"Tongaloa 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 your brothers. How can you go with your bad canoes? But your brothers shall come to Tonga, and trade with you as they please."

Mr. Mariner tells us he took particular pains to make inquiries respecting the foregoing tradition, and found that although the chiefs and matabooles were acquainted with it, the bulk of the people were entirely ignorant of it. This led him at first to suspect that the chiefs had obtained the leading facts from the missionaries that had stayed a short time previously in the group; but the oldest men affirmed strongly that it was an ancient traditionary record, and founded on truth. It agrees with many of the Fijian and Samoan legends, in which, as I have pointed out, there is a strong Mosaic element, and I am inclined to think that the story is correctly described as veritable Tongan tradition of great antiquity. It certainly seems strange that they should believe an account which serves to make them a degraded race, the cursed descendants of the murderer of his brother.

The chastity of the married women was considered of the highest importance: divorce, however, was a common practice, and a woman thus divorced would marry again. As in Fiji, prostitution was simply unknown, the men being generally very true to their wives.

Children were occasionally strangled as sacrifices to the god, but with the greatest reluctance, as the Tongans have been for centuries most devoted parents. The chief widow of the Tuitonga was, however, strangled on the day of her husband's burial, that she might be interred with him. The funeral of a

Tuitonga was performed with marked ceremonial, the peculiarities of which may be here described.

The day after his death, which was the day of the burial, every individual in every island the news had reached—man, woman, and child-had the head closely shaved; this is a peculiarity, and so is the custom of depositing some of his most valuable property along with the body in the grave, such as beads, whales' teeth, Samoa mats, etc. The time of mourning for a Tuitonga was four months. The tabu for touching his body or anything he had on when he died, extended to at least ten months. Every man would neglect to shave his beard for at least one month, and during that time merely oiled his body and not his head.

In the afternoon of the day of burial, the body being already in the fytoca (or burial-place), the men, women, and children, all bearing torches, used to sit down at about 80 yards from the grave. The assemblage being complete and quiet, one of the female mourners would come out of the fytoca, and call out to the people, Arise ye, and approach;' whereupon the people would get up, and advancing about 40 yards, would again sit down.

Two men from behind the grave would now begin to blow conch-shells, and six others, with large lighted torches about 6 feet high and 6 inches thick, would descend from the raised fytoca and walk round one after the other several times, waving their flaming torches in the air.

After this ceremony these six leaders would ascend the mount again, and the moment they did so the people issued en masse, and following the six men with the big torches, ascended the mount in single file. As they passed the back of the grave the first six men would deposit their extinguished torches on the ground, an example which was followed by the

others. The place was then cleared; the people separated according to their localities, and repaired to their temporary homes.

Soon after dark certain persons stationed at the grave began again to sound the conch, while others chanted, partly in an unknown language and partly in Samoan, a sort of song. The natives could give no account of what this language was, nor how they originally came to learn the words. While this was going on, about sixty men would assemble near the grave for the performance of a ceremony which I suppose has no parallel in the burial rites of the world. It being perfectly dark, the men would approach the mount and pay their devotions to the goddess Cloacina, after which they retired to their homes. At daybreak next morning all the women of the first rank, the wives and daughters of the greatest chiefs, would assemble, and with expressions of the most profound humility would make the place perfectly clean; and this extraordinary ceremony was repeated for fourteen nights, as was that of the burning torches. With these singular exceptions, the funeral of a Tuitonga was identical with that of a Tongan king.

CHAPTER XXXIV.

NEUTRAL TONGA.

THE present condition of Tonga is a very satisfactory one; the soil, it is almost needless to add, is inexhaustibly fertile, and it is also industriously cultivated, and intersected by good roads. Tonga is a succession of gardens, and want, beggary, or squalor are unknown. All the people are clothed, all read

and write, all are professed Christians. They still retain a good deal of their old Tongan pride, but are courteous to strangers.

The Government is a monarchy, the reigning King being George of Tonga, who is assisted by a Council, or Parliament. On each of the great islands there resides a governor. These are men of intelligence who speak English, dress well, and live in imported houses of the European fashion. The Governor of Vavau in 1874 was named David-all the Tongans take great delight in scriptural, or English names. He was a man of huge stature and majestic presence, and looked very well in a handsome uniform he had made for him in Sydney, at a cost of about £200. A friend of mine gave me the following curious account of this personage, with whom he stayed. David's house would be regarded in the Australian colonies as a fitting residence for any high official below the rank of a Viceroy. It is constructed of imported materials, all the interior panelled and polished; the furniture of every room being elegant and costly, and imported from New South Wales. In the centre of the building is a large dining-hall with stained-glass doors at either end, which is only used on state occasions. Here the table is laid with every requisite, fine linen, plate, and cut glass. The cook is a Chinaman, the butler a negro. A better, or more elegantly served dinner one would scarcely expect in Sydney: everything is in profusion, even to champagne and soda-water. This David, like all his colleagues, apes the manners of a British officer. One remark he made was very characteristic of the man. My friend perceived on a Sunday afternoon that he did not leave the house, although his people were all at church for the second time. He inquired the reason, and the Governor replied, 'I have been this morning; too much church is not good. I have

been told that English gentlemen do not go to church more than once a day. We got our religion and laws from the English. Why then should we not imitate their religious customs?'

The religion referred to is that of the Protestant missionaries, and, of course, the established religion is Protestant ; but toleration of all other creeds is the rule in Tonga, and no oppression of minorities is permitted. It is a far cry from Livadia to Tongatabu, but 'Holy' Russia might take a lesson from the 'savages' of the South Sea, and possibly be able to reduce her Polish garrisons.

The Tongan laws are generally just, and are very strictly enforced. The statutes are printed, and distinctly understood by all the people. There is a strong flavour of Sabbatarianism about some of the edicts, which of course indicates their origin; but it seems to me that it is far better for the Tongans to hold curiously strict notions as to how to conduct themselves on the first day of the week-or, as they would call it, in Jewish parlance, the Sabbath-than to strangle children in sacrifice to heathen deities.

The laws of Tonga forbid the sale of land to foreigners, but it is permitted to be leased on such liberal conditions and for so long a term as to be tantamount to an actual sale. All traders, planters, or permanent foreign residents not in the service of the Government, are obliged to take out a license. Spirits and some other articles pay a heavy duty. All the people contribute to the support of the state, the tax being on an adult male about six dollars per annum.

All the great islands are traversed by broad roads laid out by a European engineer. They are formed and kept in repair by the labour of convicted criminals. There is an efficient police force, and for the defence of the country all able-bodied