CHAPTER XIX. STRONG'S ISLAND. The first duty that engaged our attention after coming to anchor was, of course, to stop the leak; which was done much in the same manner as in the former case at Dominica, except that it was necessary to stow all the heavy articles forward, and bring the ship down by the head, instead of the stern. We also attached a purchase to the mainmast head, and to a tree on the shore, to assist in careening the ship. The natives appeared to watch all these operations with great interest; and our decks were alive with them, both men and women, the day after our arrival. Compared with the savages, whom we had previously visited, these people might be called gentle and quiet in their habits. Nothing could exceed the eagerness and the perseverance displayed, particularly by the women, in acquiring a thorough knowledge of our language. Every word that could be picked up to add to their English vocabularies seemed to afford them a peculiar source of delight. "What name o' this? What name man?" were questions put to us at every turn, and our answers were echoed and repeated over and over, till the sound was fully mastered. Thus the English spoken by these women was not murdered, for each word was thoroughly learned before passing on to the next. Suddenly a muttered signal or countersign passes from mouth to mouth; all noise and conversation cease; and each remains fixed to the spot, as if struck by an enchanter's wand. Not immediately seeing any adequate cause for this, I asked, in great surprise, what it meant? One of the girls ventured to whisper an answer to me: "You see? King George come!" I looked over the sail. Our boat, which had been ashore, was just coming alongside, and, seated with the old man in the stern sheets, was this potent autocrat, "King George," a rather goodlooking, portly barbarian, whose royal robes consisted of nothing less--or more--than a common sailor's checkshirt, his legs disdaining any covering whatever. He had doubtless received his title from some ironical Englishman, and his subjects had adopted it as proudly, as it is said our ancestors did, the music of "Yankee Doodle." As his majesty's head appeared above the quarter-rail, every one of his submissive subjects, man, woman and child, fell upon deck in a kneeling or crouching attitude, with bowed heads, and thus remained till their sovereign had completed his survey of matters above board, and passed below with the captain. During this time they rigidly maintained their positions, however uncomfortable, as immovable as a well drilled battalion of troops at "parade rest." As soon as he was invisible, everything resumed its former status, and the stir and bustle went on as before. The same etiquette, I afterwards observed, was necessary at the advent of any chief of high rank, or any of the juvenile princes of the blood royal.