repaired to his house, and found him unable to speak; for as soon as he saw them he endeavoured in vain to give utterance to his ideas, and seemed choked by the vehemence of his inward emotions. At length a flood of tears coming to his relief, he acknowledged the justice of the gods, but lamented greatly that he was about to meet his death on a bed of sickness instead of going to brave it in the field of battle. After a little pause, he said in a calm but firm tone of voice, "I tremble at the approaching fate of my country: for I perceive plainly, that after my death the state of affairs will be much altered for the worse. I have had daily proofs that the obedience of my subjects is not excited by their love but by their fears."

Several chiefs and matabooles who, owing to the crowd, were not able to get into the house, but overheard what passed, went immediately to the priest of Toobó Totái, and presenting him cava root, sat down before him. An old mataboole then addressed him, stating that they had firm belief in the power which the gods possessed of inflicting what punishment they chose upon mortals: but he entreated the god to use his influence with the other powers of Bolótoo, that they might not take offence at what Finow had said in the morning, which was merely spoken on the impulse of the moment, when warmly agitated with sentiments of affection for his daughter, and not from any real disrespect to the gods: he supplicated him also to have regard to the general good of the islands, and not by depriving them of Finow, to involve the whole nation in anarchy and confusion. The priest remained some time in silence, and was much affected: at length he announced that the gods of Bolotoo had, for a long time past, debated among themselves in regard to the punishment they should inflict upon Finow, for the many instances he had shewn of disobedience to religious precepts and of exceeding disrespect for divine power; that they had at first resolved upon his death, but that he (Toobó Totái) having repeatedly interceded in his behalf, some of the other gods also took his part; in consequence of which there arose very violent dissensions in Bolótoo; not, as he explained to them, by actual fighting, for gods are immortal, and can neither be killed, wounded nor hurt, but by urgent and potent arguments, which had occasioned, he said, the late high winds and tremendous thunder. That they had consequently come to a resolution of saving his life, seeing that his death would be a greater evil to his people than to himself, and of punishing him in another and perhaps more severe way, viz. by the death of his most dear and beloved daughter, who must therefore be inevitably taken from him for as it had been decreed, beyond all revocation, that either he or his daughter must die, her life could not be saved without taking away his. As a sort of proof of this decree, he bade them remark that whilst Finow was at this time ill, his daughter was much better, and comparatively full of life and spirits, (which was actually the case). To-morrow, he said, her father would be tolerably well, for the gods had not decreed his immediate death, but only a temporary illness, to impress on his mind a sense of

their power, and then his daughter would relapse, and be as bad or worse than ever.

The priest being now silent, the chiefs and matabooles left him, with a strong belief of the truths he had been telling them. When they arrived at Finow's house they found him somewhat better, but did not communicate what they had heard from his priest. This however was soon rumoured among the other chiefs and matabooles, in the king's cook-house, where they generally resort for cava, and which from custom has become a sort of rendezvous to pick up or retail news. Mr. Mariner, who had been with Finow (his patron, father, and protector,) during his illness, coming to the cook-house and hearing what the priest had said, went out of curiosity to Finow's daughter, and was surprised to find her sitting up, eating ripe bananas, and in very good spirits, talking at intervals to her female attendants.

In the evening Finow, feeling himself for the most part recovered, visited his daughter, and found her much worse than, as he was informed, she had been in the morning. He now expressed his intention of passing the night at her house, which he accordingly did. When he awoke in the morning he felt himself perfectly recovered; but going to his daughter's mat, he found, to his utmost grief, that she was worse than ever.'

By the style and manner of this narrative, it may be perceived that Mariner participated in some measure in the belief of the natives; which, be it observed in this case, has in it nothing of absurdity, but accords with an universal principle, common to every religion, that impiety may justly bring down divine vengeance: since Finow had long been noted for his want of respect for the gods of Tonga. The pious exertions made with the intention of saving the child probably hastened her dissolution; for, in their anxiety, she was removed from one consecrated place to another till she ceased to exist. After this event, contrary to the general custom at. the Tonga islands, Finow ordered that no appearance of sorrow or lamentation should be made; notwithstanding which injunction, the attendants occasionally gave vent to their grief. The conduct of the King in this particular was regarded as an expression of his anger against his gods. the 20th day, the people were assembled by his directions; and the body, inclosed in a polished coffin made in the shape of a canoe, was deposited in the fytooka or burying-place. Kava and provisions were then distributed.

On

On this extraordinary occasion, which the caprice of Finow rendered a scene of rejoicing rather than of mourning, after the provisions and cava were shared out, they began the entertainments of wrestling and boxing as usual at festivals. After the men had shown their strength and dexterity in these feats by single engagements, the King gave orders that all the women who resided REV. AUG. 1817.

Аа

north

north of the moon should arrange themselves on one side, ready to combat all the women who resided south of the mooa, who were to arrange themselves on the other. It was not a very rare occurrence for women to fight in pairs on occasions of rejoicing; but a general engagement like this, with about fifteen hundred women on each side, was a thing altogether new, and beyond all precedent, and quite unexpected at a funeral ceremony. The women, however, readily engaged, and kept up the contest, with obstinate bravery, for about an hour, without a foot of ground being lost or gained on either side; nor would the battle have subsided then, if Finow, seeing the persevering courage of these heroines, had not ordered them to desist, the battle having cost them several sprained ancles and broken arms. They fought with a great deal of steadiness, and gave fair hits, without pulling one another's hair. The men now divided themselves in like manner into two parties, and began a general engagement, which was persisted in a considerable time with much fury, till at length that party which belonged to the side of the island on which Finow dwelt began to give way instantly he rushed from the house in which he was seated, to reanimate his men by his presence and exertions, which he effected to such a degree, that the opposite party in their turn fell back, and were completely beaten off the ground.'

