This beautiful island, so richly endowed by nature with every thing that its simple and innocent natives can require for the enjoyment of existence, was perhaps first seen by the Spanish voyager Quiras, when, in the year 1606, he made an expedition from Lima, “to win,” as a countryman of his expresses it, “souls for Heaven, and kingdoms for Spain.” Since, however, the position pointed out by him is extremely incorrect, it is uncertain whether the island which he called Sagittaria was really O Tahaiti or not. More probably, the honour of the discovery belongs to the English Captain Wallis, who in the year 1767 landed there, and took possession of the country by a solemn declaration, in the name of his King. As, however, the Tahaitians did not understand him, this act remained unknown to them; and, notwithstanding a subsequent renewal, has fallen into oblivion. Captain Wallis gave it the name of King George the Third’s Island.

Eight months after him, the French Captain Bougainville visited it; and not knowing that Captain Wallis had been there before him, considered himself the first discoverer, and called it, from the most remarkable custom of the natives, Nouvelle Cythere, but heard that they themselves called it Tahaiti, or with the article, O Tahaiti; and this name it has retained.

The celebrated Englishman, Cook, stopped there in each of his three voyages, between the years 1769 and 1778. He remained much longer in communication with the inhabitants than any of his predecessors had done; brought back Omai, to whom in London it had been attempted to give an European education, to his native land, and made use of the narrations he obtained from him during the voyage. Since that time, Cook and his companions, particularly the two Försters, father and son, have given us considerable information concerning the condition of the Tahaitians before their conversion to the Christian faith.

To estimate the effect of this great change, we must compare Christian Tahaiti as it now is, with the accounts these early voyagers have left us of its heathen times; and as every reader may not be conveniently able to do so, a short review of them may not be considered unwelcome.

The Society Islands, of which Tahaiti is the largest, are, like many others, either fragments of a Southern continent swallowed up by earthquake, or a mass of rock ejected from the bottom of the sea by subterranean fire, which gradually becoming covered with a fertile soil, is now adorned by the most beautiful vegetation. It consists of two peninsulas united by a narrow isthmus, which together are about one hundred and twenty miles in circumference; towards the centre of each rise wild rocky mountains, intersected by deep ravines, from the side of which, thickly wooded almost to their summits, flow numerous streamlets of pure transparent water, forming the most picturesque cascades as they descend from every direction into the sea. The high mountains are uninhabited, and the settlements made only in the valleys, more especially in the low land between the mountains and the sea-shore.

In these charming amphitheatrical landscapes, their houses, consisting only of roofs resting on stakes, surrounded and shaded by bananas, bread-fruit and cocoa-trees, are scattered at small distances from each other.

Attached to every house are enclosed fields, where the proprietors cultivate their yams, sweet potatoes, and other wholesome and pleasant roots, which form their chief nourishment.

The rest of the cultivated land is filled by plantations of bananas and plantains, or little forests of cocoa and bread-fruit trees, so luxuriantly interwoven, that the burning rays of the sun cannot penetrate to injure the bright verdure which clothes the soil. The neatly kept grass footpaths leading through these groves from one dwelling to another, are variegated with flowers of the richest colours and most fragrant perfumes, and enlivened by the notes of innumerable birds arrayed in all the splendid hues of the Tropics. Although Tahaiti is only seventeen degrees from the Equator, the heat is so much moderated by refreshing breezes that it is very supportable even to an European. Bougainville never found it above twenty-two, and often under eighteen degrees of Reaumur. That indeed was during the winter; but even in January, the middle of the Tahaitian summer, the atmosphere is much cooled by the frequent rains. The air is usually dry, clear, and particularly healthy; sick people brought ashore from a sea voyage recover rapidly. Here are neither ants, musquitoes, nor any of the tormenting insects so common in tropical climates; no beast of prey, no destructive worm nor serpent; even the scorpion (of which a small sort is to be met with) here loses its poison. The only plague of this kind is a large rat, which does much mischief in the fields, and sometimes even bites the Tahaitians during their sleep.

Bougainville says, “The inhabitants of Tahaiti consist of two distinct races, which remain such, although their language and manners are the same, and they appear to mingle indiscriminately with each other. One, the most numerous, produces the tallest men, commonly six feet and upwards; and I have never seen better proportioned, or finer forms. A sculptor could not choose a more suitable model for a Mars or a Hercules. There is nothing to distinguish their features from those of Europeans; and if they were clothed, and less exposed to the air and the burning sun, they would be quite as fair. Their hair is usually black (Wallis saw fair people, and Banks even Albinos). The other race is of middle stature, with coarse curling hair, and resembles the Mulatto in complexion and features.”

Cook and his companions considered this difference among the Tahaitians to arise from the circumstance of the tall fair race, (called Eris, which is pronounced Yeri,) the more distinguished class, being less exposed to the sun and to hard labour, and their women more reserved and less licentious.

We were however more inclined to agree with Bougainville, who supposed the dark Tahaitians to be the original inhabitants, and the Yeris invaders, who at some remote period had subjugated them; for the latter are the exclusive possessors of the land; the others obtaining only a certain remuneration in fruits and vegetables for cultivating the fields and plantations of their masters. The kings and all great personages are of this race, which is held by the common people in much veneration.

That the language and customs of both races should have assimilated is natural; but with respect to their intermarriages, Bougainville was in error; the pride of the Yeris keeps them aloof from any such connections, which, had they subsisted, must have long since destroyed the broad and acknowledged line of distinction. It is, however, only fair to confess, that this hypothesis of an invasion is unsupported by any Tahaitian tradition.

“The men of both races,” continues this traveller, “allow the lower part of the beard to grow, but shave the whiskers and the upper lip. Some cut their hair short off, others bind it together at the top of the head; both hair and beard they grease with the oil of the cocoa-nut. A girdle round the middle often serves for their only clothing; but the people of rank generally wear a large piece of stuff which falls as low as the knee. This is the principal garment of the women, who put it on in a very becoming manner. The female Yeris, who never expose themselves to the sun, and wear a hat of reeds adorned with flowers, which shades the face, are fairer than the men: their features are handsome, but they are chiefly remarkable for the beauty of their figures, which are not spoiled by the artifices of European fashions. They paint their cheeks red, and colour the lower part of the body dark blue, as an ornament and a distinction of rank.

“Both sexes are tattooed, and both hang rows of pearls or flowers through holes pierced in their ears. The greatest cleanliness reigns among them; they bathe regularly, and wash themselves before and after meals.”

The descriptions of other travellers agree perfectly with this; all appear to feel the greatest kindness for these “nurselings of joyous nature,” as some one calls them; and to have been particularly charmed with the women, of whom Wallis says, “They are all handsome, and some excessively lovely.”

The companions of Cook also speak in the highest terms of their attractions. Their tall and slender figures; the form of their faces, which is agreeable, though rather round than oval; the tender transparency of their skin; the complexions which, whether fair or brown, are always blooming; the expressive eyes, now flashing fire and now swimming in tenderness; the small white, even teeth, and fascinating smile, are rapturously described by the younger Forster.

The nose only is defective in these beauties, it is usually too flat, but may sometimes be seen as perfectly formed as in the females of Europe.

The curse, “in the sweat of thy brow shalt thou eat bread,” falls harmless on the Tahaitians. Three bread-fruit trees are sufficient for a man’s subsistence during a year; and he has here only to stretch out his hand to obtain this and many other fruits whose variety may please his palate. Nutritious roots are cultivated with great ease; and the sea yields abundance of shell and other fish, for the trifling trouble of catching it: the brooks also contain fish, and a species of crab. The opulent eat fowls and pigs roasted over hot stones in a hole in the ground, the flavour of which is very agreeable even to an European; and, by way of variety, they roast dogs which have been fed upon vegetables, and are considered great delicacies.

Several families often live together in the same house, in the greatest concord. Their furniture consists simply of a few ingeniously-woven mats for sleeping on, and some vessels made of gourds and cocoa-nut shells.

The disposition of the Tahaitians is gentle, benevolent, open, gay, and peaceable, although some of them show scars of wounds received in war, which prove that they are not deficient in courage. To hatred and revenge they are wholly strangers. Hardly and unjustly as Cook sometimes treated them, he was pardoned immediately that he required their assistance, and showed the slightest wish to pacify them. Individuals of his crew often ventured to pass the nights alone and unarmed upon the island: they were every where received with the greatest hospitality, and overwhelmed with marks of friendship. The simple inhabitants, wholly devoid of envy, rejoiced in each other’s good fortune, and when one received a present, all seemed equally gratified. Their feelings readily broke out either into smiles or tears: even men were often seen to weep; and their joys and sorrows were as fugitive as those of children. Nor are their minds more stable: notwithstanding the great curiosity with which they gazed at and required an explanation of every object in the ship, it was as impossible, says the elder Forster, to rivet their attention for any time, as to make quicksilver stand still.

They seemed incapable of either mental or bodily effort, and their time was passed in indolence and enjoyment. They were, however, skilful in manufacturing a soft paper from the barks of trees; nets and lines from the fibres of the cocoa-nut; and hooks from muscle-shells; in weaving their rush mats, and especially in building canoes and war-boats. The latter, large enough to contain forty men and upwards, were made of planks laboriously split from the trunks of trees with sharp stones, for want of better implements, fastened together with cocoa threads, and well caulked. The value they set on our axes and nails may therefore be easily imagined.

Like all islanders, they are expert seamen, but especially dexterous in swimming and diving. They fetch any thing with ease from the bottom of the sea, even at very considerable depths. The upsetting of a boat causes them no uneasiness; men and women swim round it till they succeed in righting it again; and then, baling out the water, continue their voyage with the utmost unconcern.

These voyages, sometimes extending to considerable distances, have made the observation of the stars, their only guides, absolutely necessary to them. They have thus attained some astronomical knowledge.

They distinguish the planets from the fixed stars, and call the former by particular names. They divide the year into thirteen months of twenty-nine days each, with the exception of one, which has less, apparently for the purpose of reconciling this lunar with a solar year. The day and night are each divided into six parts of two hours each, which they measure exactly in the day by the position of the sun, and at night by the stars. Medical men have considered them to possess much skill in surgery, from the kindly healing of wounds which, by their scars, have evidently been severe.

The Tahaitians are particularly distinguished by their superior civilization from all other savages, among whom indeed they scarcely deserve to be ranked. Their language sounds agreeably, and is not difficult to learn. The vowels occur much more frequently than the consonants, our c, g, k, s, and p, being entirely wanting. Cook and his companions made considerable progress in it; and one of them says “It is rich in figurative modes of expression; and I am convinced that a nearer acquaintance with it would place it on a level with the most distinguished for boldness and power of imagery.”

By means of this knowledge of their language, however imperfect, many details concerning the religion of the Tahaitians were gained. The elder Forster enters rather at large into the subject.

