pends on themselves alone to infure their own felicity. Though many new iflands are added to this group, many others feem ftill to be undiscovered. Sixty-one of those iflands are already, marked out on the chart; but an hundred more remain yet unexplored; of thefe Tafman seems to have feen eighteen or twenty, and to have called them Prince William's Iflands. Fifteen are faid to be high and hilly, like Toofoa, and therefore to be more certainly volcanic; for the volcano on this last island is still burning, and affords the fmooth black ftone, of which the hatchets are made. Thirtyfive are large iflands, that is, larger than Annamooka, which ranks among the fmall ones. Tongabatoo, which is a large ifland, is about twenty leagues in circumference; though Fejee muft either be larger, or have a greater number of tributaries, fince, in frequent contefts, the latter are allowed, even by their enemies, to be fuperior.

During their abode of fome months in the Friendly Islands, our voyagers feem to have acquired much knowlege of their history and conftitution, their customs and amusements. These are related with confiderable clearness, and fometimes with peculiar energy. We are forry that their length obliges us to be filent on the subject. We ought however to mention, that this is not only an animated picture of ftriking and peculiar manners, but an accurate reprefentation of the human mind, and its exertions in fituations, to us uncommon. The government feems in itself a branch of that defpotism which diftinguishes the nations of the Eaft, combined with an ariftocracy, arifing from an original apparently patriarchial, that is, from the influence of property and relationship. This is not, on the whole, the happiest mixture; but the fituation of our islanders prevent a frequent jarring of these heterogeneous principles, or any very irregular exertion of power. Among the diseases, we diftinguish the elephantiafis and farcocele of fome parts at least of the nearest continent.

In purfuit of the very interesting objects of his attempt, our celebrated navigator proceeded to the Society Islands, of which the principal one is Otaheite. Many countries of Europe are now perhaps lefs known in England, than this remote island in the Pacific Ocean; and our author has confiderably extended our acquaintance with it. There are few circumftances which so much excite our abhorrence as human facrifices, and the custom of partaking of the horrid banquet. It is more furprising to find the former frequent, and the latter probably abolished, at no very diftant period, among men apparently innocent, chearful, and benevolent.

It is probable, that these bloody rites of worship are prevalent throughout all the islands of the Pacific Ocean. The fimiliarity

of

of customs and language, which our late voyages have enabled us to trace, between the moft diftant of those islands, makes it not unlikely, that fome of the more important articles of their religious inftitutions fhould agree. And, indeed,' we had the moft authentic information, that human facrifices continue to be offered at the Friendly Islands. When I defcribed the natche at Tongataboo, I mentioned that, on the approaching fequel of that festival, we had been told, that ten men were to be facrificed. This may give us an idea of the extent of this religious massacre, in that island. And though we should suppose, that never more than one perfon is facrificed, on any fingle occafion, at Otaheite, it is more than probable, that the occafions happen fo frequently, as to make a fhocking waste of the human race; for I counted no less than forty-nine skulls, of former victims, lying before the morai, where we faw one more added to the number. And as none of those skulls had, as yet, fuffered any confiderable change from the weather, it may hence be inferred, that no great length of time had elapfed, fince, at least, this confiderable number of unhappy wretches had been offered upon this altar of blood.'

Nor do thefe dreadful rites make a fuitable impreffion on thofe for whom the victim is facrificed. Like every ceremony, conftantly practised, it fails of fixing the attention of the perfons engaged in it. There is great reafon alfo to believe, that there was a time when they were themselves cannibals. At New Zealand or the Sandwich Islands, and fome parts of the coaft of America, they continue to be fo,

"We were told (and indeed partly faw it) that it is a neceffary ceremony, when a poor wretch is facrificed, for the priest to take out the left eye. This he prefents to the king, holding it to his mouth, which he defires him to open; but, instead of putting it in, immediately withdraws it. This they call "eating the man," or "food for the chief;" and, perhaps, we may obferve here fome traces of former times, when the dead body was really feafted upon.'

