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Immediately from Taipa came the sound of cannon and it was answered by Macao with her heaviest ordnance as if a battle were raging, and, indeed it was a terrible battle, one between man and the elements, but man was victor and the water spout was broken.
In his day there had been no sidewalk, only a clay path, beaten hard by the feet of three children on their way to school. In his day the blank row of houses had been a mud taipa wall, broken just here by the little gate of the priest's house.
The greatest man, however, had not as yet appeared, and on May 6 a chief arrived, it was understood, from Tongataboo, who was introduced by Taipa as Feenou, King of all the Friendly Islands.
They followed him to the shore where a sampan was waiting in which they seated themselves and were soon gliding rapidly toward a huge junk of fine build which lay at anchor some distance beyond the Portuguese man-of-war, in the direction of Taipa. The tide was very low and the vessel did not seem far from shore.
Taipa, the chief, who had been among the first to introduce himself, that he might be close to his new friends, had a house brought on men's shoulders, full a quarter of a mile, and placed near the shed they occupied.
Feenou then directed Taipa to proclaim to the people that the strangers were going to remain five days, and that they were to bring hogs, fowls, and fruit to the ships; that they were not to steal, but to behave in every way politely and courteously. After this, it was suggested by Taipa that a present should be made to Earoupa, the chief of the island.
He received the greatest civilities from Toobou, the chief of Annamooka; and Taipa, a chief from the Island of Komango, attached himself to the English in so extraordinary a manner, that, in order to be near them in the night, as well as in the day, he had a house brought on men's shoulders, a full quarter of a mile, and placed close to the shed, which was occupied by our party on shore.
On the 6th our commander was visited by a great chief from Tongataboo, whose name was Feenou, and who was falsely represented, by Taipa, to be the king of all the Friendly Isles. The only interruption to the harmony which subsisted between our people and the natives of Annamooka arose from the thievish disposition of many of the inhabitants.
On the yellow water here and there were junks with tanned sails and gay banners; islands with graceful pagodas were seen, and the huge white cathedral of the near dependency of Taipa.
A friend of mine gave a tiffin party of four good men and true on his stern-wheel house-boat, the motive power for which was supplied by half-a-dozen coolies driving the wheel with their feet, on the same principle as the tread-mill, and we were gliding up the Taipa Channel near Macao at about four knots, when suddenly our craft came into a sea of egg-shells sailing gaily before the breeze and having at a short distance much the appearance of water-lilies.
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