They believed in one supreme God, Athua-rahai, creator and governor of the world, and of all other gods. They gave him a consort, who however was not of the same nature, but of a material and very firm substance, and therefore called O-te-Papa, that is to say, Rock. From this pair proceeded a goddess of the moon, the gods of the stars, the winds, and the sea, and the protecting deities of the several islands. After the chief god had created the sun, he conveyed his consort, the mighty Rock, from the West to the East over the sea: in their progress, some portions of her substance separated from her, and formed the islands.

Besides the gods of the second rank, they believed also in inferior deities, and in a wicked genius, who killed men suddenly at the requisition of the priests an article of faith which this order doubtless found very convenient. They also supposed that a genius dwelt in every man, thinking and feeling in him, and separated himself from the body after death, but without removing from it; often inhabiting the wooden images which are erected in the burial-places, but sometimes stealing at night into their habitations, and killing the sleepers, whose hearts and entrails he devoured. This belief in ghosts is perhaps not more universal in Tahaiti than among civilized nations.

According to another of Cook’s companions, the supreme God united departed souls with his own existence, which was signified by the phrase, “He eats them.” This was purification, after which the soul, or the genius, reached the abode of eternal happiness. If a man, for some months before his death, had kept himself apart from women, he did not require this purification, but went direct to Heaven. The pride of the Yeris prompted them to believe in a Heaven peculiar to themselves, where they should associate only with their equals in birth.

The Tahaitians of rank had each a Marai sacred to themselves, and which served for their religious assemblies. The greatest and most solemn of these meetings were held at the Marai of the Kings. Here the priests harangued the people; and here was performed the rite which stained the otherwise amiable character of these islanders the offering of human sacrifices! Cook was once present at one of these detestable oblations, and describes it circumstantially. Its object was to propitiate the assistance of the Gods, in a war about to be undertaken.

The victim was always of the lower class. He was first killed, and the ceremonies were afterwards performed by the priests, and many prayers recited, in presence of the King and people. One of the formalities was the presentation of the left eye to the King, which however he did not receive. From this, Cook infers that the Tahaitians had at some period been eaters of human flesh, and that this morsel was offered to the King as a delicacy. If this conjecture be well-founded, which I think it is not, so horrible an appetite must have long since disappeared, as not a trace of it now remains. It is besides altogether contrary to the character and manners of the people. So, indeed, is the oblation of human victims; but this horrible rite had certainly been introduced by the priests, for the purpose of attracting towards their office an increased degree of veneration and awe. The burial of the dead was accompanied by many religious ceremonies, but with the birth of a child, or the celebration of marriage, their religion was no way concerned.

If a woman bore her lover a child, which he acknowledged to be his, the marriage was concluded without further ceremony, but was easily dissolved and a new connexion formed.

A married man would sometimes entertain a concubine, but never had more than one wife. The kings only formed an exception to this rule. The last monarch married at the same time the four daughters of a neighbouring king, and during our visit they were all living and respected as his widows. One only of them had brought him children; and when during the latter years of his government he became a convert to the Christian religion, this one only passed for his lawful consort.

In both peninsulas of Tahaiti the form of government was monarchical, and each had its own king, assisted by a council of Yeris, whom he consulted on all important occasions. These were held in great veneration among the people. No one, not even a female or a Yeri of the highest rank, might appear before them without uncovering the upper part of the body a token of respect which was usually paid only to the Gods in prayer or in passing a Marai. Before the princesses, the female sex only uncovered themselves. All his subjects were much attached to the sovereign, who reigned under a most singular law of succession.

As soon as a son was born to him, the sovereignty passed from the king to the infant, in whose name, and during whose minority only, the father continued to exercise the Regency.

The several districts were governed by deputies chosen from the class of Yeris, who were also the sole administrators of justice; which amongst this well-disposed people was generally very mild. The punishments in a great measure depend on the injured party, and consist chiefly in stripes. A native assured me that thieves are sometimes hung on a tree; but they more frequently escape with a few strokes, or sometimes altogether with impunity.

The two kingdoms of Tahaiti were often in a state of mutual warfare, though they sometimes fought as allies against a common enemy. Cook and his companions saw the preparations for a war with the neighbouring island of Eimeo, and were present at a review of his naval force by the King O Tu. From the number of warriors who manned this fleet, the elder Forster estimated the entire population at not less than a hundred and thirty thousand souls. According to his opinion, Tahaiti was capable of containing and supporting an infinitely greater number of inhabitants, and he therefore conjectured that in a short time it would be found greatly increased. Experience has unfortunately proved this inference to be erroneous, as will appear in the sequel.

Notwithstanding their usually gentle character, they treated their prisoners of war with barbarity, but in their defence may be urged the well-known fact, that in the heat of battle an unwonted rage will sometimes take possession of the best disposed minds, even amongst civilized nations; and it was only while this unnatural excitement lasted that the conduct of the Tahaitians laid them open to the imputation of cruelty.

Both sexes and all ranks were given to stealing; and so dexterous were they in plundering the Europeans, that notwithstanding the utmost vigilance and precaution, few days passed without something being stolen. The young, beautiful, and noble Marorai stole, as the younger Forster relates, a pair of sheets from the cabin of an officer, where she had remained unnoticed during the general confusion occasioned by the ship running aground. Even the princesses appropriated trifles whenever they had an opportunity. Our experience, however, proves that the lessons they have received from their Christian pastors on the disgracefulness of theft have had a practically good effect.

Neither can I deny that the morals of the Tahaitians were very exceptionable in another point, in which also the influence of the Missionaries has been beneficially exerted. If the modesty which conceals the mysteries of love among civilized nations be the offspring only of their intellectual culture, it is not surprising that a wholly uninstructed people should be insensible to such a feeling, and in its unconsciousness should even have established public solemnities which would strike us as excessively indelicate.

The coarse hospitality of the Tahaitians went so far as to present to a welcome guest, a sister, a daughter, or even a wife; and they have been known to sell them for pearls, pieces of glass, or implements of iron. The women who distributed their favours indiscriminately, were almost always of the lowest class; but a most licentious association called Ehrioi, including both sexes, existed among the higher. Renouncing matrimony, and the hopes of progeny, its members rambled about the island leading the most dissolute lives; and if a child was born among them, the laws of the society compelled its murder, or the expulsion of the mother. The men were all warriors, and stood in high estimation among the people. The Ehrioi themselves were proud of the title, and even the King O Tu belonged to this profligate institution, to which, fortunately, the Missionaries have put an end.

Where such manners prevailed, and woman was regarded merely as an object of pleasure, she could not stand in very high estimation; and love, in its best sense, remained wholly unknown among them. Hence the women of Tahaiti, although not so much secluded as among many other nations, were not permitted to eat with the men, and when the King and the Royal Family visited Cook, on board his ship, he was obliged to entertain even the princesses in a separate cabin.

The fidelity of a wife among the Tahaitians required that she should not favour any man without the knowledge and consent of her husband; and a beating was the punishment generally incurred by a violation of this duty.

Among the failings of the Tahaitians, their love of the intoxicating liquor which they prepared from the much cultivated Ava root, must not be omitted. Nor have the Missionaries been wholly unsuccessful in this respect. The drink is no longer allowed to be prepared, nor even the root to be cultivated; but unfortunately, its place has been partly supplied by the introduction of our wine and brandy; we, however, never saw a drunken person.

Having now noticed all that was reprehensible in the otherwise amiable character of the Ante-christian Tahaitian, I hope the reader, in consideration of his many good qualities, will forgive his faults, and, in a friendly disposition towards him, cast a glance upon his innocent amusements, which were chiefly derived from music, dancing, mock-fights, and theatrical representations.

Their musical instruments were very simple, and of two kinds only: the one, a sort of flute, producing four notes, and blown with the nostrils; the other, a drum, made of the hollow trunk of a tree; but the accompanying songs, usually extempore poems, were pretty, and showed the delicacy of their ear. The girls excelled in the dance; the married women were forbidden to take part in it, and the men never did. The dancers executed a species of ballet, and, according to the judgment of travellers, they might with little trouble become capable of performing on our theatres. The English dances they soon learnt, and in the well-known hornpipe, especially, displayed much grace.

The mock-fights were of course in imitation of their serious warfare, and they parried with admirable dexterity the blow of a club or thrust of a lance, by which otherwise they must have been severely wounded. The dramatic pieces were performed by both sexes, and sometimes by persons of the highest quality. They were of a mixed character, serious, and comic, but for want of a thorough acquaintance with the language, they have been very imperfectly described to us. Thus, oppressed by no care, burdened by no toil, tormented by no passion, seldom visited by sickness, their wants easily satisfied, and their pleasures often recurring, the Tahaitians passed a life of enjoyment under the magnificent sky of the tropics, and amid scenes worthy of Paradise.

On the 12th of March, a beautiful bright morning, we had the pleasure to perceive Tahaiti before us, like a light cloud in the clear horizon. All that we had read of its loveliness now rose to our remembrance, heightened by the vivid colouring of the imagination; but seventy miles were yet to be traversed ere we could tread the land of expectation, and a very slow progress, occasioned by a flagging wind, tried our patience. We continued, however, to advance, and the light cloud became larger, and denser, and higher, soon assuming the appearance of three separate hills belonging to different islands; the highest point, eight thousand feet above the level of the sea, is the summit of a mountain, distinguished from the others by its conical form.

We next recognized the large rugged masses of rock of the interior, which have a most romantic appearance. The country gradually unfolded all its charms; the luxuriant growth of the trees, even to the mountains’ tops, reminded us of the scenery of Brazil, and the picturesque valleys, with their thickets of bread-fruit, orange, and cocoa-trees, their cultivated fields, and plantations of bananas, became at length distinctly visible.

It was not till the 14th that we reached the Cape, called by Cook Cape Venus, because he there observed the transit of this planet over the sun; and from its beauty, it deserves to be named after the charming goddess herself. It is a low narrow tongue of land, running out northward from the island, thickly shadowed by cocoa-trees, and forming, by its curve, the harbour of Matarai, not a very secure one, but generally preferred by sailors on account of the celebrity bestowed on it by Cook.

When we were still a few miles distant from Cape Venus, we fired a gun to draw attention to the flag hoisted at the fore-mast, as a signal for a pilot. We soon saw a European boat steering towards us; it brought us a pilot, who, to our great surprise, addressed us in the Russian language, having recognized our flag as belonging to that nation: he was an Englishman of the name of Williams, who had first been a sailor on board a merchant ship, afterwards entered the service of the Russian American Company on the north-west coast of America, and was at length settled for life in Tahaiti. His wife was a native of the island; he was the father of a family, and carried on the occupation of a pilot in the Bay of Matarai. Wanderers of this kind often settle in the islands of the South Sea; but while they bring with them many vices peculiar to the lower classes in civilized life, are generally too ignorant and rough to produce any favourable influence on the natives. They are not all liable to this censure; and of about twenty English and Americans whom I found so naturalized in Tahaiti, some assuredly do not deserve it.