The principal fubjects, which are more particularly explained are, the religion and language of Otaheite, their mental attainments, and the natural hiftory of their islands. The customs of New Zealand are softened in a different climate, and among a gentler race. We have already seen one inftance of their approaches to refinement, which are again almost loft in the Sandwich Islands. Lefs active and spirited in every exertion but those of pleasure, they yield, in the more animated pursuits, to their northern and fouthern neighbours. They are lefs formidable in war, and lefs violent in their refentments. The language, which is nearly the fame in the various groups of islands, affumes in thefe a feminine foftnefs, by the omiffion of fome harfher confonants, and the

change

change of others into liquids. Their religion finks into an abject fuperftition; and they fcarely enjoy the profufe liberality, which Providence has bestowed on their island, through terror of imaginary or fubordinate agents.

• Their affiduity in ferving their gods is remarkably confpicuous. Not only the whattas, or offering-places of the morais, are commonly loaded with fruits and animals; but there are few houfes where you do not meet with a fmall place of the fame fort near them. Many of them are fo rigidly fcrupulous, that they will not begin a meal without firft laying afide a morfel for the Eatooa; and we had the opportunity, during the voyage, of feeing their fuperftitious zeal carried to a most pernicious height, in the inftance of human facrifices; the occafions of offering which, I doubt, are too frequent. Perhaps, they have recourfe to them when misfortunes occur; for they asked me, if one of our men, who happened to be confined, when we were detained by a contrary wind, was tabòo? Their prayers are also very frequent, which they chant, much after the manner of the fongs in their feftive entertainments. And the women, as in other cafes, are alfo obliged to fhew their inferiority in religious obfervances; for it is required of them, that they fhould partly uncover themselves, as they pafs the morais, or take a confiderable circuit to avoid them. Though they have no notion, that their god muft always be conferring benefits, without fometimes forgetting them, or fuffering evil to befal them, they feem to regard this lefs than the attempts of fome more aufpicious being to hurt them. They tell us, that Etee is an evil fpirit, who fometimes does them mifchief; and to whom, as well as to their god, they make offerings. But the mifchiefs they apprehend from any fuperior invifible beings, are confined to things merely temporal.'

They imagine, that their punctual performance of religious offices procures for them every temporal bleffing. And as they believe that the animating and powerful influence of the divine fpirit is every where diffufed, it is no wonder that they join to this many fuperftitious opinions about its operations. Accordingly, they believe that fudden deaths, and all other acci dents, are effected by the immediate action of fome divinity. If a man only stumble against a stone, and hurt his toe, they impute it to an Eatooa; fo that they may be literally faid, agreeably to their fyftem, to tread enchanted ground. They are ftartled, in the night, on approaching a toopapaoo, where the dead are expofed, in the fame manner that many of our ignorant and fuperftitious people are with the apprehenfions of ghofts, and at the fight of a church-yard; and they have an equal confidence in dreams, which they fuppofe to be communications either from their god, or from the fpirits of their departed friends, enabling thofe favoured with them to foretell future events; but this kind of knowledge is confined to particular people. Omai pretended to have this gift. He told us, that the foul of his father had intimated to him in a dream, on

the

the 26th of July, 1776, that he fhould go on fhore, at fome place, within three days; but he was unfortunate in this first attempt to perfuade us that he was a prophet; for it was the 1st of Auguft before we got into Teneriffe. Amongst them, however, the dreamers poffefs a reputation little inferior to that of their infpired priests and priesteffes, whofe predictions they. implicitly believe, and are determined by them in all undertakings of confequence. The priestefs who perfuaded Opoony to invade Ulietea, is much refpected by him; and he never goes to war without confulting her. They alfo, in fome degree, maintain our old doctrine of planetary influence; at leaft, they are fometimes regulated, in their public counfels, by certain appearances of the moon; particularly, when lying horizontally, or much inclined on the convex part, on its firft appearance after the change, they are encouraged to engage in war, with confidence of fuccefs.'

