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V O Y A G E

H.M.S. BLONDE

SANDWICH ISLANDS,

IN THE YEARS 1824-1825.

      The following narrative has been compiled from the various journals and notes made by some of the officers and other gentlemen that accompanied Lord Byron on his interesting voyage to the Sandwich Islands.

      It is much to be regretted that Mr. Bloxam, the Chaplain of his Majesty's ship, Blonde, was prevented by the suddenness of his departure from England, in order to fulfil his duty in a distant colony, from arranging his own papers and those of his companions.

      The Editor is conscious that some things may have been omitted, and some, possibly, mistaken, notwithstanding every endeavour to do justice to the work, owing to a want of that local knowledge which Mr. Bloxam, as an eye-witness, must have possessed, and with which he would, no doubt, have extended and adorned his narrative, had he fortunately remained to prepare it for publication.

      These observations refer, of course, chiefly to the second part of the following work, which contains the account of the Blonde’s voyage.

      In the first part, the Editor has consulted the voyages of Cook, Vancouver, Dickson and Portlock, Turnbull, and several other English navigators, besides the French and Russian voyages. Much valuable information was also received verbally from the missionaries, besides that contained in Mr. Ellis’s excellent account of Hawaii; and with respect to the visit of the king and queen of the Sandwich Islands to England, the most liberal assistance has been afforded by the gentleman who acted as their friend, no less than as their guardian, while they were in London.

      As the local situation of the Sandwich Islands renders them very important in the eyes of every maritime and commercial nation, particularly such as may have a view to trading between the rising states on the western coast of America, and the East Indies or China, it was believed that an account of the Islands and of their history, from the period of their discovery, would not be unacceptable.

      The rapid progress that civilization has made in these Islands is also a subject of great interest; and as the chiefs

have voluntarily chosen England as guardian to their infant state, and lean towards it with affectionate respect, as the source whence they expect all that is to be beneficial to them, it was thought, that to diffuse a knowledge of their past and present condition would perhaps contribute to objects so worthy of a great and ancient people, as the amending and polishing an innocent and ingenious nation, and fostering the growth of religion, polity, and literature, where hitherto man has scarcely assumed his proper rank in the scale of creation.

      For the few notices concerning natural history which the work contains, it is chiefly indebted to the zealous attention of Mr. A. Bloxam, brother to the chaplain of the Blonde, who, if not a learned naturalist, deserves the praise of a diligent and sensible collector. For some facts connected with the subject, the Editor is obliged to the gentlemen connected with that department in the British Museum, who very kindly gave permission to consult them, and to inspect the specimens of natural history deposited in the Museum.

      It is to be regretted, that the practised collector of botanical specimens who went in the Blonde to the Sandwich Islands should not have furnished any account of the plants,

useful or curious, which he collected for the Horticultural Society, or that some of the very enlightened members of that Society should not have done so. The field is in some respects new; and it is acknowledged by all the foreign navigators, that the collection made during the Blonde's voyage is one of the most curious in Europe. The few notices that are to be found in the present work concerning the useful plants were taken chiefly from the books, printed and manuscript, in Sir Joseph Banks’s library, to which the kindness and liberality of Mr. Brown allowed the Editor free access.

      The drawings, from which the engravings were made, are by Mr. Dampier, to whom the Editor is greatly indebted for the use of his sensible and agreeable journal.

      Something should be said as to the spelling of the names of persons and places in the following pages. It differs entirely from the system of orthography adopted by Captain Cook; and it was not without consideration that his practice was departed from. The Islands are no longer without literature: the Roman letters are used; and the sounds of the vowels which have been adopted are rather those given them by the Italians than the English; hence the oo of

Cook is now expressed by u, and so on. The names of the Islands may now be considered as fixed by the authority of the chiefs; and the printing-press of Oahu, formerly Woahoo, has given stability to the hitherto fluctuating orthography of the Islands.

SANDWICH ISLANDS.

      The Sandwich Islands have made such a very rapid progress towards civilization during the few years that have elapsed since their discovery by Captain Cook, that they might claim sufficient interest to make a sketch of their history acceptable from that consideration alone. But the very singular circumstances attending the visit of their late sovereigns to this country, and their death while here, render such a sketch necessary as an introduction to the account of the Voyage of the Blonde, which was despatched by this Government for the express purpose of conveying their bodies to their native Islands, together with the chiefs who had accompanied them, and by that mark of respect drawing still closer those bonds of confidence and good will which have always united the Sandwich Islanders with this country.

      The names of seven of the kings antecedent to Teraiopu or Terreeoboo, in whose reign Captain Cook discovered the Islands, have been recorded by various navigators who have

visited the South Seas, but so variously, that it appears impossible they should have meant to commemorate the same individuals, unless, indeed, the change of name, which we know was practised by the last king, was a general custom. He was originally called lolani, but upon performing the first tabu with his father he adopted the name of E iho Eiho, and finally, on his father’s death, assumed that of Tamehameha II., and was never willingly afterwards called by any other.

      In the reign of Kukanaroa, as one account says; in that of Kahoukapu, according to another, the Islands of Hawaii had been visited. First, by a priest, who settled there with his gods, and whose posterity still remains; and secondly, by a vessel with white men, with whom this priest was able to converse^*. The fifth in descent from this Kahoukapu was Kaiamamao (the Kayenewee -- a mummow of Cook), the father of Teraiopu. The end of his reign was marked by one of

those wild romantic incidents that poetry and tradition have taught us are common in all nations, in those early stages of society that precede civilization.Kouipoipoi, a powerful chief of Hawaii, having in vain attempted to seduce the affections of one of Kaiamamao’s wives, one day contrived to decoy her from her home, and to carry her up to the mountains. Alapaii, brother to the ravisher, was a just man and a valiant warrior; and on learning this atrocious act he went toKouipoipoi, and entreated him to restore the woman to her husband, pointing out the danger he was in from the rest of the chiefs, who would certainly assemble to punish such a violation of all the rules of honour. The remonstrances of Alapaii produced their effect, and he was commissioned to restore the wife of Kaiamamao to her husband. The king, however, proud of his high descent, the extent of his lands, and the number of his vassals, forbade her to approach him, under pain of being sacrificed on the spot to his wrath. On this, Alapaii, still desirous of peace, and wishing to reconcile the unfortunate woman to her lord, prepared a feast of coconuts, fish, and other pleasing food, and spread them before the king. But these too he refused, and haughtily commanded his attendants to deposit them on the Whattas ^*,

that the heat of the sun might destroy them. Now this was the greatest insult that one chief could offer to another, and the gentle Alapaii was roused to resentment. He assembled all his followers: the chiefs, his friends, did the same; and the two armies met in the valley of Ono Marino, and fought for three days. Of the warriors on the side of Kaiamamao few besides himself and his son Teraiopu survived. The king, indeed, owed his life to the generosity of Alapaii, who seeing him in danger from the spear of one of his own vassals, rushed forward and saved him at the risk of his life. But the pride of Kaiamamao could not endure defeat, and he slew himself, as it appears, on the field of battle.

      Notwithstanding this event, the devotion of the chiefs of Hawaii to the family of their kings was shown by placing Teraiopu at their head; and as it was shortly after, that the most memorable event that has ever occurred in the history of these Islands took place, namely, their being made known to the civilized world by Captain Cook^*, the reign of Teraiopu, or Terreeoboo, may be considered as the beginning of the certain history of the Sandwich Islands, and this a fit place to notice generally their state of civilization at the period of the discovery. The Sandwich Islands, when first visited by Captain Cook, were not, as now, united

under one chief, but the seven inhabited Islands^* had each its different Aree rahee or Eree Eree, literally chief of chiefs, or king, subordinate to whom there were Arees or chiefs of districts; and under these again were minor chiefs, ruling the cultivators, who were generally called Kanakas or men. There was no distinct class of warriors, but every man took part in the quarrel of his chief, and even the women often went out to fight. A pitched battle usually terminated every dispute; and there is no tradition of any kind of treacherous conduct in war, or revenge exercised after an apparent reconciliation, to contradict the character for good faith and placability which has been generally given to these people.

      The weapons of the Sandwich Islanders were slings and spears, clubs and daggers, formed of hard wood, and rendered more formidable by their ornaments of bone, or the teeth of dogs or fish. When the chiefs took the field they adorned themselves with the war-helmet and cloak. This helmet is shaped like that of the ancient Greeks; it is framed of wicker-work and covered with the beautiful red feathers of theHehivi, or Drepanis Vestiarius^†, mixed with

the scarce yellow plumes of the Nectarina Niger or Uho^*. The cloak is a long garment, not unlike the Spanish cloak, curiously woven of feathers like those of the helmet; red, yellow, and black, are the usual colours: a cloak entirely yellow could only be worn by the king. The war-god of each chief was solemnly removed from his family temple and carried before him to the field, where it was placed in the most conspicuous station and surrounded with the Kaheles or feather standards of state.. The taking prisoner the war-god of a rival party usually terminated the war. Some few of the surviving enemy were always selected as sacrifices to the deities of the conquerors, but their blood was not shed; they were strangled without the doors of the temples, and then brought in and laid on their faces before the idols, sometimes alone, sometimes mingled with the carcasses of those domestic animals which furnished the ordinary offerings. Excepting these devoted persons, it does not appear that any kind of revenge or cruelty was indulged against the vanquished. Even the very chiefs were freely readmitted into social intercourse with their conquerors.

      The soil appears to have been regarded as the property of the Erie-Erie, for on the death of a chief his estates

reverted to the king, and his wives and children remained destitute, unless, as most frequently happened, the king bestowed them anew on the family ^*.

      It does not appear that any thing like money was in use among these people, but they practised barter, and readily understood, and steadily adhered to, equivalents in their exchanges. The ornamental wreaths and chaplets, and the curiously formed bracelets of the women; the war-cloaks and helmets made of feathers procured with difficulty, and whose arrangement, as it required a great expense of time, was one of the employments of the chiefs, and the finer kinds of cloth, as they were articles of luxury, were desired above all things, and were consequently exchangeable for more of the necessaries of life than any other objects; and next to them in value were their weapons, in general highly ornamented. These goods, therefore, constituted the trea-

sures of the chiefs, and were generally laid up in caverns, the secret of which was seldom intrusted to many persons, and which might not be approached by a kaneka on pain of death.

      The ancient religion of the Sandwich Islands is as yet but imperfectly known to us. It probably varied but little from that of the South Sea Islands described in Cook’s Voyages^*. The belief in a supreme being, the author of all nature, and the peculiar protector and father of the human race, was the foundation of their creed, in common with that of all the tribes of men who have begun to think of more than the supply of their physical wants. They deified the operations of nature, and placed between man and the supreme Creator a race of intermediate and generally benevolent beings to support and comfort him. The progress to a grosser idolatry was necessarily the same as in other nations. Evil was personified, fear produced a deprecating worship of hurtful divinities, and at the period of the discovery of these Islands the worship of the war-gods was the most conspicuous. We shall have occasion to notice frequently the adoration of the volcanic deities peculiar

to Hawaii, to whom sacrifices were made of the domestic animals, and offerings of fruits and votive gifts of ornaments, and particularly of the hair of their worshippers were dedicated. Of these the most remarkable was the goddess Peli, who was served by a peculiar priesthood, among which it appears that women were often enrolled, and it was not uncommon for them, and others of her more zealous votaries, to cause their bones, after death, to be thrown into some of the fiery fissures of the mountain where she is supposed to hold her court.

      Some of the traditions of Hawaii relate that its first inhabitants arrived in canoes, and brought with them hogs and dogs, the palm-tree and the bread-fruit: that, on landing, they were met by the fire-gods, and that it was some time before they were permitted to settle on the land; at length, however, having sacrificed a part of all they had to these deities, they were allowed to inhabit the island, the gods retiring to their dwellings in Kirauea, the crater on the flank of Mowna Roa^*.

      The year of the Sandwich Islanders consists of thirteen months; it is regulated by the rising of the moon at a particular point of the heavens, and that event was formerly

celebrated by various games, and a strict Tabu was observed while they lasted. The year is sacred, and is called Maee. Now it is curious that Captain King saw a polished idol called Maee, of unusually good workmanship, resting on the toes and fingers, and having about it thirteen small idols representing inferior Etooas or spirits; these probably were designed for the thirteen months of which the year was composed. There was besides another name for the year, seldom pronounced by profane lips; it was Tettow-mattatayo. The Hawaiian language has distinct names for the nights of the moon, and time is counted by nights instead of days. The Sandwich Islanders reckon by forties, or, as we may say, double scores: they call forty, teneha; ten tenehas is a lau; ten lau, a manu; ten manu, a kini; ten kini, a lehu; ten lehu, a nurwanee; ten nurwanee, one pao^*.

      The disposal of the dead has, among most nations, been connected with religion; and it is a natural and tender super-

stition which renders sacred the remains of those we have loved in life. At the discovery, some of these Islanders deposited their dead in caverns, others, and indeed the greater part of those of rank, dismembered the body as if in sacrifice, consumed the flesh by fire, or sometimes allowed the first process of putrefaction to take place under a bed of leaves, and then separated the flesh from the bones with wooden saws and scrupulously burned it, and, in all cases, carefully collected the bones, wrapped them in cloth, and deposited them in some safe and sacred place. It is not uncommon for a friend always to carry with him the relics of his deceased friend, and frequently the bones of a favourite chief were distributed among various relations and allies, whose veneration for them approached idolatry. Christian burial has been introduced by the missionaries, and has already, among the higher chiefs, superseded the ancient sepulchral rites, which were always performed secretly.

      Justice was administered in a summary manner by the chiefs in person. The king might always be approached, and the minor chiefs were his ministers to see his decrees executed. A poor woman had to complain to Tamehameha that a rich neighbour had kept the water of the public watercourses flowing in his own grounds beyond the regular time allotted to him, and that therefore her fields had been in-

jured by drought. The king instantly despatched a chief with her to see if the thing was true, and, if so, to reprimand the oppressor, and see that the water was duly conveyed to the woman's ground. This was immediately done; the distance the chief had to go being five miles; but the hesitating to do the king's bidding seems never to have been contemplated by the Eries. Besides their office as counsellors, they were charged with seeing the king’s orders or decrees put in execution -- the first and simplest office of a judge. Each man possessed the power of fife and death over his children. The chiefs usually had three or four wives; the kanakas but one: divorce was practised, but was not common.

      It does not appear certain that the punishment of death was frequent, or that any very severe punishment was ever inflicted at all. In cases, however, where it might have been incurred, such as murder, which was very rare, there were appointed cities of refuge, where the offender remained in perfect security. In time of war these cities of refuge, the thick walls of which still remain in Hawaii, were surrounded at some distance by sticks of the dracaena, the emblem of peace, to which were attached little white cloths or tufts of dogs’ hair: if the vanquished, escaping from the field of battle, ran towards these cities, and could only reach the

little flags, it was accounted infamous to kill or strike him ^*.

      There is every reason to believe that Cook was mistaken when, on his first visit to Atooi or Tauii, he thought the inhabitants man-eaters: there is not the least trace of so barbarous a custom, even at the time of the human sacrifice. Like many other nations, the Sandwich Islanders have made their feastings part of religious ceremonies, and have considered some articles of food as peculiarly acceptable to the gods, and as too precious to be consumed by the lower classes of people. The hog and some species of fish were here the sacred animals, only to be eaten by men and offered to the divinities. Women were not allowed to taste of them nor of the plantain, nor even to enter the apartment where men ate, nor to touch their messes. A boy, as soon as he was born, enjoyed all these privileges, while his mother continued in these matters a slave; and yet, by a strange anomaly, women ranked with men in all matters of power and government, exercised the rights of chiefs, and governed districts or islands in perfect equality, enjoying perhaps superior rank in council. As to the kinds of food used by these people, the only domestic animals they had, when Cook discovered them, were the hog, dog, and common

fowl. They caught and preserved in stews the excellent fish of their coasts; and having the art of preparing salt from brine pits, by evaporation, they preserved both their fish and their pork by salting, nearly as we do. Their method of cooking was by baking in fire pits, and with heated stones; but it does not appear that they had any idea of boiling or indeed of heating water for any domestic purpose.

      Although no kind of grain was known to these islanders, yet their chief subsistence depended on agriculture. The taro (Arum Costatum of Solander) does not grow in the perfection required for food without considerable pains, especially in situations where irrigation cannot be practised: where it can, they formed the taro fields after the manner of the rice grounds of the East, dividing them into small squares which might be easily flooded, and planting the roots in rows, keeping the whole carefully weeded. The root of the taro is used in various ways: roasted, it resembles the yam; but the favourite method of preparing it is to pound it into a paste, which when used is mixed with water, so as to become of the consistence of porridge. The tee^* was also carefully cultivated at the time of the dis-

covery. The root is sweet and wholesome, and the natives have now learned to make an intoxicating liquor from it. The leaves woven together formed a light cloak, used by the inhabitants of the mountains; afid much like those formed of the palm leaves by the poorer natives of Hindostan, to shelter them while at work in the rice fields. Fences are often formed by planting the tee roots close together; but the great distinction of this plant is, that a stalk of it was the symbol of peace, as the olive is with us. Although the art of making sugar was unknown to the Islanders, the cane was cultivated with great success, as a pleasant and nourishing kind of food.

      Great pains were taken with the plantain grounds, and the uru or breadfruit, which nature seems to have substituted in the Isles of the Pacific for corn, was skilfully attended to^*. The sweet potatoe, the yam, and in the dry districts, the mountain taro, and the pepperoo^†, from which

their ava is prepared, with the dooe dooe ^*, all required and received the care of the husbandman.

      The climate does not necessarily demand a great supply of clothing; yet, when the Islands were discovered, the natives possessed the art of preparing cloth of various kinds from the bark of the paper mulberry^†, and the cultivation of the plant was carefully attended to. The grounds where it is grown resemble our osier grounds: the stools are kept above six feet apart; not above four or five branches from each are allowed to grow, and the top bud of these is frequently broken, to force the shoot to a proper thickness.

      Besides this manufacture, in which great skill and taste were often employed, the Islanders wore very beautiful mats of the fibres of various palms; they made beautiful cloaks, caps, and other ornaments, of feathers^‡. The patterns in which they stamped their cloth with colours^§, and<

carved their weapons, drinking bowls, and ornaments^*, gave the first rude indications of the imitative arts; and they were not entirely destitute of music. The ancient ballads of the country allude to a variety of instruments no longer known. Various kinds of drums are still used, but the most singular instrument we have seen among them is a small double flute played on with the nose. It does not appear that they ever used stringed instruments.

      Poetry is always the first spark that is kindled in the light of civilization. Religion inspires it to sing its mysteries; kings reward it, hoping to perpetuate their names by its means; and all classes love to solace themselves with its beauties. The little we know of the history of Hawaii is preserved in song; and perhaps a collection of the rhymes of the priests and bards might throw light on the question of the original race and population of the Isles of the Pacific.

      One of the songs, from its connexion with the disastrous history of Captain Cook in these Islands, has been sought for and preserved by the Europeans who succeeded him. A story, which is not without its parallels in the mythologies of the ancient world, is related of the jealousy of the Etuah, spirit or founder of the people of Hawaii. He sacrificed his wife to his revenge, and, horror-struck, he

abandoned the Island in a boat of peculiar shape, leaving a hope, or rather belief, that at some future time he should return. The song and prophecy, for the translation of which we are indebted to the American missionaries, are as follow:

      1. Rono, Etooah ^* of Hawaii, in ancient times, resided with his wife at Karakakooa.

      2. The name of the goddess, his love, was Kaikirani-Aree-Opuna. They dwelt beneath the steep rock.

      3. A man ascended to the summit, and from the height thus addressed the spouse of Rono:

      4. "O Kaikiranee-Aree-Opuna, your lover salutes you: keep this -- remove that: one will still remain."

      5. Rono overhearing this artful speech, killed his wife with a hasty stroke.

      6. Sorry for this rash deed, he carried to a morai the lifeless body of his wife, and made great wail over it.

      7. He travelled through Hawaii in a state of frenzy, boxing with every man he met.

      8. The people astonished said, "Is Rono entirely mad?" He replied, "I am frantic on her account, I am frantic with my great love."

      9. Having instituted games^* to commemorate her death, he embarked in a triangular boat [piama lau], and sailed to a foreign land.

      10. Ere he departed he prophesied, "I will return in after times, on an island bearing coconut-trees, and swine, and dogs^†."

      There is nothing so flattering to the pride of intellect as the supposed power of foreseeing coming events: confined within its just limits, it is merely the result of judgment comparing various events, and arguing from a number of cases on the probabilities of the future. Hence the aged are in all states of society called on to counsel; and, as society advances, any set of men, not necessarily engaged in ordinary labour, and devoting themselves to the study of nature and the service of the gods, may be supposed to have had leisure to observe the actions and the fate of men, and thence calculate more surely on what is to happen; they therefore also become counsellors. But from

this first step, when their advice as to the probable future is sought, the distance to the second, that of absolute prophecy, is short; and the old man and the priest begin to foretell, and not unfrequently to assume a control over futurity. Among absolute prophecies there are none more natural than those arising from the regret of a nation for the death of a benefactor. Rono, the beneficent spirit who taught useful arts, dies. The innate feeling of immortality makes his subjects unwilling to believe that he has actually perished, and they fondly hope that he will return. Meantime his memory is kept alive by offerings to him of the things he most valued. The scarlet robe which distinguished him is consecrated, the enemies of his people taken in battle are slain before him, that their spirits may serve him: the very food he preferred is placed on a whatta for his acceptance, and suffered there to perish, rather than be perverted to an ordinary purpose.

      A very trifling advance, however, in civilization, or a little imprudence in the prophet, may destroy the charm; and the Tohowe, or priest, who ventured to predict the speedy resuscitation of Tamehameha the Great, did more, by this act of unwary superstition, to break the spell which bound the people of the Islands to the worship of the Etuahs, than the king, with all his power, had found it

prudent to attempt. But though, by various causes, image worship is abandoned, and the expectation of returning chiefs and benefactors given up, there is still one office of the prophets that remains; and that is, the supposed power of controlling the future by spells and incantations. An enemy is still imagined to have the power of destroying whom he hates, by procuring a priest to pray him to death, and sometimes a counter charm is sought in the prayers of another man of power. It is generally such as consume away by lingering disorders, that are supposed to be under the influence of evil prayers; the life or death of the patient, powerfully affected by imagination, stamps the character of the contending priests.

      Such was the state of the Sandwich Islanders, and such the progress they had made in civilization, when Captain Cook first discovered Atooi or Tauai, Woahoo or Oahu, Oneheow, Orehua, and Tahoora, in 1778, and Owhyhee or Hawaii, and Mo wee or Maui in the end of the same year. These Islands were, at that time, under the dominion of almost as many separate chiefs between whom there were frequent wars both by sea and land, for these people were particularly dexterous in the management of their canoes ^*,

and their boldness when at sea is still their distinguishing characteristic.

      Maui, the Island nearest to Hawaii, and second to it in importance, was, at the discovery, claimed by Tereeoboo or Teraiopu, as the rightful heritage of his daughter-in-law Eoaho, the only child of Maihamaiha, the last king of Maui, whose widow Teraiopu had married, and, to strengthen his interest in the claim, his son Teewairoo was married to Eoaho. But Taheetaree, the brother of Maihamaiha, resisted this claim, and many of the chiefs of Maui supported him, unwilling to submit to the lord of another Island^*. Oahu, Tauai, and Oneheow were governed by the chief Perreeoranee and his grandsons.

      On the first appearance of the English ships off Tauai, the chiefs and priests, taking them for floating islands, imagined that their long-expected Etuah Orono was arrived. Hence, even at that Island, though it was not Orono’s country, Captain Cook was received with honours approach-

ing to adoration; and Captain King, not comprehending the meaning of the repetitions of his name, supposed it to be the title of the chief priest. But it was at Hawaii that the simple natives paid the highest honours to him whom they imagined to be their guardian spirit ^*.

      The king was absent in Maui, endeavouring to settle the succession to the Island in favour of his daughter-in-law; but Kaoo, the chief priest, and his son Oneeah, who appears to have been the priest of Bono, received Captain Cook with honours they really meant for divine, and which he imagined meant nothing more than friendly respect, and perhaps fear on account of his large and powerful vessels.

      Scarcely were the ships anchored when a priest entered, and decorating Cook with red cloth, such as adorned the deities, offered him a pig in the manner of sacrifice, and pronounced a long, though, to the English, unintelligible discourse. In it the word Orono^† was frequently repeated, and doubtless the captain was hailed as the god returned

to bless the Island. The same name occurred frequently in a verse of a song or hymn chanted before him on his landing by priests bearing wands, and the inhabitants of Kearake’kua, the village where he first landed, either withdrew respectfully from sight, or prostrated themselves on the ground as he walked from the beach to the high morai. The whole account of his reception there, his presentation to the gods, his place assigned between two of the principal images, the offerings made to him, and the chant of Orono, are admirably described by Captain King, who could have been at no loss for the meaning of the whole had he been acquainted with the Legend of Kono. He seems, however, to have suspected that the honours rendered to Cook were divine.

      No sooner was Teraiopu able to return from Maui to Kearake’kua than he went on board the Discovery, to pay a private visit to Captain Cook, and seemed to vie with the priests themselves in showing him honour. Of all the South Sea Islanders, those of the Sandwich Isles have displayed the greatest powers of observation, and consequently of improvement. The chiefs wished anxiously to have Captain King, whom they took for the son of Cook, left behind with them, doubtless that he might contribute to their advancement in those arts they discovered

Europeans to possess; and as they had confidently expected that the return of Orono was to confer some immediate and important benefit, they eagerly embraced the idea, that the blessed era was come; and that all the knowledge which they believed, on the faith of tradition, they had lost should be restored, and new arts and new comforts taught them by the inhabitants of the floating islands. The stay of the English, however, only served to consume the provisions of the country, and the people soon perceived that they were there solely to repair their own ships and refresh the crews. Curiosity was satisfied; and great disappointment was felt at the departure of Orono, taking with him his floating islands, and all they contained of wonderful and useful. His unexpected return to repair his vessel did not entirely restore him to the degree of honour he at first enjoyed, and the severity with which he had punished one or two acts of theft had perhaps a little indisposed the native chiefs against him. His unfortunate attempt to get the king on board his ship, there to confine him until the boat he had lost^* should be recovered, was the cause of the tumult that ended in his lamented death. There certainly was no malice in the case -- not the slightest intention of injuring

him; and his body was treated in the same manner as those of their own chiefs, the bones being assigned to different Eries, who, either from affection or from an idea of good luck attending them, desired to preserve them. Long after Captain Cook’s death they were persuaded he would reappear, and perhaps punish them for their breach of hospitality ^*.

      From this time, when the known history of the Sandwich Islands begins, to Vancouver’s visit, in 1792, a great change had taken place. Some English and American vessels had touched there for the sake of fresh provisions, and to barter iron and other useful commodities for salt; and the curiosity of several Eries had led them to avail themselves of the opportunity afforded by these vessels of seeing foreign countries. One Erie of the highest class, Tianna, had been in China. Others had seen the settlements on the North-west coast of America, and more than one had visited the United States. The superiority afforded by fire-arms in war had early attracted their attention, and the American ships had without hesitation furnished them with arms and ammunition. Several Europeans had, from different motives, quitted their ships and become resident in the islands; and by their instructions the natives had

learnt the use of artillery and musketry, and had much improved in the building of their forts. Many of the chiefs had also erected houses of stone, and some frames of houses had been brought as lumber in the American ships, which were readily used; although the convenience of the native dwellings, and the ease with which they are put up, will probably prevent their being ever entirely abandoned. Clothes, too, of the European fashion, had been partially adopted; but it was seldom that a whole suit was worn by any one man. The king’s guards had nothing but a dark-coloured frock coat, and the native maro, which is a cloth a good deal resembling in form and size that we see on Egyptian statues. Some of the chiefs appeared in shirts, others in shirts and waistcoats, but few adopted trowsers. The English language had been used in aid of their own vocabulary for such things as were new to them, and was also spoken by a good many of the young chiefs. Hence, on Vancouver’s arrival, communication between the English and natives was much easier, and greater confidence and good will were exercised.

      Captains Portlock and Dixon, 1786, were the first followers of Cook: they, being on a trading voyage to the North-west coast for furs, procured refreshments at Oahu; and about the same time La Perouse visited Maui: from

that year ships frequently touched there. The natives, profiting by their intercourse with them, had become so sensible of the utility of our vessels, that they had boldly attacked a brig and a snow; and actually did possess themselves of a small American schooner, the crew of which, with the exception of one man, they murdered. Isaac Davies, the fortunate person who escaped, was mate of the vessel. He had been ashore at the time of the capture, and took refuge with the king of Hawaii, who treated him most kindly, and in whose service he remained.

      Meantime king Teraiopu was dead, and a son of his, named Kevalao #, had succeeded him as Eree-tabu, or the sacred chief. It appears that this man treated his subjects tyrannically; and it is said, that if between sunrise and sunset any of the lower order were so unfortunate as to look upon him, even by accident, they incurred death^†. His

dominion did not extend over the whole Island, for his cousin Tamehameha possessed the two districts of Halua, and part of Kona.

      From his earliest youth Tamehameha showed an enterprising and ardent spirit. He had acquired great influence over the minds of several young chiefs, his companions, and at their head undertook and accomplished many difficult and useful works. In his native district of Halua there was a small bay, the shore of which being perpendicular impeded the fishing. Tamehameha and his companions cut through the rock, which was a hundred feet in height, and made a good road, by which the canoes could be drawn up and down with ease. He had attempted to dig through a lava rock in search of water, but the want of tools forced him to desist. The fields which he had reclaimed from the waste, and brought into high cultivation, still bear his name; and Halua is adorned with many groves planted by his hand. He was remarked for his piety towards the tutelary god of his family, named Tairi; but appears in after-life, when he took on himself the office of high priest, to have used his religion in aid of his politics.

