by a kind of consciousness: my mind told me it was Toogoo Ahoo.' Finow himself, though he was an unbeliever, was yet inspired by the spirit of Moomooi, one of their late kings.

These visitations are not invoked by the persons who are subject to them, though there are some who have their mind and body so much under command that they can induce the fit by volition. Among the priests it is of course the secret of their craft; and when Finow on this occasion consulted the gods, the usual preparations were made. A hog was killed and prepared on the eve, and carried, with a basket of yams and two bunches of ripe plantains, the next morning, to the place where the priest happened to be. The matabooles form a circle round him, and the chiefs sit behind them indiscriminately among the people—their religion, in this instance, acknowledging the common nature of all ranks and classes, notwithstanding the monstrous tenet that the chiefs alone are gifted with immortal souls, the lower classes being like the beasts who perish. As soon as they are all seated, the priest surrenders himself immediately to the inspiration. He sits perfectly still, with his eyes cast down, and his hands clasped before him. If the matabooles consult him while the food is shared out, he remains still, with his eyes cast down, and frequently will not answer a word till the repast is finished, and the cava too. When he begins to speak, it is in a low and unusual voice, which gradually rises to its natural pitch, or above it, and he speaks in the character of the god. This is generally done without any apparent emotion; but sometimes his whole countenance becomes inflamed, his whole frame agitated, the sweat starts on his forehead, his lips turn black and are convulsed, he weeps profusely, his breast heaves, and his utterance is choked. Before and after this paroxysm, Mr. Mariner says, he often eats as much as four hungry men could devour under other circumstances. When the fit is over, he takes up a club, and after many gesticulations strikes the ground with it, upon which the god immediately leaves him.

The advice of the gods was, that Finow should rebuild the colo, or fortress, which he had destroyed. While he was thus occupied, some skirmishes took place, and some of his chiefs, who had learned the Feejee fashion, proposed to kill and eat the prisoners, which was accordingly done, some thinking it a proper habit to acquire in war, and others reconciling themselves to it because provisions were scarce. When the fort was finished, Finow entrusted it to a neighbouring chief, who had acknowledged him king of Tonga: he was desirous of returning to the Hapai islands to perform a ceremony of great importance, and the gods admonished him not to delay. He did not rely upon the fidelity of the Tonga chief sufficiently to leave a hundred men in garrison with him, as he had at first intended,

and

and it was well he did not, for as soon as he was fairly on his voyage, the chief set fire to the fortress, in order that Finow might see the conflagration. Bitterly enraged as he was, his present duty did not allow him to return to take revenge. The ceremony which required his presence was one consequent upon the death of Tooitonga, the religious chief; when that event takes place, there is such a consumption of food in feasting for nearly a month, that hogs, fowls, and cocoanuts are tabooed for all except great chiefs, for about eight months afterwards, on pain of death, that by this voluntary privation time may be given to repair the previous waste. This taboo was now to be taken off, by a large slaughter of hogs, and a ridiculous custom of carrying them when baked whole from one place to another.

Provided as Finow was with artillery, and Europeans to serve it, he might now have resumed his attempts upon Tonga, and reduced all its chiefs to submission; but the perpetration of a new crime led to consequences which prevented him from attaining the great object of his ambition. There was in his service a natural son of the late How, by name Toobo Toa: this person had directed the conspiracy for seizing the Port au Prince, an action which sufficiently proved the ferocity and the treachery of his character. He had made a vow never to drink the milk of the cocoa-nut out of the shell till he had revenged his father's murder upon Toobo Neuha : it was to effect this object that he had joined Finow, though that chief had assisted in the assassination, and reaped the fruit of it: vengeance was his heart's desire, but the manner in which he sought it indicates a fiendish refinement of wickedness, such as has been sometimes portrayed in fiction, but happily for human nature is not often exemplified in real life. He made Finow the instrument of his vengeance; and having by repeated insinuations infused a suspicion of his brother, at length he proposed that he should be assassinated. Toobo Neuha was warned of his danger. He replied, Finow is my brother, he is my superior chief, he is king of these islands, and I pay him tribute: my life is at his disposal, and he is welcome to take it, for it is better to die than to live innocent and yet be thought capable of treachery.' Perhaps, well as he knew the remorseless character of his brother, he confided in his own innocence and frankness, and did not think him capable of so gratuitous and impolitic a crime. A plan was laid for his murder, with Finow's knowledge and connivance, and Toobo Neuha was killed, while his treacherous brother made only a feigned attempt to defend him. Toobo Toa was the leader of the assassins, one of whom had motives for the action as strong as his own: this person repeatedly struck the dead body, and exclaimed, 'The time of vengeance is come!-thou hast lived long enough in ease and enjoyment, thou murderer of my father! I would have declared my feel

ings long ago, if I could have depended upon others to second me; I did not fear death, but the vengeance of my chief Toobo Toa was first to be satisfied, and it was a duty I owed the spirit of my father to preserve my life as long as possible, that I might have the satisfaction to see thee thus lie stinking!—And when he had said this, he continued to vent his passion by striking the senseless dead. Of all our evil passions, revenge is the strongest and the most enduring; and it finds its way sometimes into minds incapable of baser vices, because it wears at first the semblance of a virtue.