Their legends of the creation, and on other fubjects, are only remarkable, as they in one inftance point out the origin of their averfion to cannibals, from the depredations of two frangers, called Tahecai, the only name they have yet for perfons who feed on human flesh. But if there is any truth in fuch traditions, this may fhew the probability of migrations from a diftant ifland, and the actual existence of this dreadful cuftom. There is a fact mentioned in the former volume, which fufficiently evinces the probability of one island being peopled from another, and accounts for the great fimilarity of customs and language through the vast extent of this ocean. But this fact we shall more particularly relate hereafter.

As they are deficient in activity and refolution, when compared to their neighbours, we may fuppofe that their minds are in other refpects inferior. But the acquaintance of the voyagers with the other islanders was not fufficient to compare them, in this refpect. In all the islands, the numeration was uncertain; and the inhabitants of Otaheite were unable to compute time, when extended to a confiderable period. If Omai were a specimen of his countrymen, it was not observed that he poffeffed difcernment or judgment. His curiofity was a childish eagerness, and his brilliancy the effects only of momentary impreffions. He certainly was not calculated to be happier from the improvements which he made in his voyage, or able to contribute to the refinement or inftruction of his countrymen. He wanted the weight of rank and family: he wanted too, folid knowlege and rational improvement: his mind was ftill imperfect; and the toys of which his cargo confifted, ferved rather to amufe than inftru&t; but if it had been afforted with more judgment, like the heavy fword, it muft have owed its effects to the ftrength of the hand which wielded it.

It was no fmall fatisfaction, fays Captain Cook, to reflect, that we had brought him fafe back to the very spot from which he was taken. And, yet, fuch is the ftrange nature of human affairs, that it is probable we left him in a lefs desirable fituation, than he was in before his connexion with us. I do not, by this, mean, that, because he has tafted the fweets of civilized life, he must become more miferable from being obliged to abandon all thoughts of continuing them. I confine myself to this fingle difagreeable circumftance, that the advantages he received from us, have placed him in a more hazardous fituation, with refpect to his perfonal fafety. Omai, from being much careffed in England, loft fight of his original condition; and never confidered in what manner his acquifitions, either of knowledge or of riches, would be estimated by his countrymen, at his return; which were the only things he could have to recommend him to them now, more than before, and on which he could build either his future greatnefs or happiness. He feemed even to have mistaken their genius in this refpect; and, in fome measure, to have forgotten their cuftoms; otherwife he must have known the extreme difficulty there would be in getting himself admitted as a perfon of rank, where there is, perhaps, no inftance of a man's being raised from an inferior ftation by the greatest merit. Rank feems to be the very foundation of all diftinction here, and, of its attendant, power and fo pertinacioufly, or rather blindly adhered to, that, unlefs a perfon has fome degree of it, he will certainly be defpifed and hated, if he affumes the appearance of exercising any au thority. This was really the cafe, in fome measure, with Omai; though his countrymen were pretty cautious of expreffing their fentiments while we remained amongst them. Had he made a proper ufe of the prefents he brought with him from England, this, with the knowledge he had acquired by travelling fo far, might have enabled him to form the most useful connections.’—

Whatever faults belongs to Omai's character, they were more than overbalanced by his great good nature and docile difpofition. During the whole time he was with me, I very feldom had reafon to be feriously difpleafed with his general conduct. He had a tolerable share of understanding, but wanted application and perfeverance to exert it; fo that his knowledge of things was very general, and, in many inftances, imperfect. He was not a man of much obfervation. There were many useful arts, as well as elegant amufements, amongst the people of the Friendly Islands, which he might have conveyed to his own; where they probably would have been readily adopted, as being fo much in their own way. But I never found that he used the leaft endeavour to make himself master of any one. This kind of indifference is, indeed, the characteristic foible of his nation. Europeans have vifited them, at times, for thefe ten years paft; yet we could not difcover the flightest trace of any attempt to profit by this intercourfe; nor have they hitherto