advised not to do so, lest this chief should prove treacherous, and put his hundred men to death, he resolved to give the fortress wholly up to Tarky's possession, and not run the risk of losing his men. He accordingly ordered the canoes to be launched, and stored with provisions; and having given up Nioocalofa to Tarky's chiefs, upon their faithful promise to take all due care of it, he went on board with all his army the same afternoon, and landed at Pangaimotoo, intending to sail the following morning for the Hapai islands.

During the night, a great fire was seen at Tonga, towards the fortress of Nioocalofa, and it was suspected to be on fire; but whether from accident, or the treachery of Tarky′, Finow was resolved to learn as soon as possible. Before sun-rise, therefore, he sent out a canoe to make enquiry: it soon returned with the information, received from a well disposed subject of Tarky′, that the place was burnt by order of that chief, whilst Finow was in sight, on purpose to vex and irritate him. At this insult, Finow was so enraged, that he resolved to go back immediately, and exterminate Tarky′ and all his family: but the priests persuaded him not, reminding him of the admonition of the Gods. This circumstance so affected him,

that it prevented his departure till the following morning. In the mean time, a Tonga chief, Filimoëátoo, and his family, having obtained permission from the superior chief of his garrison (that of Hehefo) to join Finow, as he was his relation, arrived at Pangaimotoo, and entered into Finow's service. During the day, another circumstance occurred which amused the king, and served to quiet the ruffled state of his temper. Mr. Mariner, having heard that European ships more frequently touched at Tonga than at any of the other islands, had written, while yet at Tonga, an English letter (with a solution of gunpowder and a little mucilage for ink), on some paper which one of the natives had had a long time in his possession, and addressed it to whomsoever it might be, stating the circumstances of his situation, and that of his companions. This letter he

had confided to the care of the chief of Mafanga, (the consecrated place formerly mentioned) with directions to give it to the captain of any ship that might arrive at Tonga. Tooi Tooi, (the Sandwich islander) having somehow heard of this letter, mentioned it to Finow, and represented it to be a notice to European ships of the fate of the Port au Prince, and a request to take revenge for the destruction of her crew.

Finow immediately sent for the letter, and, under some pretext or another, obtained it from the chief of Mafanga. When it was put into his hands, he looked at it on all sides; but not being able to make any thing of it, he gave it to one of the Englishmen who was at hand, (Mr. Mariner not being present) and ordered him to tell him what it meant. The man took the letter, and translating part of it into the Tonga language, judiciously represented it to be merely a request to any English captain that might arrive, to interfere with Finow for the liberty of Mr. Mariner and his countrymen; stating, that they had been kindly treated by the natives, but, nevertheless, wished to return, if possible, to their native country. This was not, indeed, the true substance of the letter, but it was what was least likely to give offence and the chief accordingly remarked, that it was very natural for these poor fellows to wish to go back to their native country and friends*.

* The letter, in fact, was an advice to European ships to go to the Hapai islands, in preference to the island of Tonga, as being a better place for victualling: advising, at the same time, not to suffer many of the natives to be on board at once, lest they should meet with the same fate as the Port au Prince, but, if possible, to make some of the chiefs pri

This mode of communicating sentiment was an inexplicable puzzle to Finow; he took the letter again and examined it, but it afforded him no information. He thought a little within himself; but his thoughts reflected no light upon the subject. At length he sent for Mr. Mariner, and desired him to write down something: the latter asked what he would choose to have written; he replied, put down me: he accordingly wrote, "Feenow," (spelling it according to the strict English orthography); the chief then sent for another Englishman, who had not been present, and commanding Mr. Mariner to turn his back, and look another way, he gave the man the paper, and desired him to tell what that was: he accordingly pronounced aloud the name of the king, upon which Finow snatched the paper from his hand, and, with astonishment, looked at it, turned it round, and examined it in all directions: at length he exclaimed, "This is neither like myself nor any body else! where are my eyes, where is my head?—where are my legs?—How can you possibly know it to be I?" and then, without stopping for any attempt at an explanation, he impatiently ordered Mr.

soners, and keep them as hostages, till Mr. Mariner and his companions were delivered up.

Mariner to write something else, and thus employed him for three or four hours in putting down the names of different persons, places, and things, and making the other man read them. This afforded extraordinary diversion to Finow, and to all the men and women present, particularly as he now and then whispered a little love anecdote, which was strictly written down, and audibly read by the other, not a little to the confusion of one or other of the ladies present: but it was all taken in good humour, for curiosity and astonishment were the prevailing passions. How their names and circumstances could be communicated through so mysterious a channel, was altogether past their comprehension. Finow had long ago formed his opinion of books and papers (see p. 66), and this as much resembled witchcraft as any thing he had ever seen or heard of. Mr. Mariner in vain attempted to explain. He had yet too slender a knowledge of their language to make himself clearly understood: and, indeed, it would not have been an easy matter to have explained the composition of elementary sounds, and of arbitrary signs expressive of them, to a people whose minds were already formed to other modes of thinking, and whose language had few expressions but what