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. In the course of the morning he went down to the sea-shore, to give some orders respecting an alteration he designed in the sail of his canoe, in which he also employed himself (to distract his thoughts probably) the greater part of the day. At night he again slept at the house of his daughter; and very early the following morning gave orders for all his chiefs, matabooles, and attendants, to go on board his canoes, and gave directions for his daughter also to be carried on board; then following himself, made sail for the island of Ofoo, with intention of consulting Alái Váloo, the tutelar god of his aunt Toe Oomoo. They arrived after two hours sail; and immediately, on landing, went and presented cava root to the priest of that god (the name of the priest Mr. Mariner has forgotten). In the mean time the sick child was taken to the god's consecrated house. The company being seated in the presence of the priest, a bowl of cava was presented to him, when the god said " It "is in vain that you come here to invoke me

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upon a subject on which you have obtained "all the information that it is necessary for "you to know. Toobó Totai has already in"structed you in the will of the gods, and I "can communicate nothing farther." The priest having said this, Finow and his attendants rose up and went their way. In the course of the afternoon the supposed victim of divine vengeance was removed to several other consecrated houses in the same island, and was suffered to remain about half an hour or an hour in each, with the hope that she would derive benefit from the auspices of either of the deities, who were imagined to reside in those places. Removal, however, appeared to make her worse; and at length she was almost speechless. During the night her father, with anxious solicitude, sat by the side of her mat, watching, with sighs and tears, the progress of her disorder. The next morning, which brought no sign of returning health to enliven the hopes of an afflicted pa. rent,—Finow gave directions to proceed to Macávë, the place at Vavaoo where (as the reader will recollect) Booboonoo, Cacahoo, and several other great warriors, were seized by Finow's orders. By the time they had got a little more than half way to Vavaoo, the poor

child died. Immediately all the female attendants began to lament in a most woful strain, beating their breasts with violent agitation, and exhibiting every mark of sorrow and despair;—but Finow sat in silence and dejection, weeping for the fate of his daughter. In a little time they reached the coast of Vavaoo, and took the body to a large house, called Böóno, (six posts,) on the marly at Neafoo, followed by Finow, his wives, chiefs, matabooles, and attendants, all habited in mats. The body was laid out on a fine and beautiful Hamoa mat, and then washed over with a mixture of oil and water: after which it was anointed with sandal-wood oil.

It must be here noticed, that the king had determined, in the event of his daughter's death, not to bury her exactly after the Tonga fashion, but partly according to that, partly agreeably to the custom of Hamoa, and partly according to a fancy of his own. After the body was washed and anointed with oil, it was wrapped up in fourteen or fifteen yards of fine East India embroidered muslin, which had formerly belonged to one of the officers of the Port au Prince. It was next laid in a large cedar chest, which had been made on board the same ship, for the use of Mr. Brown, out

of some cedar planks taken in a prize. Over the body were strewed wreaths of flowers, made for the purpose by her female attendants. Orders were now issued by Finow, that nobody should wear mats, (although it was customary on such solemn occasions,) but should dress themselves in new tapas (this is the Hamoa custom); and instead of ifi leaves round their necks, he ordered that they should wear wreaths of flowers, (this was an idea of his own,) as if dressed for some occasion of rejoicing. The chest was placed on two large bales of gnatoo, in the middle of the house, and the body laid thus in state for the space of twenty days; during which time Mooónga Toobó, Finow's principal wife, and all her female attendants, remained constantly with the body. In the course of the first night the mourners broke out in a kind of recitative, like that on occasion of the death of Toobo Neuha, (p. 151,) but in a very imperfect way, because Finow had ordered that no appearance of sorrow or sound of lamentation should be made; but, in spite of this injunction, they occasionally could not restrain their grief, beating their breasts with every mark of deepfelt anguish. It is difficult to conceive the reason of Finow's whimsical conduct on this

occasion, unless it were (as generally interpreted) an impious and revengeful endeavour to insult the gods, by ordering those ceremonies not to be performed which were considered objects of religious duty on such sacred occasions. Every morning and evening provisions and cava were brought for the enter tainment of those who attended on the body. On the nineteenth day it was removed from the cedar chest, and deposited in the model of a canoe, about three feet and a half long, made for the express purpose, and nicely po lished by one of Finow's carpenters (this is the Hamoa custom). By this time the body had become much inflated, and extremely offensive; but the office of removing it was performed by some natives of Hamoa, who were accustomed to such tasks*. During the whole of this day, and the following night, the body inclosed in

* At Hamoa (the Navigator's islands) it is the custom to keep the dead above ground for a considerable length of time, as above related: as the body, during this period, is apt to become very inflated, it is the duty of a relation to prevent this happening to a great extent, by the practice of a most disgusting operation, viz. making a hole in some part of the abdomen, and, the mouth being applied, sucking out the putrescent fluids, and spitting them into a dish: and this is done out of love and affection for the deceased, without any apparent signs of disgust! Mr. Mariner had this from several natives of Hamoa.