Having a pilot on board, we steered direct for the extreme point of Cape Venus, where floated the national standard of Tahaiti. This flag displays a white star in a field of red, and, like many of the present arrangements, owes its origin to the Missionaries, who do not indeed bear the title of Kings of the island, but exercise an unlimited influence over the minds of the natives. We passed safely by the shallows lying before the Matawai Bay, (upon which Captain Wallis grounded, and which he called, after his ship, the Dolphin,) round the headland, to the western side, and at last anchored opposite the village of Matawai, at a distance of two hundred fathoms from the shore, in a black clay bottom of fifteen fathoms depth.

Our frigate, as it entered the Bay, attracted to the beach a crowd of curious gazers, who greeted our arrival with a shout of joy. Numerous boats laden with all kinds of fruits, provisions, and other articles of merchandize, immediately put off from the shore, and we were soon surrounded by gay and noisy Tahaitians. As soon as the sails were taken in, I gave them permission to come on board, of which they eagerly availed themselves. With their wares on their backs, they climbed merrily up the sides of the ship, and the deck was soon transformed into a busy market, where all was frolic and fun; the goods were offered with a jest, and the bargains concluded with laughter. In a short time each Tahaitian had selected a Russian associate, to whom, with a fraternal embrace, he tendered his wish to exchange names, a ceremony which implied a pledge to surrender to the new friend whatever he might wish for.

It is probable that these sudden attachments were not quite disinterested; a view of procuring a better barter for their goods might have had some effect in producing the zeal with which they were struck up; but they certainly had every appearance of sincerity and cordiality, and in less than an hour these friendly allies were seen walking in couples, arm in arm, about the deck, as though they had been acquainted for years.

Our clothing appeared to be prized by the Tahaitians above every thing we offered them, and the possession of any article of this kind set them leaping, as if out of their wits, for joy. On this day we saw no females; and when we were afterwards occasionally visited by the women, they always behaved with the greatest propriety.

When the sun declined, our new acquaintances left us to return to their homes, satisfied with their bargains, and delighted with the presents they had received, and without having stolen any thing, although above a hundred of them had been on board at once.

I had sent a message to the Missionary Wilson, by an officer who now returned, bringing for answer an assurance that the Missionary would with pleasure do all in his power to assist us in procuring our supplies; a promise he faithfully kept.

On the following morning we were greeted by the sun from a cloudless sky, with a most superb illumination of the country opposite to his rising. His rays glittering on the mountain-tops before they reached our horizon, gradually enlivened the variegated green that clothed their sides down to the vales, till the King of Day burst upon our sight in all his splendour, arraying the luxuriant landscape of the shore in still more enchanting beauty. Among the thickets of fruit-trees were seen the dwellings of the happy inhabitants of this great pleasure-ground, built of bamboos, and covered with large leaves, standing each in its little garden; but, to our great astonishment, the stillness of death reigned among them; and even when the sun stood high in the heavens, no one was to be seen.

The warm friendships formed but yesterday seemed already to have cooled; we were quite forgotten. At length we obtained from the boat, sent off to us at break of day with provisions, an explanation of this enigma. The inhabitants of Tahaiti were celebrating the Sunday, on which account they did not leave their houses, where they lay on their bellies reading the Bible and howling aloud; laying aside every species of occupation, they devoted, as they said, the whole day to prayer. According to our reckoning, the day was Saturday. This difference proceeded from the first Missionaries having reached Tahaiti from the west by the way of New Holland, while we had come eastward by Cape Horn.

I resolved to go ashore and pay a visit to Mr. Wilson, that I might procure, through his means, a convenient place for our astronomical observations. We landed at the point of the Cape, because the shade of a thick palm grove there offered us immediate protection. No one received us on the strand; no human being, not even a dog, was visible. The very birds seemed here to celebrate the Sunday by silence, unless, indeed, it was somewhat too hot for singing. A little brook, meandering among shrubs and flowers, alone took the liberty of mingling its murmurs with the devotions of the Tahaitians. I sauntered along a narrow trodden path under the shade of palms, bananas, orange, and lemon-trees, inhaling their fragrance, and delighting in the luxuriance of nature. Though beautiful as this country is, it does not equal Brazil in the variety of its productions, and in the numbers of its humming-birds and butterflies. The loud prayer of the Tahaitian Christians reached my ears, as I approached their habitations. All the doors were closed, and not even the children allowed to enjoy the beauty of the morning.

The small but pleasant house of the Missionary, built after the European fashion, stands in the midst of a kitchen-garden richly provided with all kinds of European vegetables.

Mr. Wilson gave me a cordial welcome to his neat and simple dwelling, and presented to me his wife, an Englishwoman, and two children, besides two Englishmen, whom he named as Messrs. Bennet and Tyrman. They belonged to the London Missionary Society, and had left England three years before to visit the Missionary Settlements in the South Sea.

The chief Missionary, to whom the others are subordinate, is named Nott, and lives in the capital where the King resides. He is now far advanced in life. He has made himself master of the Tahaitian language, and was the first who ever wrote it. He has translated the Bible, a Prayer Book, and some Hymns; and has printed a Grammar of the language, under the title of, “A Grammar of the Tahaitian Dialect of the Polynesian Language. Tahaiti: printed at the Mission Press, Burder’s Point, 1823.”

He also first instructed the Tahaitians in reading and writing, which acquirements are now tolerably common among them. I am sorry not to have known Mr. Nott better, and therefore not to have it in my power to judge of the man as well as the Missionary. His character stands very high. Wilson, also an old man, has now lived twenty years in Tahaiti; he was originally a common sailor, but has zealously devoted himself to theology, and is honest and good-natured. Including Nott and Wilson, there are six Missionaries in Tahaiti alone, and only four among all the other Society Islands. Each Missionary possesses a piece of land, cultivated by the natives, which produces him in superfluity all that he requires, and he also receives an annual allowance of fifty pounds from the London Missionary Society. This Society has also sent Missionaries to Tongatabu, one of the Friendly Islands, and to Nukashiva, lately made known to us by Krusenstern.

Besides these English Missionaries, some native Tahaitians, after receiving a suitable education, are sent to spread Christianity among the islands of the dangerous Archipelago. In Russia, a careful education and diligent study at schools and universities is necessary to qualify any one to be a teacher of religion. The London Missionary Society is more easily satisfied; a half savage, confused by the dogmas of an uneducated sailor, is, according to them, perfectly fitted for the sacred office.

It was now church-time, and Wilson requested me to be present at the service, an invitation which I accepted with pleasure. A broad straight path, planted with the cocoa and lofty bread-fruit tree, leads from his house, about a ten minutes’ walk, to the place of worship. The church-yard, with its black wooden crosses, impresses the mind with a feeling of solemnity: the church itself is a handsome building, about twenty fathoms long and ten broad, constructed of light wood-work adapted to the climate, and whitened on the outside, which gives it a pretty effect among the green shades that surround it. The numerous large windows remain unglazed, because a free admission of the air is here desirable in all seasons; the roof, made of ingeniously plaited reeds, and covered with immense leaves, is a sufficient defence against the heaviest rain; there is neither steeple nor clock. The interior of the church is one large hall, the walls of which are neatly kept; it is filled with a number of benches, so placed, in long rows, that the occupants can have a convenient view of the pulpit in the centre. When we entered, the church was full even to crowding, the men seated on one side, and the women on the other; they almost all had psalm-books lying before them; the most profound stillness reigned in the assembly. Near the pulpit, which Wilson mounted, was placed a bench for Messrs. Bennet and Tyrman, on which I also took my seat.

Notwithstanding the seriousness and devotion apparent among the Tahaitians, it is almost impossible for an European, seeing them for the first time in their Sunday attire, to refrain from laughter. The high value which they set on clothes of our manufacture has already been remarked; they are more proud of possessing them than are our ladies of diamonds and Persian shawls, or our gentlemen of stars and orders. As they know nothing of our fashions, they pay no sort of attention to the cut, and even age and wear do not much diminish their estimation of their attire; a ripped-out seam, or a hole, is no drawback in the elegance of the article. These clothes, which are brought to Tahaiti by merchant-ships, are purchased at a rag-market, and sold here at an enormous profit. The Tahaitian therefore, finding a complete suit of clothes very expensive, contents himself with a single garment; whoever can obtain an English military coat, or even a plain one, goes about with the rest of his body naked, except the universally-worn girdle; the happy owner of a waistcoat or a pair of trowsers, thinks his wardrobe amply furnished. Some have nothing more than a shirt, and others, as much oppressed by the heat under a heavy cloth mantle as they would be in a Russian bath, are far too vain of their finery to lay it aside. Shoes, boots, or stockings, are rarely met with, and the coats, mostly too tight and too short, make the oddest appearance imaginable; many of their wearers can scarcely move their arms, and are forced to stretch them out like the sails of a windmill, while their elbows, curious to see the world, peep through slits in the seams. Let any one imagine such an assembly, perfectly satisfied of the propriety of their costume, and wearing, to complete the comic effect, a most ultra-serious expression of countenance, and he will easily believe that it was impossible for me to be very devout in their presence. The attire of the females, though not quite so absurd, was by no means picturesque; some wore white, or striped men’s shirts, which did not conceal their knees, and others were wrapped in sheets. Their hair was cut quite close to the roots, according to a fashion introduced by the Missionaries, and their heads covered by little European chip hats of a most tasteless form, and decorated with ribbons and flowers, made in Tahaiti. But the most valuable article of dress was a coloured gown, an indubitable sign of the possessor’s opulence, and the object of her unbounded vanity.

When Wilson first mounted the pulpit, he bent his head forward, and concealing his face with an open Bible, prayed in silence; the whole congregation immediately imitated him, using their Psalm-books instead of Bibles. After this, the appointed psalm was sung to a most incongruous tune, every voice being exerted to its utmost pitch, in absolute defiance of harmony. Wilson then read some chapters from the Bible, the congregation kneeling twice during the intervals; the greater part of them appeared very attentive, and the most decorous silence reigned, which was, however, occasionally interrupted by the chattering and tittering of some young girls seated behind me. I observed that some threatening looks directed towards them by Messrs. Bennet and Tyrman, seemed to silence them for a moment, but their youthful spirits soon overcoming their fears, the whispering and giggling recommenced, and glances were cast at the white stranger, which seemed to intimate no unwillingness to commence a closer acquaintance. After the conclusion of the sermon, another psalm was sung, and the service concluded. The display of costume, as the congregation strolled homewards in groups, with the greatest self-complacency, through the beautiful broad avenue, their psalm-books under their arms, was still more strikingly ludicrous than in church. I had by this time, however, lost all inclination to laugh.

I had assisted at a great religious assembly of the new, devoted, so called Christian Tahaitians; and the comparison naturally arising in my mind, between what I had seen and the descriptions of the early travellers, had introduced reflections which became less and less agreeable, in proportion as I acquired a greater insight into the recent history of the island.