      The origin of his war with his cousin Kevalao is not related; but the battle, which ended with the death of that prince, is told somewhat in detail, and is considered as having been the beginning of the power of Tamehameha, which spread, before his death, over the whole of the eleven Islands. Xear the village of Keei^*, at a place called Mo-kohua, on a field of rugged lava, the two chiefs fought for seven successive days. On a conspicuous place, Tairi, the •war-god of Tamehameha’s family, was stationed, surrounded by his priests; and near it, before the battle, the prince, his sisters and friends, had assembled. Fire-arms were not then known, but the spear, the dagger, and the sling, were wielded with great dexterity^†. On the morning of the eighth day Keavalao was killed, as he was stooping over the body of Keamoku, the chief warrior of Tamehameha’s army, whom he had wounded, in order to take from his neck a favourite ornament: Keavalao’s daughter, Keapuolani, was among the captives taken in the field. The conqueror instantly released her and married her, thus uniting the right

of succession to that of conquest over the lands of her father. The death of the chief dispersed his army: most of the warriors escaped to the Puhonua, or city of refuge; and among those who sought sanctuary, by approaching the king's person, was Karaimoku, then but an inferior chief. Tameha-meha however adopted him as his friend from that time; and having bound him to him by gratitude, he made use of his extraordinary talents and prudence, both in council and in the field; and during his life, and even since his death, Karaimoku has done honour to the choice of the king. This battle took place A. D. 1781.

      On Captain Vancouver’s first arrival, in 1792, at Hawaii, the whole of that Isle and Maui were subject to Tamehameha, but the remainder of the group were still governed by the independent kings of Taui and Oahu, between whom and Tamehameha there was an actual war going on, though, as it appeared, a truce had been agreed on for some months, a destructive sickness having raged in the Islands. Two powerful chiefs, Tiana and Kahomotu, governed part of Hawaii, under the king, who, himself, accompanied by Karaimoku, conducted the war.

      It was in the early part of this reign that the desire for ships of a better description than the canoe, had induced Tiana and some other chiefs to project the seizing several

small vessels^*, and that their desire of fire-arms induced them to refuse to supply merchant ships with provisions on any other terms, and procured them their first artillery, which they used only in their forts. Some Europeans had been left in the Islands to collect sandal-wood, pearl-shell, and pearls, for the China market; others had settled there from choice; and the rival chiefs derived great assistance from their superior knowledge in the arts of destruction. Two of these foreigners, however, John Young and Davies, were of more excellent use: they taught their patron to build houses of brick; and the latter being an expert carpenter, household furniture improved extremely. They also introduced the culture of many new vegetables and fruits, procuring seeds and plants from the foreign traders; and by the care they bestowed on some goats, which had been left on the Islands, they made their hosts acquainted, for the first time, with the luxuries of the dairy, and with a variety of animal food, more delicate than they had hitherto known. Captain Vancouver himself was one of the greatest benefactors to the Islands. Although he constantly refused to furnish the chiefs with any fire-arms or ammunition, he gave them a breed of cattle and of sheep, which Tameha-meha declared to be tabu, or sacred, for ten years. The

climate is favourable to these animals, and the country is now well stocked both with wild and tame cattle; so that ships, in addition to fresh vegetables, are supplied with excellent beef, and the resources of the natives incalculably augmented.

      Tamehameha's hospitality and attention to Vancouver induced the latter, before he left the Sandwich Islands, to permit his carpenters to assist Young, Davies, and Boyd, to build a schooner^* for him, and to furnish the necessary iron w ork, a suit of sails and other things, the rigging being of the native cordage.

      Captain Vancouver endeavoured, by every means in his power, though without success, to establish a peaceful and friendly feeling between the chiefs of the different Islands; and it is very probable that the aspiring temper of Ta-mehameha himself was the greatest obstacle to a peace, which would necessarily have retarded the conquest of the whole of the Isles, which he meditated.

      But the most singular circumstance which occurred during Vancouver's visit in 1794, was the formal cession which, in the presence of the assembled chiefs^†, Tame-

hameha made of the Island of Hawaii to England. In the forenoon of the 25th of February, the chiefs met on board the Discovery, and each made a speech on the subject, setting forth the reasons which induced them to take so extraordinary a step*; after which it was proclaimed to the Islanders that they were no longer Kanaka no Hawaii, but Kanaka no Brittanee, i.e. no longer men of Hawaii, but men of Britain. Mr. Paget, accompanied by some of the officers from the Discovery and Chatham, then went on shore and hoisted the British flag; and a piece of copper, whereon a memorial of the transaction was engraved, was deposited in the royal dwelling^†.

      This singular cession of the country to a power nearly at the Antipodes was not, of course, followed by any act of authority, or any apparent change in the conduct of the English to Hawaii, but it was a proof of the anxious desire of Tamehameha for the advantage of his kingdom.

His intelligent mind was aware of the incalculable superiority possessed by the Europeans and others, whose ships visited him, over his own poor Islanders. The circumstances, that the English were the first to touch there; that their vessels were the largest and most powerful; that, besides the advantages sought for themselves in procuring provisions of all kinds, they had endeavoured to improve the Islands by carrying thither new and profitable animals and vegetables; all led him to look on the British as not only the most powerful but the most friendly of the new nations they had learned to know; and he might reasonably hope that we should be as willing as able to protect them against the insults and injuries that some of the traders had offered them ^*.

      Soon after the departure of the Discovery, the war between Hawaii and the neighbouring Islands was renewed. It was aggravated by the treachery of the chief Tianna, who, being sent with an army to Maui in 1794, joined its king against Tamehameha; but in the same year he was killed, and the Island subdued. The king, accompanied by

his companion-in-arms Karaimoku, next attacked Oahu^*, and the next year added it to his dominions. Warned by the conduct of Tianna’s brother, who rebelled against him while absent on the expedition to Oahu, Tamehameha from that time required all the superior chiefs to accompany him to war, and left Hawaii to the government of John Young, his English friend. Ten years elapsed before the conquest of the whole of the Islands was accomplished, notwithstanding the force, and arms, and ammunition Tamehameha had accumulated, and his large army, in which he reckoned thirty Europeans, all skilled in the use of fire-arms f. The final conquest of Taui in 1817 was immediately followed by the submission of the smaller Islands dependant on it, and Tamehameha having ended his wars, applied himself to improving his commerce and strengthening and beautifying his towns and ports. Meantime a friendly intercourse had been kept up with the English government, on which Tamehameha depended for

protection against the other foreigners, and especially the Russians, who had repeatedly threatened to take possession of the Islands^*: one Schiffer had promoted a rebellion in Taui, countenanced by the Russian officers of Petropaul-owsky, and other places on the coast, but not acknowledged by the Russian government. Tamehameha had sent to the King of England a magnificent war-cloak and other presents by the Cornwallis frigate in 1807; these had been graciously received, and in return for them, and in acknowledgment of the hospitality and kindness shown to all English ships touching at the Sandwich Islands, a vessel, built at Port Jackson for the purpose, was presented to Tamehameha in the name of the King of England, a letter of thanks having been previously forwarded to the following purport. "King George of England sends to his Majesty the King of the Sandwich Islands his sincere thanks for the feather cloak sent to him by the frigate Cornwallis. He assures him of his friendship, and says that he has commanded all his English navy to respect the ships under the flag of His Majesty King Tamehameha^†."

      Besides this ship, the king had purchased two brigs of the Americans, the price being paid in provisions and sandal-wood. A large vessel that had been driven ashore he had also exchanged for a small schooner and provisions, so that his fleet had become powerful. He turned his attention to trade, and to bringing up his people, already expert and fearless in the management of their canoes, to a more extended navigation: placing European masters and

supercargoes on board, he sent his vessels to China with sandal-wood, and perceiving the benefits arising from the use of money, he, first of all the Polynesian chiefs, began to receive it in exchange for the natural productions of his country.

      Nor was money the only species of riches he amassed. At his death numerous warehouses were found full of articles fitted for barter or commerce with the different nations who should touch at his ports. It is computed that in one year alone not less than 400,000 dollars’ worth of sandal-wood, from the Sandwich Isles, had been sold at Canton. Now of this only one cargo had been on the king’s account; the rest was, we believe, entirely, but certainly chiefly, carried by the Americans, who had received the price of two schooners, guns, ammunition, and various stores, in that precious wood.

      Some shops began to appear towards the latter end of his reign, kept by Europeans and Americans; and many foreigners, particularly Marini, a Spaniard, had formed extensive gardens, where melons and gourds of all kinds, various species of cabbage, potatoes, and other vegetables cultivated in Europe, had been introduced with great success. Marini had also reclaimed some of the cattle, which had

become wild by the operation of the ten years' tabu, imposed after Captain Vancouver landed the parent stock, and had taught the arts of the dairy; a considerable profit was also derived from salting beef for the ships; and perhaps no one reign of thirty years, in any country, had ever witnessed so great a change in the condition of the people as did that of Tamehameha in the Sandwich Islands.

      In the early part of his reign, feeling that the great and separate power of the priests was dangerous to his authority, especially since he was often absent from his capital, then fixed in Hawaii near Karakakua, he had taken upon himself the office of priest as well as king. It is probable that a near acquaintance with the tricks of superstition, and the machinery of idolatry, had weaned him from the belief in his ancient gods, for before his death he often expressed his dissatisfaction at the clumsy and useless form of his own religion, and a desire to know what that of his civilized visitors was; but as he had no opportunity of expressing this desire to any persons more competent to inform him than masters of merchant vessels, or low adventurers settling in the Islands, he could obtain no satisfaction. Nevertheless the effects of his doubts on the subject of his own faith, and his desire for a better, appeared in the conduct

of his son and the principal chiefs very shortly after his death, which took place on the 8th of May, 1819

      The grief of his subjects on this event was excessive. Besides the ordinary marks of mourning, such as striking out a tooth, and tattooing the tongue, most, even of the common kanakas, caused to be tattoed on their arms in great letters, and in English, "Our great and good king Tamehameha died May 8th, 1819 -- an indelible kind of mourning.

      His bones were, as usual, carefully preserved after the flesh had been consumed, and were for a time lodged in the great morai at Kairua, but were afterwards divided among various chiefs. This custom of keeping some of the bones of a friend or a king as things sacred is not only a mark of affection, but of reverence akin to religious worship.

      The successor of Tamehameha was his son Iolani, or Eiho Riho, who on his father’s death adopted his name, and resolved to distinguish himself no less than his predecessor had done. He was a young man of strong feelings and passions, with no ordinary ambition, and acted with the best intentions. The casual visitors at the Islands have done the greatest injustice to his character. One young English

traveller in particular has represented him as a creature sunk into the lowest state of debauchery: but it might be fair to ask that gentleman if he never heard of an occasional deviation from sobriety in any civilized nobleman or prince? and he should have considered that the great difference between the cases is, that the simplicity of the Sandwich chief exposed his failing; the decorum of Europe throws a veil over those committed by the members of more polished societies.

      On the death of Tamehameha the Great, Taamoeree the chief of Taui (Atooi) thought it might be a favourable opportunity of throwing off the yoke imposed on him by the Hawaiian family, and accordingly refused to acknowledge Tamehameha the Second. The young prince instantly embarked in a canoe with two or three companions, and when the wind arose, and the sea seemed likely to overwhelm the little bark, his companions proposed to return, but he ordered the sailors to go on, for he was king, and must complete the business he was proceeding on. And they did go on, and he landed at Taui, went straight to the refractory chief^*, conversed with him, received his

      The second transaction of very great importance in which he engaged, was no less than the extirpation of idolatry from his dominions. During the six months immediately succeeding the death of his father, the young king had held frequent conferences with the different chiefs on the subject of the insufficiency of their religion, of the impotence of their gods, and the oppressive nature of the tabu; and finding that they generally agreed in the expediency of a change of system, it was determined to desecrate the morais and destroy the idols. It was, however, necessary to obtain the sanction of Keopuolani the king’s mother, who by birth enjoyed a higher rank among the chiefs than even her son. She asked what harm the gods had done, that the chiefs should wish to destroy them. Nay, said her friends, what good have they done that we should keep them? is not their worship burdensome; did they not require human sacrifice; and have we not learned from other nations that gods of wood are not able to protect us, and that the sacrifices are cruel and useless? It is good, said the queen, do as you will; and on that same

day the morais and hevas were destroyed or desecrated, and nothing remained but the places where the bones of some of the chiefs were deposited, and a few of the ancient priesthood, who were appointed to watch the relics.

      This act was accompanied by another of equal importance, which has been strangely misrepresented by at least one English traveller. The breaking the tabu, by which women were prohibited from eating with men, or tasting of certain kinds of food, has been represented as a mere frolic of the young king. But the measure had been concerted with the chiefs, and its importance well weighed. The women of the Sandwich Islands, though acknowledged as chiefs, and admitted to council, had still the degrading mark of inferiority in their separate meals and prohibited sorts of food. To raise them to a better state was doubtless a strong motive with the young king, who revered his mother, and was passionately attached to his young wife; but he also desired to get rid, as soon and as much as possible, of every part of the system of tabu, which he wisely considered as highly inimical to the progress of civilization.

      The manner in which it was carried into effect is characteristic of the simplicity of a people just emerging from barbarism. On occasion of a great feast, the people, totally ignorant of the intentions of the chiefs, were, as usual, col-

lected round the eating-houses of the king and of his queens, which, under the old law, were at a distance from each other. When the baked meats were brought into the king’s presence, he caused the choicest part of them, and especially of those kinds of food which it was unlawful for w^omen to taste, to be carried into the eating-house of his wives, and accompanying them himself, he sat down and ate, and caused the women to eat, in the sight of the people, of all the things looked upon as prohibited. The priests and chiefs w r ere instantly apprised of the fact, which to the multitude appeared prodigious, and calculated to awaken the vengeance of Heaven; but they, prepared beforehand, had already met together, and the chief priest Hevaheva, preventing the messenger with the report, explained to the people, that as the gods had not revenged the violation of the tabu it was a sign they had no power, and therefore ought to be destroyed; on which Hevaheva himself began by setting fire to the principal morai. On that day the idols were overthrown; and as soon as the event could be known in the other islands, the example was followed without hesitation. One chief alone, the crafty Kekuaokalani, armed in defence of his idols. Though consulted among the other chiefs as to the propriety of relinquishing the ancient deities of the nation, he had never opposed the

measure, and therefore resistance on his part was unexpected: besides, being the first cousin of the king, he was supposed to be particularly engaged to support the measures of his house. However, he had only waited for the destruction of the hevas as a signal for rebellion, and seizing the war-god Tarai, which was under his guardianship, and which had anciently been placed as the royal standard in every field of battle, he induced a number of the kanakas to join him; and flying with them from Oahu, he assembled a large body of men in Hawaii, being in hopes of securing that island at least for himself, and thus dividing the sovereignty with the young Tamehameha. But Karaimoku, the friend and companion in war of Tamehameha the Great, pursued him with a better and more numerous army, and coming up with him at Laki Laki, after a desperate battle, Kekuaokalani was killed, and the war-god ^* was taken prisoner; and thus terminated the last effort in favour of idolatry.

      Meantime, Karaimoku and his brother Boki, chiefs who, though not of the highest birth, possessed the greatest share of power and influence in the land, had resolved to take the first opportunity of solemnly and openly professing Christianity -- that religion which they believed to be a mark and

a consequence of superior civilization, if not its cause; and when Captain Freycinet touched at the Sandwich Islands in his voyage round the world, these two chiefs were baptized by the chaplain of his ship; and thus Christianity was planted, as it appeared, by the spontaneous will of the natives, before any mission even of persuasion had reached them ^*.

      These events took place late in the autumn of 1819, while a mission was preparing in America to visit Oahu. Its projectors, who had formed their plan on what they had learned from the masters of traders, and on the accounts given by some youths, natives of the Islands, who had been sent for education to the United States, little calculated

      Their landing was at first opposed. Many persons of the different nations trading to Oahu represented, and not without good grounds, that the missionaries would probably interfere with the government of those Islands, that the influence they would undoubtedly gain might be dangerous, and advised the king to refuse them permission to land.

      After eight days’ deliberation, however, Tamehameha II. determined to admit them; his desire of obtaining teachers in the pule, or worship of Europeans, and pala pala, or reading and writing, overcame all other considerations; besides, he said, as thev were so few. it would be easy to dismiss them in case of misconduct. He assigned to them a piece of ground for a church near his own residence, and gave them houses and gardens sufficient for all their wants. One of the first objects of the missionaries was to obtain a knowledge of the language of the Sandwich Islands,

      The king, his queen, and the other chiefs of both sexes, applied themselves diligently to learn to read and write. Their progress was rapid; they soon began to write letters to each other; and one of them remarked with delight that now, at whatever distance you might be from your friend, you might whisper in his ear, but that formerly you could only communicate by messengers who forgot or divulged what you trusted them to say for you.

      The missionaries of course were not negligent of the opportunity of instilling the doctrines of Christianity into the minds of their pupils, afforded by this very favourable disposition of the chiefs. One of the first converts was

Keopuolani, the king’s mother, a woman of strong sense, the highest birth, and extremely beloved by all classes of people, and especially by the queen, her daughter-in-law; who in her last illness scarcely ever left her, or would allow any body but her husband to share with her in performing her dutiful attentions to his parent. This great chief, the most honoured wife of Tamehameha I., died early in 1823. Her loss would have been still more felt by the mission had not another female chief, whose name is so like hers that they have sometimes been confounded, already taken up the cause. This is Kapeolani, wife of Nahi, the hereditary orator or Senaschie of the Sandwich Islands. She was baptized about the time of the queen’s death, and since that period all her influence and authority have been exercised in favour of the new faith Nothing like force however has been employed, and the religion of the Prince of Peace has proceeded gently but steadily to purify the morals and improve the manners of an intelligent, cheerful, and sweet-natured people.

      As the mind of the young king improved he became more and more aware of the difference between his people and the Europeans, and his anxiety to lessen that difference

proportionally increased. He had also reason to believe that not only did the Americans wish to form a permanent establishment in at least one of their Islands, but that the Russian Government had resolved on seizing on them on the first convenient opportunity. A detachment from the settlements of the latter power had already made one attempt to gain a footing, and had erected a fort and planted some guns on it. It is true, the Government of St. Peters-burgh disavowed the intention afterwards, but there is no doubt that it connived at the proceedings of its servants.

      Under these circumstances Tamehameha II. resolved to follow up the plans of his father, who had, as we have already seen, placed the Islands under the immediate protection of England; and reasoning of other kings from himself, he conceived that a personal interview with the sovereign of England would most effectually secure his protection, and procure his co-operation in the plans he might form for the civilization of his kingdom. He was, besides, desirous of acquiring glory; and as his father had left him no islands to conquer, he conceived that so distant an expedition as that into the civilized world would procure him a reputation beyond that of any of his predecessors.

      He had long been curious as to the laws and government of England, of which he had formed the highest idea;

for he thought that the nation that could build such ships, and send such men and arms and merchandize all over the world, must be most wisely governed, and possess the best laws. To see this nation himself, to learn something of its means of greatness, and, if possible, bring to his own country some of its institutions, became a passion with him, and he could not rest until it was agreed that he and his queen should engage in the hazardous enterprise.

      At first there was considerable opposition to their wishes on the part of the great chiefs; however, on them consenting that Boki, governor of Oahu and brother to Karaimoku, should accompany them, the expedition was agreed to. Karaimoku was appointed regent of the Islands during the king's absence, and in case of his death, the regencv was to continue in the hands of Karaimoku and the late king's widow Kahumanu. during the minoritv of Kiaukiouli the voungest son of Tamehameha the First, and his sister the princess Nahienaheina. It was the wish of the king and the chiefs that the Bev. Mr. Ellis, the only English missionary, should accompany the expedition as interpreter, and any price was offered for his passage. The master of the vessel, the Aigle of London, which had been freighted for the king, was an American, though his owners were Messrs. Boulcotts of Mapping-wall; and he, for some reason which never was

acknowledged, actually refused to receive that gentleman, and declared that he would have no interpreter who should not be under his orders, and engage to interpret at his bidding: the man who consequently accompanied the king to England as interpreter was a Frenchman of the name of Rives, of a respectable family in the neighbourhood of Bourdeaux; but he had very early run away from the ship to which he belonged, and fixing in the Sandwich Islands he had lived there twenty-two years, and had acquired a competent knowledge of the language; speaking, besides, the English and French fluently.

      This man seemed always linked with Captain Starbuck, and was of a low, cunning, and profligate nature. On the passage to England no pains were spared to induce the Sandwich chiefs to drink and gamble, vices to which half-civilized people, especially when condemned to idleness, are always prone. The Aigle touched, in her way to England, at Bio de Janeiro, where the English Consul-general being made acquainted with the general purpose of Tamehameha s visit to England, and having a just idea of the importance of it as regards our commerce in the Pacific, received them honourably and gave a ball to their majesties, to which all the principal Brazilian families and English residents were invited. Nothing was more to be admired in the

party than their great gentleness and good humour, and the readiness with which they accommodated themselves to the customs of those they were among.

      The Emperor Don Pedro flattered his majesty Riho Riho very much, by receiving him and his companions in a polite and generous manner, so that their visit to Brazil was exceedingly gratifying to them. To the Consul-General the king presented a beautiful cloak and a feather fan or small kahile, called him one of his Erees, and desired that he should be adopted as the brother of Karaimoku and Boki. Their stay at Rio de Janeiro was extremely short, but it was long enough for Mr. Young^*, a man half English, half Hawaiian, who was of Riho Riho's suite, to render himself so troublesome, that the king resolved to proceed to England without him; but he afterwards rejoined his majesty, and was of singular use to the royal party.

      When Riho Riho embarked, he had taken twenty-five thousand dollars on board with him. Captain Starbuck, who took on himself to regulate the king’s expenditure, alleged that three thousand had been spent during their short stay at Rio Janeiro, a certain number on the road

from Portsmouth to London, and these were the only sums he could account for; although, when the cash chests belonging to the king were opened at the Bank of England, little more than ten thousand dollars were found: nor was this the only singular circumstance in the captain's management of the affairs of those who had intrusted themselves to him.

      On arriving at Portsmouth, he landed his passengers without giving any notice to the Government -- without providing in any way for their comfort, or for their attaining the object for which they had come; and it was only by a notice from Messrs. Boulcott that his Britannic Majesty’s Government became acquainted with the arrival of the king and queen of the Sandwich Islands, with their suite.

      Messrs. Boulcott complained, and with justice, that Star-buck had grossly neglected the interest of the owners, by using the ship as a transport to convey the royal party, instead of pursuing the line of commerce for which L’Aigle was intended; and nothing but Captain Starbuck having some ulterior object in view could account for this neglect of those interests. What this object might be it is difficult to point out, unless it was that which some of the king’s suite hinted a suspicion of; namely, that after allowing the money to be spent in England, on those new objects which could not fail

to be alluring in the eyes of these simple persons, they might be obliged, on his own terms, to go to the United States, and there, in exchange for the liberty of returning to their kingdom, barter one of the Islands to America, whose merchants have long desired to possess such a port in the Pacific. However that might be, his Majesty’s Government no sooner heard of the arrival of these singular and interesting visitors, than every attention was shown to them. They had landed at Portsmouth on the 21st or 22d of May, and in a day or two afterwards they had, under Starbuck’s direction, reached Osborne’s hotel in the Adelphi^*. His Majesty’s Government immediately deputed a gentleman^† to perform the office of guardian to them, which office, difficult and delicate as it was, he fulfilled with a kindness and good temper which neither the objects of his attention, nor those who witnessed it, can fail to remember with sentiments of the greatest esteem.

      The whole of the king’s baggage, including the money, had been left on board the Aigle at Portsmouth, to go

round to the river in the ship; and when the ladies were first seen in London they were dressed in very strange habiliments. The queen wore trousers and a long bedgown of coloured velveteen, and her friend Kuinee or Li-liah, the wife of Boki, had on something of the same kind. They were playing whist with a pack of very dirty cards, complaining bitterly of the cold, and were, upon the whole, in a state as far removed as possible from regal dignity.

      The first object was of course to provide dresses suitable to the climate, and also to the condition of the wearers; and it was impossible for any persons to be more tractable, or adapt themselves with more good temper to the usages of this country, than the whole party. The decorum of their behaviour was admirable during their residence in the hotel. Not one instance occurred of their overstepping the bounds of decency or civility in their intercourse with the different persons appointed to wait on them; not a suspicion that any one of the chiefs had offered the slightest insult to any woman; nor was there any of that gluttony and drunkenness with which those Islanders, and especially the king, have been wantonly charged by some who ought to have known better^*. It is true that, unaccustomed to our

habits, they little regarded regular hours for meals, and that they liked to eat frequently, though not to excess. Their greatest luxury was oysters, of which they were particularly fond; and one day, some of the chiefs having been out to walk, and seeing a grey mullet, instantly seized it, and carried it home, to the great delight of the whole party, who, on recognizing the native fish of their own seas, could scarcely believe that it had not swam hither on purpose for them, or be persuaded to wait till it was cooked before they ate it. Once, and once only, they drank a considerable quantity of wine; it was when, after repeated and extraordinary ill-behaviour, the interpreter Eives was dismissed. This event gave them all the highest satisfaction, and they sat carousing all night; but even then they only consumed twenty bottles of wine, and that was not much among so many.

      Their moderation in every thing was quite remarkable, when we consider the nature and habits of half-civilized men; and, perhaps, it might have been as well if some of those travellers who, having been at the Sandwich Islands,

and enjoyed the hospitality of the chiefs, whom they are pleased to call savages, had paused before they had described, with unnecessary detail, a drunken bout at Honoruru, and considered whether among the princes and nobles of Europe there might not have been scenes quite as derogatory from the character of polished gentlemen, and quite as surprising to persons unused to witness the effects of wine.

      As to their manners, it must be in the recollection of many persons, that they were decorous and self-possessed on all occasions. When they were kindly invited to a large assembly at Mr. Secretary Canning’s, the curiosity to see these inhabitants of nearly the Antipodes caused, as is usual in London, where, as of old, we are more eager after strange sights than in any other place, a sort of bustle and crowding round of a well-dressed mob, to look at the strange king and queen and nobles; but the laughter and the exclamations which seem to have been ready prepared for the royal strangers soon died away when it was perceived that not the slightest embarrassment or awkwardness was displayed by them, and that the king knew how to hold his state, and the erees to do their service, as well as if they had practised all their lives in European courts. The chiefs were much delighted with the politeness of the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, who were of the party. The queen particularly

felt gratified with that kind urbanity of manner which distinguishes her royal highness, and which on this occasion was both a protection to the strangers and an honour to herself.

      It might perhaps cause a smile in such as remembered the description of Cook, who found the king Teraiopu and his queen with nothing but their waist cloths, to see their grandchildren wearing coats made by a London tailor, and stays and gowns by a Parisian modiste; but that the dresses were fit and becoming we all remember, and, moreover, that more than one lady begged to have the pattern of Kahamalu’s turban.

      Tamehameha and his party were of course extremely anxious to see all the sights and shows of London; and the first place they went to was Westminster Abbey, with which they were much pleased. The music seemed to affect them a good deal, and they were impressed with great veneration for the place where they knew the remains of so many great men were deposited. On reaching the steps of Henry the Seventh’s chapel, and hearing that the ancient kings of England were buried there, they said it was too sacred, and no argument could prevail upon the king to enter it.

      From the Abbey they went to the Park, and could not sufficiently express their admiration at the number of

people and equipages. It was Sunday, and certainly a spectacle of no common magnificence.

      The next day (Monday, May 31), the king permitted his box at Covent Garden to be decorated for them, and they were received with ceremony, though not with state, by the managers. Their behaviour was greatly admired; no awkwardness, no inattention on their part. Their bows, in return for the congratulations they received on entering, were quite European. This was one of their greatest gratifications: they knew they were in the royal box, and that it had been prepared and appointed for them.

      In the course of the week they went also to Drury Lane, where they were equally pleased, having been in the interval to Epsom races. There their wonder had been greatly excited by the swiftness of the horses, and in talking of it afterwards, they always said the horses flew.

      By this time a pretty general curiosity had been excited concerning them. Most of the English nobility then in London had been to visit them, and many of the ladies had made useful and valuable presents to the queen, particularly the Duchess of Northumberland, Mrs. Canning, and Lady Liverpool.

      They had, likewise, during the first and second week, visited some of the ministers, and other persons of distinc-

tion; and had been to Fulham, from whence they returned by water, and were delighted with the scenery; indeed, they were remarkably alive to external beauty. One of the sights that charmed them was that of the children at Chelsea Hospital; it was particularly calculated to interest Tamehameha, who was always intent on the means of educating his subjects.

      The last public spectacle they all visited together was the Opera, where they were greatly amused. They had imbibed an idea that the French were the greatest dancers in the world, and during the ballet their interpreter Fives underwent what a schoolboy would call a regular quizzing, on the national passion or accomplishment.

      Two days after this, that is the 10th of June, had been fixed for a visit to Mr. "Whitbread’s brewery; but Manuia, the king’s purveyor, became extremely ill, and the king would not permit any one of the party to go out while their brother chief was so distressed. He had been left in the Aigle to accompany the goods to London, and having landed both at Deptford and Mapping, is supposed to have caught his illness, which proved to be measles, while on shore at one of those places.

      Manuia seemed to rally a little next day, and then the king, the admiral, and treasurer, went out to one or two

places; but the rest became heavy and uncomfortable. On the 12th, Dr. Lea ascertained Manuia’s complaint to be the measles; and on the 18th, Tamehameha, who had hitherto been perfectly well, was taken ill in the room of the exhibition of the Royal Academy at Somerset House, where the Duke of York had very kindly gone to meet the party: between that day and the 19th the whole of the Sandwich Island chiefs and their attendants were taken ill. On the 21st, Dr. Holland was called in; and by the 24th, Tamehameha, his queen, and Kapihi, were so much worse that it was thought advisable to consult Sir Henry Halford; and a few days afterwards, Mr. M 1 ‘Gregor, whose residence in hot climates, and consequent knowledge of the disorders prevalent there, it was hoped, would be of service.

      Boki and Kuanoa, with all the inferior persons, recovered rapidly, and according to the advice they received began to go out again; but no argument could prevail on Liliah (Boki’s wife) to leave her sick friend even for an hour. The queen’s illness began to take an unfavourable appearance: her lungs appeared to be seriously affected, and in addition to the medical men already in attendance, Mr. Alexander was called in. Tamehameha’s disorder, though violent, had no very alarming symptoms at the time; and as Kapihi, whose sufferings had next to his been the greatest, had

begun to rally, good hopes were entertained that he also would speedily recover.

      He himself felt so well that he saw Captain Charlton, who had just received the appointment of British Consul at the Sandwich Islands, and gave him letters and presents to deliver to the different chiefs, and secret instructions for the regent, in a manner that showed king-craft not to be the mere growth of polished societies. Besides these, he wrote further instructions by Captain Stavers, of the ship Offley, bound for Oahu, and also intrusted him with handsome presents for the chiefs.

