"would I lose my life than take any thing from "them by force or treachery." He had scarcely finished speaking when the captain exclaimed, "I see, I see what he means,-you need not "translate me that!

Finow's intellect was also very extraordinary, that is to say, it was naturally very strong, and was very little obscured by prejudices: we have seen several instances of the wisdom of his conduct, and a few anecdotes will serve to shew that his specific reasoning faculty was very far above the common. He had learnt the mechanism of a gun-lock by his own pure investigation: one day, on taking off the lock of a pistol to clean it, he was astonished to find it somewhat differently contrived, and a little more complicate than the common lock, which he had thought so clever and perfect that he could not conceive any thing better: on seeing this, however, he was somewhat puzzled, at first with the mechanism, and afterwards with its superiority to the common lock, but he would not have it explained to him; it was an interesting puzzle, which he wished to have the pleasure of solving himself: at length he succeeded, and was as pleased as if he had found a treasure; and in the afternoon at cava, he was not contented till he had made all his chiefs and matabooles under

stand it also. He did not know the existence of the pulse till Mr. Mariner informed him of it, and made him feel his own, at which he was greatly surprised, and wanted to know how the Papalangies first found it out: he was informed at the same time, that the pulse was influenced by various diseases and passions of the mind; and that in most parts of the world, those whose profession it was to cure diseases often judged of the state of the complaint by the pulse: upon which he went about to two or three that were ill to feel their pulses, and was much delighted with the new discovery. A few days afterwards one of his servants very much offended him by some unwarrantable act, upon which he became violently angry, but on a sudden the thought struck him of the association between the passions and the pulse, and immediately applying his hand to his wrist, he found it beating violently, upon which, turning to Mr. Mariner, he said, you are quite right; and it put him in such good humour that the servant got off with a mild remonstrance, which astonished the fellow very much, as he did not understand the cause, and was sitting trembling from head to foot, in full expectation of a beating.

Mr. Mariner explained to him the form and

general laws of the solar system; the magnificent idea of the revolutions of the planets, the diurnal revolution of the earth, its rotundity, the doctrine of gravity, the antipodes, the 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 Papalangi,

for, he added, the minds of the Papalangies are as superior to the minds of the Tonga people as iron axes are superior to stone axes!-He 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 seven knots an hour. As they did not reach the shores of Vavaoo, the thought now occurred to 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, when 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