After many fruitless efforts, some English Missionaries succeeded at length, in the year 1797, in introducing what they called Christianity into Tahaiti, and even in gaining over to their doctrine the King Tajo, who then governed the whole island in peace and tranquillity. This conversion was a spark thrown into a powder magazine, and was followed by a fearful explosion. The Marais were suddenly destroyed by order of the King every memorial of the former worship defaced the new religion forcibly established, and whoever would not adopt it, put to death. With the zeal for making prosélytes, the rage of tigers took possession of a people once so gentle. Streams of blood flowed whole races were exterminated; many resolutely met the death they preferred to the renunciation of their ancient faith. Some few escaped by flight to the recesses of the lofty mountains, where they still live in seclusion, faithful to the gods of their ancestors. Schiller’s exclamation “Furchtbar ist der Mensch in seinem wahn," was dreadfully confirmed.

Ambition associated itself, as usual, to fanaticism. King Tajo, not content with seeing in the remains of his people none but professors of the new faith, resolved on making conquests that he might force it on the other Society Islands. He had already succeeded with most of them, when a young warrior, Pomareh, King of the little island of Tabua, took the field against him. What he wanted in numbers was supplied by his unexampled valour, and his superiority in the art of war.

He subdued one island after another, and at last Tahaiti itself, and having captured its King, offered the zealot murderer of his innocent subjects as a sacrifice to their manes. In the end, he subjected to his sceptre all the islands which had hitherto remained independent, and as sovereign of the whole Archipelago, took up his residence in Tahaiti. He left to the conquered Kings the government of their islands, requiring from them a yearly tribute in pigs and fruits; and to consolidate his dominion by family connexion, he married a daughter of the most powerful of these royal vassals, her three sisters, according to an ancient custom, becoming at the same time his wives.

Peace was thus restored to Tahaiti and the whole Archipelago. Pomareh was a wise and mild ruler. He left his subjects undisturbed in their new religion, although he did not profess it himself. The Missionaries, now limited to their powers of persuasion, found means to retain their disciples in their adopted faith, so that the refugees of the mountains preferred remaining in their retreats, to finding themselves objects of hatred and contempt amongst their old friends and relations. At length Pomareh himself, with his whole family, yielded to the arguments of the Missionary Nott, allowed himself to be baptized, and died as a Christian, in the prime of life, in consequence of an immoderate indulgence in the spirituous liquors which he had obtained from the ships of his new brethren.

An unconquerable passion for ardent spirits had acquired an entire dominion over him, although he was so well aware of their deleterious effects, as to have often exclaimed, when under the influence of intoxication, “O King, to-day could thy fat swine govern better than thou canst!” This weakness was, however, so much over-balanced by his many good qualities, his well-tried valour, his inflexible justice, his constant mildness and generosity, that he possessed to the last the universal esteem and love of his subjects, by whom his loss was still deplored when we arrived at Tahaiti, almost two years after his death, although he had reigned as an unlimited monarch, and they now possessed a constitution resembling, or rather aping, that of England. This had been introduced by the influence of the Missionaries, whose power over the minds of the Tahaitians is unbounded; they had persuaded the people to adopt it during the minority of Pomareh’s son, a child of four years old at the period of our visit; but from the general regret with which the days of the absolute King were remembered, it did not appear to have given much satisfaction.

According to this Constitution, Tahaiti is divided into nineteen districts, and the neighbouring island of Eimeo, having no especial viceroy, into eight. Every district has its governor and its judge, whose business is to settle disputes and maintain order. The first is appointed by the Parliament, and the latter elected by the people. These nominations are for one year only but may be renewed at the expiration of the term. Important affairs are submitted to the Parliament, which, consisting of deputies from all the provinces, possesses the legislative, as the King does the executive power.

The Tahaitians, accustomed to a blind reverence for the Missionaries, consult them in all their undertakings, and by means of the Constitution have so confirmed their power, both as priests and rulers, that it would be difficult for governor, judge, or member of parliament, to retain their offices after having incurred their displeasure. They have shown their artful policy in the choice of a guardian for the young King. It has fallen on the tributary King of the island of Balabola, distinguished by his giant height of seven feet, and by his enormous corpulence, which almost prevents his moving, but by no mental qualification.

This mountain of flesh, that at a distance might rather be taken for some unknown monster than for a man, naturally finds it more convenient to his indolence to be merely the mouthpiece of the Missionaries, and that their dominion may also be secured for the future, Mr. Nott has the sole charge of the young monarch’s education, and will not fail to bring him up in the habit of implicit obedience.

The actual document securing the Constitution had not yet appeared; the Missionaries were still employed on it, well convinced, that whatever they should insert would be received without opposition. When complete, it will probably issue in due form from their Printing-Office, and will be interesting, if some future traveller should bring us the translation.

Firm as the foundation of the Missionaries’ power appeared, one little cloud was visible in the political firmament. A son of the vanquished King Tajo yet existed, and was not entirely without adherents. If by any chance he should succeed in gaining possession of the throne, he might remember that these men had assisted in excluding him from it. For this reason, they resolved to confirm the title of the young Pomareh, by a solemn coronation; and to strengthen his party, all the tributary princes of the whole Archipelago were invited to be present at the ceremony.

The preparations for this solemnity had long been carrying on, and as it was now soon to take place, nearly all the kings, with numerous suites, had arrived in Tahaiti. Among them was the powerful ruler of Ulietea, the grandfather of the infant sovereign; he had brought with him several hundred warriors, many of them armed with muskets.

We wished much to have been present at this first coronation of a King of the Society Islands; but as our time would not permit it, I obtained from Mr. Tyrman an account of the order and plan of the ceremony.

The kings, princes, members of parliament, and other high officers, were to assemble at the residence of the Queen, and thence in a regular procession, arranged according to their several ranks and dignities, and headed by the young King and the Missionaries, to pass to an appointed open space, where a throne of stone had been erected, on which the little Pomareh was to be seated. The procession was then to form a circle round him, and Mr. Tyrman, after making a speech, was to set on the King’s head a crown, resembling in shape that of England, in which country it had been made. A Bible was then to be placed in his hand, with the admonition, “According to this Law, thou shall govern thy people.” Upon this, the train being marshalled as before, the King should descend from his throne, and proceed to the church, where, after the performance of divine service, he should be anointed. The ceremonies should then conclude with a grand banquet.

It is remarkable that the Bible, and not the Act of the Constitution, was to be given to the King, as the rule of his government. Was not a sly mental reservation perhaps intended by this? If the Constitution should not have exactly the effect intended, and the Tahaitians, emboldened by it, should seek to withdraw themselves from their leading-strings, then might the pupil of Nott, bound to them by no oath, come forward to them boldly, and force them back under the yoke of the Missionaries; all the while conscientiously obeying the rule of conduct which had been delivered to him, according to the interpretation he had been taught to put on it.

How this coronation turned out whether the son of Tajo allowed it to pass quietly whether he has met the fate of many an unfortunate European pretender, or survives to become the originator of a civil war, which may yet give another destiny to Tahaiti, remains to be learnt from the accounts of some future traveller.

Religion and political institutions may raise a nation in a short period to a high point of civilization, and they may also serve, as in case of the Turks, to retain them in perpetual barbarism. How will these mighty powers operate on the Tahaitians? How can they, the qualifications of their authors considered!

True, genuine Christianity, and a liberal government, might have soon given to this people, endowed by nature with the seeds of every social virtue, a rank among civilized nations. Under such a blessed influence, the arts and sciences would soon have taken root, the intellect of the people would have expanded, and a just estimation of all that is good, beautiful, and eternally true, would have refined their manners and ennobled their hearts. Europe would soon have admired, perhaps have envied Tahaiti: but the religion taught by the Missionaries is not true Christianity, though it may possibly comprehend some of its doctrines, but half understood even by the teachers themselves. That it was established by force, is of itself an evidence against its Christian principle. A religion which consists in the eternal repetition of prescribed prayers, which forbids every innocent pleasure, and cramps or annihilates every mental power, is a libel on the Divine Founder of Christianity, the benign Friend of human-kind. It is true, that the religion of the Missionaries has, with a great deal of evil, effected some good. It has abolished heathen superstitions, and an irrational worship, but it has introduced new errors in their stead. It has restrained the vices of theft and incontinence, but it has given birth to bigotry, hypocrisy, and a hatred and contempt of all other modes of faith, which was once foreign to the open and benevolent character of the Tahaitian. It has put and end to avowed human sacrifices, but many more human beings have been actually sacrificed to it, than ever were to their heathen gods.

The elder Forster estimated, as we have already seen, the population of Tahaiti at one hundred and thirty thousand souls. Allowing that he over-calculated it, by even as much as fifty thousand, still eighty thousand remained: the present population amounts to only eight thousand; so that nine-tenths must have disappeared. The diseases introduced by the ardent spirits, the manufacture of Europe and America, may, indeed, have much increased the mortality, but they are also known in many islands in the South Seas, without having caused any perceptible diminution in the population. It is not known that plague of any kind has ever raged here: it was, therefore, the bloody persecution instigated by the Missionaries which performed the office of a desolating infection. I really believe that these pious people were themselves shocked at the consequences of their zeal; but they soon consoled themselves; and have ever since continued to watch with the most vigilant severity over the maintenance of every article of their faith. Hence, among the remains of these murdered people, their former admirable industry, and their joyous buoyancy of spirits, have been changed for continual praying, and meditating upon things which the teachers understand as little as the taught.

The Tahaitians of the present day hardly know how to plait their mats, make their paper stuffs, or cultivate a few roots. They content themselves with the bread-fruit, which the soil yields spontaneously in quantities more than sufficient for their reduced population. Their navy, which excited the astonishment of Europeans, has entirely disappeared. They build no vessels but a few little paltry canoes, with which they fish off the neighbouring coral islands, and make their longest voyages in American and European boats which they have purchased. With the method of producing those commodities of civilized nations which they prize so highly, they are still as much as ever unacquainted. They possess sheep, and excellent cotton; but no spinning-wheel, no loom, has yet been set in motion among them; they choose rather to buy their cloth and cotton of foreigners for real gold and pearls; one of our sailors sold an old shirt for five piastres. Horses and cattle have been brought to them, but the few that remain have fallen into the possession of strangers, and have become so scarce, that one hundred piastres was asked for an ox, that we wanted in provisioning the ship. The Queen alone possesses a pair of horses, but she never uses them. The island contains but one smith, though the assistance of the forge and bellows would be so useful in repairing the iron tools which have superseded those of stone formerly in use. It is extraordinary that even the foreigners established here carry on no kind of mechanical trade. Can it be that the Missionaries object to it? It is certain that they possess great influence even over the settlers. An American, however, was planning the introduction of a sugar manufactory, and promised himself great profit from it.