      This was on the 4th of July. On the 8th, no hope remaining of the queen’s recovery, her husband was apprised of her danger. He caused himself to be immediately placed in his arm-chair and wheeled to her apartment; when, being lifted upon her bed and placed by her side, he embraced her affectionately, and they both wept bitterly. He then dismissed the attendants, and they remained for some time alone together. Till then the king was supposed to be recovering; but it was understood that at this mournful interview these young people # had agreed that one should not survive the other. At five o’clock he desired to be conveyed to his own bed, where he lay without

speaking, and the queen died about an hour after he left her; that is, about six o’clock in the evening of the 8th July, 1824.

      Liliah, whose dutiful and affectionate behaviour to her friend and mistress had been most exemplary, now took charge of her body, and disposed it after the manner of her country, unclothing it to the waist, leaving also the ancles and feet bare, and carefully dressing the hair and adorning it with chaplets of flowers. The king now desired the body might be brought into his apartment, and laid on a small bed near him; that being done, he sat up looking at it, but neither speaking nor weeping. The medical attendants observed, that the state of Riho Riho was such as to render it highly improper to keep the queen’s body near him, and it was therefore proposed to him to allow it to be taken away; but he sat silent, and answered no one, only by gestures showing that he forbade its removal. At length, after much persuasion, and then leaving him to himself for a time, he suddenly made signs that it might be taken away; which was accordingly done, and the queen was again placed on her own bed^*.

      From this day the king’s disorder rapidly increased; the loss of the queen decided his fate: his spirits sank, his cough increased, and he himself declared he should not long survive. To divert his thoughts, and to lighten the disease if possible, Mr. Byng caused the whole family to be removed from the apartments they had hitherto occupied into those belonging to the hotel on the other side of the street overlooking the river. On this occasion, the implicit deference paid by the Sandwich Islanders to their king was strikingly displayed. Kapihe, the admiral, the only one of the followers who had suffered from the disorder in a degree at all equal to the king and queen, had by some means incurred the displeasure of Tamehameha, who had forbidden him to appear in his presence. This prohibition he strictly obeyed; and even on the removal of the family, though often entreated, he never would consent to venture into the

presence, as he had not been called. However, not long after the change of the apartments, the disorder of the king assumed so decided an aspect, that his near approaching death could neither be concealed from himself nor his attendants, and Kapihe resumed his station among them. Yet still he dared not venture to present himself too closely or too frequently to his master. On the day of the king’s decease he was supported by pillows, and said little, but repeated the words, "I am dying, I am dying within the curtains of the bed one of the chiefs sat continually, with his face towards the king, and his eyes fixed on him, in conformity, as they said, with their native customs. Poor Kapihe was invited to take the place, thereby to prove his innocence of the supposed offence which had incurred his master’s displeasure. But his respect for the king’s orders prevailed over all other considerations, and he refrained from exercising the honourable privilege of watching the death-bed of his king and friend.

      The day of the 13th of July was a very painful one, and the dying agony of the sufferer was long; for it was not until four o’clock of the morning of the 14th that Tameha-meha II. breathed his last^*.

      During the whole of the painful scenes attending the deaths of these young sovereigns the conduct of their followers was exemplary, especially that of Liliah, who displayed all the tenderness and gentleness of her sex, as well as the devotion to her chiefs, and kind-heartedness of her nation.

      The day preceding that of Tamehameha’s death, anxiety for the fate of his followers induced him to draw up a memorandum or will, which he caused Eoki, Kuanoa, and Rives to witness, and to which he affixed a sign, saying, that he felt he was following his beloved wife to the grave, bequeathing whatever property he left in England to Boki, for the benefit of his suite generally, and intimating his desire that his own body and that of his queen Tame-hamalu should be conveyed to their native Islands.

      The somewhat uncouth paper containing these wishes was written by one of the attendants; the name at the end was in the handwriting of one of the chiefs, and in it K is used for T in the king's name, and his title of Erii is written Helii, whence we should conclude that Kuanoa the trea-

surer had written the name ^*. Tamehameha himself was the most accomplished writer of the party, but his exceeding weakness reduced him to the necessity of contenting himself with simply making a mark to what may be considered as his will -- the first written will that was ever left by a Sandwich Islander.

      Until such time as the wish of Tamehameha, that his remains and those of his queen might be conveyed to his native country, could be complied with, it was resolved that their bodies should be deposited in a vault under the church of St. Martin's in the Fields: they were properly cased, and the external coffins were covered with crimson velvet with gilt ornaments, a kind of decoration of death which so pleased the Eriis, that, on the arrival of the bodies at Oahu, more than one said it would be a pleasure to die in England to have their bodies so honoured. Whatever respect we could show was shown to the poor remains of these chiefs, to convince the survivors that we respected their sovereigns and themselves.

      The deaths of Riho Kiho and his queen were the more

regretted by King George IV., as there had been no opportunity of granting them the personal interview, which was the chief object of their visit to Britain; and which he desired as a proof of courtesy to stranger sovereigns who, entered so lately within the pale of civilization, had come so far to throw themselves at his feet, and to acknowledge his superiority. Besides, the commercial interests of England in the Pacific are likely to be greatly injured in case the Sandwich Islands should fall into the hands of the Russians or Americans, and it was of some importance to grant the protection the king had come to seek, for our own sake as well as for his.

      His majesty, therefore, appointed the 11th of September as the day on which he could see them at Windsor, whither they were conducted by Mr. Byng.

      Never, perhaps, was interview with a monarch so highly prized. Prepared as they were, by long dwelling on the happiness and honour they should derive from personal intercourse, to see every thing great in the King of England, they seem to have been touched and astonished in a very high degree at the graciousness and elegance of his manner, the kindness of his expressions when speaking of the death of their king, and of his wishes for their prosperity and that

of their native Islands; but above all, their joy was great at his promises of protection to their government against all foreign encroachment.

      Mr. Young^*, who before this time had superseded Rives as interpreter, was placed nearest to his majesty; and after him Boki; and then the rest in order of their rank. As usual, the great desire of pleasing made the chiefs a little awkward; and if there was any occasion on which they showed an unbecoming shyness, it was on this. Liliah, with the presence of mind of her sex, however, showed no embarrassment, though she was by no means the last to feel on the occasion.

      It so happened, that in the hurry of their departure from London in the morning, nobody had thought of putting any refreshments into their carriage. Now, they being accustomed to eat often and not at stated hours, felt exhausted and hungry before the moment of audience came; afterwards, when Liliah was told that dinner was ready at the inn, she said, "I was hungry -- I am so no longer -- I am full of joy/’

      Boki, who had kept a journal during his residence in England, made very full notes of what passed at this audience. Since his return to his native land, he writes, that he has read these notes so often to the different chiefs that he has become very hoarse. We regret much that a copy of this journal was not procured while Boki was on board of the Blonde.

      The time the chiefs passed in England after the king’s death was chiefly spent in seeing different manufactories, and short excursions in London and its neighbourhood. The three superior chiefs had several interviews with Mr. Canning, which pleased them greatly; and, indeed, his and Mrs. Canning’s kindness to them in every thing was very great.

      All their expenses were paid by the English government. His majesty directed that suitable and useful presents should be made to all the Islanders here, and others sent to the young king and the other chiefs, besides agricultural instruments, plants of useful fruits, seeds of vegetables, and other things that might be of advantage to the country. The money lodged at the bank was delivered untouched to Boki, who, with his companions, purchased with it such things as they thought agreeable or useful to themselves or their countrymen. Liliah’s chief anxiety

was for female clothing, and the greater number of the dresses she bought were of black silk, that the Erii ladies might be in mourning for the king and queen.

      Perhaps the compliment that pleased the chiefs most was the permission they received to wear his majesty’s household button on their coats; for they could prove by that, as they said, that they were King George’s men.

      On the 22nd September they finally left London, and went to wait at Portsmouth for the arrival of the Blonde from Woolwich, where she had taken on board all the baggage, together with the bodies of the late king and queen. They had previously received a visit from Lord Byron, who commanded the Blonde, and for whom they afterwards conceived a strong attachment.

      It was observed that these chiefs never forgot a person they had once seen; and in most cases they had remarked some peculiarity by which they contrived to identify even those whose names they had never heard. They inspired great interest in every society in London, and when once seen, they were sure to be remembered with kindness. They returned to their native country loaded with presents from various quarters, and have carried back with them a love and respect for England, which do no less honour to themselves than to this country.

VOYAGE

      September 8th, 1824. -- His Majesty's ship Blonde, of 46 guns, commanded by Captain, the Right Honourable Lord Byron, then lying at Woolwich, received on board the bodies of the King and Queen of the Sandwich Islands, They had been previously deposited in a vault under the church of St. Martin's in the Fields; but His Majesty’s Government, in compliance with their wish to have their remains taken to their native Islands, appointed the Blonde to convey them and their surviving attendants thither.

      The coffins were attended to Woolwich by the chiefs, who then returned to London, whence they proceeded to Portsmouth to meet the frigate, and on the 28th of September they embarked at Spithead, and the ship sailed on her interesting voyage the next day.

      We were all much pleased with our shipmates. Boki, the first in rank, had been the king's friend, and was governor of the Island of Oahu, which is considered as the chief of the Sandwich Islands, the royal residence and principal forts being at Honoruru, the capital of that Island. He is brother to Karaimoku, who, according to a very general practice of the South Sea Islanders, being himself prime minister to the king of his country, had adopted the name of William Pitt, whom he had learned to know as prime minister of King George of England. To this chief the regency of the Islands had been committed by the late king on his quitting Oahu for England. Liliah or Kuinee, the wife of Boki, and the particular friend and adopted sister of the late queen, was a chief of equal rank with her husband. Next to them in rank was Kapihi, admiral of the Sandwich Islands: his state office at home had been originally to steer the king's war canoe. But he w r as a shrewd intelligent man; had made two voyages to China in vessels partly belonging to the king, and had shown great capacity both as a seaman and a merchant.

      Kuanoa was the king’s treasurer: he knew the secret cave in Hawaii, where the riches of the family of Tamehameha are deposited, and his office was to collect and sell the sandal wood of the Islands, a royal monopoly, whence

the greater part of the present fixed revenue proceeds. Maimia, the king’s purveyor, was also a chief of rank, and with two inferior chiefs and the interpreter made up the royal suite.

      Our voyage began prosperously. On the 18th of October we reached the often described Madeira, and enjoyed the beauty of its scenery and the hospitality of the resident English merchants, for five days; when, on the 23d, we sailed for the coast of Brazil, and entered the magnificent harbour of Bio de Janeiro on the 27th November.

      It is impossible to conceive more sublime and beautiful scenery than that which gradually unfolds itself on passing the narrow entrance; which is marked on either hand by an almost perpendicular rock, at the base of one of which is the strong fort of Santa Cruz. Beyond the spacious harbour, the surrounding hills rise into high peaks covered with wood to the summits, except where the sides nearly perpendicular afford no hold for vegetation. The suburb of Botofogo and its placid bay lie on the left; on the opposite shore, embowered in orange and lemon-trees, is the large village of Praya Grande. The church of Nossa Sen-hora da Gloria on its own hill, and the city, with its superb aqueduct, and fine churches and convents, appear in succession as the ship advances to the anchorage.

      While we remained at Rio, the Sandwich Island chiefs seemed to take great pleasure in revisiting the places they had formerly seen with their king on their passage to England. On one occasion, when they were invited to dine with the English Consul-General, Liliah showed marks of a very affectionate disposition. On going into the room where, but a year before, a great entertainment had been given to Riho Riho, she burst into tears, and said it seemed as if she saw her lost friends again. The imperturbable good-nature and gentleness of the Sandwich Islanders have sometimes led us to fancy them unfeeling, but they are in truth very affectionate, though their state of society is not such as to have developed all the sensibilities that form the charm of civilized life. We had frequent occasion to remark the kindly disposition of the chiefs our shipmates. They often spoke with the greatest gratitude of the civility shown them while in England, and with affection, mixed with anxiety, of the friends and countrymen to whom they were returning. One night that an exhibition of phantasmagoria took place for their amusement, 13oki stopped it, entreating that some of the pictures might be saved for his friends at Woalioo.

      December 18. -- We left Rio de Janeiro and proceeded to St. Catherine’s to complete our provisions and water,

and prepare for our passage round Cape Horn. We anchored at the mouth of the harbour on the 24th, and next day removed farther into the bay. The greatest inconvenience we felt was the being obliged to anchor nearly four miles from the shore; added to which the harbour is any thing but safe for boats, as heavy gusts of wind frequently blow from the high lands in the vicinity, and render boat-sailing at times highly dangerous. It is therefore advisable to be careful in carrying sail, and that no boat should leave the ship without a grapnel. Great caution is also requisite in bathing, on account of the numerous sharks with which this place is infested. Landing may be effected in any part of the harbour in fine weather, and wood and water are to be obtained in abundance. The nearest watering-place (for there is another at the village of St. Miguel) is in a small sandy cove on the mainland, near the island of Santa Cruz. There is a very picturesque grotto here, formed by an overhanging rock, and also a constant stream of excellent water, supplied by a rivulet which rushes from the hills. Only four dollars were paid by our purser for as much wood as he chose to cut down. The population of St. Catherine’s is very scattered; the president or governor is appointed by the Emperor of the Brasils,

and is at the head of civil and military affairs. According to the very favourable accounts which have been given by Kotzebue and other visitants, I expected to have been much pleased with the beauty and grandeur of the place. It did not, however, appear to me at all equal to the majestic views I had been so lately in the habit of contemplating at Rio. Among the hills and woods of the mainland, the huts of the inhabitants are interspersed. We collected our fowls and ducks from them, and did not find the article of poultry so cheap as we had expected. This may be attributed to the recent arrival of two Russian ships, which had anchored here for a month, and which sailed only the week before our arrival, having pretty well drained the country of live stock. Bananas, grapes, and other fruits, were exceedingly cheap; ripe oranges 1000 per dollar, and potatoes small but very good.

      Jan. 1st, 1825. Having completed our provisions, and prepared our rigging for the stormy latitudes of Cape Horn, we sailed on New Year's Hay from St. Catherine's, and with little interruption, except being becalmed for three days under the bleak heights of Statenland, we reached our southernmost latitude, 58° 52', on the 20th; the thermometer never having sunk below 30°. On our passage

northward, towards Valparaiso, we had a day or two of adverse winds off the Archipelago of Chiloe, and naturally reverted to the sufferings of the grandfather of our captain --

"In horrid climes, where Chiloe’s tempests sweep
 Tumultuous murmurs o’er the troubled deep."

      On approaching the coast of Chile, the bare appearance and dark red colour of the cliffs give such an idea of sterility, that, as Vancouver has remarked, it is difficult to account for the abundance and variety of fruits and vegetables which daily fill the market.

      Feb. 4th. -- We anchored in Valparaiso bay, where we found his Majesty’s ships Briton, Mersey, and Fly, a French corvette, the Chilian State’s ships Lautaro, Valdivia, and

Independencia, and a number of merchantmen. We were surprised to find Mr. Charlton still here. This gentleman had been despatched to the Sandwich Islands as English consul, and was charged with conveying, to the regent there, the official news of the death of the king and queen; therefore, as it was supposed to be of some consequence that that event should be known in the Islands before our arrival, he was sent on as soon as possible.

      Feb. 8. -- Early this morning, Kapihe, admiral of the Sandwich Islands, was affected with an apparent determination of blood to the head, and, notwithstanding every effort to save him, he died in the course of the day. The attack seemed to have been coming on for some days; and, as it afterwards appeared, an abscess had formed on the brain. He appeared to be naturally a strong healthy man, but his indulgence in the use of intoxicating liquors had doubtless injured his constitution. lie was very intelligent, had an excellent memory, and spoke English tolerably. He was remarkably skilful in the game of draughts, which he played with uniform success. This game, or one very like it, was played among the natives of the Sandwich Islands when they were first discovered by Captain Cook. Captain King says: "They have a game very much like our draughts, but if one may judge from the number of squares, it is much

more intricate. The board is about two feet long, and is divided into two hundred and thirty-eight squares, of which there are fourteen in a row; and they make use of black and white pebbles, which they move from square to square."

      The death of Kapihe may be considered as a serious loss to his native country: his natural intelligence had been cultivated and improved by his various voyages, and he had the most anxious desire to be useful at home. We buried him out at sea off the Couronilla point, because the bigotry of the Chilians scarcely permits permanent repose to the remains of such as are not within the pale of the Roman church; and as Kapihe was not even christened, we substituted a prayer, written on the occasion, for the church service, when we committed his body to the deep.

      We remained longer on the coast of Chile than was at first intended, because the small-pox had broken out among the ship’s company, and Lord Byron resolved on taking every precaution against carrying that destructive malady to the Sandwich Isles. But at length, the disorder being somewhat lessened, we sailed towards the coast of Peru.

      March 14. -- We anchored in the bay of Chorillos, which lies immediately to the southward of Callao, and is by no means so eligible for shipping. It is, however, just now raised to some importance, on account of the war still main-

tained by the royal general Eodil against the independents at Lima. As Rodil possesses the forts of Callao, Chorillos is the temporary port where all the trade of Lima is carried on. We found here upwards of a hundred merchant vessels, together with his Majesty’s ship Cambridge of eighty guns, a French man-of-war, and several ships of the Peruvian and Chilian squadrons. Nothing can be more barren in appearance than the country about Chorillos. A high ridge or bank of fine white sand and dust rises almost perpendicularly to a considerable height; and on the perfectly flat plain above stands the wretched village, beyond which the white towers of Lima, at the distance of nine miles, are seen immediately below the Andes, which rise at once to a stupendous height. When the weather is clear, which is not very often the case, there is something sublime in the long fiat shore thus backed by the mountains; but in general the bare sand-bank forms the boundary of the view, which is then dreary and desolate in the extreme. The town of Chorillos is a collection of miserable-looking fiat-roofed cottages, or rather huts, built of cane and reeds, plastered with mud, without windows, and lighted from the doors or crevices in the walls. However, as it never rains in this part of Peru, these huts afford sufficient shelter from the dews, and support the frequent shocks of

earthquake, to which the coast is subject, better than firmer buildings. Mean as the place is, it is the fashion for the best families in Lima to take lodgings in it for a month or two every year for the benefit of sea-bathing, which is considered as peculiarly wholesome just at the end of the hot season; and large parties may be seen riding together to bathe or rather play in the water, into which they go with all, or almost all, their usual dresses on. The Peruvian ladies have not yet adopted the side-saddle, and few use even the guarded pillion on which the Chilians ride; so that, besides the acknowledged beauty of the Peruvian women, there was the attraction of novelty in the customs of the fair equestrians to engage us. On walking through the miserable streets of the village we saw little but clouds of sand and the vultures^*, which here perform the work of scavengers. These birds are of the size of a large turkey, and have otherwise very much the appearance of that bird; like it, too, they are generally seen in considerable flocks.

      March 16. -- Having left Chorillos, in company with the Cambridge, last night, we arrived at Callao this morning, and anchored off the forts in time to witness a pretty smart skirmish between the royalists and independents both by land and sea; the troops ashore, and the gun-boats afloat,

being sharply engaged. But their firing did not seem to do much execution; and we believe they left off, after some hours’ engagement, without loss on either side^*. The Sandwich Island chiefs were extremely interested at the sight, and asked numerous very sensible questions as to the various operations of the day. Of course we did not attempt to go ashore here, and were therefore unable to see either the famous forts of Callao or the city of Lima.

      March 17. -- We sailed from Callao and steered for the Gallapagos, where we intended to water and lay in a stock of terrapin or land-turtle for our voyage across the Pacific.

      Friday, March 25. -- Early in the morning we made Charles’s Island, the southernmost of the Gallapagos; and though we had first intended to have cut wood there, yet fearing that we should not, in that case, reach the little harbour in Albemarle Island before night, we passed it without landing, and shortly afterwards left the Isles of Hood and Chatham to leeward. Charles’s Island is about three miles in length and a thousand feet in height; the rocks seem to be covered with the prickly pear (Cactus ficus Indicus), and, as in all the others of the group, the mangrove adorns

the water’s edge. Close to it lies Gardiner’s Island, and a singular rock through the middle of which there is a natural arch, both of which we passed early; but, owing to the currents, we did not reach Banks’s Cove in Albemarle Island until the morning of the 26th. This is the largest and loftiest of the Gallapagos group; several extinct craters show that fire has, at no remote period, been as active here as it now is in Narborough and some of the others. Its length from north to south is about 75 miles, and the southern end appears to be well wooded. The heat was very great as we approached the land, the thermometer standing at 84°; and as we shot into the cove we disturbed such a number of aquatic birds and other animals, that we were nearly deafened with their wild and piercing cries. The place is like a new creation: the birds and beasts do not get out of our way; the pelicans and sea-lions look in our faces as if we had no right to intrude on their solitude; the small birds are so tame that they hop upon our feet; and all this amidst volcanoes which are burning around us on either hand. Altogether it is as wild and desolate a scene as imagination can picture.

      27th March. -- Our first care this morning was to search for the water with which we were to complete the ship, but to our great mortification we found the springs, which are

usually abundant, nearly dried up, and were therefore obliged to put the ship's company on an allowance. A boat was despatched to Narborough Island to procure land-turtle, and others were employed in fishing with great success. Our Sandwich Island chiefs landed on our anchoring, and having found two huts left by some former visitors, they remained in them to enjoy the pleasures of fishing and bathing according to the customs of their own country, while we staid in the harbour.

      Our party to Narborough Island landed among an innumerable host of sea-guanas ^*, the ugliest living creatures we ever beheld. They are like the alligator, but with a more hideous head, and of a dirty sooty black colour, and sat on the black lava rocks like so many imps of darkness. As far as the eye could reach we saw nothing but rough fields of lava, that seemed to have hardened while the force of the wind had been rippling its liquid surface. In some places we could fancy the fiery sea had been only gently agitated; in others, it seemed as if it had been swept into huge waves. Here and there it was rent into deep crevices coated with iron rust, and filled up with salt water. Far

inland too, the pools are salt; and not a vegetable, but the cactus here and there, is seen to root in the rock. Seaward, however, the eye is relieved by a few patches of mangrove, which have begun to fringe the desolate place with green.

      About half way down the steep south-east side of the Island, a volcano burns day and night; and near the beach a crater was pouring forth streams of lava, which on reaching the sea caused it to bubble in an extraordinary manner. We returned to the ship in the afternoon, having taken forty-six large green turtle, but failed of getting any terrapin. We also killed some seals, pelicans, and penguins, and saw sea-lions sporting about the rocks.

      March 29. -- We were employed in cutting wood, and procured a sufficiency for three weeks; but, as usual in hot climates, brought on board with it scorpions and centipedes. The high Island of Albemarle is tolerably green, but in one part there is a bleak field of lava, which appears to have flowed out of the flank of the grassy mountain, pretty low down. Our botanist found several rare and interesting plants, some of which are probably quite new; but with the exception of the common balsam-tree and a species of acacia, most of the vegetation is dwarfish. The land birds

are few here, but the brown sea-guana^* and a red-breasted lizard are to be seen in great numbers. "We saw only one green snake, quite harmless, and found but few insects; however, our stay here was too short to procure any thing like a perfect catalogue of the natural productions of the Islands.

      March 30. -- "We left Banks's Cove, and about noon came to a curious steep insulated rock called Bedondo, round which we caught a great quantity of fish, and saw innumerable sharks. In the night we made Abingdon Island, and sent boats in the morning to hunt for terrapin, but owing to the strong west-north-west current they could not land.

      April 2d. -- We passed the westernmost of the Gallapagos, Wenman, and Culpepper’s Islands, and then shaped a direct course for the Sandwich Isles. The thermometer has been for some days at 87° and 88° in the shade.

      Sunday, April 3d. -- The chief Boki, being the only one of the Sandwich Islanders on board who had been baptised, took the sacrament with us. He had been admitted into the Christian church, together with his brother Karaimoku, in his own country, by the chaplain who attended Captain Freycinet in the Uranie on his voyage round the world.

      Sunday, May 1. -- Kuinee or Liliah, and the other Sandwich Island chiefs, probably induced by the example of Boki, and anxious to carry home with them every possible mark of civilization, earnestly desired to have the ceremony of baptism performed. They had previously been instructed in some of the main doctrines of our holy faith, and the moral precepts and practice of Christians explained; and though it is probable that their own conduct may still bear a taint of its original savage heathenism, the baptism of such high chiefs may prepare the way for that of many of their countrymen. They received that sacrament accordingly at the hands of our chaplain, the Beverend B. Blox-ham. Lord Byron stood sponsor, and gave them the same names at the font as they had borne from their birth. Hence

Liliah, Kuanoa, Manuia, are for the future real Christian names, though they will probably never find patrons in the calendar. They may content themselves, however, with that of their godfather, "England’s great Champion, Cappadocian George," the proper guardian of chiefs whose native Islands are now under the immediate protection of the British crown.

      May 3. -- We were delighted early this morning by the cry of land, which, though but indistinctly seen at first through the haze of a very misty morning, soon broke forth from its clouds, and we found ourselves nearing Hido or Aheedo Bay, on the north-east part of the Island of Hawaii^*. We ran alongshore with the intention of putting into the bay for water, and were charmed with the cheerful and rich view of the land. The hills were covered with verdure, and some with forest; the sloping grounds below were adorned with clumps of cocoa-nut and bread-fruit trees; some inland waterfalls came in in the background, and near the beach the native huts gave that liveliness to the scenery which nothing but the marks of human habitation can do.

      Boki and Liliah seem rather depressed than elated at reaching their native land. But when we consider the circumstances under which they left it, and those attending their return, it is not wonderful that their first emotions should be painful; even were they entirely devoid of dread on account of the reception they might possibly receive, being like persons of ill omen, coming to bring death and mourning among their countrymen.

      About one p.m. we came up with some fishing canoes, which were immediately hailed by Manuia, one of our passengers; and the fishermen, hauling in their lines immediately, paddled alongside. Although we find that, in her youth, our shipmate Liliah had been accounted one of the best swimmers in the Island, and was particularly dexterous in launching her float-board ^* through the heaviest surf, yet now her sense of modesty, awakened by her residence in a civilized country, induced her to withdraw into her cabin at the sight of her almost naked countrymen. And, let us

observe, that besides what may be attributed to the native modesty of the sex, which no sooner perceives decorum than it adopts it, the gentle and docile character of the w T hole race of those Islanders was agreeably displayed by our fellow passengers. In dress, occupations, and amusements, they endeavoured to conform to our habits, and that in the manner of rational imitation, and not bearing any mark of savage mimicry: unless, indeed, we accuse them in the case of Kuanoa the treasurer, who being by nature somewhat of a dandy, had acquired a habit of pulling up the corners of his shirt-collar; so that his countrymen, who are quick observers, and make great use of gesture in speaking, soon learned to designate him by mimicking this action.

      The fisherman who first boarded us became exceedingly alarmed on looking round and perceiving the size of our ship and the number of her guns; but on hearing his native language he soon recovered, and gave us some very interesting intelligence concerning both public and private matters. Boki’s brother, Karaimoku, the regent of the Isles, had, it appeared, been for some time lingering under a dangerous dropsical complaint, and as Boki’s disposition is exceedingly affectionate, he was very much depressed by hearing of it; so that he could hardly listen to or rejoice in the account of a successful warfare in which Karaimoku himself had been the

victor. It appeared that, during the absence of Riho Riho, or Jolani, from the Islands, Taumuarii ^*, a young chief of Tauii, who had been for some years in North America, where he had been christened by the name of George, had thought it a favourable opportunity of gaining possession of his native Island and its dependencies; and as he was descended from the ancient independent kings, he had easily raised a party to support him. On the news of this rebellion reaching Woahoo, where Karaimoku resided, he instantly sent to the several Islands to require the assistance of the chiefs, and set out himself with such forces as he could collect in Oahu.

      At Maui the erees agreed it would be proper to send tw r o hundred men in canoes; but the chiefs themselves, either dreading a renewal of the bloody scenes which had troubled them in the time of Tamehameha, or moved by the caprice or indolence of half civilized men, seemed unwilling to join the expedition, when Kaikeoeva, an aged chief, came among them, and learning the cause of their meeting, and their backwardness to go to battle, he lifted up his withered hands and said, "Hear me, ye chiefs; ye who have warred under the great Tamehameha: Karai-

moku and I were born upon the same mountain in this Island; we were nourished at the same breast, and our boyish sports were in common, and together we breasted yonder foaming waves. In manhood we fought side by side. When Karaimoku was wounded, I slew the chief whose spear had pierced him; and though I am now a dried and withered leaf, never be it said that Kaikeoeva deserted his friend and brother in arms in time of need. Who is on Karaimoku’s side? Let him launch his war canoe and follow me." This burst of eloquence, from so approved a warrior, aroused the chiefs; in an hour all the w r ar canoes in and near Laheina were launched, and bore six hundred men to Taui in time to join Karaimoku as he marched to attack the fort of Taumuarii.

      So beloved is this chief, that as they approached the fort one of his captains cried out, "O Karaimoku, you are the chain that binds the seven Islands together; remain in safety, I beseech you, and I will lead the warriors on to fight. If your light is extinguished, our land will again be in confusion."

      Karaimoku led his troops, however; in an hour the fortress surrendered, and the governor was sentenced to death^*;

while Taumuarii fled to the mountains, where he remained in a state of starvation for some time, and at length threw himself on the regent’s mercy, who removed him to Woahoo, where he is strictly watched, but suffers no other evil.

      The natural anxiety of Boki concerning his brother having been thus far satisfied, we inquired whether the news of the death of Riho-Riho and his queen had reached the Islands, and learned that it was known at Oahu, and that their remains were hourly expected there, but at Hawaii it was not credited. It also appeared that the tidings was not altogether unlooked for, because an eclipse of the moon, which always foretels the death of some great chief, had happened, and they were afraid it might be the king or one of his companions.

      Our next inquiry addressed to the fisherman concerned the bay off which we were, in the district of Ahido; and his answer being favourable, our boats were sent to examine it, and particularly to ascertain the nature of a reef or bar of coral which stretches nearly across the entrance, while the ship lay to outside. Here we were visited by a number of canoes, and the intelligence having reached the shore, that Boki and his friends were on board, we were visited by a petty chief and his wife, the latter of whom was Boki's sister, a large handsome woman, who, in the native light Tappa

dress, stepped across the quarter-deck with a stately but unembarrassed air, and taking a chaplet of flowers from her own brows, placed it on Lord Byron’s head as a sign of' welcome, and then went below to visit Liliah. When she again ap-peared, she was clothed in a gown given her by her friend, and her scanty Tappa wrapper was delivered to an attendant. Were the visit of the Sandwich Island chiefs to England to produce nothing more than the desire of clothing, the benefit to the people would be great indeed. Besides all the decencies, and the virtues that spring from the decencies of life, the additional incitement to industry which the desire of clothing affords is of incalculable value in a state of incipient civilization; and for the ladies, as

      At five o’clock our boats came back, making so good a report of the bay that the captain seems inclined to return thither to complete his water and fresh provisions, though at present he is too anxious to reach Oahu with his charge,

to go into it. We therefore proceeded to Maui, for the double purpose of getting water, of which we begin to feel the want, and seeing Kahumanu, the widow of Tamehameha, though not the mother of Biho Itiho, who partakes with Karaimoku the regency of the Islands.