Whether Finow received any hurt in this contest, or whether his late indisposition returned, is doubtful: but he had no sooner retired and lain down to rest from his fatigue, than he found himself ill, and in a short time was speechless. To appease the gods, a child of Finow by a female attendant was strangled (without his knowlege) as a sacrifice, to procure his recovery. A melancholy story is also related, in the early part of this book, of a woman at the island Lefooga, who for many years had been afflicted with insanity, occasioned by excessive grief on her child being taken from her to be strangled as an offering to the gods for the recovery of his sick father. The poor woman being in this state was deemed troublesome, and Finow, wishing her out of the way, ordered Mariner to shoot her: but our countryman remonstrated, and she was spared for that time. A few days afterward, however, as she was walking on the beach, Finow gave the like direction to a Sandwich islander, who, with ready acquiescence,' levelled his piece and shot her dead on the spot. We find in a former voyage that the offer of human sacrifices for the sick was not confined to the murder of infants.

6

Finow never recovered so far as to regain the use of speech, and very soon breathed his last. Calculating according to the opinion formed when Captain Cook was at the Friendly Islands, his age must have been about fifty-five at the time of his decease. He was in stature six feet two inches; stout

and muscular; his head erect and bold; his shoulders broad and well made; his limbs well set, strong, and graceful in action; his body not corpulent, but muscular; his hair of a jet black and curly, yet agreeably so, without being woolly; his forehead remarkably high; his brow bold and intelligent, with a little austerity; his eye large and penetrating.'-'His voice was loud, and his pronunciation remarkably distinct: when he spoke in anger or when he laughed, it was so loud as to be heard at an incredible distance.'* To this portraiture we may add what is remarked of Finow in an earlier part of the book, which certainly comes near his true character:

He was a man of a deep and designing spirit; always willing to favour any conspiracy that promised to advance his interests, but exceedingly cautious how he let any body know his own intentions!'

A maxim of despotic governments, that it is right policy to kill and destroy whomsoever or whatsoever is likely to be dangerous, is one from which Finow had swerved in very few instances. He seized unexpectedly on the bravest of the Vavaoo chiefs and warriors who in the late wars had been active against him, and put them to death: one of whom, being taken out to sea bound in the bottom of a crazy canoe, did not cease in the utmost indignation to pour forth execrations against his destroyer, till prevented by the water coming up to his mouth. Great similarity of character may be traced between Finow and the chief his predecessor, whom he displaced; and of whom we remarked in our review of the Missionary Voyage of the Ship Duff, (M. R. Vol. xxxii. p. 7.) that 66 on a more extensive stage, he might have flourished as the first consul of a great nation:" which we consider as worth notice here, because it strongly corroborates the descriptions given by Mr. Mariner of the Tonga chiefs.

We are informed in this work that, when Captain Cook was at the Friendly Islands, (as he had then named them,) at which time Toogoo Ahoo (in the Missionary Voyage written Tooga Howe,) was king, a plan was laid to attack him and his officers while on shore; by the loss of whom the natives supposed that the crews in the ships would be so much. weakened as to be mastered with ease.

Some of the chiefs proposed to invite the captain and his officers to a grand bo-méë, (a night-dance by torch-light, and at a signal to

* His eloquence was such, that many of his enemies were afraid to listen to him lest they should be led to view the subject in a light prejudicial to their interest.-In his house, giving orders about domestic arrangements, his voice was uncommonly mild, and very low.'

massacre him, his officers, and all the marines; but Finow (the late king's father) objected to this, as the darkness of the night would be unfavourable to their operations in taking the two vessels, and proposed rather that it should be done by day, and that they should seize the opportunity of making the attack on the occasion of a grand entertainment which was shortly to be given to him in honour of his arrival, and after they were all destroyed, the men, who would naturally come in search of him, were to be conducted to the further part of the island under pretence that he was there, and they were then to be destroyed in like manner: and thus the two ships, their crews being so weakened, might be taken (as they supposed) with ease. The entertainment was prepared, and Captain Cook and several officers being invited were present; it happened, however, a little before the appointed time when the signal was to be given, that most of the chiefs still expressed their opinion that the night-time would have been better than the day, and Finow, finding that the majority were of this opinion, was much vexed, and immediately forbad it to be done at all. Thus, no signal being given, the amusements went on without interruption, and Captain Cook and his officers were much pleased with their entertainment, acknowledging it to be far better than any other that they had received at the Friendly Islands.'

This anecdote will probably be regarded as the most remarkable of the innumerable warnings held out to navigators, not to place unlimited confidence in an uncivilized people, unless obliged by necessity. The greatest difference in prin ciple between a civilized and a savage state of society is in the superior abhorrence of treachery and cruelty.

By the exercise of great circumspection and moderation, Finow's eldest son succeeded to his father's possessions and dignity, without any disturbance.

We have dwelt rather longer on the descriptions in Mr. Mariner's narrative than we usually permit such subjects to detain us, and on many points we have been obliged to be wholly silent: but some matters yet remain which may not be omitted.

Polytheism, which is a system of religion the least liable to be approved on reflection, is that which seems the most natural for a people in the first glimmering of their reason to adopt. Finow, who, besides being a contemplative man, had conversed much with Europeans, felt no great respect for the divinities reverenced by his countrymen, except when he was influenced by apprehension. Among traditions which have been preserved by the Tonga-people, is one which gives cause to imagine that a part of the Mosaical account of the creation of the world has in some way reached the natives of the Tonga islands. They believe that Tangaloa, a divinity who presided over arts and inventions, being willing that Tonga