By order of the Missionaries, the flute, which once awakened innocent pleasure, is heard no more. No music but that of the psalms is suffered in Tahaiti: dancing, mock-fights, and dramatic representations are no longer permitted. Every pleasure is punished as a sin, among a people whom Nature destined to the most cheerful enjoyment. One of our friends having begun to sing for joy over a present he had received, was immediately asked by his comrades, with great terror, what he thought would be the consequence, should the Missionaries hear of it.

It is remarkable that the degenerate Tahaitians are no longer even in person such as they are described by the early travellers. Their religion appears to have had an effect inimical to their beauty. The large-grown Yeris, solely employed in praying, eating, and sleeping, are all, men and women, excessively fat even in early youth. The smaller common people, constrained to some degree of industry, look plump and well fed, but not so swollen as their superiors, and more fine forms are therefore to be seen among them than among the Yeris: the latter also frequently suffer under a most disfiguring disease caused by want of exercise and excess of nourishment: the legs swell to such a degree from the knees downward, that the form of the calf and foot is entirely lost, and the thick cylinders which usurp the place of legs, and from under which the toes only project, resemble nothing but the legs of elephants; thence the name of elephantism has been bestowed on the complaint by Europeans. It does not appear to cause much pain.

The men of both classes shave the beard, and both sexes cut their hair so close, that the skin can be seen under it; a fashion ugly enough for any face, but especially so with their brown complexions, as it gives them an ape-like appearance. As, however, a compliance with this custom, is a mark of Christianity, and the heathen fugitives to the mountains have retained their long hair, even the young females are proud of thus disfiguring themselves.

All vanity is sin, and all care of the person is vanity. Hence the fat Yeri beauties no longer shelter their skins from the burning rays of the sun, and are become as brown as the rest. All the graces have departed from them; their fascinating smiles have vanished; and the rancid cocoa-oil with which they smear themselves may be smelt at many paces distance. In short, either the picture drawn of them by the early travellers was a monstrous flattery, or they are altogether different from what they were. I saw but one handsome girl at Tahaiti; she was the sister of the little King, only fourteen years old, and already the bride of her uncle, the Prince of Ulietea. The men far surpass the women both in form and feature.

The Missionaries have abolished the custom of tattooing, and so far at least spared the Tahaitians some useless torment. These marks are now only to be seen on people of the middle age and upwards never on the young. The first voyagers who visited this island, describe the tattooing as representing half-moons, birds, and irregular or zig-zag lines; but on a better acquaintance with Europeans, the fashion changed, and drawings of our tools, animals, and even compasses and mathematical instruments, were executed with the greatest exactness on their bodies. Pantaloons being articles in particular request among them, he who could not obtain a pair, comforted himself by having the representation of them etched on his legs. Many of these are still to be seen.

We much wished to have had an opportunity of comparing the soi-disant Christian Tahaitians, with the heathen inhabitants of the mountains; but it would have taken too much time to seek them out in their retreats, which they leave only at night for the purpose of robbing the dwellers in the valleys, among whom they dare not appear in the day.

If the religion of the Missionaries has neither tended to enlighten the Tahaitians nor to render them happy, just as little can be expected from the Constitution founded upon it, which seems adapted only to draw yet tighter the bonds in which this amiable people are held by their zealous converters, and to retain them wholly under their authority.

By the influence of Wilson, a small house situated on Cape Venus was cleared for our astronomical observations: we were told it stood precisely on the same spot where Cook’s Observatory had formerly been erected. As a particular favour from the Government, I was also accommodated with a royal pleasure-house in its neighbourhood for my private residence. This very large building, which resembled an ancient temple in appearance, had been a favourite abode of the deceased monarch Pomareh, and since his death had remained uninhabited, out of respect for his memory. A number of utensils which had belonged to him, and a canoe, on which he had obtained many splendid victories, were still preserved here as memorials of the beloved king. The house was wholly without walls the roof of leaves resting on numerous pillars; a mode of construction extremely well adapted to this warm and dry climate. The environs were very beautiful: high trees covered with thickest foliage invited to repose under their shadows, and a brook clear as crystal offered an inviting bath. The air was filled with the perfume of a neighbouring orange-grove, which scattered its fruit upon the earth. The lemons and oranges, which we found delicious, the Tahaitians despised as too common. Since I could only afford to remain a very short time at Tahaiti, Dr. Eschscholz and myself immediately took possession of my new abode, and erected our little observatory. After a long, wearisome voyage, I cannot express the delight I experienced in reposing amidst such enchanting scenes of natural beauty. We passed a charming evening, and a most refreshing night under our roof of leaves.

In the morning, as we were drinking our coffee and smoking our pipes, while laying the plan of our observations so as to employ our short time to the best advantage, a messenger arrived from the Queen requesting to speak with me.

I desired he might be admitted, and a giant Yen strode proudly in, accompanied by our pilot as interpreter. His only garment, with the exception of the girdle always worn by the men, was an old worn-out sand-coloured coat, with great shining buttons, in the fashion of the last century, and so much too small for its present possessor, that he could not button it, while his naked arms stuck out more than a quarter of a yard below the sleeves. His bald head was covered by a red night-cap, which, to show his knowledge of the customs of civilized nations, he raised a little on his entrance.

He uttered, as he came towards me, the word Jorona (good day), stretched out his great hand to me, and then, without waiting for my invitation, seated himself on the ground close to my feet, with his legs crossed in the Turkish fashion. The Queen had sent him to inform me, that she was curious to see the Commander of a Russian frigate, and would gladly have entertained me at her court; but as she feared I would not absent myself so long from Matarai, she had resolved to pay me a visit accompanied by the whole Royal Family. The ambassador added, that these exalted personages, who had travelled by water, would soon arrive, and that he must hasten to receive them; then rising, he pressed my hand, repeated his jorona, touched his night-cap, and disappeared.

I had scarcely time to prepare for the reception of my illustrious guests, when the concourse of people hastening to the shore announced their approach. A man soon appeared as avant courier, in the short, red uniform-jacket of an English drummer, an uncommonly showy, many-coloured girdle, and the rest of his body, according to custom, quite naked. His legs were adorned by a tattooed representation of pantaloons; and when he turned his back and stooped very little, he showed also a drawing of a large compass, with all the two-and-thirty points executed with striking exactness. In his hand he held a rusty broad-sword, and on his head was proudly displayed an old torn three-cornered hat, with a long red feather. Our interpreter described him as the royal Master of the Ceremonies; but it afterwards appeared, that though not apparently belonging to the Yens, but to the smaller race, he held several other offices in conjunction with this those of cook and chamberlain, for example: his talent, however, seemed most to incline to that of court-fool or harlequin.

In all his motions, gestures and grimaces, he displayed so singular a vivacity, that he might have been considered insane. Without the least ceremony, or paying the slightest attention to me, he took possession of my whole house. Several servants, in the livery of nature, followed him with the various articles necessary to the convenience of the Royal visitors. He immediately ordered that the whole floor should be covered with matting, and had every thing placed as he thought proper, leaping about all the while with both feet in the air, as if his life depended on the velocity of his motions. No one of the servants pleased him; his tongue ran incessantly; and his sword was flourished about in all directions.

His preparations were not yet complete, when we saw a long procession of Tahaitians approach, two and two, bearing on their shoulders various kinds of provisions fastened on bamboo poles. This set our caperer upon increased activity. Two or three springs having carried him out of the house, he commanded the bearers to set down their burdens, which were presents from the Queen to me, in a certain order, in front of my dwelling. Three large pigs formed the right flank; and opposite to them were piled potatoes, yams, sweet potatoes, and all kinds of delicious fruit. When the Master of the Ceremonies had arranged them all to his satisfaction, he turned, for the first time, to me, and endeavoured, with many comical pantomimic gestures, to make me understand that all were mine. At length the Queen herself appeared, followed by a numerous train of attendants. She walked first, carrying the little King in her arms, and holding her daughter, the betrothed of the Prince of Ulietea, by the hand. After her came her three sisters, all like herself, large fat women, and then the whole crowd of the Court. The rear was brought up by a multitude of people of the lower class, bearing viands for the Royal entertainment, in utensils made of various kinds of gourds. Among the dainties was a live pig, which squeaking and grunting in anticipation of its fate, supplied to this orderly procession the absence of a musical band.

The Queen and her three sisters were wrapped in sheets; and their straw hats still bore streamers of black crape, as signs of mourning for the late King. The little Pomareh, a pretty, lively boy, was dressed quite in the European fashion, in a jacket and trowsers of bombasin; he wore a round hat, but his feet, like those of all the other Tahaitians, were bare. They object that any kind of shoe hinders their walking. The young bride, a handsome girl, as I have before said, was very lightly clad in a short striped shirt, without any covering on her head. The giant Yeris who formed the Court, mostly wore white shirts, and round straw hats with black ribbons.

It was the first time, since the death of her consort, that the Queen had entered these precincts, and a shower of tears fell from her eyes at the remembrance of the past. The whole court, as in duty bound, was also immediately dissolved in grief; but this sorrowful mood did not last long; their faces gradually cleared up the Queen dried her tears, and greeted me kindly. The Master of the Ceremonies then conducted the Royal Family to the best mats, on which they sat down in the Asiatic fashion. One of my chairs was placed opposite the Royal Family, and I was invited to take my seat. In the mean time, the Master of the Ceremonies had vanished to prepare the repast.

When the Queen, after surveying me from head to foot, had communicated her remarks and opinions to the company, I requested the interpreter to thank her, in my name, for my friendly reception on the island for the presents she had made me, and for the high honour conferred on me in this visit. She received my thanks very graciously, and ordered some questions to be put me, which I answered with all due respect. She inquired how old I was? whether my voyage had been long? whether I was a Christian? and how often I prayed daily? This last question afforded me an opportunity, had I thought fit, to give her Majesty some new ideas on the subject of the Missionary religion; but I did not feel myself quite capable of entering into a theological dispute, and therefore merely replied, that Christianity taught us, that we should be judged according to our actions rather than the number of our prayers. I do not know how the interpreter rendered my answer, or whether the Queen considered me as a heretic, but this I conjectured, from her speaking no more on religious subjects, and asking me, in order to change the conversation, whether the earth were really round? I assured her Majesty that I could answer from my own experience, as I was now sailing round it for the third time. This appeared to excite some astonishment; but my assertion concerning its spherical form still gained but small credit.

I then produced some presents for the Queen, her family, and their immediate attendants, which, though in themselves extremely trifling, were received with great pleasure, and produced a degree of hilarity little consistent with the symbols of mourning worn by the Royal party, or the feelings they had displayed on their first arrival.

To the Queen I presented a piece of calico four or five yards long, a coloured silk handkerchief, a small looking-glass, a pair of scissors, and some glass beads; to the young Princess, a silk handkerchief, beads, and a looking-glass; to the sisters of the Queen, cotton handkerchiefs, glasses, and scissors; their attendants, among whom were four ladies, were content with knives.

