and this operation was repeated till the blood ran down in torrents. Others thrust their lances with savage ferocity through their thighs, arms, and cheeks, calling out all the while in the most piteous accents the name of the deceased king. A native of the Fijee Islands, who had been one of the royal servants, appeared quite frantic. He stepped forward with fire on his head, and having previously oiled his hair, he applied a torch to it, and ran about with the upper part of his body enveloped in flames. When wearied with these various torments, they sat down, and beat their faces with their fists. A second party at length relieved them in the arena where this frightful scene was exhibited, advancing with furious shouts and the sounding of shells. Four who occupied the front rank held stones in their hands, with which they knocked out their teeth, while the others lacerated their heads in a manner frightful to behold. One who had a spear thrust it through his arm a little above the elbow, and with the weapon thus suspended in his flesh, he ran wildly about as if courting applause. A principal chief acted as if quite bereft of his senses; rushing to every corner of the fiatooka, at each station he smote his head with a club till the blood flowed in streams down his shoulders. On that dreadful day, in short, respect for the deceased ruler was measured by torture and death; the appalling spectacle being concluded by the murder of his two wives. Of these females, devoted to strangulation at the grave of their late husband, it is remarked, that the one wept as she walked along, while the other seemed a personification of cold indifference.

These deeds of heathen darkness and cruelty were renewed on the following day; the space round the tomb being converted into a theatre for savage gladiators. Before the period of mourning was ended, thousands engaged in personal conflict, which frequently terminated in death to one or both of the parties. During several weeks, the horrid blast of the conch shell, night after night, summoned the infuriated combatants to a renewal

of their murderous contests; and the missionaries relate, that the piercing shrieks, the clashing of arms, and the rushing of the excited multitude, rendered their place of residence a scene of continual terror and disgust.*

Toogahowe, who was elected to the rank of chief governor, continued his protection to the missionaries, which became still more necessary to them, as they were soon afterwards assailed by the violence and threatenings of the unprincipled Europeans who had preceded them in their arrival at Tongataboo. On one occasion, these ruffians used in their hearing the most fearful imprecations; vowing that they would stir up the natives against them, and procure the murder of every individual. Intimidated by these menaces, which would probably have been realized, and finding that, from their continuing to live together, apart from the great body of the people, they had made very small progress in acquiring a knowledge of their language, they came to the resolution of separating, and of taking up their abode at the residence of different chiefs. The plan received, though not without some reluctance, the approval of the king; and the teachers, accordingly, retiring from this station, on the improvement of which they had bestowed considerable labour, went to the dwellings of their respective friends.

On the 19th August, the Duff, which had made a voyage to the Marquesas, returned to the Friendly Islands, bringing from Otaheite some seasonable supplies to the christian brethren at Tongataboo. To deliver them from the machinations of Ambler and his associates, the captain resolved to take these fugitive convicts on board his ship; an arrangement to which they, in the first instance, readily acceded. But when the hour of

Missionary Voyage, p. 239-444. From the Journal of the brethren, it appears that intoxication was employed to add to the natural ferocity of the savage character. A gross festivity accompanied all their demonstrations of sorrow; observances in which the Polynesians closely resembled the more celebrated barbarians of ancient Greece and Rome, and perhaps of our own people at no distant period.

departure arrived, they were not to be found, having made their escape into the interior. Connelly was seized and put into the hands of Captain Wilson; the two others, one of whom was the convict Morgan, who had joined the agitators, were after a brief space put to death for crimes against the public peace. The missionaries now resumed their duties without fear or interruption. Brothers Buchanan and Gaulton were stationed at Mooa, the residence of Futtafaihe, which is described by one of the seamen in these terms:-" Proceeding from the lagoon about a quarter of a mile through fenced lanes, a spacious square green, about half a furlong wide, presents itself, at the further end of which the dwelling stands. On the same green, which is as smooth as if rolled, a few large spreading trees grow in an irregular disposition, which add much to the beauty of the scene. the east side is a neat fence enclosing the long grove where the fiatookas stand; on the west are the dwellings of different chiefs in their enclosures; and along the north or lower side of the square the great road runs from the one end of the island to the other. This road is in general about six or seven yards wide, but eastward from the green, and for half a mile, it is not less than sixty yards wide. In this part there is a range of trees as large and spreading as the largest English oaks; and as their branches meet at the top and quite exclude the sun's rays, a pleasant walk is afforded by their shade."