      May 4. -- At daylight this morning, while the snowy peak of Maouna Keah was still visible, we discovered the double-hilled Maui, and coasted along it almost all day, that we might reach the harbour of Lahaina, which is in the most populous and fertile district of the Island. The eastern part appears very beautiful; the slopes are well wooded, and there are broad valleys, and deep ravines, and lofty rocks, from which several streams fall in broken cascades directly into the sea, and the whole is enlivened by numerous huts and plantations. About six p. m. we anchored close to the shore in Lahaina bay, lat. 21 ° N. long. 156’ 5' W. It was very beautiful: groups of trees grow down close to the sea, and many of them, by the novelty and beauty of their foliage, delighted us: there was the bread fruit^* mingled with the cocoa nut^†; the elegant and useful kou^‡; the banana^§; the wauti^¶, of which native cloth is

made; the ohia^* and the sugar-cane; all in gay and rich confusion, approaching very closely to the white surf which breaks constantly on the beach. We had however little time to feed our eyes with these pleasant things, the more agreeable after our long voyage, when we received the distressing news, that Kahumanu had been called from this Island to Oahu, where the greater number of the chiefs were assembled, that they might be at hand to prevent disturbances in case of the death of Karaimoku, which was daily expected. Boki appeared extremely agitated at this news; indeed, were his love for his brother not so great as it undoubtedly is, his life just at this time is of the greatest political and private importance to him. One of the king’s schooners being fortunately in the bay, Boki despatched it instantly to Oahu with the news of our arrival; and then he, with Liliah and their companions, landed, being dressed in deep mourning. Liliah appeared in a black silk dress, and a black hat and feathers, doubtless the first that had ever been worn in the Island by a native. Boki seemed overcome with extraordinary emotion, and told Lord Byron as he went on shore, that he felt within^† as if all was

not right. However, on his landing, many thousands of the natives, who had assembled to receive him, prostrated themselves before him, and began to groan and bewail their king and friend: their lamentations accompanied him to the house of Liliah’s father, who is governor of Maui, and continued at intervals all night.

      Early in the morning we began watering, and a number of natives attended on the beach and floated our casks through the surf, coming and going, with great good humour and dexterity. We went ashore in the course of the morning, and accompanied Lord Byron in his visit to the sister of Iolani, the young princess Naheinaheina, who resides with Olimeme, Liliah’s father, for the present. She was accompanied by an American missionary, who is both schoolmaster and interpreter. Liliah had already clothed her and her attendants in black, but had disfigured her very intelligent, though scarcely pretty face, by dressing her in a huge mob cap.

      The chiefs all surrounded her, seated on mats of excellent workmanship, and dressed in the fashion of the country, i. e. the maro and the mantle: the former resembles the waist-cloth of the Egyptian statues; the latter is worn over one shoulder, so as to leave the right arm free. Their general corpulence is very striking to a stranger. It is pro-

bably caused by the abundance of nutritive food and the habits of indolence in which they indulge. The company was exceedingly delighted with our epaulettes, and used the word to name them by which they designate glorious resplendency as applied to the sun.

      The view from the anchorage had led us to form too favourable an idea of the town, if it may be so called, of Lahaina. The huts of the natives are irregularly scattered, and the cultivation is very imperfect; perhaps we were wrong to expect more; yet the impression was that of disappointment. The bay of Lahaina is formed by two low points projecting into the sea, at a distance of two miles from each other. From the beach to the mountain a perfectly flat plain extends from three quarters to half a mile in breadth; and this plain is richly covered with vegetation of all kinds, and studded with trees. It is, however, wild, and the irregular patches of native culture destroy the grace of nature without giving the dignity of civilization. But the breadfruit spreads its useful branches over immense artificial fish-ponds, where a great portion of the favourite food of the natives is produced; and close to which are the taro fields, from twenty to thirty yards square, kept constantly full of water, that the root may swell and become more delicate.

      The irrigation of the grounds at Lahaina is managed with great care and skill. As it seldom rains in the bay, water is brought from the mountains in stone courses, which are carefully closed every evening; and each farmer has a right to irrigate his fields every fifth day. The pathways are usually along the stone canals.

      The huts of the common people are seldom more than ten feet long, eight feet wide, and six feet high; and through the very low door it is not unusual to see them crawl. They are only used as storehouses, or to sleep in during the cold season, for the kanakas or common people usually live out of doors under the shade of their breadfruit-trees. We entered some of the huts, and found them tolerably neat; the floor laid with mats, and the simple utensils clean.

      About three-quarters of a mile from the beach the land rises abruptly, towering into mountains, three of which, immediately to the east of Lahaina, are computed to be five thousand feet in height. From the first swell of the rising ground almost to the summit a little sunburnt vegetation is intersected by deep and gloomy ravines, and frightful precipices of bare black lava -- and this is the general character of the lee-side of the island.

      From Lahaina the Islands of Kanai, Morokoi, and

Taoorawa are in sight at the distance of about fifteen miles; their appearance is dreary, with lowering clouds constantly resting on the summits of their dark hills.

      On the southern point of the bay, and close to the shore, are the ruins of a heiua or morai; and as we trod over the confused mass of stones, we rejoiced in the thought that its monstrous gods are for ever destroyed, and its bloody sacrifices for ever ended. Seven short years have sufficed to put an end to a most barbarous superstition, to detach the whole nation from idolatry, and to plant among them the pure faith and morals of the Christian law. A church capable of containing six hundred persons has lately been erected here: its walls are of reeds, lined with the woven leaves of the lauhala; and the roof, covered with the ti-leaf, is supported by strong poles. The whole is exceedingly neat and even elegant. The chiefs are extremely kind to the missionary, and have allotted him a house and piece of land sufficient for his wants.

      While we were walking to the morai, Mr. Dampier was engaged in sketching the scenery, and we found him surrounded by the natives, who appeared curious as to his occupation, but were very civil and obliging, taking the greatest care not to intercept his view, and as each tree appeared in the sketch, called to each other to look, pointing

to the tree, and naming it in their own language. After amusing ourselves some hours on shore, we returned to the ship in a native canoe, which, notwithstanding its extreme narrowness, is rendered safe by the outrigger, and glides through the surf with astonishing rapidity. Having taken in sufficient water, we got under weigh in the evening, when Boki returned on board, bringing with him the little princess and several chiefs, who were desirous of going with us to Oahu. Fires had been lighted on different points of Maui for our guidance.

      6th May. Early this morning we were in sight of Oahu, and about nine o’clock were off the bay of Honoruru, in which the capital of the same name is situated. It is defended by several forts, the most remarkable of which, behind the town, is formed on the edge of an extinguished volcanic crater. Our consul, Mr. Charlton, came off to us, and brought more comfortable reports of Karaimoku’s health. He was prepared for our coming by the message despatched by Boki from Maui, and all preparations were made for receiving us with honour. A few minutes after Mr. Charlton boarded us, we came to an anchor in Honoruru roads, the inner harbour not having deep enough water for us, and fired a salute of fifteen guns, which was immediately returned by the forts in very good style. The fort on the

beach mounts 42 guns of various calibres; that on the hill, behind, which is in fact only the mouth of the crater of a spent volcano, mounts eight. The bay, or roadstead, is capacious, but the bottom is rocky and uneven. The town appears to great advantage from the anchoring ground. Besides the houses and huts of the natives, there are several good stone dwellings built by Europeans, and timber houses, the frames of which have been brought from America and finished here.

      Our Sandwich Island shipmates, and their companions from Maui, immediately went ashore in the ship’s pinnace, and were received on the beach by the young king Kiau-kiauli, with his guard of honour all armed with muskets, queen Kahumanu in a car drawn by eight kanakas, and her sisters Opeea and Kalakua, the latter of whom was the mother of the late queen. The widow queens of Kiho Eiho also attended, and advanced a little before the others, towards the landing-place, in front of a large frame house belonging to Kahumanu. As soon as the boat was near enough for the party in it to be distinctly recognised, the queens began a loud wailing lament, in which they were joined by Boki and Liliah, and minute guns were fired from the fort in honour of Biho Eiho.

      The ceremonial of grief being thus fulfilled, the chiefs, accompanied by our surgeon, proceeded to the residence of

Karaimoku, who was too unwell to receive Boki on the beach. The meeting of the brothers was truly affecting. At first they appeared incapable of speech, and then, after a long embrace, they went to the adjoining missionary chapel, and gave thanks for the safe arrival of the long absent chiefs. After this, Boki stood up, and addressed all who had followed into the church; and, having spoken of what he had seen and learned abroad, exhorted them above all things to be diligent in their application to letters and to religion.

      In the evening Lord Byron received notice in writing, that on the next day Karaimoku would be prepared to receive him and his officers on shore ^*.

      May 7th. Early this morning Boki and Kuanoa came on board to conduct Lord Byron and his party to the regent's house. We proceeded accordingly in the barge and pinnace: his lordship, two lieutenants, the officer of marines, two midshipmen, the chaplain, naturalist, surveyor, draftsman, and botanist. We were all in uniform, of course, and the two chiefs wore the Windsor uniform in compliment to the King of England. The fort saluted his lordship on his landing, and we marched in formal procession to Karaimoku’s house. The captain marched first, supported by Boki and Mr. Charlton, then followed the officers, each led by a native chief in deep mourning, and after them the sailors carrying presents from the King of England to his youthful majesty Kiaukiauli, and the other chiefs. The road was tabooed on either side, so that there was ample space for our procession, though great crowds were assembled on either hand to look at us. The appearance of the royal guard is singular enough, their whole dress consisting of the native maro, and a dark

European frock-coat, without shirt, waistcoat, or trowsers: they are armed with muskets.

      Although Karaimoku has lately built a handsome stone house, we could not help applauding the feeling that determined him to receive us in a native structure, differing only in size from that of the people. It was situated about half a mile from the beach, in a cultivated inclosure surrounded by a high fence of wicker-work. The ridge-pole was supported by pillars thirty feet high, and the length fifty feet, by twenty-five in breadth. Four doors, opening to the cardinal points, admitted fight and air: -- the south door was that appointed for our entry. On an elevated space at the northern end of the house the young king and princess were placed on a cane sofa. They were dressed in European suits of mourning, and seated on a beautiful feather garment, which some of the affectionate natives had w T oven for the princess ISTaheinaheina, in hopes that she would wear it as a pau^* on the return of her brother Riho Riho from England. However, the little girl has been so long under the tuition of the missionaries, that she has thoroughly imbibed all the womanly feelings of civilised decency, and absolutely refuses

ever to appear in the native costume; so that the pan was used to-day merely as a covering for her seat.

      Behind the sofa of the young chiefs were the four Ka-hiles, or, as we may call them, royal ensigns. The handles are beautifully ornamented with the polished teeth of marine animals, mother-of-pearl, and tortoise-shell; and the ensigns themselves are of the most beautiful and rare feathers, arranged with skill and elegance, fourteen feet long. Kahumanu, the queen-mother, with the other superior female ariis, sat next the princess, and, with the other chiefs, formed two lines to the door of entrance. The men were dressed in European mourning clothes; the women in black silk dresses -- the only part of native costume being their beautiful feather chaplets and necklaces. Several of them had adorned their dark hair with pearl combs, and many wore shoes and stockings. Opposite to the queens, and a little in front of the chiefs, sat Karaimoku in a large chair. The venerable man was dressed in black silk, the upper garment being a full loose gown. On either side of his chair were seats for Lord Byron, the consul, and the officers. All the chiefs, except the king, the regent, and the princess, received us standing. We were all struck with the mild and intelligent countenance of Karaimokq, and the self-possession of his manners, especially in receiving

Lord Byron, who was introduced formally by Mr. Charlton. We had been warned before-hand that the regent, in token of his esteem for England, had long adopted the name of the English prime minister of Vancouver’s days; and, accordingly, we were prepared to hear him formally named, and to name him Mr. Pitt. This adoption of names, as a token of respect or love, is a very widely diffused custom among savage nations, and is practised on the coast of Africa, as well as in the Isles of the Pacific.

      The first ceremony of introduction and shaking hands with every chief being over, Lord Byron, through the interpretation of one of the American missionaries, addressed Karai-moku, and said -- "That he was commanded by the king of England to salute the regent of the Sandwich Islands in his name, and to make known to the reigning king, and the principal chiefs, the sorrow he felt at the death of their late king and queen, whilst on a visit to his dominions: that his Britannic Majesty could not further testify his regret at the death of the sovereigns than by giving an early audience to the surviving suite. The manner of their reception, and the treatment they met with in England, could be best detailed by those to whom God had granted a safe return to their native land. The King of England had moreover caused the expenses of the Sandwich Island chiefs, while in

England, to be paid by the Government; and had appointed two gentlemen to wait on them, to attend to their wishes, and to show them, as far as time would allow, the arts, manufactures, and commerce of England; but the chiefs themselves would best explain these matters to their countrymen. His Britannic Majesty had sent him (Lord Byron), in one of his royal frigates, to convey the remains of the late king and queen, with their surviving suite, to their native land; and to assure the actual government of the Islands of his sincere wishes for their welfare and happiness, and of his hopes that, by the blessing of Providence, they might continue to prosper, under a peaceful, firm, and well-ordered administration."

      After this speech his Lordship distributed the presents from England to the chiefs. The first present was offered to Karaimoku: it was a gold watch, on which the arms of England were engraved on one side, and his own name on the other, with seals and chain to correspond. To the favourite widow of Biho Kiho (who had, early as it was, already accepted a second mate), a likeness in wax of her late husband, set in a very pretty frame. The likeness was strong, and drew forth many affectionate tears. But these simple and uncultivated people are still like children; and her dark eyes "soon shone" through forgotten tears. Karai-

moku seemed also moved at seeing the resemblance of his former pupil, the son of his early friend and benefactor. Kahumanu, the queen-mother, next received a handsome silver tea-pot: the thing of all others most admired and coveted by the ladies here, who have adopted tea, and almost rival the Chinese in their love of it, though the Americans, who chiefly supply them, have taken care that they shall have no experience of the best kinds of that most excellent herb. But however much the teapot was prized, the next present produced excited more joy in the receiver, perhaps, than all the rest put together had caused: it was a dress suit of the Windsor uniform, with a handsome sword, hat and feather, for the young Kiaukiauli, to whom it was presented by two young midshipmen. He instantly put it on, and strutted about the whole morning in ecstasy. As soon as he was dressed, Lord Byron led him up to Kahumanu and the regent, and bade them look at their king, exhorting him to love them, and be docile to the advice of such good and wise friends.

      The ceremonies being over, and the gifts delivered, the American missionary, Mr. Bingham, who loses no opportunity of mingling in every business, proposed prayers, and accordingly said what may be called a long dull grace to the entertainment, first in English, and then, as it appeared to

us, more easily in the Sandwich tongue. As soon as he had ended, refreshments were placed for us on a table; these consisted of grapes, melons, fresh butter, biscuits, bananas, cocoa-nuts, wines, and liqueurs. The three first articles the Islanders owe to the industry of Marini, an old Spaniard, who was the first to bring in and tame some of the cattle that Vancouver first introduced into Hawaii, and began to show the natives the various uses of milk. He has also cultivated the vine so successfully as to have made tolerable wine, and the melons, though first brought hither by the English, have been fostered by this man, so as now to seem native here.

      Having tasted of the chief’s good things, we returned to the ship, not ungratified with the morning’s spectacle, though disappointed in the appearance of the women, who, with very few exceptions, are very tall, and almost all disgustingly fat. Some of the principal female chiefs have little cars, on which, lying at length on their faces upon fine mats, they are drawn from place to place by their kanakas.

      The little king possesses two or three horses, which he promised to lend to us, and we accordingly went ashore in the afternoon to take a ride: but horses are novelties here, and neither they nor their accoutrements are well understood; so

when three, not ill-looking steeds, were brought to us, there arrived with them two girths and one green leather saddle; but sailors are proverbially fertile in resources, and we contrived to ride, at least, round the capital of the Sandwich Isles, though we were not able to attempt the hills. Honoruru is a considerable town, in general very irregular, each house having a small enclosure secured by stakes or wickerwork around it; there are, however, two or three tolerably regular streets, and what may be called the public place, where Karaimoku’s house is situated, and near it the Christian church. The houses vary in size from the small hut of the kanaka, which barely holds him and his few domestic utensils, to the roomy dwelling of the chief, which is often fifty and sometimes eighty feet in length, and of proportion-able width and height. They are all, however, constructed of the same materials, i. e. poles or timbers fastened together with cord made of the twisted fibres of various plants, and covered with either the leaves of the ti (dracaena) or a long kind of grass, and lined with various leaves, often elegantly plaited. In the chief’s houses there is usually a raised platform at one end, covered with beautiful mats of various pat. terns, and usually woven of the split leaves of the pandanus. On this platform the chief himself reposes, and his relations and dependents occupy, indiscriminately, the lower part of the

room. The principal luxury in these houses is the beauty, softness, and cleanliness of the mats. Some little luxury there is too, in the external finishing of a few of them; the eaves and roof-ridges are frequently ornamented with an edge of fern, the rich brown colour of which forms an agreeable contrast with the greyer and paler colour of the ordinary thatching. A large ornamented house requires three weeks to build, while an ordinary one may be completed in as many days. Besides these original dwellings, Honoruru can boast of several very commodious wooden houses, brought, in separate parts, from the United States. One of these, lately erected by the queen, Kahumanu, she has offered to Lord Byron as a shore residence while he remains at this Island. A few stone buildings have also been lately erected, the largest and most commodious of which belongs to Karaimoku, and is as yet scarcely finished.

      Behind the town the plain extends nearly a mile to the foot of the hills. Here the taro fields, with their little water-courses, give a rich verdant appearance to the country: and beyond the town, along the shore, are the great saltwater tanks, which the natives have constructed by rolling large blocks of lava into the water, so as to form great dikes, in order to secure a constant supply of fish. Opposite to the entrance of the inner harbour there is a fort of some

strength, well built, and mounting about forty guns of various nations, and of calibres from thirty-two pounders to fours. The centre fort has eight 32’s. On all days of ceremony the Sandwich flag is hoisted on these forts: it has seven white and red stripes, with a union jack in the corner. There is a small pier for facilitating the unloading of vessels; and such as are of small burden may lie almost close to the shore. Several American whalers were lying here; and at the sight of them, the gardens of exotic fruits, and the stone houses, we could not but be struck with the astonishing strides towards civilization that these Islanders have made in the very short period that has elapsed since their discovery.

      During our ride over the little plain between the mountain and the sea, we could not help thinking that there are indications of its having been, at no very remote period, a coral reef covered by the sea. In one place we saw the rubbish thrown out in digging a well; it consisted of shells, coral, and masses of porous lava; and, in short, of all that we observe on the present beach.

      The surveyor’s operations, which were going on, led a party, in a boat, up the little river which forms the harbour of Honoruru. It winds very prettily between banks, whose beauty is rendered more striking to us by the unusual

vegetation and foliage which shade and adorn them. The pandanus, the various species of arum, the palms, the broadleaved breadfruit, the gigantic ferns, are all new and wonderful to us -- and are doubly pleasing, seen among the cultivated grounds, whose masters, at the upper part of the river, we saw in numbers crossing the stream, with bundles of sugar-cane, taro, or other vegetables on their heads.

      On our return from our ride we called on Liliah, and found her sitting on her platform, with a numerous assembly. Ladies and gentlemen, excepting herself, had alike disencumbered themselves of their European costume, and were enjoying all the ease of the ancient Sandwich Island fashions. It was strange, and not quite pleasant, to witness this undress, especially as the lounging attitudes of the company did nothing to redeem the dignity of human nature. Happily, the dark colour of the native skin has the effect of a first covering; and, besides, the unconsciousness of impropriety that precludes shame in the persons themselves, soon put us at our ease again.

      May 9. -- Monday, Lord Byron visited Karaimoku, to arrange matters for the funeral of the late king and queen. We found the regent dressed in a longish checked shirt, still very ill indeed. His complaint, which is a dropsy, is not one that admits of much alleviation, except from an

operation; and that, it is expected, he will submit to in a few days. At every visit we are more and more pleased with the good sense and intelligence of this man. He is one of the oldest of the chiefs, having been present at the death of Captain Cook, which disastrous event he perfectly remembers, and confirms the conjecture hazarded by Captain King, that the whole affray was accidental, and as much lamented by the natives as by us. Of the respect, according to their notions, paid to his remains, and of their belief, that though once dead, he might, as their deity Orono, come again among them, Karaimoku's testimony is now hardly necessary.

      This day our botanist and naturalist have begun their researches. Chiefs are coming in, or hourly expected, from all the neighbouring Islands, to assist at the approaching solemnity, and all wears the appearance of activity. Among those who have arrived are the national orator Nahi and his wife Kapeolani. Kuakini, commonly called John Adams, governor of Owhyhee, and brother of Kahumanu, came in his own schooner, the Boston, bringing with him Mr. Young, whose history is told by Vancouver, and whose constant attachment to his native country, though for tw r enty-four years absent from it, has doubtless been the cause of the great attachment of the Sandwich Island government to the English.

      In the afternoon a party of officers came ashore from the Blonde, and marked out the first cricket-ground that was probably ever used in the isles of the Pacific. The natives have, however, several games with balls, and one which is played with smooth flat circular stones, which are rolled dexterously along a narrow path made for the purpose; they gamble at these.

      May 11. -- This day the bodies of King Tamehameha the Second ^*, and his Queen Kahamalu, were removed from His Majesty's Ship Blonde, and deposited, with Christian rites, in a house in the capital of their own native dominions, which house is to serve as their sepulchre until a proper tomb can be constructed for them.

      An event so singular in the history of the world as this is, will deserve every detail which can be given: but first we may consider the extraordinary fate of these young people. Born in a country which had been for ages concealed by the ocean from the rest of the world, and which had only, in the reign of their grandfather, been made known to the civilized part of mankind, they were nurtured among

the ignorance and superstitions of barbarism itself. The transcendant qualities of their father, a conqueror and legislator, had alone opened to their country a prospect of rising to a station among the cultivated nations of the earth. Yet young as they were, untrained by scholarship or example, they had broken down the barriers of superstition, paved the way for laws and true religion, introduced letters, and, in hopes of benefiting their country, and securing the alliance and protection of the state which they esteemed most likely and most able to guard them, yet leave them free to improve, and not oppress them, they had undertaken no less a voyage than half the circle of the globe, and had died in that foreign land -- surrounded, indeed, by affectionate attendants of their own nation, yet anxious for their distant people, and grieving that they had only half accomplished the object of their heroic expedition. Perhaps the perfect faith reposed in the English by the people of the Islands, is the strongest proof that ever could be given by a whole nation of simple-mindedness and freedom from guile. There was not a moment’s irritation, not a moment’s suspicion that unfair means had been used to shorten their days; and we were received as brothers who would sympathise with their grief, and as friends who would be glad to heal their wounds.

      At 11 a. m. the bodies were placed in the frigate’s launch, and carried in procession to the shore, while the colours were hoisted half-mast high, and minute guns were fired from the ship. The procession itself was arranged as follows:

Each boat had its flag only half hoisted.

      As the boats approached the shore, the whole of the chiefs, with the exception of Karaimoku, whose ill health rendered his attendance impossible, came to the beach to receive the remains of their sovereigns. Custom forbids the attendance of the common people on such occasions; accordingly, none were immediately present, though, on either side of the road, without the line formed by the guard, they were assembled in multitudes; for the late sovereigns had been peculiarly beloved by the common people.

      Two cars had been prepared to receive the coffins: they w r ere of the form usual for carriages used by the women of high rank, and covered with black tapa; canopies and festoons of the same material were raised over them, and they were each drawn by eight chiefs. The coffins themselves excited great admiration; they were covered with

crimson velvet, and ornamented with silver gilt plates and handles.

      On the king’s coffin was the following inscription^* in Hawaiian and English:

      On the queen’s there was nearly the same:

      As soon as the coffins were placed on the biers, the pro-

cession moved towards the church in the following order, through a double line of native guards:

      Having reached the church, which was hung with black on the occasion, the cars were drawn up before the door, and the persons of the procession formed a circle around, while the chaplain of the Blonde read the funeral service in English, and the American missionary addressed the assembly in their native tongue. The procession then in the same order marched to the same house, belonging to Karaimoku, where we had been received the day after our arrival: it was now entirely hung with black, and a raised platform, over which a low arch was thrown, at one end, was prepared as the resting-place of the remains of the two sovereigns, whom the old man had loved as his

children through life, and whose early death has been most grievous to him. He received their bodies standing by a chair covered with black velvet, placed for him close to the platform prepared for them; and prepared as he was for the reception of their remains, he was extremely agitated, and could not restrain his tears. As soon as the coffins were deposited on the platform, the band accompanied some native singers in a funeral hymn, which the missionaries had written and taught them to sing, to the air of Pleyefs German Hymn. We could not help reflecting on the strange combination of circumstances here before us: every thing native-born and ancient in the Isles was passing away: the dead chiefs lay there, hidden in more splendid cerements than their ancestors had ever dreamed of; no bloody sacrifice stained their obsequies, nor was one obscene memorial made to insult the soul as it left its earthly tenement; but instead, there was hope held out of a resurrection to happiness, and the doctrines admitted that had put an end to sacrifice for ever, and pronounced the highest blessing on the highest purity! Where the naked savage only had been seen, the decent clothing of a cultivated people had succeeded, and its adoption, though now occasional, promises permanency at no distant period. Mingled with these willing disciples were the warlike and the noble of the

land the most remote on the globe, teaching, by their sympathy, the charities that soften yet dignify human nature. The savage yells of brutal orgies were now silenced; and as the solemn sounds were heard for the first time, uniting the instruments of Europe and the composition of a learned musician, to the simple voice of the savage, and words, not indeed harsh in themselves, framed into verse by the industry and piety of the teachers from a remote nation, came upon the ear, it was impossible not to feel a sensation approaching to awe, as the marvellous and rapid change a few years have produced was called up to the mind.

      May 15. -- The few days since the funeral have been chiefly passed in friendly visiting between us and the chiefs. Mr. Dampier has begun portraits of some of the royal family, and lias made some sketches of the landscape round Hono-ruru. The natives are extremely delighted at his drawings and pictures, but are apt to be very impatient at the slowness of the work, especially when one eye in a portrait happens to be done while the other is not touched. Such as are painted are very desirous of being represented in their European gowns; the artist, however, insists on the native costume, to their no small mortification; and certainly, in their eyes, a black silk frock must be more delectable than a fine scarlet and yellow feather cloak. The great

queen Kahumanu, whose temper is violent, although she is a person of keen shrewd understanding, is very indignant that the little king and princess should be painted before her, and is not very well pleased at the frown she sees reflected from her own portrait; however, on the whole she is very kind to us, and unites with our old shipmates in showing us every possible attention.

      In the painting-room, however, the chiefs were very troublesome. One would dip his fingers in the colours on the palette, another would try if those on the canvas were of the same hue; some would be mimicking every action of the painter, with true monkey precision, and others would be talking, whistling, spitting, singing, and giving advice, until it was scarcely possible to proceed. Out of doors it was better: a tree grew more quickly than a head, and the impatience of the spectators was more speedily gratified; however all was so good-humoured, that it was impossible to be angry.

      May 16. -- A party rode up the hill behind the town; it is covered with grass and well clothed with trees, and bears unequivocal marks of having once been an active volcano. The crater is used for a purpose not very remote from that of its origin, for eight guns of thirty-two pounds are mounted on it, and it contributes much to the defence of the harbour.

It must have cost no small exertion to have brought these heavy guns up here; but it was a work of Tamehameha’s, who seems to have had no idea of difficulty which was not to be overcome. The valleys between the hills in the immediate neighbourhood of Honoruru are in a very high state of cultivation, and now afford many exotic fruits which no prejudice has prevented the natives from adopting and using as freely as their own native vegetables.

      May 17. -- We made an excursion on foot to-day again to the hills; we were charmed with the variety and strangeness of the vegetation, and not a little pleased to find our old acquaintance the bilberry among what appeared to us the finer sort of plants. On our return we paid a visit to Nahi the second, or vice chief of Karakakua, who, with his wife Ka-peolani, is here at present to attend the council which must be held before the little king can be acknowledged, and which is only delayed till Karaimoku’s health permits him to undergo the fatigue of it. Their house is very neat and orderly. They are perhaps the best informed Christians among the whole body of converts. They are pretty constantly attended by a certain native teacher, whom we considered as a very great bore, but he is probably the agent of good. Nahi was extremely inquisitive about England, and sought from us explanations of many things which the

account of Boki's party had rendered rather unintelligible; and, indeed, when we consider that a balloon was one of the inexplicable things, we cannot wonder at it. Nahi was, however, still more anxious to learn if the King of England had deigned to send out a code of laws for the Sandwich Islands, which it appears to have been one of the chief objects of Iolani to procure. Ele asked many questions as to the certainty and severity of punishment for crime, and we more particularly insisted on the equal dealing of justice to noble and peasant alike. This seemed to make a great impression on the chief. While this conversation was going on, and while Nahi acknowledged that it was an excellent thing that the kanakas and erees should be equal by the laws, he had a favourite kanaka rubbing his back, and others waiting round him in the servility of actual slavery: in some cases the kanakas approach the erees on their knees. Alas! it is only by slow degrees that human creatures are improved.

      May 18. -- To-day Lord Byron and a party took possession of an excellent house, of two stories high, and having a balcony before the windows of the second story, belonging to Kahumanu, who had offered it for their residence, and as a station for the surveyor, while they remain on the Island. She bought it from an American speculator, who brought

it ready in frame from the United States; and she paid a considerable price for it. While we were here, Boki supplied us in profusion with every thing that the Island produced; and Marini, by his orders, furnished us with milk, butter, grapes, melons, and bananas.

      One of the officers having promised to procure a skull or skulls for a phrenological friend, sent some natives up the hill called Lahahi, where the dead used to be deposited, to procure some. The ascent is steep and difficult; and the new Christianity of the natives has not yet so entirely done away with the ancient superstition, but that our kanakas stripped off every particle of clothing before they went, that they might not incense the spirits of the place.

