something of their father’s stately carriage; indeed all the chiefs are distinguishable from the common herd by their dignity and grace of movement, the lack of which among some of the commoners is due, doubtless, to the fact that no Fijian dare stand upright in the presence of a superior: if at rest he must crouch before him (in no case presuming to pass behind him), or if in motion, must either crawl on all-fours or walk bending lowly. Even Thakombau’s own sons scarcely venture to stand upright before him. Naturally such a custom, continuing from generation to generation, becomes second nature. At early dawn on New Year’s morning I went out, the better to enjoy the loveliness of the scene, the soft balmy air, the dreamy beauty of the far-away isles, and the wondrous calm of the wide waters. I sat on a grassy hillock and watched the sun rise from the sea, reflected in dazzling light. Below me lay the peaceful village, where it seemed none were yet astir. I was leaning against a rude wooden pillar which marks the grave of Tanoa, Thakombau’s aged father, who to the last continued a vicious and obstinate cannibal. Nothing delighted him more than to return from tributary isles with the bodies of infants hanging from the yard-arms of his canoe, as tribute exacted from their parents! Horrible beyond description are the stories of his brutalities. I may just tell you one as a sample of many. One of his near kinsmen had offended him, and knowing how little pity he had to expect, sought by every means in his power to mollify him, humbly imploring his forgiveness. But the fiend responded by cutting off his arm at the elbow, and drinking the warm blood as it flowed. Then he cooked the arm, and ate it in presence of the sufferer, who afterwards was cut to pieces, limb by limb, while the brutal chief sat watching and gloating over the dying agonies of the miserable victim. Afterwards he sentenced his own youngest son to death, and compelled an elder brother to club him.