the countenance of the captain, who thought that he was in for a second visit; but it appeared that Tongia had suddenly remembered the foreign custom of giving precedence to ladies, and he gallantly motioned to the queen to precede him, and handed her boots down after her. At that moment he caught sight of the red ensign flying at the fore, and asked the captain to give him one like it. Pointing with some contempt to the Jack floating proudly from the flagstaff on shore, he said that the red ensign was the flag for him, the other being too dingy for his taste. With great tact Captain Ravenhill explained that the red ensign was the badge of merchant ships and second-class potentates, and that, on seeing the Jack, visitors would at once recognise the importance of Niué-Fekai, and would conduct themselves with a proper spirit of respect. [Illustration: THE QUEEN OF NIUÉ To face page 46 ] [3] The two great stones against which Tongia's last two predecessors had leaned may still be seen standing in the square before Alofi Church. Tongia chose to have the ceremony at his own village of Tuapa. [4] The following is a list of the kings as far back as their names are recorded:-- 1. Punimata of Halafualangi, who reigned at Fatuaua (died). 2. Galiaga of Pulaki (killed). 3. Patuavalu of Puato (died). 4. Pakieto of Utavavau (starved to death). Interregnum of eighty years. 5. Tuitonga (succeeded 1876). 6. Fataäiki (succeeded 1888). Interregnum of nearly two years. 7. Tongia (succeeded 1898). CHAPTER IV A TRIP THROUGH THE ISLAND