general laws of the solar system; the magnif cent idea of the revolutions of the planets, the diurnal revolution of the earth, its rótundity, the doctrine of gravity, the antipodes, thre cause of the changes of the seasons, the borrowed light of the moon, the ebb and flow of the tides, &c.These were his frequent themes of discourse, and objects of his fine understanding;---they pleased him, astonished him, and filled him with intense desire to know more than Mr. Mariner was able to communicate. He lamented the ignorance of the Tonga people; he was amazed at the wisdom of the Papalangies, and he wished to visit them, that he might acquire a mind like theirs. The doctrine of the sun's central situation and the consequent revolution of the planets he thought so sublime, and so like what he supposed might be the ideas and inventions of a God, that he could not help believing it, although it was not quite clear to his understanding. What he seemed least to comprehend was how it happened that the antipodes did not fall into the sky below (as he expressed it), for he could not free his mind from the notion of absolute up and down but he said he had no doubt, if he could learn to read and write, and think like a Papalangi, that he should be able to comprehend it as easily as a Fapalangi,

for, he added, the minds of the Papalangies åre as superior to the minds of the Tonga people as iron axes are superior to stone axes!-lè did not, however, suppose that the minds of white people were essentially superior to the minds of others; but that they were more clear in consequence of habitual reflection and study, and the use of writing, by which a man could leave behind him all that he had learnt in his life-time.

One day as Mr. Mariner was sharpening an axe, and Finow was turning the grind-stone, the latter observed that the top of the stone was not only always wet, but so replete with water that it was constantly flying off in abundance on the application of the axe; this on a sudden thought puzzled him; it seemed to him strange that the superabundance of water should not run off before it got to the top: Mr. Mariner began his explanation, thus, "In consequence of the quick successive revolutions of the stone" -when on a sudden Finow eagerly exclaimed (as if a new light had shot across his mind) "Now I understand why the antipodes do not

fall off the earth, it is in consequence of the "earth's quick revolution!"-This was a false explanation, and he himself soon saw that it was, much to his disappointment; but it shews

the activity of his mind, and how eager it was to seize every idea with avidity that seemed to cast a radiance upon the object of his research.

On another occasion they were returning to Vavaoo from the Hapai islands, where the king had been to fetch some of his property, consisting chiefly of things which originally belonged to the officers of the Port au Prince: among others there was a box containing sundry small articles and a pocket compass; the latter he did not know the use of, and had scarcely yet examined. During the whole day it was nearly calm, and the paddles were for the most part used: a breeze, however, sprang up after dark, accompanied with a thick mist: taking it for granted that the wind was in its usual direction, they steered the canoe accordingly, and sailed for about two hours at the rate of seves knots an hour. As they did not reach the shores of Vavaoo, the thought now occurred tệ Mr. Mariner that the wind might possibly have changed, and in that case, having no star for a guide, a continuance of their course would be exceedingly perilous; he therefore searched for the compass to judge of their direction, whea he was much alarmed to find that the wind had chopped round nearly one quarter of the compass. He mentioned this to the king, but

he would not believe that such a trifling instrument could tell, which way the wind was; and neither he, nor any other chief on board, was willing to trust their lives to it: if what the compass said was true, they must indeed be running out to sea to an alarming distance; and as night was already set in, and the gale strong, their situation was perilous. Most on board, however, thought that this was a trick of Mr. Mariner to get them out to some distant land, that he might afterwards escape to Papalangi; and even Finow began to doubt his sincerity. Thus he was in an awkward predicament: he was certain they were going wrong, but the difficulty was how to convince them of what was now, in all probability, essential to their existence, for the weather threatened to be bad, and it seemed likely that the night would continue very dark. At length, be pledged his existence for their safety, if they would but follow his advice, and suffer him to direct their course; and that they should kill him if they did not discover Vavaoo, or some of the other islands, by sun-rise. This pledge was rather hazardous to him, but it would have been still more so, for them all, to have continued the course they were then in. They at length consented; the canoe was immediately close hauled, and Mr.

Mariner directed their steering; the gale luckily remained nearly steady during the night; all on board were in great anxiety during the whole time, and Mr. Mariner not the least so among them. In the morning, as soon as the light was sufficiently strong, a man, who was sent up to the mast-head, discovered land, to the great relief of their anxiety; and the rising sun soon enabled them to recognize the shores of Vavaoo, to their unspeakable joy, and, in particular, to the wonder and amazement of Finow, who did not know how to express his astonishment sufficiently at the extraordinary properties of the compass. How such a little instrument could give information of such vast importance, produced in him a sort of respectful veneration, that amounted to what was little short of idolatry; for finding that Mr. Mariner could not explain why it always pointed more or less to the north, he could hardly be persuaded but what it was inspired by a hotooa. He was so pleased with this property of the compass, that he almost always carried it about him afterwards: using it much oftener than was necessary, both at sea and on shore, for it always seemed a new thing to him.

It may easily be supposed, that Finow, with such an enquiring mind as he possessed, took