ratorical attitude, and
waved his hand, as if about to harangue the people. Then, while I was
wondering what was to come next, he fixed his eye sternly upon a
sinister looking man of middle-age, with the head-dress of an inferior
chief, who was standing directly in front of him, and began to declaim
in Latin, with great vehemence--`Quo usque tandem abutere, Catilina,
patientia nostra,' etcetera, which the audience seemed at first, to
consider highly interesting and entertaining. As he proceeded,
delivering the sounding sentences, `ore rotundo,' and emphasising each
thundering polysyllable with a fierce gesture of his clenched fist, I
observed that the individual before mentioned, whom the orator seemed to
have chosen to represent Catiline, and who, without understanding Latin,
could very well perceive that there was something menacing and
vituperative in the language addressed to him, began to look at first
puzzled, and then incensed. He stole two or three hurried and uncertain
glances at those behind and immediately around him, as if to assure
himself whether this torrent of denunciation was not in fact directed
against some other person; but when all doubt on this point seemed to
have been resolved by the unequivocal demonstrations of the orator, his
rigid features assumed an expression of such anger and ferocity, that I
began to fear some violent outbreak of passion, and made several
attempts by signs and gestures, to indicate to Barton the danger of
pursuing so thoughtless and imprudent a pleasantry. But he either did
not perceive my meaning, or else, felt rather flattered than alarmed, by
the effect which his elocution seemed to produce upon Catiline, for he
continued to pour out upon him the torrent of his oratory for several
minutes longer, and it was not until his memory began evidently to fail
him, that he concluded with a last emphatic invective accompanied by a
sufficiently significant pantomime to convey some notion of its meaning,
and bowing to his audience, leaped from the rostrum.

"This performance, seemed to afford even greater pleasure to the male
part of the assembly, (with a few exceptions), than the previous musical
entertainment had done, and they testified their approbation, by
emphatic nods and shouts of applause.

"I now thought it time to terminate our visit, and return to the boat,
and was about to speak to Rokoa on the subject, when Barton seized me by
the arm, and pushed me towards the