On the way a bit of the great mat-sail came unsewn, and the men in charge (themselves high caste) were in such terror of arriving with anything wrong that we ran in behind the mangroves to sew it up ere they would venture to go on, as they dared not face the chief with anything out of order. This, his own canoe, is the only one which dares approach Nanduri with sail up and flag flying, and as he was not on board, even we dipped the flag as we drew near, the flag being a streamer of _masi_. All other canoes must lower their sail while at a considerable distance, and row to shore, as a mark of deep respect. We called on the chief to thank him for the loan of his canoe, and found his people dispensing food to their guests on rather an extensive scale of entertainment. The business part of the meeting was nearly over, and the people were all arriving for the solevu, or great feast of the morrow. In the evening there was singing, and some dancing by torchlight, but no Fijian cares to dance much till the moon rises, and that was not due before midnight. Next morning many more canoes arrived—such a pretty bustling scene; and as it would be rash to put on festal array before landing, all the best cloth and garlands came in baskets, and the whole shore was one great dressing-room, where the mysteries of the toilet were carried on in the sight of the sun. The weather was greatly in our favour, for though heavy clouds hung threateningly over us they merely shielded us from the sun, and no rain fell. Soon after breakfast we all went to the _rara_ (_i.e._, village green), where we were invited to sit beside the Roko (the chief, Tui Ndreketi). The principal business of the day was an exchange of presents. First of all the teachers and their special followers gave gifts of cloth and whales’ teeth to the great chief. So the six native ministers and about sixty teachers advanced, dressed up in many extra yards of native cloth, beautifully designed, and trailing on the ground in trains many yards long. Then followed people from other towns, also dressed up. They danced pretty dances, and all shook off their fine drapery at the feet of the chief—an example followed by the grave teachers, who made a pretty speech, formally presenting the _tappa_ to the Roko, and then retreated much shorn. The cloth made two great heaps, which the chief divided next morning among his followers. This giving took the whole morning. [Illustration: A CHIEF’S KITCHEN. _p. 208._]