During this time the Master of the Ceremonies had killed the pig, and baked it in the earth in the Tahaitian manner. As soon as the Royal Family had resumed their seats he brought it in, and placed it before the Queen, on a great banana-leaf, other servants spreading yams, potatoes, and bread-fruit upon the ground. My chair was brought and placed opposite to the Queen, who invited me, with much friendliness, to partake of the meal. I preferred, however, being an idle spectator, for it was still very early in the day, and I had no appetite. When all the provisions were brought in, the Master of the Ceremonies made a leap into the air, flourished his rusty broad-sword, and then repeated a loud prayer. All the company hung down their heads, and prayed with him in silence. The prayer being concluded, the Master of the Ceremonies seized the baked pig by the hind-legs and tore it in two; then, having carved the whole with his broad-sword, laid a tolerably large portion on leaves before each member of the Royal Family, who immediately attacked it with a good appetite, helping themselves with fingers and teeth, instead of knife and fork. During the repast, the suite ate nothing, but remained looking on, and I did not perceive that they were indemnified for their abstinence, even when the residue of the feast was carried out. When the repast was over, and a prayer said as before, the Royal personages washed their hands with water, and their mouths with cocoa-milk, and then lay down altogether to sleep; the attendants retiring. I offered to her Majesty the use of my bed, which she condescendingly accepted; and during the siesta, I returned to my plans for our astronomical observations. On awaking, the Queen expressed a wish to see my frigate; my time was not at my own disposal, but I entrusted to one of my officers the charge of doing the honours of the ship to our Royal guests, as well as circumstances would permit. On leaving me, the Queen pressed my hand in the most friendly manner, and repeated her jorona several times; her whole train followed her.

On the strand, according to the account of my officer, the canoes lay in readiness for the excursion. The Queen, accompanied by her family and our officer, put off in her own European boat; the Master of the Ceremonies took his station in the fore-part of the boat, turning his compass to the company, and continued, during the passage, his ridiculous harlequinades with his limbs and broad-sword, as if he had been afflicted with Saint Vitus’s dance. When they reached the frigate, the deck was already occupied by Tahaitians, carrying on their trading with so much eagerness and noise, that scarcely a word could be distinguished. The vessel was also surrounded by a crowd of canoes filled with all kinds of wares for barter; and so little attention was paid to the Royal Family, that it was with much difficulty our people could clear the way for their boat. Nor did the presence of these high personages attract much more notice when they had climbed the deck; their subjects continued to drive their bargains without interruption, and scarcely vouchsafed the slightest salutation. Very different would have been their conduct on the arrival of a Missionary. The Queen was probably hurt by this neglect, for she went directly into my cabin, followed by her family, and remained there till she quitted the ship. The construction of the vessel was not likely to excite her curiosity, as she was herself the owner of a well-built English merchant ship.

The goods in the cabin, however, delighted the ladies, who admired and wanted every thing; nor was it easy to convince them, that each article they coveted was indispensable to our convenience.

The officers exerted themselves to maintain the good-humour of their guests by trifling presents, and, amongst other things, gave them a piece of sham gold-lace, several yards in length, which was received with extraordinary eagerness. The Royal sisters divided it between them, and added it to the black crape trimming of their hats; and so great was the admiration excited by this novel article of finery, that the rage for gold-lace became an absolute fever among the more distinguished Tahaitian ladies. Vain now proved the severe lessons of the Missionaries, forbidding all adornment of the person. There was no end to petitions for lace, and the more our store of it diminished, the more highly did they value the smallest piece they could obtain. The tormented husbands came every day to the ship, willingly offering a fine fat pig and eight fowls for half an ell of the false lace, to satisfy the longings of their wives. They beset me incessantly in my dwelling on shore, for this new and invaluable appendage of luxury; and were astonished beyond measure, that I, the commander, should possess none of it. The ladies who finally were unsuccessful in procuring the means of imitating a fashion thus accidentally introduced by the Royal sisters, tout comme chez-nous, actually fell ill and gave themselves up to the boundless lamentations of despair.

While the Royal Family remained below in the cabin, their attendants were engaged on deck in purchasing from our sailors all sorts of old clothes for a hundred times their value, in Spanish piastres. The Tahaitians have yet no notion of the value of money, which they get from the ships that touch at the island, and by their trade in cocoa-oil with New Holland.

The Missionaries have done their utmost to draw money into the country, and for this purpose have fixed prices on every article of provision, under which no one dares to sell them to foreign ships. These prices are, however, so high that nothing but necessity would induce any one to pay them, so that the ships in general rather provide themselves with old clothes, utensils of various kinds, and toys, which enable them to make most advantageous barters, and frequently even to bring away money. The plan of the Missionaries, therefore, like many other financial regulations, has been found in operation to produce a result directly contrary to the effect intended.

During the visit to my vessel, the young Princess had found an opportunity to bargain with a sailor for a sheet; having secured this treasure, she ran with it upon deck in the most extravagant joy, viewed it over and over with delight, and there formed it into a really very becoming drapery. She appeared quite conscious of her increased attractions in this attire, leaped about in the most sprightly manner, and called on all the persons of the Court to admire her. In short, a young European lady on first decorating herself with the most costly Persian shawl, would not have been half so happy as this young Princess dressed in the sailor’s sheet.

At four o’clock, the dinner was served to our guests and their suite, entirely in the Russian mode; except the etiquette of placing the Royal Family a little apart from the rest of the company. The infant King had long before begun to cry from weariness, and had been carried back into the boat, where he had quietly fallen asleep. A prayer was repeated before and after dinner. The visitors seemed to think our dishes very palatable, and even the Royal Family ate with good appetite, though they had so recently made a substantial meal. Their conduct was extremely decorous, and showed much aptitude in imitation. They made use of the knives, forks, and spoons as readily as if they had been always accustomed to them; and the wine, though by no means despised, was very moderately enjoyed.

After dinner a general conversation took place, in which a man of seventy years of age distinguished himself by his animation and intelligence. He was the only individual present who had personally known Captain Cook. He asserted that he had been his particular friend, and for this reason still bore his name, which he pronounced quite correctly, although there is neither a C nor K in the Tahaitian alphabet. He boasted not a little of having accompanied Cook in his coasting voyages about the islands, and of having often slept in the same tent with him. He knew the names of all Cook’s company, and could recollect the particular pursuits of each officer. To describe the manner in which Cook had observed the height of the sun, he asked for a sextant, placed himself in a stooping position, and looking fixedly upon an angle, often called with a loud voice, Stop!

He could relate the Bible-history in short extracts, from the Creation to the birth of Christ; and in order to explain the doctrine of the Trinity, he held up three fingers, pressed them together, and looked towards the Heavens. The old Cook (as he called himself,) was not entirely ignorant of geography. He said he possessed a map presented to him by his friend; that England was an island, and much smaller than Russia; and traced out, on a map of the World being opened before him, the way by which we had come to Tahaiti.

At sunset our Royal visitants departed, highly gratified with their entertainment, and returned to the capital. This visit being over, I hoped to be at liberty to pursue my occupations in peace, but in this I was disappointed. Though my habitation was surrounded by sentinels, I was continually disturbed by swarms of curious islanders, who, troublesome as they were, were yet so gentle and good-tempered that it was impossible to be angry with them. They were particularly pleased with Dr. Eschscholz’s little museum, and took pains to collect from every corner of the island, butterflies, beetles, birds, and marine productions, by way of showing their sense of the kindness with which he exhibited his treasures, often receiving from him in return some trifling present, which they considered of great value. One of them was fairly overpowered with gratitude by the gift of an old coat. With much admiration of such profuse generosity, and many expressions of rapture, he at length succeeded in cramming his large body into the garment of the infinitely smaller and more slender philosopher, and strutted about with his back hunched up, and his arms sticking out, envied by all his acquaintances for the magnificence of his attire.

Though the vice of theft has certainly greatly diminished among the Tahaitians, they cannot always refrain from endeavouring to appropriate the articles they prize so highly. For instance, I think if any one of the Tahaitian ladies had found an opportunity of stealing a bit of the mock gold lace, the temptation would have been too great to withstand. Every theft however is, on discovery, punished without distinction of persons, and the criminal, on conviction, is generally sentenced to work on the highway. A road has been made round the island, on which those who have committed great transgressions, are condemned to labour; but it is probable that neglect of prayer, or any trifling offence against the Missionaries, would also entail this punishment upon them.

We had an opportunity of observing the severity with which theft is punished. A complaisant husband could not resist the entreaties of his wife, who longed for one of our sheets. One day, when the sailors were washing in the river, he took an opportunity, unperceived as he thought, to snatch up one of these coveted articles and run off with it. Some of his countrymen, who had watched him, directly brought him back, bound him to a tree, and informed me and a Missionary of the circumstance. On reaching the spot, I already found the Judge of the district and the Missionaries Wilson and Tyrman standing beside the thief, who was still bound to the tree. Mr. Tyrman, who was especially bitter, could not refrain from abuse: he called the criminal a brute, who was not worthy to be treated as a human creature, and acted altogether as if the affair were his. This would have surprised me, as the judge of the district was present, and Mr. Tyrman had no official appointment on the island, but he was a member of the Missionary Society, et tout est dit. I was now asked if I wished the offender to be whipped, as he had not the means of paying the forfeit of three pigs to the person robbed, which the law demands, in addition to the punishment of ignominious labour. I forgave him the equivalent for the pigs, and begged that he might be dismissed with a severe admonition upon the disgrace of theft, and an earnest warning for the future. This request, however, was not granted, and the unfortunate offender was taken away, still tied, to work on the highway: the Judge and Mr. Wilson concurred in assuring me that he was not a Tahaitian, but an inhabitant of another island, who had come hither with one of the tributary kings, and declared that a Tahaitian would not have stolen the sheet. The only article which we lost besides this, was an iron hoop from a barrel, and as the thief was not discovered, it remained undecided whether their assertion was well-grounded or not. At all events, it appears certain that thefts do not take place oftener than among civilized nations.

With the chastity of the Tahaitian women, the case is similar; and it does not appear to me that the breaches of this virtue are more frequent on the whole than in Europe. It was with the utmost caution and secrecy, and in the most fearful anxiety lest their errors should be betrayed to the Missionaries, that the females complied with the desires of our sailors. An accidental occurrence proved that their terrors were not groundless. A married man who possessed a house of his own, was induced to barter, according to the custom of his ancestors, the favours of his wife for some pieces of iron: he had also assisted a young man in an intrigue with a woman whose husband was not so complaisant, by lending his house as a place of rendezvous. Suddenly the owner and his wife disappeared in the night, the house was found empty next morning, and we could never learn what had become of its proprietors. Have the Missionaries already introduced the Oubliettes?