On

The impression made upon the minds of the missionaries in regard to the character of the inhabitants, was at first extremely favourable; answering to the most flattering representation that the world has ever received of it, and justifying the epithet applied to their islands by the immortal Cook, who, as we have mentioned, considered them greatly superior to all other Polynesians. They possess, we are assured, many excellent qualities, which, were they enlightened with the knowledge of the gospel, would render them the most amiable

* Missionary Voyage, p. 285.

people on earth. Their bounty to strangers is great, and their liberality to one another is unequalled. Their honesty in domestic transactions is unimpeachable, though, towards foreigners, it is admitted, the same virtue loses part of its energy and exactness. The murder of children and other horrid practices which prevail at Otaheite are unknown at Tongataboo. Polygamy is common among the chiefs, who, in the number of their wives, know no limits but their own fancy and the means of maintaining their establishments. In all ranks of society the conduct of the women would be pronounced decorous, even if measured by a European standard; the exceptions being so rare as not to attract the notice of a stranger, or give offence to the most refined sentiments of morality. The deepest stain on the character of the people is their love of war, which is too frequently gratified by engaging in civil broils when their arms are not occupied against a more distant enemy.

It has been already stated, that at the time when Captain Cook visited the Tonga group belligerent habits were little known to the natives. The only quarrels in which they had ever embarked were with the inhabitants of the Fijee Islands; for, being in the practice of visiting them for sandal-wood, they occasionally took a side with one or other of the contending parties into which those restless savages were almost constantly divided. From them they speedily learned to make bows and arrows of a much more destructive kind than any with which they had been preyiously acquainted, and also to wield the spear, which was not unfrequently used as a missile weapon with the most deadly effect. A certain chief, named Tooi Halai Fatai, having in the course of successive voyages contracted the warlike propensity of his neighbours, became tired of the peaceful life he led at home, and therefore determined to repair thither in company with a number of young men of the same adventurous disposition. At the head of two hundred and fifty of such unquiet spirits he performed among the Fijees various exploits which tended not less to exalt

his name as a gallant leader than to increase his wealth as a successful freebooter.

Events soon afterwards occurred in his own country which gave full scope to his enterprising genius both in the field and in the council. Toogahowe, who had some time previously mounted the throne, held the reins of government in a manner little satisfactory to the people at large; and some acts of tyranny, which extended to the higher class of his subjects, led in the first instance to a general insurrection, and finally to a complete revolution in all parts of his dominions. The leader of the rebellion was Toobo Nuha, brother of Finou, the ruler of the Hapai Islands, and himself the tributary sovereign of Vavaoo. The murder of the king by the hand of the insurgent was the signal for war, which was carried on during a considerable period with great ferocity and various success. Toobo, a brave soldier, was a mere tool in the hand of his more thoughtful relative, whose ambition, though of the most aspiring nature, always proved subservient to a profound diplomacy which determined all his actions.

The character of this remarkable man is well described by one of Cook's officers, in whose time he had already risen above the surface of ordinary life, and displayed tokens of the high views as well as great talents by which he was afterwards distinguished. He appeared then to be about twenty-five years of age, a tall, handsome man. He had much fire and vivacity, with a degree of wildness in his countenance that well tallied with the idea of an Indian warrior, and he was, besides, one of the most active men ever seen in those regions. The western part of Tongataboo, with Anamooka, and all the islands to the northward, were under his jurisdiction. But what gave him more consequence was his spirit, activity, and his post as general. Whenever the nation went to war, they were headed by him. His followers were numerous, and more attached to him than those of any other chief; in short, he was the most popular man in the Tonga group. Nevertheless, with all his good qualities, he was tainted with