unfortunately the line broke, and the islands of Tonga remain to shew the imperfection of Tangaloa's attempt. The rock in which the hook was fixed was already above the surface, and is to be seen to this day in the island of Hoomga, where they shew the very hole where it caught. The hook was in the possession of the Tooitonga family till about thirty years ago, when it was accidentally burnt along with the house in which it was kept.

Tangaloa having thus discovered land by the divine influence of himself and other gods, it was soon replete with all kinds of trees, herbs, and animals, such as were in Bolotoo, but of an inferior quality, and subject to decay and death. Being now willing that Tonga should also be inhabited by intelligent beings, he commanded his two sons thus :* "Go and take with you your wives, and dwell in the world at Tonga ; divide the land into two portions, and dwell separately from each other." They departed accordingly. The name of the eldest was Toobó, and the name of the youngest was Váca-aców-oóli, who was an exceeding wise young man; for it was he that first formed axes, and invented beads, and cloth, and lookingglasses. The young man called Toobó acted

* The following story is, as nearly as possible, a literal transla tion of the language in which they tell it.

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very differently, being very indolent, sauntering about and sleeping, and envying very much the works of his brother. Tired at length with begging his goods, he bethought himself to kill him, but concealed his wicked intentions. He accordingly met his brother walking, and struck him till he was dead. At that time their father came from Bolotoo with exceeding great anger, and asked him, " Why have you killed your brother; could not you work like him? Oh, thou wicked one, begone! Go with my commands to the family of Váca-aców-óoli, tell them to come hither. Being accordingly come, Tangaloa straightway ordered them thus: "Put your canoes to sea and sail to the east, to the great land which is there, and take up your abode there. Be your skins white like your minds, for your minds are pure. You shall be wise, making axes and all riches whatsoever, and shall have large canoes. I will go myself and command the wind to blow from your land to Tonga; but they (the Tonga people) shall not be able to go to you with their bad canoes."

Tangaloa then spoke thus to the others: "You shall be black, because your minds are bad, and shall be destitute. You shall not be wise in useful things, neither shall you go to the great land of brothers. How can you go with your bad canoes? But your brothers

your

shall come to Tonga, and trade with you as they please."

Mr. Mariner took particular pains to make inquiries respecting the above extraordinary story, with a view to discover whether it was only a corrupted relation of the Mosaic account, and he found that it was not universally known to the Tonga people. Most of the chiefs and matabooles were acquainted with it, but the bulk of the people were totally ignorant of it. This led him, at first, to suspect that the chiefs had obtained the leading facts from some of our modern missionaries, and had interwoven it with their own notions: but the oldest men affirmed their positive belief that it was an ancient traditionary record, and that it was founded in truth. It seems strange that they should believe an account which serves so much to degrade them, and makes even their very chiefs to be descendants of bad men, cursed by their father with the evils of poverty and ignorance. Nevertheless they readily own the superiority of Papalangies (i. e. the Europeans or white people), not only in knowledge, but disposition to do good: but, on the other hand, they do not as readily confess themselves to lie under a malediction. On the contrary, they maintain that they are far superior to us in personal beauty; and though we have more instruments

and riches, they think that they could make a better use of them if they only had them in their possession. Of the chiefs and matabooles who related the foregoing account, some be lieved it firmly, others left it as they found it, none positively disbelieved it. Mr. Mariner related to them our scriptural and traditionary account of Cain and Abel, and expressed his opinion that they must have received their information either from the missionaries or from some Papalangi at an early period, whom accident had thrown among them: but some still persisted that it was an original tradition of their own; whilst others owned there was so great a similarity between the two accounts, that they were disposed to believe they had received theirs from us, perhaps two, or three, or four generations back. But such things do not very often form a subject of conversation among them; consequently their knowledge and belief of these matters (as they have no writings) become very vague, incongruous, and uncertain.

The account that is more universally known and believed, which is the least inconsistent with their general notions, and probably the most ancient, is the following.

At a time when the islands of Tonga were already existing, but not yet peopled with intel

ligent beings, some of the minor gods of Bolotoo being desirous to see the new world (which Tangaloa had fished up), put to sea, about two hundred in number, male and female, in a large canoe, and arrived at the island of Tonga. They were so well pleased with the novelty of the place that they determined to remain there, and accordingly broke up their canoe to make small ones of it. But in a few days two or three of them died. This phenomenon alarmed all the rest; for decay and death was what their notion of their own immortality did not lead them to expect. About this time one of them felt himself strangely affected, and by this he knew that one of the superior gods was coming from Bolotoo to inspire him. In a little time he was actually inspired, and was told that the chief god had decreed that, as they had come to Tonga, and had breathed the air of the place, and had fed upon the produce of the place, they should become mortal, and people the world with mortal beings, and all about them should be méa mámá. Upon this they were all exceedingly grieved, and were sorry they had broken up their canoe. But they made another, and some of them put to sea, with the

* Things of this world, subject to decay and death; in contradistinction to méa hotoóa, things of the other world (Bolotoo), or land of hotova, immortal and always flourishing.