Having occasion one morning to visit Wilson on business, I found his door, which usually stood open, closed and fastened: I knocked several times; but the whole house seemed buried in the repose of death: at length, after loud and repeated strokes, the door was opened by Wilson, whose cheeks bedewed with tears made me apprehensive that some great calamity had befallen him; I was however soon satisfied that devotion alone had caused this emotion. In an ante-room I found four or five naked Tahaitians, of the highest rank, as Wilson told me, on their knees reading the Bible. Having apologized for what appeared to be an unseasonable intrusion, I was about to retire, but was invited by Wilson, in a friendly manner, into the inner apartment, where I found his whole family, with Messrs. Bennet and Tyrman, kneeling round a breakfast-table, on which coffee and various kinds of meat were arranged. Tyrman was praying aloud, the rest silently joining him. He thanked God for the progress the Missionaries had made in spreading Christianity. How willingly would I have concurred in his thanksgiving, had the religion they taught been true, genuine Christianity, propitious to human virtue and human happiness.

The prayer lasted yet a quarter of an hour; on its conclusion, the company rose and breakfasted with a good appetite; but offered nothing to the distinguished personages in the other apartment, who were suffered to leave the house unnoticed.

I found the bread-fruit, as baked in the ovens by the Europeans here, excellent. The natives retain their old custom of baking in the earth.

During breakfast, Wilson related the difficulties he had encountered in the conversion of the Tahaitians. They would not allow that his faith was superior to their own; and when he appealed to the miracles which confirmed the truth of the Christian doctrine, they required that he also should restore sight to the blind and raise the dead to life; the confession of his inability was met with derision, and for many years he gained no disciples. How different, in all probability, would the effect have proved, had he, instead of the miraculous history of his religion, directed the attention of the susceptible Tahaitians to its pure morality, leading so naturally to the idea of a common Father, and a fellowship of charity. O, ye Missionaries, how much blood might ye not have spared!

I received another visit from the Royal Family, accompanied this time by many of the Vice-Kings then in Tahaiti, with their consorts. Among them was the grandfather of the little monarch Pomareh the Second. After some preliminaries, my illustrious guests unanimously preferred a request in the most modest, yet pressing manner. They wished me to get a pair of boots made for the little King. His coronation, they said, would soon take place, and they did not think it decorous, on so solemn an occasion, for the Sovereign of all the Society Islands to sit barefooted on his throne.

I immediately ordered my shoemaker to provide for the Royal necessity; the measure was taken, and my complaisance rewarded by the gratitude of the whole company. At this visit, also, the guests ate and slept. I took advantage of this opportunity to observe the method of preparing the pig, always the chief dish in their feasts. A sufficiently large round hole was dug in the earth, and filled with stones. A fire was then lighted in it, and kept burning till the stones were red-hot, when the ashes and cinders were taken out, and the stones covered with large banana-leaves, upon which the pig was laid, after being thoroughly cleaned, and stuffed with the glowing stones; more leaves were spread upon it, and covered with hot stones, and finally, the hole was filled up with earth. After a certain time it was taken out, and proved a more tender and delicate roast, than the best European cook could have produced. They dress their vegetables in the same manner, and the flavour is excellent; the bread-fruit, only, I preferred as baked in Wilson’s European oven.

Matarai Bay is rich in finely flavoured fish, of various, sometimes extraordinary form, and beautiful colours. The Tahaitians eat them raw, or only steeped in sea-water. Their fishing-tackle consists of nothing more than bad angling lines and hooks; to make nets as their forefathers did, would trespass too much upon the time they are obliged to spend in prayer. Hence fish is so great a rarity to them, that their eager desire for it sometimes prompts them to belie their good character, of which we had an example. One of our large nets having brought up a multitude of fine fish, the temptation was too strong to be resisted, and our friends would have forcibly shared our acquisition with us, had not our severe reproof, and the accidental appearance of the judge of the district, restrained them. They then tried to obtain the fish by barter, and offered their most valuable tools for the smallest and worst of them; I gave them, however, so many, that for once their appetite was fully satisfied with a luxurious repast.

I had heard much of an institution established by the Missionaries for the instruction of the people, and was desirous to learn what progress the Tahaitians had made in the rudiments of science. Being informed that the lessons commenced at sunrise, the first rays of that luminary found me one morning at the school-house, as I conceived the simple structure before me to be. Its walls were formed of bamboo canes, erected singly, at sufficient distances to admit the refreshing breeze from all sides, and supporting a good roof. The interior was one spacious quadrangular apartment, provided with benches, and raised seats for the teachers.

I had not waited long before the pupils of both sexes entered. They were not lively children, nor youths, whom ardour for the acquisition of knowledge led to the seat of instruction, but adults and aged persons, who crept slowly in with downcast looks, and prayer-books under their arms. When they were all assembled and seated on the benches, a Psalm was sung; a Tahaitian then rose, placed himself on an elevated bench, and read a chapter from the Bible. After this they sang again, and then knelt with their backs to the reader, who, also kneeling, repeated with closed eyes a long prayer. At its conclusion, the orator resigned his place to another Tahaitian, when the whole ceremony commenced anew; another Psalm, another chapter, and another prayer were sung and said; again and again, as I understood, a fresh performer repeated the wearisome exercise; but my patience was exhausted, and, at the second course, with depressed spirits and painful impressions, I left the assembly.

Several such meetings are established in different parts of the island, but no schools of a different character. The children are taught a little reading and writing in their parents’ houses, and beyond this, knowledge is mischievous. It is true, that most of the Missionaries are incapable of communicating further instruction; but the opinion that it is easier to govern an ignorant than a well-educated community, seems here, as elsewhere, to form a fundamental principle of policy.

To pray and to obey are the only commands laid upon an oppressed people, who submissively bow to the yoke, and even suffer themselves to be driven to prayers by the cudgel!

A police-officer is especially appointed to enforce the prescribed attendance upon the church and prayer-meetings. I saw him in the exercise of his functions, armed with a bamboo-cane, driving his herd to the spiritual pasture. He seemed himself to be conscious of the burlesque attaching to his office, at least he behaved very absurdly in it, and many a stroke fell rather in jest than in earnest. The drollery of the driver did not, however, enliven the dejected countenances of his flock.

In the prayer-house, which at first, in my simplicity, I had taken for a school, no Missionary was present. The assembly consisting, except myself, of natives only, though tolerably quiet, was not so profoundly silent as at church. I endeavoured to read in the countenances of those around me, what might be the thoughts which at the moment occupied their minds, and few were the eyes which did not, as they passed muster, speak of other matter than devotion and the Bible. Most of them appeared engaged in very profane speculations: friendly glances occasionally interchanged, betrayed the hopes of the younger devotees; while many a stately Yeri was probably considering by what means he should procure from my ship’s-company an old waistcoat, or a pair of torn pantaloons in which he might appear with suitable dignity at the approaching coronation; and among the ladies, some might be weighing the pleasure of possessing a sailor’s sheet, against the risks they must run to obtain it.

Exactly facing me was seated a fair one most becomingly enveloped in this envied habiliment, and enjoying with modest complacency, but visible triumph, the admiration with which the eyes of her country-women were fixed upon her garment.

I had heard from the Missionaries many wonderful accounts of the Lake Wahiria, situated among the mountains which rise in the centre of the northern peninsula. They had themselves never seen it, and considered it almost impossible for an European to reach it; even the boldest Tahaitians rarely visit it; and a saying is current in the island, that it is inhabited by an evil demon. Its depth they report to be unfathomable, and cannot conceive from what cause this huge body of water can be stationary at so great a height.

Mr. Hoffman, our mineralogist, an active young man, resolved to undertake this expedition, accompanied by three Tahaitians: Maititi, who on our arrival had concluded a treaty of friendship with him, and adopted the name of Hoffman; Tauru, a respectable elderly man; and Teiraro, a brisk and lively young fellow. The two latter could write their own names. At first they raised many objections, assuring him that the journey, at all times difficult, was now dangerous from the waters being swollen by the rains; however, a shirt promised to each of them overcame all these obstacles, and the travellers set out at mid-day in excellent spirits. Maititi, a soldier in the royal Tahaitian army, bore the insignia of his rank in a musket, to which nothing but the lock was wanting, and a cartouche-box without powder. He had learnt a few English words, and, by their help, advised Mr. Hoffman to carry with him some presents for his countrymen: for he observed, that though hospitality and the consequence attaching to the stranger’s appearance would secure him a good reception, it was desirable that a man with whom he had united himself in the bonds of friendship, should also command respect by his liberality.

They travelled on a broad fine path through forests of fruit trees, and several villages, and considered the population of this district to exceed that in the neighbourhood of Matarai. In the country of Weijoride they began to climb the mountains, and soon entered a charming valley stretching to the south-southwest, and enclosed by high steep rocks, basaltic, like those of Matarai. Down their precipitous sides clothed with the richest green rushed innumerable streamlets to swell the largest and most rapid rivulet on the island, which watered the whole extent of this luxuriant valley. Here the cocoa, palm, and the bread-fruit tree disappear, but bananas and oranges flourishing wild, produce finer and more juicy fruit than our best hot-houses.

A few scattered huts raised on the margin of the little river, gave tokens of human habitation. In one of these, occupied by an old married pair, our travellers passed the first night. Maititi seemed to consider himself quite on a foraging party, and Mr. Hoffman was under the necessity of begging him to moderate his zeal, and leave the care of the entertainment to their host. The old man fetched a pig, and Maititi, with great dexterity, played the part both of butcher and cook. Mr. Hoffman describes the operation of lighting the fire on this occasion, in the following manner: A Tahaitian took two pieces of wood of different degrees of hardness, laid the softer upon the ground, and very rapidly rubbed its length backwards and forwards with the harder. This made a furrow, in which the dust rubbed from the wood collected, and soon became hot; it was then shaken among dry leaves and burst into a flame. The whole process seemed easy and quick; but Mr. Hoffman could not succeed in it though he made many attempts. Before supper, the master of the house recited a prayer aloud, the family repeating it after him, but not audibly. They then ate a hearty but silent meal, and prayed again before lying down to sleep. The couch offered to Mr. Hoffman was a raised platform in the hut, thickly spread with mats, with a pair of sheets of the Tahaitian manufacture, called Tapa, for its covering.

The volubility of his guides, restrained during the repast by the more important business of satisfying their appetites, now broke out to his great disturbance. They chattered almost incessantly during great part of the night with the host, whom they were probably entertaining with an account of our ship, which he had not yet visited, and of their intercourse with us. Mr. Hoffman, on taking leave in the morning, gave his host a knife, an important present, which the old man received very gratefully, as far exceeding his expectations.

The valley as they proceeded became wilder, but more beautiful: it opened to greater width, the precipices around rose to a thousand feet in height, covered from their black summits down to the valley with green shrubs of a thousand hues, through which cascades glittering like silver in the sun, rushed gurgling and foaming to the river.

At noon the travellers reached a hut inhabited by a friend of Maititi, named Tibu; the owner also of another hut some miles further up, where his wife lived with the pigs and dogs! This being the last station on the road to the Wahiria Lake, it was determined to spend the night here. Before they set forward in the morning, a large pig was tied up, to be prepared for killing on the expected return of Mr. Hoffman and his associates, whom the hospitable Tibu accompanied on the remainder of their journey.