      Our increased intercourse with the natives has made us sensible of the singular effect produced on their language by the introduction of English names for the various things with which they have become familiar since the discovery of the Islands. We must not call their language poor, because it sufficed for all the necessary purposes of speech in the state of society to which they had advanced; and even to something more -- for poetry was already cultivated, and the pleasantness both of rhythm and rhyme had been felt. But many indeed are the new w T ords, introduced as their wants and the means of gratifying them have increased; and these

words are sometimes so altered as to bear no very near resemblance to their origin, owing to the want of certain consonants, such as s and f in their language. We might anticipate many a strange etymology, and many a wild conjecture, on the part of future philologists, if the art of printing had not placed beyond a chance of oblivion the discovery of these Islands, and its consequent effects on their customs, manners, and language.

      From the language of our new friends it is natural to turn to their looks. They are generally well made, and the nobles are almost universally taller and larger than the middle size in Europe; they are strong, active, and capable of enduring great fatigue. The skin is of a fine brown, inclining to copper-colour: their hair is rather coarse and black; in some it curls naturally, in others it is quite straight: they still discolour the roots with lime, as in Cook’s and Vancouver’s time, and cut it in every variety of fashion. Sometimes it is allowed to flow loosely; sometimes it is cut and tied so as to form a sort of aigrette on the crown of the head; and again it is shorn on both sides so that a crest, like the bear-skin of an old dragoon’s helmet, remains. Their eyes are quick, lively, and apparently never at rest, which last quality gives an expression of wildness to the countenance. They have naturally fine teeth, but

hitherto few men have grown up with a full set, it having been the fashion to extract a tooth or two to commemorate the death of a friend or chieftain. Our friend Boki, himself, had four of his front teeth sacrificed to the great Tame-hamelia; and the operation must have been severe: he was laid on his back, and his mouth filled with tapa; a sharp instrument was placed at the root of the teeth, and at one blow they were all knocked out at once! Tattooing is often used as another mark of mourning, though it is sometimes done for ornament alone. The ladies tattoo the tips of their tongues in memory of their departed friends. On the death of Tamehameha all the chiefs had his name and the date of his death tattoed on their arms. The women are in youth beautifully formed, but become corpulent as they grow old; they are good-humoured and affectionate, and walk and move gracefully. Of this they do not appear unconscious; and they are extremely fond of contemplating themselves in a glass, and almost every one possesses a small mirror. They generally wear their hair long, and flowing over their shoulders, and the chiefs keep it very clean. ]S T ot so the lower people, who, although they keep their huts very neat, yet are dirty in their persons, and have both vermin and a variety of cutaneous diseases, especially the itch, for which, however, the missionaries have begun to

teach them to use the sulphur that is produced abundantly in Hawaii. It is to be hoped, also, that the spiritual doctrine that those gentlemen are inculcating, and the habit of universal clothing, which the chiefs who have travelled are desirous of introducing, will check the vice and its consequent evils which have been too often mentioned and lamented by former visitors to require a more serious notice here.

      Our coming to reside on shore has been the signal for all the petty traffickers in curiosities to gather round us. Feather tippets and cloaks, war-helmets, weapons, mother-of-pearl fish-hooks, and even gods are brought to market; and as the latter article has been in much demand, the handicraftsmen have set to work and manufactured a few new ones, just as good as the old, but that they have never been worshipped -- and do not the antique-makers in Rome do the same? The stone hatchets are also becoming very rare, but they were never of the best sort of hatchet-stone^*, though of the same nature. The edges of these hatchets appear to have been cut while the stone was in a soft state -- we do not comprehend, however, how it hardens, whether nature did all, or whether she was assisted; -- however that might be, the workmanship executed with

the stone implements is beautiful; the carving of the ancient ava bowls, the formation of the canoes, and the decorations of the war-clubs and daggers, show that good workmen will make good work in spite of their tools: they have now learnt to prefer, and no wonder, the iron we bring them, for it prodigiously shortens their labour.

      May 20. -- We have at length heard the lament at a death. To us it appears strange that hired weepers should be called in to assist the expression of grief so natural on the loss of what is dear to us. But the custom has been so general, that we must seek its origin in the natural desire for sympathy that possesses every human heart. The Irish cabin is filled with the mourning ullooloo, as the Hawaiian hut with the wailing oo-hee-oo-hee; and the pageantry of a European funeral only differs from these, in that our habits require us to suppress the expression of sorrow, and we hire mutes to look mourning. The ancients, i. e. the classical ancients, were near enough to the youth of the world to have retained some of the earliest habits of mankind, and the Greeks at least have left us testimonies, in writing and in sculpture, that they also loved to display rather than conceal the most natural and pious of our emotions. To bewail the dead is here a duty; and the women sit down and lament, then rise up and attend to

their ordinary occupations, and again sit down and lament, as their feelings fluctuate between sorrow for their dead, and the necessary calls and avocations of their lives: grief is not the less real for these interruptions.

      May 23. -- This day has been one of no small interest. Our surgeon has, to the great surprise of the natives, successfully performed the operation of tapping Karaimoku. Lord Byron and some of the officers were present, as well as a number of the chiefs, some of whom were exceedingly anxious about the safety of the regent, and could scarcely be made to comprehend that an opening in so material a part, considered by them as the seat of life, could be made without danger; and they seriously expected to see his highness’s breakfast issue through the aperture. Their wonder and delight were accordingly extreme at the complete success of the surgeon; and Karaimoku, himself, though he had generously trusted himself into the hands of a stranger, must have experienced a more than ordinary satisfaction at having done so. When asked, before the operation, if he objected to it, he answered -- "N o: my life is in your hands; do as you think good.’" And though he suffered considerable pain, when it was over he exclaimed, "maitai, maitai," good, good. Ka-humanu was extremely affected; and though not in the habit of displaying much tenderness of nature, the tears

were streaming down her face, while she supported his head and repeatedly kissed his forehead. The relief the old man experienced was very great, as the quantity of water drawn off was considerable. Perhaps the preservation of his life at this important crisis is the greatest benefit that could have been conferred upon the Islands ^*.

      June 1. -- Karaimoku’s health is gradually improving; and the success of our surgeon has contributed much to the favour with which we are regarded by the natives. Several parties from the Blonde have been formed to visit different parts of the Island; the most singular spot in which is, undoubtedly, the Parre, or precipice, on the weather side. The path which leads to it from Honoruru winds along the beautiful and fertile valley of Anu Anu, and thence ascends gradually, for eight miles, through a cultivated and populous district, separated, by a pretty stream, from a thick wood, which we crossed, completely sheltered from the mid-day sun, and found ourselves suddenly on the brink of a precipice some thousands of feet above the grassy plain below. The descent to this plain, which, like that of Honoruru, extends to the sea, is the most fearful imaginable. In many

places the path consists of little more than holes cut in the rock for the hands and feet; and, where most commodious, it lies along narrow ledges, where a false step would be inevitable destruction. Down this steep a whole army was driven by Tamehameha, at the conquest of the Island; and there his victory ended, for no one survived to oppose him. Before this path, such as it is, was practised, the communication between the two sides of the Island was carried on at another place, where the road is shorter, but where both sides are equally precipitous; and there being no possibility of climbing them, ladders of coiar-rope ^* were used. At the bottom of the Parre there are two large stones, on which, even now, offerings of flowers and fruit are laid to propitiate the Akua Wahini, or goddesses, who are supposed to have the power of granting a safe passage. In a valley near this wonderful precipice there is a fall of water of between two and three hundred feet. There the herbage is luxuriant even to rankness; and the mighty fragments of rock that are scattered around, and along the water-course, form caverns and dark places which superstition has assigned for the abode of a man-devouring deity, called Akua moo, or the reptile god; and if there had been large snakes or alligators on the Island, we should have no difficulty in accounting

for such a divinity in such a place. But the largest native reptile is a lizard but a few inches long, and which cannot have any pretensions to the dignity of Akua.

      The thermometer indicated 70° at three o’clock on the top of the Parre. A few days after our ascent to the Parre, a party went, in a small schooner belonging to Boki, to visit the very picturesque village of Wainaii, thirty-six miles to the westward of Honoruru. It is situated at the mouth of a deep valley, which lies between two high mountains, near which Lieutenant Hergest and Mr. Gooch of the Daedalus were murdered^*.

      These unfortunate gentlemen were victims to the naturally irritated feelings of some of the natives, whose chief, when going on board of the Grace, an English West-India-man, had been wantonly fired upon, at the suggestion of an Englishman on board. This man, Isaac Ridley, had been in the service of various chiefs, and tiring of all, had resolved to escape from the Islands in the Grace; therefore, to conceal his flight, he prevailed on the captain to fire on the natives, and thus was the cause of the death of the officers of the Dtedalus.

      Three different men were executed as their murderers, by the captains of different ships, in a manner so arbitrary,

that nothing but the resolution of Tamehameha to cultivate the friendship of the English, under all and any circumstances, can account for the hospitality that has been, with this exception, so uniformly exercised towards us.

      On returning from our examination of the fatal valley, we found a great concourse of people assembled in honour of our arrival, and prepared to entertain us with the hura hura, or national dance.

      We were seated on mats in front of the dancers, who were twenty-five young girls disposed in five rows. Their dresses consisted each of two pieces of fine tapa; the under piece, dyed yellow, fell only to the knee in full and graceful folds; the upper tapa was green, arranged in festoons, and confined to the waist by a broad band of the same. The heads of the dancers were adorned with chaplets of flowers, and their arms and legs with network, to which dogs’ teeth were loosely attached, so as to rattle and produce an effect not unlike that of the castanet in the dance.

      On either side of us sat two old men holding large calabashes, on which they beat time with the palms of their hands to the dance and to a slow song which accompanied it. The dance itself consisted of various and ever-changing motions of the limbs and body, without moving farther from the spot than a single step forwards, backwards, to the right

or to the left. The song was monotonous, and sung, sometimes by a single voice, sometimes by two, and then the whole chorus would join. It was in praise of Boki, and congratulation of his happy return to Oahu. They tell us the dance may consist of any number of persons, from one to a thousand. The songs are frequently composed for the occasion; they are sometimes in dialogue, and usually in praise of some chief. They are of all descriptions: religious, heroic, and amatory. The late king Riho Riho was a poet; and one of his compositions, in honour of his father’s safe return to Honoruru from Koolau, where he had been overtaken by a thunder-storm, was given to us ^*, as well as one or two other pieces. The missionaries have availed themselves of the natives’ love of poetry, and have composed several hymns, which, like the ancient versions in metre of the Psalms among us, get about among the common people, and at least obtain a hearing for divine truths.

      Another of our excursions was to the Diamond Mountain, so called because some crystals found there had been mistaken by ignorant European sailors for diamonds, and therefore for a time the place had been tabooed. Its summit is the extinct crater of a volcano, and forms one of the

most striking points in the Island. The road to it leads through the picturesque village of Waititi, near which, a little to the right of the road, there is a small enclosed spot, where the remains of Isaac Davis, one of the first Europeans who assisted Tamehameha in the partial civilization of the Islands, are interred; and the place is marked by an inscription, purporting that Isaac Davis died in this Island in April, 1810, aged 52 years.

      A foolish story had been circulated among the vulgar English that Davis had been poisoned secretly by order of Tamehameha, because he had warned Tamoree, a rival chief, of a treacherous design against his life. But such a tale is neither consonant to the habits of the Sandwich Islanders, nor to the character of Tamehameha.

      Near the village of Waititi stand the ruins of an ancient morai. Much has already been done in these Islands by the abolition of human and sanguinary sacrifices, and the desecration of the idol temples. Much also remains to be done before true religion, and with it the morals and manners which dignify and adorn our nature, can completely supersede the ancient superstitious habits and vices. Unhappily, the good men who, as missionaries, have abandoned the sweets of civilized society to devote themselves to the improvement of these Islands, and in obedience to the com-

mand. "Go ye and teach all nations baptizing them," are of a sect too austere, as we should think, for the purposes they are so anxious to promote.

      The old tabus are indeed no more, but they have called Sunday the la tabu, or consecrated day, and nothing in the heathen time could be more strictly tabooed. The missionaries forbid the making of fire, even to cook, on Sunday; they insist on the appearance of their proselytes free times at church every day; and having persuaded them that they are the necessary conductors to heaven, they are acquiring a degree of public and private importance, which, but for the situation of the Islands, which secures a constant accession of foreigners for the purposes of commerce, would bid fair to renew the Jesuitical dominion of Paraguay. It is true, they defend their system by saying, that since the tabu for the false deities was so severely kept, the proselytes might despise our doctrine did we pay less regard to him whom we preach as the true God; that as to the not cooking on Sundays it is no hardship, for it has always been the habit to cook enough for two or three days at a time, and to eat cold meats between the cooking days, because the mode of dressing food by fire-pits and heated stones is so very slow; and as to the frequency and length of the prayers, the people have nothing better to do. Such are

their answers. But other missionaries have found something for their catechumens to do. The Moravians at the Cape of Good Hope have taught the Hottentots, the most degraded race of men, and that nearest, before their time, to the brutes, the arts of civilized life. They who lived in holes in the earth, and ate the larva of filthy insects, and adorned themselves with the entrails of the animals they slew, now build them cottages, and fashion furniture, and are become workers in iron, and wood, and ivory. Here the task might have been easier; for already the arts of life had advanced far, and idolatry had, as if by miracle, given way, even before the coming of the mission. We believe mistaken zeal to be the source of many of the errors we see, but we fear also that some of the love of power has mingled with the zeal, and that the government of the country, through the medium of the consciences of the chiefs, is a very great, if not the principal object, of at least one of the mission.

      We had a striking proof of their power the other night. It was Saturday; and as Karaimoku was now well enough to enjoy a spectacle, the promise made to Boki of reserving some of the figures of the phantasmagoria for his friends at Oahu was recalled, and preparations were accordingly made

for its exhibition. As it was a public show, every body was expected to be there; and if Messrs. Bingham and friends were not expressly invited, it was probably because it was supposed they would come if they did not imagine the amusement of too worldly a nature. They had certainly due notice of it; for that very morning one of the party had a long conversation with one of the officers on the subject. How were we astonished, therefore, when all things being prepared, the company assembled, and among the rest, the little king and princess, notice was given, that on so near an approach of the Sabbath, prayer was a fitter employment! Accordingly, the two poor children were carried off in tears, and many of the chiefs and people followed to the missionary meeting. Karaimoku and Kahumanu however staid with us, and were extremely charmed with the exhibition, examining the room after it was over, and exhausting themselves in conjectures as to the manner in which it was produced. The intemperate indecency of this conduct on the part of the mission seems to have occurred to some of the more reasonable among themselves. Mr. Stewart was with his wife, whose health is exceedingly delicate, at some distance: a note was sent to him, we think by Mr. Bingham, to tell him what was going on: his sensible advice was, that the missionaries, with their

congregation, should adjourn in a body to the theatre, see the show, and then return to prayers. This advice was however not acted upon, and our phantasms played to a thin house.

      Mr. Stewart endeavoured to explain the matter as follows: -- It appears that two native teachers, who were highly regarded in the Island, and who had the more influence over their countrymen, as they spoke their own language, and were of their own kindred, had been brought up in one of the United States, where the Jewish method of reckoning time is observed, and the day begins and ends at noon; hence the Sunday, the first day of the week, begins at noon on Saturday the seventh day; and these teachers, having adopted this computation of time, have established Saturday meetings and exercises accordingly. This is very well so far as it goes; but Mr. Bingham, the head of the mission, uses on all other occasions the Christian measure of time, and he does not appear to be a person quietly to let two youths intrude with new ordinances on his cure^*. Indeed, his own explanation admits the fact, that the meeting was of his

planning, and that, having called his people together, he left the choice to themselves ^*.

      A day or two after the exhibition of the phantasmagoria, Lord Byron gave a great breakfast on board the Blonde, in honour of Karaimokus recovery. About thirty of the prin-

cipal chiefs, male and female, were present, all dressed in European dresses, the ladies being adorned with great care. Liliah retains her fondness for every thing English, and never upon any occasion appears less dressed than an English lady should be. Her countrywomen still use the privilege of being at ease at home; but by degrees these things will mend of themselves. The company appeared highly pleased with their visit. They admired the ship extremely; were charmed with their reception; and gratified beyond their powers of expression, at the salute that was fired to do them honour on their going ashore.

      June 6. -- This has been a very important day at Hono-ruru. Early in the morning, Lord Byron received notice that a national council was to be held, for the purpose of electing a king, or rather of confirming that title in the per son of the young Kiaukiauli, and his Lordship was invited to attend it. About mid-day the chiefs assembled in the king’s house, and Lord Byron and the English consul immediately repaired thither, and found, besides the native chiefs, several American merchants and the two missionaries. The principal chiefs present were --

      Kiaukiauli, the young king; Karaimoku, the regent; Kahumanu, widow of Tamehameha I.; Kuakini, or John

Adams, governor of Hawaii; Boki, governor of Oahu; Urumaheihei, governor of Maui; Nahie, national orator, and keeper of the records of the king and nation; Kapiolani, his wife; Kalakua, mother of the late queen, and sister to Kahumanu; Opua, another sister; Laanii, her husband; Kalaia, or Tamehameha, cousin to Karaimoku; Koanoa, treasurer; Kekauruohe, &c.

      Several of the chiefs began by speaking concerning the general affairs of the state, but the regular business of the council was opened by Nahie, who said -- "We have been called together, chiefs! and for what purpose? Is it not to choose a king, and to fix good laws for the state? Shall Kiaukiauli be our king, in the room of his dead brother, Eiho Riho? and shall we be his subjects and supporters?" To these questions a unanimous and decisive affirmative was given.

      Karaimoku then addressed the chiefs. And after setting forth the defects of the laws and customs among them, he especially referred to the inconveniences arising from the reversion of lands to the king on the death of their occupants, a custom revived under Tamehameha II., but which it had been the object of Tamehameha I. to exchange for that of hereditary succession. This project of their great

king he proposed to adopt as the law, excepting in such cases as when a chief or landholder should infringe the laws; then his lands should be forfeited, and himself tabooed ^*.

      Several chiefs at once exclaimed, -- "All the laws of the great Tamehameha were good; let us have the same."

      Kuakini, or John Adams, next rose and said, that he proposed that the young king should be placed under the especial guardianship of Karaimoku, and that he should be instructed by the missionaries in the Pule and Pala-pala, i. e. religion, and reading and writing; that he should live as separately as possible from the common kanakas, that he might escape the vices ^* which had stained the otherwise excellent character of his late brother, who had too often low people about him. These proposals were universally approved.

      Kapeolani then stated, that upon the lands belonging to herself and Nahi, in the Island of Hawaii, she had endeavoured to establish laws prohibiting robbery, murder, drunkenness, adultery, and child-murder, and that, upon the whole, she had been tolerably successful.

      Kahurnanu, who was lying on a mat spread with silk and velvet, raised her head and said, that she approved highly of such measures, and that she proposed that all the chiefs should adopt the same throughout the Islands, as fast as instruction should advance among the people.

      Lord Byron was now called upon to speak, when he

presented to Karaimoku and the other chiefs a paper containing a few hints concerning their affairs, which he wished them to look over at their leisure, and if they approved of them, to adopt them as their own, but not as the dictates of the British government, which had no wish whatever to interfere with the regulations of the chiefs, who must be the best judges of what suited the people.

      A conversation then ensued among the chiefs on the subject of the missionaries, and Lord Byron was asked if the King of England had any objection to the settling of the American mission in the Islands, and instructing the people. His lordship said, that he had heard that the missionaries had an intention of drawing up a code of laws for the people, and to this he decidedly objected; but, so long as these gentlemen did not interfere with the laws or commerce of the country, he could not object to their instructing the natives in reading, and in the Christian religion.

      Mr. Bingham, in behalf of the mission, stated, that the American missionaries had neither the design nor the wish to interfere with the political or commercial concerns of the nation; being expressly prohibited by their commission, and their public and private instructions from their patrons, from any such interference. That they act under the Ame-

rican board of commissioners for foreign missions, incorporated by the legislature of Massachusets, for the sole purpose of propagating the gospel among the heathen. That it is not for the mission to give laws to the nations, nor to interfere with the authority of the chiefs, nor to engage in commercial speculations, nor to be known otherwise than as propagators of the gospel; but, taking the Bible as their guide, their object in residing in these Islands is, to enlighten the nation by the doctrines and duties of Christianity, that they may obtain its everlasting rewards. This he repeated in the vernacular tongue: and the council then broke up.

      The paper which Lord Byron had delivered to Karaimoku, as containing his sentiments concerning the business on which the council had met, contained the following articles:

      These hints, it will be at once perceived, are little more than a recommendation quietly to pursue the old habits and regulations of the Islands. Tamehameha I. had begun to establish the hereditary transmission of estates, and Lord Byron’s notice only adds the sanction of the British name to it. The power of punishment and pardon kings have always arrogated to themselves; but the fifth article is intended to protect the people from the arbitrary violence of inferior chiefs, and of one another. The seventh confirms what was the general practice; for the kanakas appear not to have been bound to the soil, but to have enjoyed the privilege of moving whenever and wherever it suited them. The recommendation of port duties may seem to be a singular, if not an unnecessary, introduction of old abuses into this newest of worlds; but long before our arrival port dues had been established, and those so excessive as to threaten

to diminish the trade, and shut the ports against foreign vessels. The origin of this was, that when the Hawaiian vessels had gone to Macao, and to some of the Russian settlements, they had had to pay high port dues; and perceiving the gain of such proceedings abroad, the chiefs had eagerly adopted it at home; and they had raised their dues enormously, to meet the impositions they complain of, especially on the part of the American traders, who had raised the price of all the articles they brought to the Islands, so as that they feared the Islands themselves would soon not purchase the things of which they stood in need. The numbers of chiefs who have now visited other countries, nay, some of whom have been brought up in the United States, have brought to the Islands something like a notion of the true price of the goods they want and also of those they possess, and they are naturally unwilling to trade but upon equal grounds. Besides, when we consider the incalculable advantages ships crossing the Pacific derive from the refreshments they procure at these hospitable Isles, it appears not unjust that they should contribute something to the prosperity of the country. The port regulations have the farther advantage of checking desertion; a benefit to the ships touching here, which is cheaply purchased at the low rate of the new harbour dues.

      These regulations were signed by Karaimoku, who affixed his seal to them; and they are, perhaps, the very first written law of so very new a people.

      Our public business at Oahu being ended with the council of the chiefs, and our surveyor having accomplished his task, we prepared to return to Hawaii, where Lord Byron had determined to refit the ship, and complete our wood and water. The queen-mother, Kahumanu, applied for a passage for herself and suite, as it afterwards appeared, with the kindest intentions towards us, though much to the

present inconvenience of the captain and all on board. She was accompanied by her sister, three inferior chiefs, and about forty half-clad kanakas. She took this opportunity of conveying a quantity of specie (in dollars) to be deposited in the treasure-cave at Hawaii; and brought on board sundry chests, and a quantity of poi or taroo paste, which we soon learned to eat, and found it extremely good, and very like Scotch sowens with milk and sugar. Kahumanu and her sister Kalahua were accommodated in the captain’s fore-cabin, and the suite was put up between the guns on the main deck. The queen herself is of a haughty and overbearing disposition: it is said that she was formerly subject to violent starts of passion, during which she has committed some very barbarous acts; but these she has repressed since her profession of Christianity. She sat on the deck while we were saluting her, and seemed infinitely gratified by the quantity of gunpowder we expended, and the consequent noise and smoke in her honour. Our farewell of our friends at Oahu was really touching. Boki, who had been so long our shipmate, showed more grief and appeared more deeply affected than we had imagined him capable of being at our departure. This chief has brought from Europe ideas that will be most useful to his country. Convinced of the advantages and necessity of industry, he has

resolved to set the example of it on his own estate and in his own person. Instead of the indolent repose and enjoyment, in which, like the greater number of chiefs, he formerly indulged, he now rises early, and goes to his fields, where he superintends his workmen, instructing them in new and better methods of cultivation. He is active and constant in his duties, as governor of Oahu; and by his mildness and kindness to his dependants he has acquired the love of all the common people. His superior information and his good temper make him equally a favourite with the chiefs, so that it is confidently expected that on Karai-moku’s death he will be made regent.

      The ship had been victualled, during her stay at Oahu, entirely from Eoki’s estate; and it was with the greatest reluctance the generous chief would consent to receive the price of the provisions furnished, conformably to our instructions from home.

      This was our last business at Oahu, whence we sailed on the 7th June, having lain above a month in that exposed harbour, whose disadvantages are increased by the heavy surf which renders boat-service there particularly disagreeable. We made the land of Hawaii on the 9th. The first place we distinguished was Kairua, which is the seat of government, Kuahini, or John Adams, the governor, residing

there. The place contains about 3000 inhabitants, and has a fort mounting twenty guns. The aspect of the country is very rough and uninviting in the neighbourhood, being composed of lavas of various ages, all dark and forbidding. The beach, however, is adorned with cocoa-nut trees, dracaena and oil nut; and a little valley, which extends about four miles inland, furnishes breadfruit, bananas, sweet potatoes, and mountain taro, which is a less productive variety of the water taro. At Kairua there is no fresh water, and the inhabitants, for the most part, content themselves with brackish water, which is found in the crevices of the lava, and which is the product of the rain, which is retained in the various fissures, and the salt water filtering through the porous rock. Those who are industrious, or can afford to hire water-bearers, procure fresh water from a distance of three or four miles. Here is the tomb-house, where the remains of the great Tamehameha are deposited; and near it are still -standing several large carved images, which we imagine to have been spared from respect to that chief’s memory. Soon after passing Kairua, we saw the small straggling village of Makaulh-ulu, at the foot of the great volcanic mountain Wororai, beyond which the snowy top of Mouna Keah now and then appeared from among the clouds. Near this village Tamehameha died: as soon as his

death was ascertained, he was placed in a canoe on a thick bed of leaves; and he was also covered with leaves, that the flesh, by being heated, might become sufficiently soft to separate easily from the bones; as soon as that had taken place, it was removed with wooden saws and carefully burnt; the bones being cleaned were then wrapped in a war-cloak and placed in the tomb-house, where they were venerated by the people, and especially by his family. Since the arrival of the missionaries this dismembering of the dead has not been practised, but simple burial has been substituted for it.

      We continued to beat up to windward till the 12th, between Maui and Hawaii, both Islands presenting scenery of very picturesque and varied kind. The north-east coast of Hawaii is very remarkable: from Toarra point the land rises gradually to lofty, abrupt, and dark-coloured cliffs, between which numerous cascades pour down in every direction, many of them from a height of at least 200 feet. This kind of scenery continues for about ten miles, when it terminates in two valleys of extraordinary richness and beauty: Waimanu is charming from its luxuriant verdure and its lofty trees; Wai-ibio, from its peculiarly romantic character; its almost perpendicular sides rise to the height of 1000 feet, and it is terminated by a cascade,

which the missionaries, who measured it, say is 945 feet of perpendicular height; we were at many miles’ distance, yet distinctly perceived its grand and romantic character. As we sailed along, the sun every now and then shot a gleam of brightness upon the dark cliffs, partially clothed in green, and, opening to these valleys, presenting one of the loveliest scenes we ever beheld.

      Sunday, June 12. -- Just as divine service was ended, w 7 e rounded a point, now called Blonde point, and anchored in Weakeah (now Byron) Bay. This beautiful and safe anchorage never having been entered before by a man-of-war, Kahumanu gave orders that henceforth it should be known only by the name of Byron Bay, in compliment to our commander: it lies in the district of Hido; hence it is sometimes called Hido Bay. Captain Vancouver had been off the bay at his last visit to the Islands, in January 1794, but had conceived it unsafe to enter; in fact, the appearance from without is not inviting. A reef of lava runs nearly across the mouth of the harbour, on which the sea breaks violently; and, at first sight, it may appear, from various points, to break completely across; but there is a channel of upwards of half a mile between the east end of the reef and the shore, which leads into an extensive and safe basin, with good bottom, gradually shoaling from nineteen feet

at the entrance to six fathoms about a mile from the shore.

      There is a creek at the extremity, up which boats can go as far as a fall of fine fresh water of excellent quality, which keeps long at sea, and is particularly convenient for watering the ships. As the bar effectually breaks the force of the waves, there is always smooth water within the harbour, so that it is easy to refit or even repair vessels while lying there.

      The scenery round this bay is both beautiful and romantic: gently sloping lawns, interspersed with orchards of breadfruit and palms, belonging to the native huts, extend upwards for the space of about four miles, when thick woods succeed and clothe the mountain sides, till they are lost in clouds, through which the rounded head of Mouna Roah, and the peaks of Mouna Keah, every now and then appear.

      The neighbourhood of the watering-creek is particularly picturesque. The entrance is about fifty yards wide, between high precipitous rocks, crowned with palm and arto-carpus trees, and almost covered with beautiful creeping plants, whose broad green leaves and many-coloured flowers only partially show the dark lava beneath. About fifty fathoms inland there is a ledge of rock, over which a beau-

tiful clear river of fresh water comes, pouring its streams into the creek *; and, a few yards higher up, there is another cascade of still greater beauty. Immense masses of lava lie in picturesque confusion on the banks, between which gay shrubs and flowers have rooted, and partially conceal them. At these falls we were often amused by looking on, while the natives enjoyed themselves in the water. Some of their exercises, indeed, were almost fearful: they would strip even their maro, and then plunge into the river above the first fall, and allow themselves to be carried down into the deep pool below, in which they would disappear, and then rise again at some distance and draw breath to be ready for the second fall, down which they would go, and then return to the upper rocks to renew their sport; nay, some of them would ascend the cliffs above, a height of thirty or forty feet, and leap from thence into the water, seemingly enjoying our terror at their daring diversion; but they are like the amphibious animals, accustomed to the water from infancy, and whether rolling about in the surf on their float-boards, or dashing down the cascades along with the waters, seem equally at home.

      As Lord Byron had determined to refit here, Kahu-

manu appropriated to his use a large and very convenient house, which had just been constructed for the chief of the district. It was delightfully situated on the banks of the Wairuku: the floor was laid with small black pebbles, and carefully covered with mats, and the roof lined with the leaves of the pandanus; there was a door at each end, and several windows were cut in the thatch, so that when we had furnished it with a few chairs and tables, and screened off our bed-places with tappa, it really formed a very comfortable habitation. Lord Byron kindly invited half a dozen of us to live with him ashore; and as our situation there permitted us to make many excursions in the neighbourhood, our holiday from the ship was extremely agreeable. Kahuxnanu caused five temporary huts to be erected near us for herself, her companions, and servants, in order that she might be at hand to render us any assistance in her power; and as she has absolute dominion in the Islands, her neighbourhood was important to us in procuring supplies, in securing boats, and whatever else could contribute to our comfort.

