to get the casks of beef and pork, and the coals out of the ground tier, and to put some ballast in their place. The caulkers were set to work to caulk the ship, which she stood in great need of, having at times made much water on our passage from the Friendly Islands. I also put on shore the bull, cows, horses, and sheep, and appointed two men to look after them while grazing; for I did not intend to leave any of them at this part of the island.

During the two following days, it hardly ever ceased raining. The natives, nevertheless, came to us from every quarter, the news of our arrival having rapidly spread. Waheiadooa, though at a distance, had been informed of it; and, in the afternoon of the 16th, a chief, named Etorea, under whose tutorage he was, brought me two hogs as a present from him, and acquainted me that he himself would be with us the day after. And so it proved; for I received a message from him the next morning, notifying his arrival, and desiring I would go ashore to meet him. Accordingly, Omai and I prepared to pay him a formal visit. On this occasion, Omai, assisted by some of his friends, dressed himself, not after the English fashion, nor that of Otaheite, nor that of Tongataboo, nor in the dress of any country upon earth, but in a strange medley of all that he was possessed of.

Thus equipped, on our landing, we first visited Etary, who, carried on a hand-barrow, attended us to a large house, where he was set down, and we seated ourselves on each side of him. I caused a piece of Tongataboo cloth to be spread out before us, on which I laid the presents I intended to make. Presently the young chief came, attended by his mother, and several principal men, who all seated themselves at the other end of the cloth, facing us. Then a man, who sat by me, made a speech, consisting of short and separate sentences, part of which was dictated by those about him. He was answered by one from the opposite side, near the chief. Etary spoke next, then Omai, and both of them were answered from the same quarter. These orations were entirely about my arrival, and connexions with them. The person who spoke last told me, among other things, that the men of Reema, that is, the Spaniards, had desired them not to suffer me to come into Oheitepeha Bay, if I should return any more to the island, for that it belonged to them; but that they were so far

from

from paying any regard to this request, that he was authorised now to make a formal surrender of the province of Tiaraboo to me, and of every thing in it; which marks very plainly that these people are no strangers to the policy of accommodating themselves to present circumstances. At length, the young chief was directed by his attendants to come and embrace me, and, by way of confirming this treaty of friendship, we exchanged names. The ceremony being closed, he and his friends accompanied me on board to dinner.

Omai had prepared a maro, composed of red and yellow feathers, which he intended for Otoo, the king of the whole island; and, considering where we were, it was a present of very great value. I said all that I could to persuade him not to produce it now, wishing him to keep it on board till an opportunity should offer of presenting it to Otoo with his own hands. But he had too good an opinion of the honesty and fidelity of his countrymen to take my advice. Nothing would serve him but to carry it ashore on this occasion, and to give it to Waheiadooa, to be by him forwarded to Otoo, in order to its being added to the royal maro. He thought by this management that he should oblige both chiefs; whereas he highly disobliged the one, whose favour was of the most consequence to him, without gaining any reward from the other. What I had foreseen happened, for Waheiadooa kept the maro for himself, and only sent to Otoo a very small piece of feathers, not the twentieth part of what belonged to the mag nificent present.

On the 19th, this young chief made me a present of ten or a dozen hogs, a quantity of fruit, and some cloth. In the evening, we played off some fire-works, which both astonished and entertained the numerous spectators..

This day, some of our gentlemen in their walks found what they were pleased to call a Roman Catholic chapel. Indeed, from their account, this was not to be doubted, for they described the altar, and every other constituent part of such a place of worship. However, as they mentioned, at the same time, that two men who had the care of it, would not suffer them to go in, I thought that they might be mistaken, and had the curiosity to pay a visit to it myself. The supposed chapel proved to be a toopapaoo, in which the remains of the late Waheiadooa lay, as it were,

in state. It was in a pretty large house, which was inclosed with a low pallisade. The toopapaoo was uncommonly neat, and resembled one of those little houses or awnings belonging to their large canoes. Perhaps it had originally been employed for that purpose. It was covered and hung round with cloth and mats of different colours, so as to have a pretty effect. There was one piece of scarlet broad-cloth, four or five yards in length, conspicuous among the other ornaments, which, no doubt, had been a present from the Spaniards. This cloth, and a few tassels of feathers, which our gentlemen supposed to be silk, suggested to them the idea of a chapel, for, whatever else was wanting to create a resemblance, their imagination supplied; and, if they had not previously known that there had been Spaniards lately here, they could not possibly have made the mistake. Small offerings of fruit and roots seemed to be daily made at this shrine, as some pieces were quite fresh. These were deposited upon a whatta, or altar, which stood without the pallisades; and within these we were not permitted to enter. Two men constantly attended night and day, not only to watch over the place, but also to dress and undress the toopapaoo. For when I first went to survey it, the cloth and its appendages were all rolled up; but, at my request, the two attendants hung it out in order, first dressing themselves in clean white robes. They told me that the chief had been dead twenty months.