Here every vestige of a path disappeared. At a height of seven hundred and eleven feet above the level of the sea, the travellers found enormous blocks of granite lying in a south-easterly direction. The way to Wahiria lay towards the south-south-west. They continued ascending till they reached a marsh in a rocky basin, where wild boars were running about.

Another steep precipice was to be climbed before they could reach the Valley of the Wahiria. This stretches from north to south, and forms an oval, in the centre of which lies the lake, according to barometrical measurement, one thousand four hundred and fifty feet above the level of the sea. The surrounding rocks rise perpendicularly more than two thousand feet. The lake is above a mile and a quarter in circumference, and receives the springs from the mountains. A little brook also flows into it from the north, but no channel could be found by which its waters might be carried off. The depth of the lake near the shore is eleven, and in the middle not more than seventeen toises. After Mr. Hoffman had satisfied his curiosity, he returned with his companion to Tibu’s hut, and happily reached its shelter before a heavy storm that followed them had begun to discharge its fury. Exhausted by the fatigue of the march, and the oppressive heat, Mr. Hoffman threw himself on his couch to take a little repose, while his companions killed and roasted the pig. The storm now burst in tremendous violence over the hut. The thunder rolled fearfully along the valley, and reverberated from the rocks; the lightnings gave to the thick darkness a momentary illumination equal to the brightness of mid-day, and the rain pouring down in torrents, suddenly swelled the rivulet, near which the frail dwelling was erected, far above its natural channel. Whoever has witnessed a violent storm in the high mountains of a tropical country, will never lose the impression of its awfulness.

The following day being Sunday, Tauru, immediately on rising, repeated a long prayer, and then read a chapter of the New Testament, of which at least one copy was to be found in every hut. After a good breakfast, Mr. Hoffman wished to proceed, but his guides were not to be moved, and threats and entreaties were equally unavailing. They assured him that a continuation of the journey would be a profanation of the Sabbath, a crime for which they would be hanged, should it come to the knowledge of the Missionaries. This was a little too strongly expressed; and the tempting remains of the roasted pig had, no doubt, as much influence in supporting their resolution, as their religious scruples, or their fears of the Missionaries. The next morning they made no objection to setting out. Our travellers were joined on the road by many families, laden with mountain bananas, so that they arrived in a large company at Matarai.

Mr. Hoffman made several other journeys into the interior of the island, and visited Arue, the present residence of the Court. The mineralogical and geological observations made on these excursions, are reserved for a separate treatise; but some particulars concerning his intercourse with the inhabitants, may be properly introduced here.

The houses are merely built of perpendicular bamboo-canes, standing at some distance apart, to give free admission to the air. The roofs of palm-leaves are strong enough to defy the heaviest rain.

As curious after novelty as more civilized infants, the heads of the children were thrust out from every hut he passed, and the parents hospitably asked him in. When he accepted the invitation, he was always conducted to the seat of honour, a raised bench covered with matting and tapa stuff; and, after freely partaking of the best the house afforded, was considered to have paid handsomely for his entertainment with a knife. Bedsteads made of bamboo-canes, and filled with soft matting, are placed along the walls, and make very comfortable, easy couches. These pleasant little abodes, in which the greatest cleanliness is everywhere observable, are all surrounded by cultivated gardens. In the evening, they are lighted by the oily nuts of the taper-tree, fastened in rows on splinters.

Mr. Hoffman’s visit to the house of his friend Maititi, excited the greatest joy. His host presented to him his wife and children, and entertained him in the most splendid manner his means would allow.

In the capital Mr. Hoffman found nothing remarkable. The palace inhabited by the Royal Family, was a spacious hut, with an ante-chamber or outer house, in which eight of the guard kept watch. Their only weapon was an old pistol fastened on a plank; this was frequently fired, probably to accustom the young King to the tumult of battle. The old King lies buried under a stone monument, in front of which three guns are kept; but, to prevent accidents, they are nailed up.

We have already mentioned the trade in cocoa-oil carried on by the Tahaitians, and the ship possessed by the Queen. This is commanded by an Englishman, and a part of the crew is also English. It was just returned from a voyage among the Society Islands, where it had been to collect tribute, and was preparing to carry a cargo of cocoa-oil, stowed in thick bamboo-canes, to Port Jackson. From the Captain, who visited me, I gained much information concerning the present state of affairs in these seas. He had learnt from ships returned from the Friendly Islands, that their King had recently conquered the Navigator Islands, which now paid tribute to him.

The map of Matarai, and of the bay which bounds it on the north-east, completed by us with the utmost care from trigonometrical surveys, is attached to this volume, and renders any further description of the coast it embraces unnecessary. In December and January, the Tahaitian summer months, the trade-wind is often interrupted by violent north-westers. Rain and storms are then frequent, and often last till April; in the other months the trade-winds blow without intermission, and the sky is always serene. For this reason, what is here called the summer, might pass for the actual winter; and as the roads of Matarai are open to the west wind, it is advisable for ships visiting Tahaiti at this season, to run into the harbour, which lies eight miles west of Venus Point. It is spacious, formed by coral reefs, protected against all winds, and has two entrances so convenient, that ships may sail either in or out with almost any wind.

The ebb and flow of the tide in the Matarai Bay differs entirely from the ordinary rules, and appears wholly uninfluenced by the moon, to which it is everywhere else subject. The rise and fall is very inconsiderable. Every noon the whole year round, at the moment the sun touches the meridian, the water is highest, and falls with the sinking sun till midnight. This phenomenon serves, as well as the sun’s motion, to supply the place of clocks to the inhabitants.

According to Humboldt, the altitude of the highest mountain in Tahaiti is ten thousand feet; according to the barometrical measurement of Mr. Long, only eight thousand feet above the level of the sea.

Our first observation by chronometers, on our arrival at Matarai, gave the longitude of Venus Point as 149 de’ 30”; the true one, as given by Admiral Krusenstern on his map, is 149 de’ 20”; consequently, the error of our chronometers was 6’ 50”. This correction has been made in all the longitudes taken by us in the dangerous Archipelago. From our observatory on Venus Point, we found its latitude 17 de’ 17”, and its longitude 149 de’.

The variation of the needle was 6 de’ east, and its inclination 29 de’.

The barometer ranged from 29’ 80” to 29’ 70”; Reaumur’s thermometer from twenty-three and a half to twenty-four and a half.

The islands which I discovered on my former voyage in the ship Rurik, the Romanzow, Spiridow, Dean’s Islands, the Rurik’s Chain, &c. whose longitude I had not then an opportunity to rectify upon Venus Point, lie 5’ 36” more to the west than I at first supposed.

The longitude given by Captain Bellingshausen for the island which he discovered, appeared to us by 3’ 10” too great.

On the morning of the 24th of March, we broke up our tent on the Venus Point, left our dwelling-house, and shipped all our instruments and effects. The afternoon was appointed for our departure. The Tahaitians now boarded the ship, bringing as many provisions as they could carry. They expressed great regret at losing us; and, to prove the disinterestedness of their good-will, would accept no presents in return. They unanimously assured us, that of all nations whose ships had visited their island, none pleased them so well as the Russians. They took leave of us with the most cordial embraces, and many of them shed tears. They accompanied us in their canoes to the mouth of the Bay, and were standing out to sea, when a sudden and violent gust of wind forced them to return. The same gust very nearly carried away one of our sails, and the proximity of the land placed us for a minute or two in a critical situation, but the coolness and skill of our officers and men relieved us from the momentary danger. In half an hour the regular trade-wind returned, and with the liveliest wishes for the future welfare of the good Tahaitians, we lost sight of their lovely island.

To the remarks concerning them already made, I will add some on their language, from the work on this subject which I have before mentioned. The author says, “The language spoken on most of the islands of the South Sea, and therefore called the Polynesian, may be considered either as primitive, or as related to, and descended from, a common source with the Malay.” It is undoubtedly very old, for these people have been from an unknown period separated from all others, and before the arrival of Europeans among them, considered themselves as the whole human race.

Although, in comparison with European languages, that of Tahaiti, as belonging to an ignorant and uncultivated people, is necessarily very defective, it perhaps surpasses all others in strength, precision, and simplicity, in the personal pronouns especially. Its resemblance to the Hebrew, in the conjugation of the verbs, as well as in the roots of some of the words, can easily be proved. Many of the words really appear of Hebrew origin: as for example, mate, dead; mara, or maramosa, bitter; rapaon, to heal, &c.

The Polynesian language being so widely extended, and spoken by the inhabitants of so many islands, who have little or no intercourse with each other, it naturally branches into many dialects. These are indeed so various, that they cannot readily be recognised as derivatives from the same stock.

The principal dialects are, that spoken in the Sandwich Islands, or the Hawaiian; that of the Marquesas; that of New Zealand; the Tongatabuan, spoken by the inhabitants of the Friendly Islands, and the Tahaitian. All the others, as far as they are known, are more or less related to these.

The Tahaitian dialect is distinguished by its melody, as it has no broad or hissing consonants. The pronunciation is rendered difficult by its numerous diphthongs.

The substantives do not change their terminations in declension; but the cases, of which there are but three, are formed by syllables prefixed: for example

SINGULAR.

Nom. Te taata the man.
Poss. No te taata of the man.
Object. He taata to the man and the man.

PLURAL.

Nom. Te mau taata the men.
Poss. No te mau taata of the men.
Object. He mau taata the men and to the men.

The Tahaitians have a great number of definite and indefinite articles, and prefixes, which they apply in a peculiar manner. The article te often stands before proper names; also before God, Te Atua; sometimes o, which then appears to be an article; as, O Pomare, O Huaheine, O Tahaiti. Sometimes this o is placed before the personal pronouns in the nominative case.

O vau, I; o oe, thou; o oia, she, he, it. In these pronouns the Tahaitian, and those languages to which it bears affinity, are particularly rich. They have not only the dual of the Orientals, but two first persons in the singular as well as plural: for example

O Taua thou and I. O Maua he and I. O Tatou you and I. O Motou we three, or several.

By this the conjugation of the verbs is made more complicated than in other languages, but it again becomes easier from neither the person nor the tense changing the word itself, but all the variations being expressed by particular particles: for instance motau, to fear; te matau nei au, I fear; te matau ra oau, I feared; i motau na oau, I have feared; e matau au, I shall fear.

Since my readers will hardly wish to study the Tahaitian language very thoroughly, I here close my extracts from its grammar. Whoever really desires to learn it must go to Tahaiti. I must, however, warn him to arm himself with patience; for though the Tahaitians are very ready with their assistance, they have quite as bad a habit as ourselves of laughing at any one who speaks their language ill, I say this from experience.

Some months before us, the French Captain Duperre had visited Tahaiti upon a voyage of discovery, in the corvette Coquille. He returned home in safety, and is about to publish his travels, of which he has already had the goodness to send me some portions. An important acquisition to science may be expected from this work.