We have many striking pictures of savage life and manners, but never so fine a piece of savage history as is contained in these volumes. Nor is it the less valuable because it relates to people in so savage a state, and to so small a speck upon the globe: the passions are the same as those by which revolutions are effected upon wider scenes, and in this stage of society they are strongly marked, and seen without concealment, like the play of the muscles in the naked figure. Whilst the women were screaming with horror and astonishment, an adopted son of the murdered Toobo Neuha came before Finow, and striking his club against the ground, exclaimed, Why sit you there idle, why do you not rouse yourself and your men to revenge the death of the fallen hero? If you had fallen thus beneath your enemies, would he have hesitated to sacrifice his life in revenging you? How great a chief he was! how sadly has he died!-If ever Finow felt compunction or shame it must have been at this time, when he dared not avow his participation in the murder, and yet confessed it by his actions. He made an artful harangue, for he was a ready orator, and positively declared that he was innocent of the deed, and knew not that it was about to take place: he admitted that he had promised to assist Toobo Toa in such a deed, but he said the promise was made to prevent him from executing it, till proper measures could be devised for preventing it altogether. This could deceive no person; but there were none who dared contradict him at that time. Mr. Mariner, who was present at the whole shocking scene, assisted in washing the body; and the wives of the deceased during the whole night mourned over it, sate close round the corpse, and sang a dismal death-song, frequently interrupting it with exclamation regarding their own misery. and forlorn condition, and beating their breasts and faces. During the whole night the fratricide was present at the scene. The next day the body was removed to a neighbouring island, and there deposited in the burial place of his ancestors. Such places are called Fytocas, and strikingly resemble those of our British ancestors. The vault is formed of five stones and covered with a sixth, and a mound of earth raised over all, upon which a sort of shed is erected. The dimensions of the vault are about eight feet long, six broad, and

three

three deep. This was a strange funeral, for the slain chief was accompanied by his assassins to the grave. One of them, by name Chiolooa, a great warrior and a powerful man, stood forward as soon as the body had been lowered into the vault, and defied any of the Vavaoo people. If you harbour any thought of revenge,' said he, come forth at once and fight me on the spot: I am the man who acted a principal part in his death; come on then, one and all, and wreak your vengeance on my head.' This was a safe bravado; for while the Hapai people were all well armed, those of Vavaoo had been forbidden to carry weapons; and lest even this precaution should be insufficient to restrain them, the carronades were planted for Finow's security.

Under these circumstances of compulsion, the Vavaoo chiefs swore allegiance to Finow, placing their hands upon a consecrated bowl, while cava was mixed in it for the ceremonies of one of their gods. He appointed his aunt Toe Oomoo to govern them, as his feudatory, and then dismissed them. But Toe Oomoo loved her murdered nephew, and conceiving a proper hatred against the fratricide, called the chiefs together, and exhorted them to throw off the murderer's yoke. They held a council, and hesitated in their determination with evident timidity, when a sister of the governess, far advanced in years, but with a youthful as well as manly spirit, rushed in among them, brandishing a club and a spear, and demanding why they deliberated so long, when the path of honour was plain, told them that if the men were turned women, the women would turn men, and fight and die in a good cause. Her reproaches roused their spirit, and they resolved to build a fortress, and bid defiance to Finow. The chiefs' houses are generally situated together, and this assemblage of houses is called the Mooa, being in fact the capital of the island; the works were to inclose this, and to surround a space capable of holding all the inhabitants, who were about 8000 in number, with their houses and burial-places. It is mournful to see how soon the wickedness of a few individuals may change the whole habits of a people. When the missionaries came to Tonga, there were no fortifications upon these islands, and now, in less than ten years, there was no safety out of them. The people of Vavaoo knew the tremendous effect of the carronades, and reasoning well upon the means of securing themselves against such weapons, they surrounded their works with a firm wall of clay about twelve feet in height. Upon the first intelligence of these hostile measures, Finow would have hastened to reduce them; the priests in vain represented that it would be much more acceptable to the gods if he first attempted a reconciliation by amicable means; they even admonished him to do this in the name of the gods, without effect; but the unexpected arrival of his son and heir from the Navigators' islands,

Islands, after an absence of five years, made him suspend his preparations. This young prince brought with him two wives, two more were ready for him on his return, and he now married them both at once. While these ceremonies were performing Finow summoned all the men of the Hapai islands to assemble within ten days at Lefooga, armed with clubs and spears, and bringing a good supply of provisions; two of the oldest alone for each plantation were excused from this requisition, for the yams were planted, and it was necessary to keep them clear of weeds.

A force of about 5,000 men was raised in this summary manner: they order these things in the Tonga islands as well as in France. By this time Finow had reflected calmly upon the advice of the priests, and perceived that it was the best policy to follow it. The people of Vavaoo permitted him to land with a small party, and harangue them; but the greater chiefs and the old matabooles would not trust themselves to hear his eloquence, lest it should persuade them to mistake falsehood for truth. He moved the persons whom he addressed even to tears; they told him that their hatred was not to him, but to some of the chiefs of Hapai who were about him; that if he would reside altogether at Vavaoo, and interdict all communication with the Hapai people, they would submit to him; or they would send him his annual tribute as usual, if he would reside at Hapai and never visit Vavaoo, nor suffer any of his people to come there and trouble them. Finow spoke with his wonted powers, but he could not persuade his hearers to submission, and upon his return to the fleet, he obtained an order from the gods for proceeding to war.

When the army came before the fortress, and the guns upon which Finow depended for success were brought out, he demanded a truce, that each party might take leave of what friends and relations they might have among their opponents: in all civil wars it has happened that father sometimes fights against son, friend against friend, and brother against brother; but in Tonga this evil, frightful as it is, is increased by a custom which requires every man to join the cause of that chief on whose island he happens to be when war is declared. A scene ensued which is strangely contrasted with the more than brutal ferocity displayed by these islanders in war. Many of the garrison came out, many tears were shed, and many a last embrace was exchanged. This had continued for about two hours, when a man from the outer bank or wall of the fortress aimed an arrow at Mr. Mariner: it stuck in a tree close at his elbow, and Mariner turning round and discovering the man, shot him dead upon the spot. Finow was so violently enraged that he would instantly have killed Mr. Mariner, had he been within reach of his

club;