ture of his mind a spirit of philosophical inquiry, directed by the best of all motives-the desire of human improvement;-not the offspring of common curiosity, but that noble impulse, which goads the mind on in the pursuit of knowledge, at whatever risk, and with whatever suffering. But we must leave this subject for the present, to take a farther view of the transactions on board. - The captain had a quantity of pearl oyster shells, which are considered by the natives a very beautiful ornament, and very scarce among them, as those which they have are not capable of being so finely polished. These attracted Finow's fancy, which the captain observing, made him a present of several. But, however, he did not direct his attention to mere matters of ornament. Reflecting that he had very few gun-flints on shore, he ventured, in a very modest manner, to ask the captain for a supply of an article that would be so useful to him in defending his newly established kingdom of Vavaoo against the encroachments of the Hapai people; and the captain liberally com plied with his request. Mr Mariner had on shore, in a concealed place, the Journal of the Port au Prince, which he was now desirous of securing, The reader may here be reminded, that in the early part of Mr Mariner's residence at these islands, the late king or dered him to give up his books and papers, which were afterwards burnt, as instruments of witchcraft. It happened, however, fortunately, that he had concealed this Journal beneath the matting of the house, and thus it escaped the flames. After that * Finow knew the use of a musket exceedingly well, s a very good shot, period, reflecting what a risk there was of its being discovered, whether he left it there, or carried it about with him, particularly as the times were so unsettled, he confided it to the care of his adopted mother, Máfi Hábe, who faithfully kept it in her possession, concealed in the middle of a bale of gnatoo; which, along with others, was always conveyed to whatever island or distant place she went to reside. When she left Vavaoo to go and live with her father at the Hapai Islands, she gave it up to Mr Mariner, who concealed it in the middle of a barrel of gunpowder, without the knowledge of any one else; for although he had at that time considerable power and influence, and a sufficient number of confidential friends, he thought it best to conceal it in a safe place, where no native was likely to find it, and consequently no ridiculous prejudice likely to deprive him of it. To get it again into his possession, he obtained the captain's consent to detain Finow Fiji (the king's uncle) on board till the Journal was brought to him; and accordingly two natives were despatched, with directions where to find it. They had orders, at the same time, to bring back with them three Engglishmen who were on shore, viz. James Waters, Thomas Brown, and Thomas Dawson. In the mean while, Finow Fiji, on understanding that he was detained a prisoner, turned very pale, and was evidently greatly alarmed. Even when Mr Mariner explained to him the cause, he seemed still to think every thing was not right; and expressed his apprehension that they were going to take him to England to answer for the crime of the Hapai people, in taking the Port au Prince, and murdering the crew. The other assured him that his fears were groundless; for, as he was not a party concerned in that sad affair, the English people would never think of punishing the innocent for the guilty. "True!" he replied, “ and you know that I have always befriended you, and that I am not a treacherous character; and that rather than assist in taking a Papalangi ship, I would do all that lay in my power to prevent such an outrage." To this Mr Mariner cordially gave his assent, and the chief seemed quite satisfied. His people in the canoes were, however, far from being so ;they raised great clamours, and loudly demanded his liberation; and even his own assurances could scarcely remove their apprehensions. Finow Fiji told Mr Mariner, that he should have been particularly sorry to have been taken away, when his nephew was just in the infancy of his reign, and might want his counsel and advice, and thus be deprived of the pleasure of seeing him govern prosperously, and make his people happy, which, from his ability and excellent disposition, he had no doubt would be the case. At length the canoe returned with the journal and the Englishmen. James Waters was not disposed, however, to return to England. He was an old man, and had become infirm, and he reflected that it would be a difficult matter for him to get his bread at home; and as he enjoyed at Vavaoo every convenience that he could desire, he chose to end his days there. Finow's sister, a girl of about fifteen years of age, went on shore, and brought on board several other women of rank, who were all greatly pleased that they were allowed to come into the ship d satisfy their curiosity. She was a very beau I tiful lively girl, and proposed, in joke, to go to England, and see the white women. She asked if they would allow her to wear the Tonga dress, though perhaps," she said, "that would not do in such a cold country in the winter season. don't know what I should do at that time; but Togi tells me that you have hot-houses for plants from warm climates, so I should like to live all winter in a hot-house. Could I bathe there two or three times a day without being seen? I wonder whether I should stand a chance of getting a husband; but my skin is so brown, I suppose none of the young Papalangi men would have me ;and it would be a great pity to leave so many handsome young chiefs at Vavaoo, and go to England to live a single life. If I were to go to England, I would amass a great quantity of beads, and then I should like to return to Tonga, because in England beads are so common, that nobody would admire me for wearing them, and I should not have the pleasure of being envied. "-She said, laughing, that either the white men must make very kind and good tempered husbands, or else the white women must have very little spirit, for them to live so long together without parting. She thought the custom of having only one wife a very good one, provided the husband loved her; if not, it was a very bad one, because he would tyrannize over her the more; whereas, if his attention was divided between five or six, and he did not behave kindly towards them, it would be very easy to deceive him. These observations, of which Mr Mariner was interpreter, afforded very great amusement. Finow, and the late Tooitonga's son (about 12 years of age), together with the females, now commenced dancing and singing at the request of the captain, which gave the ship's company much entertainment. Before the ship's departure, Mr Mariner was charged with several messages from the chiefs of Vavaoo to those of Hapai. Among others, Finow sent his strong recommendations to Toobó Toa to be contented with the Hapai Islands, and not to think of invading Vavaoo;-to stay and look to the prosperity of his own dominions, for that was the way to preserve peace and happiness. "Tell him again," said he," that the best way to make a country powerful and strong against all enemies is to cultivate it well, for then the people have something worth fighting for, and will defend it with invincible bravery. I have adopted this plan, and his attempts upon Vavaoo will be fruitless! Several warriors sent insulting messages to the Hapai people; such as, "We shall be very happy to see them at Vayaoo, and will take care to entertain them well, and give them plenty of bearded spears to eat; and, besides, we have got some excellent Toa wood (clubs), of which we shall be glad to give them an additional treat! We hope they will come and see us, before they shall have worn out the fine Vavaoo gnatoo, of which they took away so much when they visited us last, (alluding to their late unsuccessful expedition.)Hala Api Api had considerable property at the Island of Foa, and he sent a message to an old mataboole residing there (who had been a faithful servant to his father), to gather all his moveable property, consisting of some whale's teeth and a considerable quantity of Hamoa mats, and deposit |