      No longer giving way to the violent passions which disgraced her youth, this queen is now distinguished by the Hawaiians as the Good Kahumanu. She is one of the most zealous among the new Christians, and her first act, on

arriving here, was to go to church and return thanks for her safe voyage; and on seeing Mr. Buggies, the missionary, she took his hand and said, "When I formerly saw you I disliked you, I hated you; but now I love and respect your character." This change will doubtless have a favourable effect on the people. As a proof of her kindness to us, she had given us for a purveyor a man who speaks a little English, and who has adopted the title of Sir Joseph Banks. He was extremely diligent in procuring supplies of all kinds, and not sparing of the information, true or untrue, which he gave us concerning the country; but we were in an excellent situation for learning, by our own eyes, the manners and amusements of this cheerful, good-humoured, and water-loving race. The stream that ran before our house appeared to them a fit place for some of their favourite pastimes, one of which was walking on their hands through the water, and exhibiting only a pair of legs turned upwards as they crossed the stream. A walk charmingly shaded with cocoa-nut trees led from our house to the Wiakeea, or broad water, the original name of Byron Bay; it is a kind of lake, partly natural, partly dammed in by art, where fish taken young is put to fatten, and to be always in readiness for the chiefs. The best is a species of mullet, and they are in such numbers, that our friend Sir Joseph says, that if

a man falls into the water, he will be buoyed up by the astonishing shoals of them. They are, however, the private property of the chiefs, and even the missionaries had not free access to them until we arrived.

      Our walks are circumscribed by the almost impenetrable nature of the forest behind us, and the sharpness of the lava rocks, over which we must go if we desire to reach to any distance from home; but this is no great evil in so beautiful a situation, and with fine ground for cricket and quoits.

      A few days after our arrival, a party, consisting of one of the junior lieutenants, the purser, and the botanist, under the guidance of a missionary, resolved to attempt to reach the summit of Mouna Keah, which has been computed by some to be 18,000 feet high, and by others little more than 14,000; the truth is, as usual, between the two extremes.

      June 15. -- -Thermometer 80°. To facilitate their journey, Kahumanu lent them a double canoe to carry them as far as Lapoihoihoi, in the district of Karuakua, a village thirty miles north-west from Waikeea; the shores as they sailed by them appeared to be richly wooded, and shaded to the waterVedge with the pandanus and kou-tree; here and there the wood receded and displayed rich valleys, deep ravines, and cascades, some of which were believed to fall

from rocks at least 400 feet in height. From the village they began their ascent at about mid-day, attended by two men from the ship and five kanakas, and by sunset reached the last inhabited place on the mountain. Their walk, though rough under foot, was through the finest vegetation, of a new T character to most of them, and presenting to the botanist many a new and many a rare plant and flower.

      When they passed through any villages, the natives, though they evidently watched all their actions, betrayed no surprise at seeing them. The children, indeed, were frightened, but their parents contented themselves with sitting down in rows and narrowly observing the strangers; not moving unless any little service was required of them, when they performed it cheerfully and kindly.

      The next morning they resumed their walk, the thermometer being only at 64°; and as their way lay through a thick shady forest, heat was not the evil they had to complain of, but the path they trod was most rugged; lava and scorim, in whose interstices plants and trees of various descriptions root themselves, form the hitherto untrodden road, and that is impeded by the fallen fern-trees, which lie in great numbers across the way, aged and overgrown with moss and creepers. However, five hours' walk brought them to the hut of a rough but useful European, commonly

called the Armourer^*, whose employment it is to catch and kill the wild cattle and cure beef, which he does very skilfully. The travellers were well pleased to find excellent steaks there, which they toasted on a stick, and on which, with the bread and other provisions which they carried with them, they regaled themselves heartily, and then proceeded through the forest. On the upper edge they found some extraordinarily large raspberries, and strawberries very like our alpine strawberry, but with little flavour. Unfortunately they were surrounded by mist almost as soon as they emerged from the forest, and could not, therefore, behold the glorious view that must be visible in fair weather, of the ocean and the adjacent Islands. At sunset they halted, and the natives quickly built a hut with branches of trees, and made fire by rubbing two pieces of dry wood together. The cold appeared to them intense, though during the night the thermometer only indicated 40° of Fahrenheit.

      The next morning, at three o’clock, the party started to pursue their way to the summit. They had scarcely proceeded for two hours, when the lieutenant and purser were so overcome with sleep that they lay down on the bare lava rock to rest, and only the botanist and missionary proceeded,

the natives remaining behind on account of the cold. The advancing party carried with them the whole of the provisions, as their companions intended to follow them as soon as they had slept. After two hours' rest they awoke, and, resuming their journey, toiled to the top of a high peak, when they discovered, to their great mortification, that it was not the true summit of the mountain, but separated from it by a deep ravine, which they had neither strength nor spirits to attempt passing, having neither food nor water, but returned to the point where they had diverged from the path leading to the real summit. There they were shortly joined by the botanist and missionary, who had been prevented from the intense cold (thermometer 28°) from remaining long on the peak, which is covered with scoria?, ashes and sand: they had long left the limits of vegetation, and entered on the snowy region; the plant they last found being a low shrub with hoary pinnated leaves.

      Unfortunately, the theodolite they had carried up with them had received some injury, so as to be useless; therefore they did nothing towards determining the height of Mouna Keah, which they conjecture to be 15,000 feet. The surveying officer, however, like Captain King and some of the French navigators, computes it at 17,000 feet. It is very seldom without snow, perhaps never entirely without

it; hence its name of Keah, or the White. There were indications of numerous extinguished craters in various parts of the mountain, the surface of which is entirely composed of lava and other volcanic productions: a few specimens were brought away, and these present nothing essentially different from the porous lavas of Vesuvius; but their colour is generally blacker, though, in many instances, that of Mouna Keah is of a deep red. A whole day was occupied in the ascent of the last peak; and when the parties met at night, those who had taken the wrong road had been thirty hours without food or water; but the "remainder biscuit" brought down by their companions, and some snow-water, with which they had replenished their canteen, furnished forth their supper, and they slept again in the hut constructed the night before. They left it, however, early enough on the following morning to arrive at the Armourer’s station to breakfast upon fresh beef-steaks, and, recruited by rest and food, they proceeded to the shore; but instead of embarking at Lapoihoihoi, they resolved to proceed to Byron Bay over land, that they might see more of the country. The paths they followed led through some very magnificent scenery, but were in many places both difficult and dangerous. They crossed not less than eighty deep ravines, through which streams, more or less impetuous,

were pouring towards the sea. In one of these the lieutenant was nearly drowned, and indeed nothing but the prompt and efficient exertion of some of the natives saved him. There is not much cultivation inland in this part of the Island, the rocks being too steep and the forests too thick to tempt the natives to make much improvement, as there is abundance of much better land still unoccupied in the Island. Yet the numerous fine streams of water will probably one day induce both cultivators and manufacturers to establish themselves on their banks. Meantime our party was delighted with the beauty of all kinds on the road, and the botanical collection was enriched with many fine specimens.

      One of the first schemes we formed, on anchoring in Byron Bay, was to visit the great volcano of Peli, situated on the flank of Mouna Boa, a mountain not very inferior to Mouna Keah in height, and like it exhibiting in every part traces of the action of volcanic fires. Mouna Keah is however now completely at rest, as well as Mouna Worarai, the third mountain of the Island, on whose summit is the great extinguished crater, of which a view is given by Vancouver; Mouna Boa on the contrary is full of cracks, and hillocks, and craters, all actively burning: it has its springs, hot and cold, its sulphur and pumice; so that it is no wonder the

natives should have considered it as the abode of the gods of fire.

      Several parties from the ship were formed for the purpose of visiting Peli, the earliest being that of the botanist, consisting of the same individuals as ascended Mouna Keah, with the exception of the missionary, whom they exchanged for the Armourer. After passing through five miles of what may be called cultivated country, they arrived at the great forest, through five more miles of which they travelled by rude and difficult paths, over the rough lava. Beyond the forest, shrubs and herbs cover the scoria? and mingled rock and ashes, to the crater itself; being occasionally interrupted by patches of hot rock, where deep fissures and cracks show the fires beneath, and whence smoke and flame are perpetually issuing. Other patches there are of steaming sand, or hot clay, in which the natives, when frequenting the mountains to cut sandal-wood, bury the root of the edible fern, and thus dress it for food. Some shrubs grow actually within the great crater; and the ohelo berry, white cranberry, and strawberry, are in plenty close to its edge.

      The natives, on seeing some of the English bear the fire as well as the cold of the mountain, exclaimed, that the white people were like the gods, for that they could equally endure the snow and the fire.

      Our largest party, and that which examined the crater most carefully, however, was formed by Lord Byron, who was accompanied by Mr. Malden, Mr. Dampier, and several other officers and idlers.

      The queen, Kahumanu, in order to facilitate the expedition, sent several of her vassals beforehand to construct rest-houses on the way, and provided a sufficient number of carriers for provisions, cots, and whatever else might be necessary. The English were thirteen in number, and the chiefs and people who accompanied them swelled the party to nearly 200. The purveyor was the chief of the district of Hido, and he was attended by his kanakas in addition to those sent by Kahumanu, so that our march had the appearance of a little triumph.

      At daylight on the 27th June we began our ascent, and the first five miles went off gaily enough, though the path was occasionally rough, and set with pointed fragments of hard lava, which our thick-soled shoes could scarcely guard us against. Our road lay along the margin of the Waikeah, nearly to the forest; and as we ascended, we observed the taro no longer cultivated in ponds, but growing in well weeded dry lands, and though inferior in size to that grown in the water-beds, not at all below it in quality. We skirted the wood for about a mile, and then, ere we entered

it, filled up our water jars at a fine well, which we understood was the last we should find for at least ten miles. The foliage of the forest trees struck us as peculiarly beautiful; and above all, that of the kou or candle-nut. The entrance to the great wood is marked by an old and very picturesque tree, which formerly overshadowed a morai, and where, one of the vague and dark traditions of the Island says, human victims were formerly sacrificed. A perpendicular ledge of rock, eight feet high, seems to raise the forest above the sloping ground below; and, having scrambled up this, the real forest path begins. This road is extremely narrow and intolerably bad, our progress being frequently impeded by fallen trees, over which it was necessary to climb, as the thickly matted creepers, shrubs, and underwood which grew on every side made it impossible to find a way round them. The pointed rocks and ledges of lava were thinly covered with long glossy grass, which rendered our steps both fatiguing and dangerous; and long ere we had crossed the wood scarcely one of us could boast of a sound shoe. Having reached an open spot, about a hundred and fifty yards in extent, used commonly as a halting-place, some of us sat down to rest our wearied limbs, and envied the ease with which the natives seemed to tread the path so irksome to us. Their feet were defended only by

sandals made of plaited cord, spun from the fibres of the cocoa-nut tree; and as they passed us they seemed disposed to exult in the superior speed and lightness with which they were ascending with their loads; and we could not help fancying that some of the women, in particular, laughed a little maliciously at us as they moved on. At length the weary wood was crossed and all the stragglers collected; and after a little halt, during which some changed their shoes, and all complained of their bruises, we proceeded five miles farther on our road; and though it wanted yet nearly half an hour of noon, it was agreed to dine under a fine-spreading tree that afforded a broad and agreeable shade. There were few other trees near it, but various shrubs and fern adorned the ground; and at no great distance, a grove of that species of hibiscus, of whose light wood the outriggers for the canoes are made, and whose bark affords cordage, adorned the scene: the timber of this tree is, we believe, a royal monopoly.

      The immediate superintendant of our provision and baggage was our friend Sir Joseph Banks. He soon caused the kanakas to spread out our dinner, which was excellently furnished with eatables of Hawaii, and drinkables from Europe; so that by two o’clock we had dined, and rested, and started afresh for Peli. We walked over the same kind

of country, with a large tree here and there, but more frequently shrubs, and now and then bare patches of sand or lava; and at half-past four o'clock we reached the huts which had been prepared for us to pass the night in.

      Here, therefore, we sat down on the dry leaves and grass with which the huts had been carpeted; and some native boys came and performed an operation which they call lomi lomi, but for which we have adopted the Indian name, to shampoo. Nothing could afford such complete relief to the wearied muscles of our feet and legs; and as we lay enjoying our rest, we perceived a great concourse of people assembled, and found that a dance was to be performed in our honour. A ring being formed, a very handsome girl was brought forward to dance, while two old men sat, one on each side, beating time on a drum made of a gourd. The girl’s motions were slow and graceful: they reminded us of the measured Spanish dances; and were accompanied by a native song sung by the men, the woman herself occasionally answering in equal measure.

      The dancing being over, as we had still some hours of daylight, we resolved to continue our journey, and left our comfortable huts with the certainty of having to pass the night in the open air. However, we were eager to get on; and spite of the roughness of the road, and our tender feet,

we proceeded till sun-set; when, having marched twenty-five miles, we resolved to take advantage of some dismantled huts that were by the road side; and our native attendants having come up, they very speedily collected branches of trees and broad banana leaves enough to make us an excellent shelter from the wind, and huts for most of themselves. Here we made a fire; and having enjoyed a hearty supper, slept very soundly, surrounded by our followers disposed in groups, some under cover, and some on the bare ground, as it pleased their fancy.

      As we had been ascending during the whole day of the 27th, we found the air at day-break on the 28th cool and invigorating, and we began our day’s march in high spirits. Besides the roughness of our yesterday’s march, to-day we had great chasms in the lava, which often demanded our utmost care in walking. Near one of the largest of these, four poles had been erected to mark it as a burial-place, where the bones of many of the people, particularly the worshippers of the fire gods, used to be deposited. Shortly after we passed this primitive tomb, we met the botanist’s party on their return: they seemed highly pleased with their excursion, and reported the volcano to be in full activity. We marched onward twelve miles farther; and then, with almost as much joy as Balboa could have felt on

first discovering the waters of the Pacific, we hailed a cloud of smoke that was issuing from the crater. We hastened forward with redoubled activity, though we were sometimes allured from the path by the beds of wild strawberries that we found in abundance, up to within a mile and a half of the crater.

      We now began to find a quantity of light ashes strewing our path, and the ascent suddenly became sharper, till within a mile of the crater, when our progress was suddenly arrested by finding ourselves on the edge of a precipitous ledge of seventy feet perpendicular height, clothed with trees and gigantic ferns. A winding but very steep path conducted to the bottom; and after moving onwards a few hundred yards more, we came to a second ledge, whence we heard the deep roaring of the volcano like the sounds proceeding from a blast furnace. And now, at every step, we perceived yawning chasms of unknown depth, from some of which columns of black smoke issuing told of what was going on in the realms of fire below. Near the greatest of these chasms, a number of Keioua's people, who had joined with him in rebellion against Tamehameha, and who happened to be on the mountain, were destroyed by fire from the volcano; and the traditions of the Island tell of whole armies that have been overwhelmed by floods of burning lava ^*.

      Numerous small cones seemed to indicate the former places of craters; they are mostly surrounded by sand, as if thrown up by them, though it might possibly have been drifted thither. The ground we trod was of heavy compact lava, with here and there red stains; and there were many huge blisters, or even caverns, like bubbles on it, lined with a shining vitreous substance, and sometimes with obsidian. On many parts of the surface was scattered what the natives call Pelfs hair, and indeed it resembles hair or spun glass^*, and is probably only the melted volcanic glass blown off by the wind while in a state of fusion. All this part of the road looked like a petrified ocean; the summits of the ridges rough and curled, the sloping sides black and glassy, while in the troughs there lay sand and olivine, and bubbles of a rusty colour, which, on being broken, showed a light spongy substance with shining cells. Not far from the second ledge of lava we passed an extinct crater of great size, and computed to be 900 feet deep; its sides are clothed in rich verdure, but the bottom presents one smooth, shining, jet-black surface.

      The plain to which we descended from the lava ledges

appears to have sunk, perhaps because the materials of the mountain, in that spot, have been partially consumed; it is fifteen or sixteen miles in circumference, and in the centre of it is the great crater. In many places the ground seemed hollow under our feet; it was rent by cracks and chasms, over some of which a thin crust of lava formed such dangerous bridges as thin ice across a torrent. Nothing warns of the danger of these holes, and it is not uncommon for persons to find the crust break under them, and so to slip through, when the only thing to be done is to throw their bodies forward, and extend their arms, and as the chasms are mostly very narrow, they are generally saved. At length we reached the edge of the crater; but words are totally inadequate to describe the effect produced on us by the first sight of that dark fiery gulf. From its brink, where we stood, we looked down for more than thirteen hundred feet, over rocks of lava and columns of sulphur, between whose antique fissures a few green shrubs and juicy berry-bearing plants had fixed themselves, to a rugged plain, where many a cone, raised by the action of the fire below, was throwing up columns of living flame, and whirls of smoke and vapour, while floods of liquid fire were slowly winding through scoriae and ashes, here yellow with sulphur, and there black,

or grey, or red, as the materials which the flames had wrought on varied ^*.

      Not less than fifty cones, of various height, appeared below us as the funnels of the various operations going on.

At least one half of these were in activity, but it appears that the same are by no means constantly so; nay, that often older cones fall in, and new ones are formed elsewhere in the bottom of the pit. Some eject stones and fragments of rock, others throw out ashes only, while, from their dark or sulphur-coloured flanks, lavas and sometimes water issues; many of the cones emit vapours which, condensed, form beautiful beds of sulphur, others are distinguished by the wreathed columns of white and black, that indicate steam and smoke, curled round each other by the wind, but never mixing.

      We remarked, that within the sunken plain, and near the great crater, which the natives call Kairauea, there are pools of fresh cool water, doubtless furnished by the steam from below, which, condensing here, forms these pools, where numerous wild birds resort, and which are shadowed by reeds and bushes.

      Night increased the magnificence, perhaps the horror, of the scene. The volcano caused what Defoe calls "a terrible light in the air." The roar occasioned by the escape of the pent up elements, and the fearful character of the surrounding scenery, suited with that light; and all impressed us with the sense of the present Deity, such as

when from Sinai he gave, with thunderings and with lightnings, the tables of the law.

      No wonder, then, that the uninstructed natives had long worshipped, in this place, the mysterious powers of nature. Here it was that they supposed the gods of the Island had then^* favourite abodes, and that, from this centre of their power, they often shook the land, when it pleased them to pass under ground to visit the sea, and take delight in open places. The first pair who arrived at the Island, with the animals and fruits necessarv for their subsistence, met the fire gods, say they, on their first landing, and propitiated them by offerings of part of their provisions. These they accepted, and retired to their dwellings in Kairauea, whence they have seldom come but as the punishers of evil men, or in vengeance of the violation of their sanctuary. Hence no ohelo berry was eaten on Peli, till some had been offered to the goddess of the same name: the sandal-wood was not cut, nor the fern roots dug, without propitiating her by locks of hah^*, and often more precious things. Frequently the hog and the dog were sacrificed to procure her favour; and never was the ground disturbed or any thing carried away from Kairauea. This worship is now no more. The hut in which we passed the night had witnessed one of the

greatest acts of moral courage, which has perhaps ever been performed; and the actor was a woman, and, as we are pleased to call her, a savage.

      Kapiolani, the wife of Nahi, a female chief of the highest rank, had recently embraced Christianity; and desirous of propagating it, and of undeceiving the natives as to their false gods, she resolved to climb the mountain, descend into the crater, and, by thus braving the volcanic deities in their very homes, convince the inhabitants of the Island that God is God alone, and that the false subordinate deities existed only in the fancies of their weak adorers. Thus determined, and accompanied by a missionary, she, with part of her family, and a number of followers, both of her own vassals and those of other chiefs, ascended Peli. At the edge of the first precipice that bounds the sunken plain, many of her followers and companions lost courage and turned back: at the second, the rest earnestly entreated her to desist from her dangerous enterprise, and forbear to tempt the powerful gods of the fires. But she proceeded; and on the very verge of the crater, caused the hut we were now sheltered in to be constructed for herself and people. Here she was assailed anew by their entreaties to return home, and their assurances, that if she persisted in violating the houses of the goddess, she would draw on herself, and those with

her, certain destruction. Her answer was noble: -- "I will descend into the crater," said she; "and if I do not return safe, then continue to worship Peli: but if I come back unhurt you must learn to adore the God who created Peli.’' She accordingly went down the steep and difficult side of the crater, accompanied by a missionary, and by some whom love or duty induced to follow her. Arrived at the bottom, she pushed a stick into the liquid lava, and stirred the ashes of the burning lake. The charm of superstition was at that moment broken. Those who had expected to see the goddess, armed with flame and sulphurous smoke, burst forth and destroy the daring heroine who thus braved her in her very sanctuary, were awe-struck when they saw the fire remain innocuous, and the flames roll harmless, as though none were present. They acknowledged the greatness of the God of Kapiolani; and from that time few indeed have been the offerings, and little the reverence offered to the fires of Peli.

      Early in the morning of the 29th, we prepared to follow the path of Kapiolani; and having provided ourselves with stout sticks, we began to descend into the crater. We experienced little difficulty in reaching the first ledge. It forms a gallery round the inside at the depth of 932 feet, varying in breadth from four or five feet to upwards of

twenty, and in some places completely overhanging the plain at the bottom, its supporting materials seeming to have been eaten away by the fire. From its appearance, and from its preserving its level, one might imagine that it formerly bounded the bottom of the crater itself, but that the wasting effect of the fires had caused it to sink still lower, and had left the ledge as a mark of the progressive destruction carried on. We were obliged to walk nearly to the opposite side of the crater from that where we had descended so far, in order to find a safe path by which we might go down the other 400 feet; and here the real difficulties commenced. The natives refused to proceed farther with us in our dangerous expedition, and we had to push on alone through ashes and lavas, and all the waste of fire. With the greatest care we could not pick our steps so securely but that often the apparently solid lava would give way, and we sank knee-deep among ashes and scoria. At length we reached the bottom; and here our difficulties increased. Anxious to reach one of the cones at least, we were obliged to feel our way before us with our staves to avoid the crevices and fiery pools, where the thin crusts of lava might have been too fragile to support our weight: and when we had attained our object, the smoke and fire soon obliged us to retreat; and a change of wind taking

place suddenly, the smoke and vapours were blown down into the crater, so that it was with some danger and great precipitation that we saved ourselves from their baneful effects. Nothing in the whole scene was more striking than the soft fire showers that seemed to rain down upon the burning plain.

      Fatigued, but gratified, by our descent into the crater, probably the largest yet discovered in the world, we prepared to pass a second night at Kapiolani’s hut. But on this occasion the volcano was far from being as tranquil as before. In the middle of the night we were awakened by a violent earthquake; and soon afterwards a fresh crater opened in the gulf immediately below us, with tremendous noise, and flame, and stones, and smoke. The plain at the bottom was overflowed with fresh streams of lava in every direction, and a continual heaving even of the cool dark mass, and a tremulous motion of the side where we were, filled us with an involuntary dread, so that we slept no more, but prepared to leave the awful place with the first dawn of day.

      Accordingly, with the first rays of the sun, we began

our descent from the mountain, and arrived at the half-way houses, where we remained to sleep, at one o'clock. We suffered much less on our return than on going up; partly from the comparative ease of descending, and partly, too, from being in better training. On the 1st July we recrossed the forest that had cost us so much on our first day’s march, and early in the afternoon reached our comfortable lodging at Byron Bay, nothing loath to be again at ease, though delighted to have seen the great Peli^*.

      The repairs of the ship being now completed, we prepared to leave Byron Bay, and our hospitable friend, the queen Kahumanu, issued orders for procuring supplies of all kinds for us. The purveyor, Sir Joseph Banks, immediately set about provisioning the ship, wooding, watering, &c. with the greatest goodwill and activity; and besides what he provided, the munificent Kahumanu delivered over to Lord Byron a considerable tribute brought to her by the mountaineers of the Island. Six hundred of these people came

down, each with a present for the queen, of more or less value, according to his means: Tapa, wood, fruit, vegetables, dogs, pigs, potatoes, onions, cabbages, all of which were deposited in heaps before our dwelling. Kahumanu then came forward, and delivering a mat and a bundle of onions to Lord Byron, told him that the whole of the provisions he saw were a tribute to him.

      These things being taken on board, Kahumanu, with her train, and our little party from the shore-house, all embarked, and on the 7th July bade adieu to Byron Bay and made sail for Oahu.

      Byron Bay will, no doubt, become the site of the capital of Hawaii. The fertility of the district of Hido, in which it is situated, the excellent water and abundant fish-pools which surround it, the easy access it has to the sandal-wood districts, and also to the sulphur, which will doubtless soon become an object of commerce, and the facilities it affords for refitting vessels, render it a place of great importance. Its neighbourhood has always been the chief place for constructing the double or war-canoes, of which, however, there are but few, and those are chiefly used on occasions of state. The superior advantage of European vessels has, of course, as soon as felt, superseded the use of the war-canoe; and

Hido will scarcely lose by the change, for its ingenious artificers have only to turn their industry to the construction of more regular vessels. Each Island, and each division, has some peculiar article, in the manufacture of which its inhabitants excel. The mats of Onehow and those of Taui are incomparably softer and finer than those of the other Islands. The women in the neighbourhood of Woraray are said to be more dexterous than others in preparing the bark of the broussonettia for cloth, and stamping on their tapas the ingenious figures which adorn them. The occupations of the chiefs were making the fishing-tackle, arms, war-cloaks, and helmets; but the wars of Tamehameha, which introduced gunpowder, the progress of civilization, which has made them acquainted with money, commerce, and the arts of reading and writing, have produced a change of occupation among the chiefs; and it is probable that the ornamented pahoe, the pearl fish-hook, and the splendid war-cloak, will soon be more easily found in the cabinets of Europe than among the islands of the Pacific.

      We reached Oahu too late on the evening of the 8th to anchor that night, but early on the 9th we had the pleasure of meeting our shipmates, and the excellent Karaimoku, in apparently good health, and were received by them with the same hospitality which we had experienced on our first

visit. We remained with them until the 12th, during which time a most friendly intercourse was kept up between us, and many exchanges, purchases, and gifts, were made; we being anxious to possess curious things from the Islands, and the natives no less desirous of having whatever we could furnish them with from our country. On the 12th, however, we weighed, and stood out for the last time from Honoruru Bay. Boki and Karaimoku embarked with us, and went in the ship to a considerable distance. The regent was delighted with the fast sailing of the ship; but neither that nor any thing else could entirely divert his mind from the regret he evidently felt at our departure; and indeed, when we consider the great importance of our visit to these Islands, the assurances of protection we had conveyed to them, and the confirmation of their hopes, as to their commerce and the furtherance of civilization, we cannot wonder that a man of such an understanding and temper as Karaimoku should have prized us greatly, and part from us with regret. On quitting the ship, Boki pressed Lord Byron’s hands, and exclaimed repeatedly, "Aroha, aroha! nui, nui, aroha!" Blessing, blessing! great, great blessing! We saluted them with fifteen guns as they rowed towards the shore; and so took a final leave of two men, who, considering the state of civilization in which they were

born, are among the most remarkable of their time. The elder brother, Karaimoku, though not of the highest class of chiefs, was chosen early in life by the great Tamehameha as the companion of his dangers and his glory. He was no less eminent in war, than by the wisdom of his counsels and the uprightness of his administration. With a fidelity never surpassed, he has watched with a father’s care over the interests of his sovereign’s family and of the country; and the great progress that the Sandwich Islands have made in civilization may be in good measure attributed to his most judicious management. Boki is much younger than Karaimoku, and though he has not the talents of his brother he is a sensible man, fond of his country, and anxious for its welfare and improvement; -- the survivor of his king, with whom he had sailed more than half the circumference of the globe, in order to procure what they conceived the greatest good to their country, the protection and friendship of the king of England; and intrusted with the assurance of that protection and friendship^*, he is the first native who, having seen civilized nations, is come to introduce order, to improve

agriculture, to give a taste for letters, to reclaim the savage, and teach him to take and feel his rank as man.

      July 12. -- We left Oahu and steered for Karakakoa Bay, which we reached on the 14th, and were there rejoined by Mr. Malden, who had remained on Hawaii to complete his survey of the coast of that Island. It was interesting to visit the place of Cook's unfortunate death; and many of us brought away pieces of the dark lava rock on which he stood when he received his death-wound, and also of that on which the morai stood, where, it was believed, his remains had been burnt and his bones gathered. There can be no doubt now, that his death was purely accidental, and truly lamented by the natives, who conferred every honour on his body which was in their power, and regarded him as a deity whose spirit might one day return to them.

      The bay is semicircular, and neither a pleasant nor a safe anchorage, the shore being so steep that ships are obliged to bring up uncomfortably near the land. The villages of Karakahooa and Kowrowa ^* appear to have suffered little change since Captain King described them, excepting the destruction of the morais, the erection of a

small fort, and the introduction of the missionaries, for whom a place of worship has been built. The original fortresses of the island were all, as might be supposed, in the interior, and were intended to guard strong passes or serve as places of refuge during the wars between the petty chiefs. The nearest of these, of which there are any remains, to Karakakua is at Kairua, a bay and village a little to the northward, which was a favourite residence of the great Tamehameha. We were unable to visit it for want of time, but we learned from the missionaries that it was rudely constructed of lava, the wall being about twenty feet high and fourteen feet thick; it is called "the defence of the common people/’ which name would seem to point out that there had at some time been an insurrection of the plebeians against the erees or chiefs of the country.

      This wall is near the entrance of a great volcanic cavern, called Raniakea, where many hundreds of persons might take refuge on an emergency. The remains of the walls cover a great space of ground, and the natives say that it had been surrounded by a palisade: of this, however, nothing now remains.

      The governor of Kairua has built a handsome house, in the European style, in the village; and there is a small fort mounting a few guns. But, like all this portion of the

Island, the immediate neighbourhood of the shore is without fresh water; all, that is at all palatable, being brought from a place six miles inland: and the district is neither so populous nor so fertile as that of Hido, where we had refitted. One advantage, however, this side of the Island possesses; it is not so often rainy as at Byron Bay, and, consequently, fitter for painting a ship; but for the grand articles of security, provisions, and water, Byron Bay is infinitely superior, to say nothing of the great beauty of the scenery.