Having taken in a fresh supply of water, and finished all our other necessary operations, on the 22d, I brought off the cattle and sheep which had been put on shore here to graze, and made ready for sea.

In the morning of the 23d, while the ships were unmooring, Omai and I landed to take leave of the young chief. While we were with him, one of those enthusiastic persons whom they call Eatoods, from a persuasion that they are possessed with the spirit of the divinity, came and stood before us. He had all the appearance of a man not in his right senses; and his only dress was a large quantity of plantain leaves, wrapped round his waist. He spoke in a low squeaking voice, so as hardly to be understood, at least not by me. But Omai said that he comprehended him perfectly, and that he was advising Waheiadooa not to go with me to Matavai; an expedition which I had never heard that he intended, nor had I ever made such a

proposal to him. The Eatooa also foretold that the ships would not get to Matavai that day. But in this he was mistaken; though appearances now rather favoured his prediction, there not being a breath of wind in any direction. While he was prophesying, there fell a very heavy shower of rain, which made every one run for shelter but himself, who seemed not to regard it. He remained squeaking by us about half an hour, and then retired. No one paid any attention to what he uttered, though some laughed at him. I asked the chief what he was, whether an Earee, or a Toutou? and the answer I received was, that he was taata eno; that is, a bad man. And yet, notwithstanding this, and the little notice any of the natives seemed to take of the mad prophet, superstition has so far got the better of their reason, that they firmly believe such persons to be possessed with the spirit of the Eatood. Omai seemed to be very well instructed about them. He said that, during the fits that come upon them, they know nobody, not even their most intimate acquaintances; and that, if any one of them happens to be a man of property, he will very often give away every moveable he is possess ed of, if his friends do not put them out of his reach; and, when he recovers, will enquire what had become of those very things which he had but just before distributed, not seeming to have the least remembrance of what he had done while the fit was upon him.*

As soon as I got on board, a light breeze springing up at east, we got under sail, and steered for Matavai Bay, where the Resolution anchored the same evening. But the Dis covery did not get in till the next morning; so that half of the man's prophecy was fulfilled.

SECTION

4 What is the origin of that singular notion which is found amongst the lower orders in most countries, that divine inspiration is often consequent on temporary or continued derangement? Surely it cannot be derived from any correct opinions respecting the Author of truth and knowledge. We must ascribe it, then, to ignorance, and some feeling of dread as to his power; or rather perhaps, we ought to consider it as the basty offspring of surprise, on the occasional display of reason, even in a common degree, where the faculties are understood to be disordered. Still it is singular, that the observers should have recourse for explanation to so injurious and so improbable a supposition, as that of supernatural agency. What has often been said of sol-lunar and astral influence on the human mind, the opinion of which is pretty widely spread over the

world,

SECTION II.

Interview with Otoo, King of the Island.-Imprudent Conduct of Omai.-Employments on Shore.-European Animals landed.—Particulars about a Native who had visited Lima. About Oedidee-A Revolt in Eimeo.-War with that Island determined upon, in a Council of Chiefs.-A human Sacrifice on that Account.-A particular Relation of the Ceremonies at the great Morai, where the Sacrifice was offered. Other barbarous Customs of this People.

ABOUT nine o'clock in the morning, Otoo, the king of the whole island, attended by a great number of canoes full of people, came from Oparre, his place of residence, and having landed on Matavai Point, sent a message on board, expressing his desire to see me there. Accordingly I landed,

world, may be interpreted so as perfectly to agree with the theoretical so lution of the question now proposed, the heavenly bodies being amongst the first and the most generally established objects of religious apprehension and worship. It is curious enough, that what may be called the converse of the proposition, viz. that derangement follows or is accompanied with inspiration, whether religious or common, should almost as extensively have formed a part of the popular creed. The reason of this notion again, is not altogether the same as that of the former; it has its origin probably in the observation, that enthusiasm with respect to any one subject, which, in the present case, is to be regarded as the appearance or expression of inspiration, usually unfits a person for the requisite attention to any other. The language of mankind accordingly quite falls in with this observation, and nothing is more general than to speak of a man being mad, who exhibits a more than ordinary ardour in the pursuit of some isolated object. Still, however, there seems a tacit acknowledgement amongst mankind, that the human mind can profitably attend to only one thing at a time, and that all excellence in any pursuit is the result of restricted unintermitting application: And hence it is, that enthu siasm, though perhaps admitted to be allied to one of the highest evils with which our nature can be visited, is nevertheless imagined to be an indication of superior strength of intellect. The weakest minds, on the contrary, are the most apprehensive of ridicule, and in consequence are most cautious, by a seeming indifference as to objects, to avoid the dangerous imputation of a decided partiality. Such persons, however, forming undoubtedly the greater portion of every society, console themselves and one another under the consciousness of debility, by the sense of their safety, and by the fashionable custom of dealing out wise reflections on those more enterprising minds, whose eccentricities or ardour, provoke their admiration.-E.