      On landing at Kowrowa we were very kindly received by Kapeolani and Nahi, the chiefs of this district, now one of the most civilised of the Sandwich Islands. These excellent chiefs have set an example of wise and prudent reformation among their followers. But the conduct of Kapeolani with respect to the volcanic deities, and her heroic journey to Peli, are vouchers for all that can be said as to the wisdom and persevering goodness with which she has sought to improve her dependants. In her domains the son inherits his father's property, without even an appeal to the chief. Theft is punished, murder almost unknown, and infants enjoy all the benefits of parental love. The decency, cleanliness, and even elegance of the house, and the dresses of Nahi and Kapeolani give earnest of a speedy im-

provement among all classes of these well-disposed Islanders, and entitle these chiefs to a very high rank among the benefactors of their country.

      Nahi was a witness of Captain Cook's death. He was quite a boy when it happened, but all the circumstances connected with it are deeply impressed on his memory. He pointed out to us, at no great distance from his house, the rock on which our excellent countryman fell, no less to the grief of the natives than to that of his own people.

      The morning after our arrival in Karakakua Bay, Kua-kini, governor of the whole Island of Hawaii, came on board to pay his respects to Lord Byron, and offer his services. This man has adopted the title of John Adams, in compliment to the president of the American Congress of that name. He is one of the largest of the chiefs, large as they generally are, being six feet three inches in height, and weighing twenty-six stone. His character appears to be less amiable than those of his brother chiefs, and has frequently caused uneasiness by its sullenness and love of contradiction. Kuakini and Nahi accompanied us to the royal morai in the neighbourhood, which had, till now, been considered sacred. After rowing along the coast to the southward for a short time, we came to a pretty creek called Honaunau, where the morai, overshadowed with cocoa-nut

trees, stood. The exterior appearance of the building itself does not differ from that of the grass houses of the native chiefs. It is surrounded by a palisade formed of the trunks of palm-trees, and the court within the palisade is filled with rude wooden images of all shapes and dimensions, whose grotesque forms and horrible countenances present a most extraordinary spectacle. Most of these idols are placed in the same attitude; one, however, was distinguished by a greater degree of skill in the carving: it had a child in its arms. There were also a number of poles with carved heads in various parts of the court, and, immediately in front of the morai, and outside of the palisades, there was a kind of sentinel deity of a very grotesque shape. On entering the morai we saw on one hand a line of deities made of wickerwork, clothed in fine tapa, now nearly destroyed by time, and adorned with feathered helmets and masks, made more hideous by rows of sharks' teeth, and tufts of human hair; each differing a little from the other, but all preserving a strong family likeness. Under these the bones of the ancient kings of the Island are said to be deposited; and near them the favourite weapons of deceased chiefs and heroes, their ornaments, and whatever else might have been pleasing to them while alive.

      As the idolatrous worship of these things is now at an

end, Karaimoku takes every occasion to do away the remembrance of it, taking care not to shock the feelings of the people too violently. He had given directions, that as the English officers were desirous of taking some of the ancient gods, and other articles deposited in the morai, to show in Britain what had been the worship and the customs of their Hawaiian brethren, the guardians of the place should permit them to remove whatever they pleased. We could not wonder that the old man, who had long been the priest of the temple, and was now the guardian of its relics, showed some signs of regret at this final destruction of the gods of his youth. This man was the son of the high-priest of Captain Cook’s times. He told us an anecdote of his youth which may deserve to be repeated here.

      One morning his father had placed the usual offering of fish and poi before the Nui Akua, or Great Spirit. The son having spent a long day in an unsuccessful fishing expedition, returned, and, tempted by hunger, devoured the food of the gods. But first he placed his hands on the eyes of the idol, and found they saw not; and then his hand into its mouth, but it did not bite; and then he threw his mantle over the image and ate; and, replacing the bowl, removed the mantle, and went his way. Being reproved by his father, he said -- "Father, I spoke to him, and he heard not;

I put my hand into his mouth, and he felt not; I placed tapa over his eyes, and he saw not: I therefore laughed and ate." "Son, 5 ' said the old priest, "thou hast done unwisely: ’tis true the wood neither sees nor hears, but the Spirit above observes all our actions/’

      We remained four days at Karakakua, during which time Lord Byron erected a cross to the memory of Captain Cook on the spot where his body was burnt. This humble monument is composed of a pillar of oak ten feet high, into which a copper plate is inserted, bearing the following inscription:

      On the 18th of July we weighed our anchor and bade farewell to our hospitable friends. Nahi and Kapeolani

seemed truly concerned at our departure, and loaded us with presents of fruit and other provisions, besides many curious things of the manufacture of the Islands. We trust that our visit will have been beneficial to the country. It lias given them the assurance they have long wished, of protection against foreign encroachment: and that feeling of independence, which such assurance is calculated to maintain, will encourage them in all the schemes for improvement, which their uncultivated, but not unawakened, minds have already begun to desire. We left the regular successor to the dominion in full possession of his hereditary rights, under the care of the friends and guardians of his family. A public acknowledgement of the freedom and hereditary rights of the chiefs and people had been made; regulations for administering justice had been adopted; Christianity embraced; letters introduced; and the habits and manners of the savage are gradually giving place to the refinements of civilised life.

      Lord Byron, by the kindness and simplicity of his manners and deportment, had secured the personal affection of all the chiefs; and the service rendered by the surgeon to Karaimoku added, in no small degree, to the regard with which all classes were disposed to consider the English; so that, on the whole, nothing can be more gratifying to our

feelings, as men and Englishmen, than this visit to the Sandwich Islands, and the intercourse we have had with their very interesting inhabitants.

      We had left the Sandwich Islands with the hopes of visiting Otaheite, or more properly Tahiti; but after ten days’ vain attempts to get to windward, we altered our course and gave up our design. We were in some measure consoled for this disappointment, however, when, on the morning of the 29th of July, we unexpectedly saw broken water and low land at a distance, and at first supposed it to be Starbuck’s Island, though differing from the latitude laid down for that place ^*. We steered for it immediately; and about noon hove-to abreast of it. Mr. Malden and some others immediately went in a boat to examine it. It appeared to be a low coral formation, about twelve or fourteen miles in extent, and having on it several clumps of thick fresh-looking trees, so compact, that at a distance they were taken for rocks: these clumps are useful in approaching the land, for it is in no place higher than forty feet. We found the landing easy; but we were accompanied to the beach by shoals of sharks, which were so ravenously inclined that

they bit at the blades of the oars as they dipped into the water. On the shore, which was steep and shelving, we found shells of various kinds, such as chama gigas, cyprsea argus, and others of the genus; a very large turbo, inhabited by the hermit crab; a pecten; a nautilus; and several muretes; and traces of turtle were observable, though we did not see the animal. Large families of sea-birds had made their abode here. The frigate pelican seemed the most numerous, then, as we flatter ourselves, a new species, which we named Pelicanus Candida. These birds were actually sitting on their nests, containing two white eggs each, and scarcely noticed our approach. The red-tailed tropic-bird was also there; and a procellaria, not unlike the Procellaria Alba of Linnaeus; a tarn, which we have called Sterna Mal-densis; a white tarn, differing but in a few points from Linnaeus’s Sterna Alba. These, with a small field-rat, a copper-coloured lizard, and a dragon-fly, were the only inhabitants we found on the Island. Yet there are traces of human occupation, if not of habitation. Large square areas raised to the height of three feet above the ordinary surface are here and there to be seen, supported by blocks of wrought coral, and each having in the centre what we may call an altar or table-tomb. Captain Cook has mentioned similar edifices, if they may be called so, in some other

uninhabited islands; and they are not very dissimilar in form to places of worship found among the aborigines of South America. We named this island Malden’s Island, in honour of the surveying officer: it lies in lat. 4° S. long. 155° W. There is fresh water in it.

      Pursuing our way across the Pacific, we, on the 1st of August, made the real Starbuck’s Island, on which we were not able to land, owing to a lee-current. Its appearance was still more uninviting than that of Malden’s Island, there not being even the trees to enliven the flat coral rock. It lies in lat. 5° 26' S. long. 155° 50 ' W.

      On the 8th August, to our great surprise, land was descried from the mast-head; and as we were uncertain, from its position, whether it was one of the islands discovered by Captain Cook, we bore up for it, and about 3 p. m. we were within two miles of the nearest point. A heavy swell rolled towards the land, and broke on a long chain of coral which appeared to surround the Island. Within, it appeared to be wooded, but our glasses were turned landwards in vain to discover either canoes or huts. At length, as we sailed slowly along the north-west side, we were suddenly gratified by the sight of a native emerging from the woods, and placing himself upon a rock, whence he continued to look steadfastly on the ship. A boat was immediately lowered,

and Mr. Malden, with a reconnoitring party, proceeded towards the shore, with strict injunctions, however, to be very cautious in endeavouring to ascertain the disposition of the natives before he attempted to land among them. On our approaching the Island we attempted, by signs, to induce the man to swim off to the boat: this he naturally enough refused to do; but, from his gesticulations, we understood that, though there was no landing-place there, yet on the other side of the Island we should find one. We then returned on board, and the ship stood off and on for the night. Next morning we proceeded to the lee-side of the Island, and perceiving several canoes coming off to us, we lay-to about three miles off the shore. The first that reached us was a single man, whose costume soon convinced us that we were not the first visitors of this solitary place. He wore a straw hat, shaped like a common English hat; and besides his maro or waist-cloth, he wore a cloak of tapa, of the same form with the South American poncho. The language of this man seemed to bear some affinity to the Hawaiian, but not sufficient for any of our people to comprehend him fully; however, we made out that the Island was called Mauti. While we were questioning our visitor, another canoe, of very singular construction, came alongside of us. Though double, like the war-canoes of the

Sandwich Islands, its form is very different. The prows and waists were two, but the sterns united, so as to form but one, and this stern, curiously carved, was carried up in a curve to the height of six or seven feet above the water’s edge. Two persons, who, by their dress and appearance, seemed to be of some importance, now stepped on board, and, to our great surprise, produced a written document from that branch of the London Missionary Society settled at Otaheite, qualifying them to act as native teachers in the Island of Mauti. They were very fine looking men, dressed in cotton shirts, cloth jackets, and a sort of petticoat of very fine mat instead of trowsers.

      They were much astonished at every thing they saw on board the frigate, though it appeared they were not ignorant of the use of the guns and other things, but they evidently had never seen so large a vessel. The galley-fire and the players on wind instruments in the band seemed to surprise and delight them more than any thing. Our bread they ate after smelling to it; but it is impossible to describe their faces of disgust on tasting wine.

      As soon as their curiosity was satisfied, we determined to avail ourselves of their local knowledge as guides, and to go ashore. We embarked in two boats, taking one of the missionaries in each; but we found the surf on the beach so

violent, that we got into the natives’ canoes, and trusted to their experience for taking us safely through: this they did with admirable dexterity, and our passage in the canoes convinced us that no boat of ours could have effected a landing.

      The coral bank at the landing-place extends fifty yards from the land, at about two feet under water: when we reached it the natives carried us ashore on their shoulders. When arrived, it appeared as if the whole male population had assembled to greet us; the only two women, however, were the wives of the missionaries, decently clothed from head to foot. Each individual of this numerous assembly pressed forward to shake hands, and seemed unhappy till this sign of friendship had passed; and this ceremony being over, they conducted us towards their habitations, which were about two miles inland. Our path lay through a thick shady wood, on the skirts of which, in a small open space on the left, two handsome canoes were building. They were each eighty feet long; the lower part, as usual, of a single tree, hollowed out with great skill. The road was rough over the fragments of coral, but it wound agreeably through the grove, which improved in beauty as we advanced, and at length, to our surprise and pleasure, terminated in a beautiful green lawn, where there were two of

the prettiest white-washed cottages imaginable, the dwellings of the missionaries, who are, as it appears, the chief personages on the Island.

      The inside of their habitations corresponded with their exterior neatness. The floors were boarded: there were a sofa and some chairs of native workmanship: windows, with Venetian shutters, rendered the apartments cool and agreeable. The rooms were divided from each other by screens of tapa; in one there was a bed of white tapa, and the floor was covered with coloured varnished tapa resembling oilcloth. We were exceedingly struck with the appearance of elegance and cleanliness of all around us, as well as with the modest and decorous behaviour of the people, especially the women; all of which formed a strong contrast with the habits of the common people of the Sandwich Islands: but this is a small community, easily inspected by its teachers, and having, as yet, had no intercourse from without, to disturb the effects of their admonitions and example.

      After partaking of the refreshment offered us by our hostess, which consisted of baked pig, bread-fruit, and yams, we accompanied the missionaries to their church. It stands on a rising ground, about four hundred yards from the cottages. A fence, composed of the trunks of cocoa-nut trees, surrounds the area in which it stands. Its form is oval,

and the roof is supported by four pillars, which bear up the ridge. It is capable of containing two hundred persons. Two doors and twelve windows give it light and air: the pulpit and reading-desk are neatly carved and painted, with a variety of pretty designs; and the benches for the people are arranged neatly round. Close to the church is the burying-place, which is a mound of earth covered with greensward: and the whole has an air of modest simplicity which delighted no less than it surprised us.

      The history of Manti is short. It is under the dominion of the king of Atui, the Wateeoo of Captain Cook. This king having been persuaded to relinquish his idolatrous worship and destroy his idols, accompanied two English missionaries in a small vessel, called the Endeavour, to this island. As soon as he approached, the chiefs and people immediately thronged out to meet and welcome him; and on his going ashore, while they were yet assembled round him, he said --"I am come to advise you to receive the knowledge of the true God, because hitherto you have been adoring senseless pieces of wood, the work of your own hands. I shall leave you a teacher to instruct you, and show you how you have hitherto been in error/’

that the first in which a vessel from the civilized world touched there, the superstitions of ages were overturned, and the knowledge of the true God brought among a docile and, generally speaking, innocent people. From the account of the missionaries, the ancient religion seems to have been the same with that of the Sandwich Islanders.

      On our return to the beach, one of the missionaries attended us. As we retraced our steps through the wood, the warbling of the birds, whose plumage was as rich as it was new to us -- the various-tinted butterflies that fluttered across our path -- the delicious climate -- the magnificent forest-trees -- and, above all, the perfect union and harmony existing among the natives -- presented a succession of agreeable pictures which could not fail to delight us.

      The only weapons we observed among the inhabitants of Mauti were spears, of the same make and variety as in the other South Sea isles. They possessed few ornaments; and those who had their ears bored stuck a small leaf, rolled up, in the orifice. The greater number wore straw hats, and were more clothed than in the adjacent islands. They were hospitable and kind to us; and we gave them some knives, scissors, fish-hooks, and printed cotton, with all of which they seem much delighted. Their number is considered as amounting to between two and three hundred.

Their food consists principally of bread-fruit and fish: they have, however, yams, cocoa-nuts, and plantains, the latter of which they preserve dry, in the same manner as is practised in Guzerat. They possess some tame goats, fowls, and abundance of pigs. We saw only one dog, and he appeared to be of European parentage. Rats, something larger than the common South-sea rat, abound; but we found none of the lizards so common in the other South-sea isles.

      We saw a green dove, but could not get it: another of the same genus, extremely beautiful, which we named Co-lumba Byronensis. We also saw a fine duck, a species of scolopar; a blue and white heron; a hawk; a king-fisher peculiar, and called by us Alcedo Mautiensis; a starling, and some tarn and petrels. We were unable to procure any insects, but saw some very beautiful varieties of butterfly, and flying-bugs and beetles.

      Our time on shore was so limited that we could only observe such plants as grew on our road, such as coco, pan-danus, bread-fruit, and some immense trees, of twenty-five feet in girth, unknown to us.

      The shore presented no great variety of shells: a few species of murex and cowrie, a trochus, a turbo, and a patella, yellow in the inside, were all we found; but it must be remembered that we saw only the spot where we landed, and that our visit was short and hurried.

      The whole Island seems to be of coral formation. We brought away two or three specimens of phosphate of lime; and did not observe any thing else worthy of remark.

      As Mauti has not been laid down in any chart, or described by any navigator, we used the privilege of discoverers, and named it Parry's Island. It lies in 20° 8' south latitude, and 157° 20' of west longitude.

      On the 10th of August we gave up all hope of being able to reach Otaheite, as the south-east wind freshened to nearly a gale; we therefore bore up for Valparaiso, and for twenty-one days averaged 205 miles a day.

      On the 11th and 12th of August, while the winds were unsettled, we observed two splendid meteors, one of which had the appearance of a ship blowing up.

      On the 4th of September we made Juan Fernandez, but passed it at the rate of eleven knots an hour. This Island can never be passed without interest. The real Alexander Selkirk, and Eobinson Crusoe, no less real to our imagination, have thrown a romantic glory over its craggy summits and woody valleys, now left again to solitude, since the Chilian government found it expedient to break up the settlement, and remove the prisoners and convicts, who were not long ago its inhabitants.

      On Tuesday morning, the 6th of September, we descried, at the distance of ninety miles off shore, the lofty summits

of the Andes, and hailed with joy the appearance of a Christian country. Six months had now elapsed since we had enjoyed civilised society, or heard news of our native land: we were all anxiety as to whether we should be able to reach Valparaiso Bay before dark. The water was smooth; our noble ship bore us through it at the rate of eleven miles an hour, but still we lay-to outside the harbour all night, for it was too dark ere we reached the entrance to pick an anchorage. A boat was, however, sent in, and returned with letters and newspapers, and all that was to confirm our fears and our hopes concerning that home which no one ever learns to value so highly as those who sail the trackless deep. We found here His Majesty’s ships Cambridge, Briton, Mersey, and Tartar, the latter on the point of sailing for England.

      Early next morning we were agreeably surprised to find the appearance of Valparaiso something more like the promise held out by its name than when we left it. The winter rains had given it verdure and adorned it with the loveliest flowers, and the temperature of the air was delicious.

      On the 22d the Cambridge, Briton, and Blonde sailed from Valparaiso for Conception, for the purpose of procuring wood and coal, which are there to be obtained at

an easy rate. As is usual, there was some boasting and some competition among the officers and crews of the three ships as to their respective rates of sailing: we flattered ourselves that the Blonde behaved best, and on the 29 th of September we entered the port of Talcahuana, one of the best harbours of this coast of South America. The entrance is protected by the Island Quiriquina, and the bay, which is very capacious, is shut out from the north winds, which are the strongest and most dangerous that blow on this coast, and which, at some seasons, render Valparaiso itself rather an insecure anchorage ^*.

      The scenery of Talcahuana Bay is beautiful: high and steep hills, covered with wood from their summits to the water’s edge, surround it, excepting where they leave room

for the little town of Taleahuana. This consists of a small fort mounting two guns or thereabouts, a range of storehouses, and a few houses scarcely better than fishermen's cottages. The tongue of land on which the town stands is surprisingly beautiful, and put us in mind of park and forest scenery at home, mingled with corn fields, and adorned with groups of trees, giving shelter to the cattle, while the noonday sun is too hot in the open meadows.

      Two days after our arrival, the naval captains and the British consul resolved to visit the Intendente or governor of Penco, which is the Indian name, more commonly used on the spot than the Spanish title of La Concepcion. The town lies in a fine valley nine miles from the port. The first four miles of our road lay across a low, and in some places, marshy plain; the rest of the way was through a woody and very picturesque country, till the pleasant vale of Mochita lay before us, where the town stands advantageously at the foot of some little hills. The majestic Bio Bio, the boundary of Araucana, flows past the city, and falls into the sea to the southward of the bay, from which it is separated by the promontory of Taleahuana, and close to the harbour of San Vicente, whose entrance is known by the Paps of Bio Bio.

      As we approached the town a salute of 21 guns was fired

from some field-pieces which had been drawn out to do honour to the English visitors. The guide sent to us by the Intendente led us through several streets, whose desolate appearance told a melancholy tale of the ravages committed in the late contests with the Spaniards, and also by those inveterate enemies of the European inhabitants, the Araucanian Indians. It was a feast-day, and crowds of well-dressed people were walking and standing about; but they scarcely took from the air of utter desolateness of this ill-fated city, which has passed no less than six. times from the hands of one party to those of another during the civil w r ar. One half of it is totally ruined, and in the other long grass grows in the streets, and mantles the walls. The quick vegetation of the climate has partially covered the ruined houses with shrubs and creeping plants, hiding, in some measure, the deformity of a ruin, from which nothing has been safe, the churches themselves bearing the marks of violence. As usual in the Spanish colonies, all the streets of Conception are at right angles, each mass of houses being of exactly the same extent; the Plaza or public square occupies the space of one of these masses; it serves for military parade, and is usually the place where the courts of justice, the palace of government, and other public buildings are situated. When we arrived there, we found a body

of troops, who presented arms as we passed. We alighted at the palace, and were received by the Intendente and his staff, all in full uniform. On entering the sala we were presented to the wife of the Governor, and thought her the handsomest woman we had yet seen in Chile.

      Two of the most interesting of the persons who dined with the Intendente were the Araucanian chiefs Venancio and Peneleo. The latter has a stern and sullen countenance, but Venancio appears kindly and good-humoured. It is a great happiness to the Chilian Government that these two chiefs, whose influence over their countrymen is almost unbounded, should be in friendship with it.

      Some of us had never sat at a Chilian dinner before, and as this was a real feast, the full state of ancient hospitality was kept up -- no less than ten courses succeeded one another, to each of which every guest was heartily pressed. Venancio seems to possess the true festive qualities, which his good-natured face promised: he ate of every dish, and drank between each.

      Towards the end of the dinner Captain Maling gave, as a brinda (toast or sentiment), "The health of the Araucanian chiefs, and may the friendship between them and the Chilians be strengthened by the friends of both, the English/’ This being interpreted to Peneleo, he rose and said, with an ani-

mation we had not looked for from him, "That his countrymen, the Araucanians, were but a poor and ignorant race of people; but that he hoped the time had arrived, when for their improvement the English would, by their friendship and commerce, add to the liberty and prosperity of Chile and Araucana; and he drank to the health of the King of the first Empire in the World, and concluded by Viva la Patria."

      Oct. 4. -- H.M.S. Tartar joined the little squadron in Talcahuana Bay: and as we were now 300 men strong in marines, the commanding officer determined on landing and exercising them together. Due notice was of course given to the Intendente, who promised to attend our miniature review with a party of friends, and Venancio and Peneleo sent word they would come with a band of Indians, who for our gratification should go through their native warlike exercises. The rumour of this intended spectacle soon spread in the neighbourhood, and many a careta and many a horse arrived the day before that we had fixed on, laden with fair Penquistas, anxious to see the new soldiers. At length the 7th, the important day, arrived, as cloudless as such days

should be, and the company assembled in a fair plain, a little above Talcahuana. The marines landed about ten o’clock, and shortly afterwards Venancio and Peneleo, at the head of about two hundred men, arrived. They were as usual mounted, and advanced irregularly with a shrill war-lioop, brandishing their long lances: short drawers of skin or cloth ^* 9 and iron spurs, formed the whole dress of the greater number, their ponchos being laid over their saddles. Their hair, which is black and coarse, covered their heads in wild masses; their necks are thick and short, and their shoulders high; so that they appear taller than they really are, and have altogether a fierce and savage appearance. Their horses were as ragged looking as themselves, but equally hardy and sure-footed. Many of the riders were armed with swords, and all had their native weapons, the long Indian lances.

      At the command of Venancio they went through their exercise. On a given signal they galloped off at once, brandishing their spears, and uttering the most discordant cries; then stopped suddenly and drew up in a body, round which the chiefs galloped repeatedly; then they dismounted, and advanced as if to charge on foot, beating time with their lances, and working themselves up by shouts and howlings

almost to frenzy. After this exhibition, our marines performed their evolutions, to the great delight both of the savage and the civilised spectators; and, indeed, the whole scene was very interesting. The surrounding country w r as very beautiful; our station, on a lawn on the promontory of Talcahuana, peculiarly so: groves and detached groups of trees surrounded us, between which, on one hand, was the vale of the majestic Bio-Bio, whose broad waters were winding past the city, through rich woods and fields, at the foot of lofty mountains. On the other side lay the bay, in which the British ships, quietly at anchor, were dressed with flags in honour of the day. The fore-ground was filled with three very different races of men. The wild unconquered Araucanian Indians, the original possessors of the soil; the native Chilians, sprung from the Indian owner, and the Spanish usurper, of the country; and ourselves, whose presence here a century ago would have boded war in both hemispheres, but who are now the protectors of the peace, nay the very existence, of the country. Nor were the external differences of appearance less than the moral distinction of the three races. We were dressed in all the modern European naval costume; the Chilians in their broad hats, and handsome striped ponchos; and the Indians with little clothing beyond what decency requires: so that there wanted nothing

to complete the picturesque in all the various groups that we formed.

      A few days after the review at Talcahuana, we went a second time to La Concepcion, where we remained two days; and now we had an opportunity of seeing the women of Penco, of whose beauty we had heard great commendations; but we were disappointed in them, probably because they were very ill dressed. Having lost the simplicity of the Indian dress, which, by the by, can only be becoming in very early youth, and not having acquired the elegance of European art, they were certainly not seen to advantage. However they are good-humoured and affable, have fine eyes and good teeth. The anteroom was filled with Tapa-das #, as is usual at Spanish South American balls. The grave minuets that still begin every ball here soon gave way to the Spanish country-dances, which are graceful and spirited; and our evening went off very well.

      The next day Peneleo took us to visit the Indian quarters in the suburbs of the town. We called on Venancio, but found him asleep, and Peneleo did not think it advisable to wake him, but led us on to his own house, where we were introduced to his family, about fifteen in number, mostly women and children. Two of the young women were ex-

tremely pretty, and their dress was very becoming; their long black hair was partly braided with beads round their foreheads, and hung partly down behind in plaits, rather whimsically ornamented with brass thimbles. Hound their waists a sort of petticoat was fastened by a broad belt of many-coloured stripes, and over their shoulders a woollen mantle was secured by a silver pin, with a flat top about three inches in diameter.

      These people appeared to be all very curious, and examined every part of our dress, especially our pockets, which we construed into a hint, and obeyed it accordingly, by distributing among them what silver coin we had, to their no small delight.

      And now having completed the business which brought us to Conception, tasted of such enjoyments as it could afford, and returned the civilities received, by a splendid entertainment on board the senior officer’s ship, we left the port on the 12th October, and made sail for Valparaiso, where we arrived on the 13th, at eight o’clock p.m., and remained until the fifth of December. We enjoyed ourselves there, riding, walking, and dancing; but neither seeing nor doing any thing that has not been described a hundred times before: therefore we shall pass on to Coquimbo, where

we arrived on the 5th of December, without further notice of our proceedings here.

      The harbour of Coquimbo is nearly land-locked, and safe from the north winds. There is good anchorage on fine black sand #, and plenty of excellent water, there being-two fine springs, besides the river of Coquimbo, all emptying themselves within the harbour. This is the principal port among those called the Intermedios, and from it there has always been exported excellent corn, wine, and oil, for the northern states, besides copper sufficient for the supply of Peru. The town has been more than once destroyed by earthquakes; and, to secure it from some of the fatal effects of these visitations, its site has been removed to nine miles inland, on the banks of the river. Its authorized name is La Serena, but, as usual, the native appellation is oftener used. As soon as the arrival of an English frigate was known in the neighbourhood, the guassos, or native farmers, came down to the beach with horses to let at a dollar a head for the ride up to the town; so that we were soon mounted: but truly the saddle is somewhat strange to an English rider, being a mass of sheepskins and cloths, one over another, placed upon a saddle-tree, which rests on a pad; so that the

machine which ought to be a mutual accommodation between man and horse, is often a torment to both. The clumsy stirrups, however, which are neither more nor less than wooden boxes for the feet, each hollowed out of a simple block, are convenient for passing through the thorny forests, where they protect the feet admirably; but they are strange looking things, and, added to the weight of the saddle, would be reckoned in England almost as burdensome to the horse as if he carried double.

      The first three or four miles leading from the village of fishing-huts and warehouses to La Serena, lies over a dreary track of sand, dotted with a few low shrubs; but on approaching the town, the scenery improves into positive beauty. The white buildings are disposed on a gentle declivity, having on one side a bright sandy bay, and on the other a fertile valley, through which the river winds in many turns ere it reaches the sea. Among the houses, groves of olive, citron, palm, and fig-trees give freshness and shade; and, in the distance, the Andes present every form of mountain grandeur.

      A friend belonging to the Anglo-Chilian mining company, to whom we had given a passage from Valparaiso, furnished us with beds, and proposed to us, on the following

morning, to visit the mines which lie at the foot of the Cordillera, about forty miles from Coquimbo.

      The discovery of the rich silver mine of Arqueros, like that of many others, was, as it appears, entirely owing to accident. Two wood-carriers, sauntering about in the neighbourhood, while their mules were grazing, picked up on the surface of the earth several lumps of stone having a metallic appearance. The compadre^* of one of these men was a miner, and he therefore put two of the stones into his sack to show him, and thus determine their worth. The com-padre determined them at first sight to be native silver, and advised him to present a petition to the government, praying for a grant of sueh an extent of the vein as the Ordenanza de Minas allots to the first discoverers of a new mining district. The specimens picked up by the woodmen were Rodeados or rolled masses, and it was not difficult to trace the bed from whence they had been detached. They were so rich, that as soon as they were seen they excited an extraordinary avidity in all classes of people, and the town of Coquimbo became in a manner deserted. Shopkeepers abandoned their wares, physicians their patients, servants their

employers. All flocked to Arqueros, with that eagerness which the hopes of the precious metals have always excited; every one petitioning for an Estaca or Pertinencia (200 yards on the same vein), and taking his position according to priority in presenting the petition. Some veins far richer than the original one were soon found, and the general interest excited can scarcely be described. Up to the present time, 300 Estacas have been granted, and the veins may be said to spread over a space of not less than ten leagues. The Anglo-Chilian Association had their Cateadores, or searchers, and were so fortunate as to discover a vein, which, on being opened for a few feet, presented native silver in great abundance. This vein did not exhibit any metallic appearance on the surface, but gave other favourable indications, which the commissioners did not overlook.

      They removed Peons from their other veins to this, to the great amazement of the people of the country, who could not believe that metal would be found there; but on seeing the vein prove so rich, their respect for the knowledge of the Europeans was greatly increased, and with it also the expectation of riches in places which had hitherto escaped their less knowing searchers.

      We left La Serena early in the morning, and, descending into the valley, crossed the Coquimbo, now much swollen

by the melted snows. The rivers of Chile are subject to two periodical floods in the year, occasioned by the winter rains in July and August, and the melting snow in November and December, when many of them become for a few days impassable. After a gentle ascent for about four miles, we came to an extensive plain covered with brushwood, and rendered disagreeable by the sharp loose stones which lie thickly scattered over it. The parallel roads, mentioned by Captain Hall, are very visible in the distance; but, on approaching them, we found them to be only spaces disencumbered of shrubs, and strewed over with stones of all dimensions; hence we had an extensive and beautiful view of the vale of Coquimbo to the sea.

      We now entered the mountain track, and nothing could be more monotonously horrid than the road. We went through dismal ravines for many miles, anti experienced a feverish longing to be at our journey’s end. At length we emerged from the sunken roads we had followed, and there a grand, though gloomy, prospect lay before us. Deep dreary valleys branched out in various directions beneath our feet, hemmed in by the gigantic Cordillera, in all the savage grandeur of total solitude.

      At length, at five o’clock, we reached the mine. This is a broad mountain, over the face of which are scattered a

number of small huts, surrounded by heaps of ores belonging to different mining agents. Two or three of these assembled together on the mountain side, form the station of the Anglo-Chilian miners: they are inhabited by two Germans, and the peons necessary for the labours of the mines.

      Our first care was to turn our horses out to pick up their well-earned supper among the herbs and shrubs that are but very thinly scattered over the surface of the mountain, and then, while our own repast was preparing, we descended into the mine, which is only carried twenty feet below the surface. To our inexperienced eyes the vein appeared extremely rich, and we each brought away a few specimens.

      On our return to upper earth, we caroused as sailors are wont, after a ride of forty miles. The company, besides our own party, consisted of several Chilian mine-owners, who, after eating and drinking with us, were entertained like ourselves with the country songs, which one of our German friends sang and accompanied on his guitar, while the working miners sat round as spectators, apparently enjoying the scene.

      The next day we returned to La Serena, where we remained until the 13th, having, in the meantime, been most hospitably treated, especially by the Mining Company’s agents, who gave a ball in honour of our visit to the place.

      We then took our final leave of the coast of Chile and its very friendly inhabitants.

      We had partly intended laying-to off Chiloe to ascertain the fate of the heroic Quintanilla, whose long and faithful maintaining of that island merits every praise that can be bestowed on the hero of a forlorn hope^*. But the weather forbade our doing so, and we therefore proceeded on our way round Cape Horn, which we doubled on the 29th of December, and proceeded directly for St. Helena.

      On the 8th of January, being in lat. 42° S., we passed several icebergs, nearly in the place where La Roche thought he saw an island; but we found no soundings with 130 fathoms of line, and therefore concluded that navigator had been mistaken, or deceived, as w r e had nearly been, by an iceberg.

      On the morning of the 23d of January we made St. Helena, the dark monument of the most conspicuous man that has arisen within the period of certain history. We were hospitably received and entertained by the governor. We gazed at the barren rocky circuit, and the smiling valleys of the island. We visited Longwood, and the cottage of the Bertrands, and the willows that overhang the grave of

the emperor of the French; places where, if in any situation, the fleetingness of fortune, the unstableness of power, and the nothingness of glory, are brought home to men’s bosoms. The name of many a curious visitor is engraven on the walls of Napoleon’s house; and, mingled with these, there are lines of regret and of devotion, written in hands that show the writers to have been of that nation which he raised to its highest pitch of glory, and which, as it rose, so it sank with his fortunes.

      On the 28th of January we left St. Helena, and on the 27th of February we crossed the line, where we experienced nearly three days of calm; after which we continued our course, favoured by the north-east trade wind, until the 7th March, when one of those affecting incidents occurred which surpass in horrible interest all that invention has ever produced to move the sympathies of man. The morning was squally, but about noon it cleared up, and the ship’s place was ascertained to be in lat. 44° 18' N. and long. 23° W. About 4 o’clock p. m. a strange sail was reported, and though, from the haziness of the weather, she was but indistinctly seen, it was perceived that she was in distress. Our course was immediately altered, and we steered directly for her, being distant about nine miles. As we neared her, she proved to be in distress indeed: she was a complete wreck, and

water-logged, but being laden with timber had not sunk. Her dismantled rigging indicated how severe had been her struggle with the elements. Her foremast was carried away, but part of her bowsprit and the stump of her main-topmast were still standing, and a topsail yard was crossed, to which a few shreds of canvas were still hanging. An English jack reversed was attached to the main rigging, and the mizen-mast was partly gone. The sea had cleared the decks of every thing. We all now felt the greatest anxiety to reach her. The evening was closing in, with every sign of an approaching gale. Thick squalls had already once or twice concealed from us the object of our pursuit; but at length we came near enough to discern two human figures on the wreck, and, presently, four others came out from behind the remnants of a tattered sail, which hung from the main rigging, and which had, as it appeared, been their only shelter from the weather.

      It was late ere our boat reached the wreck, where she remained long; and, as the weather was growing worse and the night dark, we fired a gun to hasten her return. No words can describe the wretched state of the poor creatures she brought when she did come. Two women and four men were sent up in the arms of the sailors, evidently suffering in the last stage of famine. They were immediately carried

below, and supplied with small quantities of tea and bread, then stripped of their wretched clothing, washed, and put to bed.

      Meantime the officer reported the condition in which he had found the wreck. It appeared to have been thirty-two days in the state in which we saw it, during which time most of the crew had died, and the rest had only preserved life by feeding on their late companions. When the officer went on board, the two women rushed towards him, kissed his hands, and hailed him as a deliverer. The men, stupefied as it appeared with suffering, scarcely spoke, but hastily gathering their tattered clothes round them, hurried towards the boat. The master of the vessel, his wife, a female passenger, two middle-aged men, and one young man, were all that survived of seventeen. One of the women, when brought on the Blonde's deck, fell on her knees and exclaimed -- "Great God, where am I? is it a dream?" -- but it was not until the next day that we heard the particulars of their sad story.

      As the night came on, it began to blow fresher and fresher, and ere morning the weather had, as we thought, been violent enough to have destroyed these poor creatures had they remained upon the vessel; but as day advanced the wind again moderated, and the master of the vessel,

being somewhat recovered, gave the following account of the wreck.

      About the end of January, 1826, the ship Frances Mary, laden with timber, sailed from New Brunswick for Liverpool. From the very beginning of her voyage she had experienced tempestuous weather. On the 4th of February, the main topmast having been carried away, she had become almost unmanageable, and they therefore cut away her foremast in order to bring her to the wind. Before that she had been scudding. While in the act of cutting away the mast, a heavy sea broke over her stern with a dreadful crash, forced in the cabin windows, unshipped her rudder, and in a moment left her a helpless wreck. Wave after wave now swept over her, and the crew and passengers took refuge in the maintop. One of the number, an elderly man, died that night: next day, the weather having moderated, the rest came down from the top, and endeavoured to get at some provisions, but nothing but a few pounds of biscuit could be obtained, notwithstanding every effort they could make, to hook up some of the stores from between the timbers. On the fourth day, to their great joy, they perceived a sail bearing down towards them under American colours. She soon came within hail, and offered to take them on board, provided they could make a raft to go to

her, but the sea was still running so high, that she was fearful of lowering a boat. The wretched sulferers had neither tools nor materials with which to construct a raft, even if they had retained strength to do it. However, this American staid by them two days, evidently anxious to assist them if possible. She was once separated from them by the violence of the gale; but, on rejoining them, came so near that two of the people on the wreck proposed to swim to her, if she would then lend her boat to save the rest. The proposal was perhaps unheard -- it was certainly unanswered; and shortly afterwards the American bore up, and the wretched crew T of the Frances Mary were once more left to their fate, amidst feelings to which no words can give a name. A few days afterwards their hopes were again raised only to be again disappointed, by the approach of another American vessel, under the same circumstances; for she also, with a bare expression of pity, sailed away. Now the sufferers abandoned all hope of being saved. Ten days had elapsed since their ship became a wreck, and their scanty store of biscuit was exhausted. During this time, besides the evils of cold and hunger, they had had the discomfort of being frequently obliged to lash themselves to the remaining rigging to save themselves from being washed overboard. But now famine laid hold of them.

      As their numbers thinned, each thought, but dared not yet speak, of one means of sustaining life. On this day, the tenth of their misery, they looked at each other as they were committing a body to the deep -- and it appeared as if each had understood the look; but still another, an old man, died -- and again they forbore. That same night, however, a boy expired, and famine forced them to the unnatural food.

      The women bore these complicated evils better than the men. The young passenger, in particular, did, as they all confessed, contribute most of all to save such as did survive. Engaged to marry the ship’s steward on reaching England, she had the misery of seeing him expire before her -- the still greater misery of reflecting, in after life, that the frenzied love of existence that extreme famine is known to excite, forced her, with her companions, to the horror of deriving life from his death: yet she kept up the spirits of her companions; she daily called upon them to pray with her; she portioned out their unnatural food; and robbed their misery of half its horror, by her confidence in Providence, and her decency of conduct even in that wretched time.

      It is scarcely right, perhaps, to lay open such shocking tales of human misery as seem to degrade man, and display a state in which his animal cravings get the better of his

moral sense: we will, therefore, forbear to dwell on the farther particulars of this sad story.

      The patients all recovered; and with their bodily strength their human feelings returned. At first they had seemed insensible to the horror of their tale, and had told it without hesitation; but, as their powers returned, a strange revolution took place; and they seemed not only horror-struck at the remembrance of what they had done, but at their own apathy in having told it too plainly: and surely such feelings are to be respected ^*.

      At length, after an absence from home of seventeen months and fifteen days, we, with our pitiable guests, again anchored at Spithead on the loth of March, 1826, with all the joy manners are wont to feel on reaching their native land, and some of the self-importance that belongs to such as have successfully visited new or interesting countries, and feel they have something to tell when they return.

      Perhaps, in the present state of knowledge, there is little to relate that can be entirely new, unless a traveller has been to the interior of Africa, or should happily advance to the Polar Sea. Our voyage can boast of nothing to compare with these in interest; yet we have seen one nation rapidly emerging from a state of savage nature to one of civilization, and others rising by their own exertions to freedom. And we can at least boast that truth has guided us in our narrative, and that we have an honest desire, by imparting the little knowledge we have gained, to inspire such an interest in our late friends in the southern seas as may contribute to their improvement, and lead to the attainment of all the blessings of Christian civilization.

Kihe Koolau, kilie ka ua Moelana
I pukakele na hale o Kekele
Ino ke ala nui makani o Nuwanu
A Nuwanu i Malailua ka makani
Nana aku i ka lau o ka Kaweru
E mio ana i ka makani a ka holo
Aliv a ka lau o keki ke kuikui me ka hau
Puchu i ka ununu a ka waahila
Hokiki na wahini noho anu i ke ala
A ke alanui wai o ka hau komo
Komo polio i ka lepo Kahuwailana
Paoioi ka huakai hele i Rona
Pahee hena i kaa-ana a ka hina
Hina pulu ka apeope pulu me kahi tapa
Hele wale iho no a ore maru
Haere pu me ka ua i Rona
Harawai me ka la i Leleoe.

Koolau was offended with the rains of Moelana,
While they defiled the entrance of Kekele’s habitations,
And roughened the stormy passage of Nuwanu.
From Nuwanu to Malalua blows the wind:
Behold the blades of the nodding kaweru
Waving in the flying gales of the passage!
While the leaves of the ti, the candle-tree, and the hau,
Shake and bend, and yield to the strong blast.
And are tost and driven by the whirl of the mountain storm,
The goddesses ^* sit shiv’ring by the way-side.
Along the flowing path of the Hau bower
The travellers enter the pass -- they sink in the mire.
At Kahuwailana, the company going to Rona
Slip and totter, slide, stagger, and fall
Wet their packages, and drench their clothes;
They march on, naked and without a shelter:
Accompanied by showers, they proceed to Rona;
They meet with the sun at Leleoe.

---

      ^* The stones at the bottom of the Parre. See p. 141,

      February 28. -- Returning from a walk this morning, I witnessed, for the first time, a rite of sorcery. My attention was attracted by a group of people near the path I was passing. On approaching it, though ignorant of the particular ceremony performing, I at once judged it to be idolatrous. A small mat was spread on the ground, on which were spread several pieces of tapa, a native cloth, and on those again two of the large leaves of the api (one of the largest of the vegetable productions of the Islands -- do not know its scientific name). These last seemed to have been prepared with special care; they were both of the same size; were placed the one directly above the other, both of the stems being split entirely up to the point of the leaves. They were carefully held together by a man kneeling at one end, while the priest or sorcerer, kneeling at the other, repeated prayers over them. These, with two or three others who appeared engaged in the ceremony, were as solemn as the grave; the rest of the company were light and trifling, and some of them turned to me, and laughing at what they seemed to think the folly of their friends, said, ino, ino -- bad, bad -- pupaka -- foolish -- debelo -- devilish! On inquiring what it meant, they told me a pipe had been stolen from one of the men, and the incantation was making to discover the thief, and to pray him to death. On reproving them for their superstition and wickedness, they became disconcerted, and the man holding the leaves made some unfortunate movement, which the man praying said had destroyed the effect, and immediately ceased to pray.

      Perhaps there is no superstition more general and deep-rooted in the minds of this people than the belief that some have the power of

destroying the lives of others by their incantations and prayers. There is not a doubt that many yearly become victims to their credence in this device of darkness, which holds thousands in the bondage of cruel fears. A person gains the displeasure of one of these praying men --he is told that the kanaka an&na is exercising his power over him, and that he will die. He cannot shake off the dread of that which he believes to be possible; his imagination becomes filled with pictures of death -- his spirits become affected -- his appetite fails -- these, the natural consequences of his fears, are believed to be the effect of the sorcery of his enemy. Under this conviction, he takes no nourishment, pines, languishes, and dies; the victim of his own ignorance and superstition. This is no fiction, but a reality that is constantly occurring.

      The less enlightened of the people think no one dies a natural death; every instance of mortality is assigned to the effect of poison administered by some foe, or to the more insidious, but, in their opinion, equally fatal influence of the pule anana.

      Before a sorcerer can gain power over the life of a chief, he must possess himself of something that has belonged to the person of the chief, as spittle, or any excrement, an article of clothing, &c. &c. In this superstition we find the origin of the care taken of the spittle, &c. of a chief, which is always in charge of a confidential attendant. When a chief became unwell, or had any fear that one of the praying-men had obtained an article which had been worn by him, or had touched his person, he had immediate recourse to sacrifices to counteract the prayer against his life. The last instance of the kind occurred in October, 1824. According to the custom of disposing of the old clothes of the chiefs, the princess had several boxes of garments she had thrown by carried out from Lahaina and secretly buried in the sea. It was reported that one dress had been stolen with a design of praying her to death, from the power it w? ould give the sorcerer over her life. The consequence was, that her ignorant

attendants prevailed on her to sacrifice to her old gods, to escape the evil. For this purpose she went to a village eight miles from La-haina (which was said to be too much under the influence of Jehovah to secure success in the rite) under pretext of visiting her plantations in that neighbourhood, and sacrificed to the gods of her fathers. This is the last, and probably will remain the last sacrifice ever made in the islands by order of a high chief. -- From the Missionaries.

      There are very few of the hard-billed birds in the Sandwich Islands; but there are some species, probably peculiar to these Islands, which feed principally on the juicy flowers of the Eugenia Malacensis.

      From three different species of these birds the feathers are procured which are used in making the war-helmets and cloaks, and the chaplets and other ornaments of the Sandwich Islanders. The yellow feathers are most rare, and are found upon a bird whose general colour is black, excepting a tuft of yellow feathers under each wing and the tail: these are given by the common people as tribute to the chiefs, and are now frequently so scarce, as to be sold at the rate of a dollar for five feathers. The bird from which the red feathers are procured is more common.

      These birds are caught with a strong bird-lime, made by boiling the milky juice which exudes from the bark of the bread-fruit tree. The bird-lime is spread on the branches of the Eugenia, where the birds come to feed, and they are thus taken without injuring their feathers^*.

            Certhia Coccinia, Linn.

      One of the birds which furnishes feathers for cloaks, &c.: they build on the tops of trees.

            Fringilla Coccinea. Linn.

      Another of the birds whose feathers are used for cloaks.

      Length four and a half inches: bill dark brown, slightly curved, sharp-pointed, half an inch in length; upper mandible rather longer than the lower; nostril at the base covered with a hard membrane tongue tubular, divided at the extremity into minute threads or filaments; neck, breast, and belly, yellow; upper part a yellowish olive green; quill feathers slightly edged with green; the male bird of a deeper colour than the female; legs brown; toes three forwards and one backwards, the middle connected with the outer one as far as the first joint; tail short, brown, feathers edged with yellowish green. Habits and food the same as 1 and 2.

            Merops Niger. Gracula Longirostra. Linn.

      This is the bird whose yellow feathers are so highly prized.

            Loxia Psittacea. Linn.

            Parrot-billed Grosbeak.

            Muscicapa Sandwichensis. Linn.

            Sandwich Flycatcher.

      Length four inches and a quarter; bill hard, straight, short, and conical; three-eighths of an inch in length, sharp-pointed; body rufous; tail and wings brownish; toes and legs strong, formed for perching; black coloured tongue, short and tubular, divided into filaments at the end.

      A. Length, five inches; whole of the back dull olive green; greater and lesser wing coverts tipped with dirty white; wings and tail brown, edged with green; belly greenish white; bill straight, sharp-pointed, half an inch long; tongue bifid.

      B. Differing, in being of a much lighter colour.

            Turdus Sandwichensis. Linn.

            Sandwich thrush.

      Found chiefly in Hawaii. There is a variety of the same at Oahu.

      Length thirteen inches. Mottled all over with dirty white and reddish brown.

            Fulica Chloropus. Linn.

            Common Moor-hen.

            Common Bald-coot.

      Frequent the Islands in the winter season; most probably from the north-west coast of America.

      Is very common in the Islands: the beautiful rose-coloured tail-feathers are highly esteemed by the natives, who pull them from the birds as they sit on their nests.

      Length twelve inches, spread of the wings twenty-six inches; head, neck, and breast black; bill black, legs dark, wings black. Greater and less wing coverts striped with white; belly, and under the wings, dusky white. Length of the bill one inch and three-quarters; it is sharp-pointed and straight: nostrils linear, tail forked.

      Length nine inches, bill three-quarters of an inch, strong, straight, and sharp-pointed: colour black, nostrils linear, legs and toes of an orange red. Back and tail coverts pure white, a few feathers black; tail black; upper surface of the wings varied with black, brown, rufous, and white; crown of the head brown; forehead white, with a black line across it, which extends under each eye; a black line runs on each side from the base of the lower mandible down to the neck, the space between being white; part of the neck and breast black, the rest of the breast, the belly, and under

wings pure white; white feathers at the base of the great wing coverts, and at the scapulars. These birds are gregarious.

      Length 11 inches; bill one inch and three-quarters in length, black, straight, and slender; upper mandible slightly toothed at the end; nostrils linear; tongue tubular. Whole of the upper plumage dark ash; a white line extends on each side from the upper mandible to the eye. From the lower mandible to the neck is dusky white, below that a bright ash-colour; from the breast to the tail a dusky white; wings underneath a light ash; legs yellowish; tail short.

            Procellaria Alba. Linn

      These birds are eaten by the natives.

      We met with only one Papilio, which Kotzebue has described under the name of Vanessa Tamehameha.

      We caught one Sphinx Moth; brown, with a purple stripe on each side of its body, which glitters in the sun.

      There are also several minute moths, several varieties of Libellula, one species of Cicada, a black earwig, a wood spider, and innumerable fleas.

      There are no snakes of any description, and the only reptiles we found were two species of lizard, copper-coloured, and neither exceeding five or six inches in length.

      Sharks are common in these seas, as are also the boneto and the flying-fish. Both red and grey mullet abound, and there are several curious and beautiful varieties brought to market.

      Of shell fish the pearl oyster is the most valuable, and the pearls are generally good. We found, besides, the Bulla Aniplustra, Buccinum Maculatum, Volutae Papalis and Episcopalis, Conus Ebroeus, Cypraea Arabica, C. Carneola, C. Guttata, C. Mauritania, and C. Isabella; also several varieties of Murex, Nerita, Patella, and Turbo.

      Corals and zoophytes are common on the coast. Of land shells we procured eleven different varieties, four of which had reversed mouths: they belong principally to the first division of the volute of Mawe’s Linnaeus.

      As to the quadrupeds of the Sandwich Islands, the three natives, i. e. the hog, dog, and rat, need no description; those now introduced are the cow, horse, sheep, goat, rabbit, and mouse.

      In a geological point of view, the Sandwich Islands may generally be described as a group of volcanoes, rising amidst coral banks and reefs. The mountains are chiefly composed of lavas and other volcanic substances. The great crater of Peli, which we visited, appears to be situated in a trap rock.

      The low flat lands near the sea appear to have been coral reefs become dry; there carbonate of lime is to be found, and calcareous masses of coral and shells, some completely petrified, others in different stages, from the fresh shell towards petrifaction.

      In Oahu, amygdaloid and argillaceous porphyry are found.

      His Majesty’s ship Blonde remained moored in the port of Hido, now Byron Bay, a month, during which time an accurate survey of the anchorage was taken. The Blonde being the first man-of-war that had ever been in it, it was named Byron Bay in honour of his Lord-ship. This name was readily received by the natives, and the powerful queen, Kahumanu, issued positive directions for it to be called by no other appellation.

      The western side of the bay runs nearly north and south about nine miles; the eastern, E.N.E. and W.S.W. about one-third that distance. The anchorage, in six or seven fathoms, stiff muddy bottom, is protected from the N.E., to which it is apparently open, by a coral reef half a mile in breadth, extending from the eastern point, in a W.N.W. direction, two-thirds across the bay, leaving a channel three quarters of a mile broad between it and the western shore, with ten and eleven fathoms in it. When the N.E. trade blows strong, which it frequently does, a heavy surf breaks upon the reef, but the water inside remains as smooth as a mill-pond. The anchorage is exposed to only one point of the compass, viz. from N. by W. to N., from which quarter the wind never blows hard in the summer, and but very rarely in the winter. An American missionary, who had been residing here two or three years, stated, that he had only witnessed one northerly gale, and that the sea occasioned by it would not have been felt by a frigate. The surrounding scenery is the most beautiful of the Sandwich Islands; every part is covered with verdure, and is in general thickly wooded; but towards the sea-side the trees are detached in separate groups, giving the appearance of the artificial arrangement of an English park. Numerous rapid streams, hurrying down the deep

ravines, rush with prodigious force over stupendous precipices, forming the most magnificent waterfalls; the sublimity of the scene is completed by the tremendous Mowna Keah, which, rising in the back ground to the height of 17,000 feet above the level of the sea, pierces the clouds with its continually snow r -clad summits.

      The cause of the exceeding fertility of the place is perhaps the only drawback to this delightful spot. In consequence of its vicinity to the immense Mowna Keah the rains are occasionally very heavy, a day and a night seldom elapsing without a smart shower; so that if painting a ship be necessary, it can be better performed in Kara-kakoa bay. Provisions, consisting of pigs, fowls, taros, plantains, bananas, arrow-root, yams, and sweet potatoes, are here to be found in abundance, and fire-wood may be had for the trouble of cutting. The watering-place is situated at the south-west extremity of the bay, where a small creek or inlet, about 150 feet wide, runs up about a cable’s length; at the entrance is a reef of coral with only seven feet water upon it. This in blowing weather would be impassable, as a heavy surf must break upon it. Inside this bar the water deepens to two, three, and sometimes five fathoms, quite up to the head of the creek, wdiere a mountain torrent rushes down the ravine; the boats get close up to it, and are soon loaded with the most delicious water without the trouble of moving a cask. As an exemplification of the facility with which the important service of watering may be here effected, it is only necessary to mention, that every drop of water in the Blonde’s hold was started, and that she was completed to one hundred and thirty-eight tons in three days, with only the assistance of the launch and pinnace.

      At the south-east extremity of the bay another stream of fresh water runs into it; but as this takes its rise from a fish-pond close in the neighbourhood, it is not fit for drinking; but it is to be observed, that when the surf will not admit of a boat passing the bar at the entrance of the waterfall creek, a landing in any weather may always be

effected here. The pond above mentioned is termed by the natives Waiakea; it is royal property, and abounds with the most delicious mullet. During the stay of the Blonde in this port, the sea and land breezes succeeded each other regularly; the sea-breeze set in about ten in the forenoon and prevailed till sunset, when it was superseded by the land wind; this continued till sunrise; the remaining time was mostly calm. The tide was observed to rise about four feet, and to be high-water at sunset and low-water at daylight, being influenced by the sea and land-breezes. This regularity would probably not take place in the winter months, when they do not prevail.

      In steering for the anchorage with the sea-breeze, when about three miles from the bottom of the bay, you will be outside the reef in twenty-five or thirty fathoms. The west shore must then be kept close on board. The leading-marks for the channel, to clear the w T est end of the Blonde reef, are these: -- Keep the huts on the west side of Waterfall Creek on with the eastern side of a remarkable green hill (an extinguished volcano), impossible to be mistaken, bearing by compass S.S.W. one-fourth W. till the turret Rock bears W. by S. one-half S. when you will be in seven or eight fathoms; then steer S.E. for Cocoanut Island, and anchor in six or seven fathoms, stiff’ muddy bottom. The whole of the west coast is composed of cliffs; the huts at the entrance of the creek may be recognized by their being situated upon the last and most southerly visible cliff. The turret rock is a singular little island, about a quarter of a mile to the north of the Waterfall Creek, and resembles the remains of the column of an edifice; it is about fifteen feet high. When upon the west extreme of Blonde reef, in four fathoms, the abovementioned huts are in one with the western side of the green hill, bearing, by compass, S. 29° W.; and at the same time the centre of the same hill is on with the left of two very distant hummocks. These two last would be the best marks, but they are frequently obscured by the haze. When at the north extreme of the reef, a deep inlet (called Cocoanut

Cove, in consequence of there being a group of these trees at the entrance) is quite open, bearing by compass W. by N., that is to say, you can see quite up to the head of it. As there are no dangers in the channel, and it is more than three-quarters of a mile wide, there is quite room enough to beat any vessel out against the sea-breeze, and which, if it be fresh and steady, is preferable to running out at daylight with the land wind. The land wind frequently leaves you in the lurch, and you are obliged to come to in deep water to prevent being driven upon the rocky cliffs of the west coast. Indeed, in turning out of the bay with a good strong sea breeze, as soon as a vessel is to windward of the reef, which may be known by the bearing of Cocoanut Cove, she should keep beating to windward in a N.E. or N.E. by E. direction, not attempting, although a slant of wind should occur, to weather the northern point of the bay (Point Blonde) until it can be done with certainty, at the distance of five or six miles, at least; for, when three or four miles to the north of Cocoanut Cove, there is no bottom at fifty fathoms, although within half a mile of the shore; so that should a vessel in this situation be becalmed her state would be most dangerous, a heavy swell and current constantly setting against the precipitous cliffs.

      The remainder of the north coast of Hawaii presents no anchorage whatever, being a bold rocky shore. After rounding the north-west point of the island, a temporary anchorage may be found in Towaihai bay, but it is not safe in the winter months, being entirely exposed to the north-west, and the bottom consisting of only loose sand, and in the summer there is no fresh water. When the other islands were unsubdued, Tamehameha used to make this his favourite residence, in consequence of its vicinity to the island of

Maui. At present it is nearly deserted, not having more than two hundred inhabitants; among these is the celebrated John Young (an Englishman spoken of by Vancouver), who presides as chief over this part of the island, at the advanced age of eighty-three years.

      Kairua, situated farther to the southward, is the present residence of Kuakini, alias John Adams, the governor of Hawaii. It was once celebrated for the largeness of its morai; this is now converted into a fort of several guns, and the only remnants of its former purpose are three grotesque wooden idols, and the hut said to contain the body of the great Tamehameha. It is, however, well known that his bones are not there, having been, a few years ago, distributed among the different chiefs. Kairua is very populous for its size, and there is a greater degree of neatness displayed in the huts than in any other part of the Island. The governor has set the example by having a very good house, in the European style, built near the fort. There is no anchorage at Kairua for any thing bigger that a boat; and, moreover, there is no fresh water to be obtained, that used by the natives being brought six miles from the interior.

riority of Byron Bay, tliey never would have completed their water and provisions at Karakakoa; still, as it has been before observed, the latter is the better place for painting a ship in.

      This part of the coast extending in a north and south direction, the bay is discoverable by its latitude 19° 28' N., as well as by the immensely high cliff by which it is formed: there is nothing like it in the vicinity. There are no dangers to be avoided: the best anchorage is nearly in the centre of the bay, in twenty-six fathoms, muddy bottom.

      The Island of Mowee, pronounced and written by the natives Maui, forms two very high peninsulas, joined by a narrow low sandy isthmus. There is no anchorage whatever on the north side the Island, and none that can be deemed safe on the south. His Majesty’s ship Blonde anchored for twenty-four hours under the south-west point, at a place called Lahaina, but within a quarter of a mile of the breakers, in twelve fathoms, and entirely exposed to the south-west, which is the sea breeze quarter, in the summer season; whilst in the winter, southwest gales, though rare, have been known to blow here with great violence. Farther to the eastward, the isthmus forms the head of a deep bay, in which there is anchorage in six or seven fathoms, sandy bottom, open to the southward; and from the northward the trade-wind blows across the narrow neck of sand, between the two high mountains, with such tremendous violence as to carry every thing before it. The spot was not visited by any of the officers: the above account was obtained from the natives.

      On the east and north sides of the Sandwich Islands the trade-wind is constant during the summer months, and blows strongest during the day-time, varying from east to north-east. The southwest or lee sides of the Islands (although the land and sea breezes are pretty regular) are subject to light baffling winds and calms; a vessel, therefore, to whichever island bound, should endeavour to get to windward as soon as possible. There is, perhaps, an exception to this in the passage between the other islands and Karakakoa Bay; but

if bound to Karakakoa from Byron Bay, the best way is decidedly round the north point of Hawaii, the trade-wind carrying the vessel as far as Towahai, leaving a small space only to be effected by taking-advantage of the land and sea breezes. In the passage from Honoruru, Oahu, to Byron Bay, it seems advisable to beat directly to windward, between Morakai and Oahu, in preference to standing to the southward of Ranai and Tatoorowa, and passing between Maui and Hawaii.

June 28, 1826.

George Anson Byron, 7th Baron Byron
(8 March 1789 – 1 March 1868)

Source.

Captain the Right Hon. Lord Byron
      Voyage of H.M.S. Blonde to the Sandwich islands, in the years 1824-1825.
    London: John Murray, 1826.

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