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them long before they reached us from their watery bed. As the morning advanced, plantations, villages, and scattered huts, were distinctly seen, along the shore; and columns of white smoke began to rise, here and there, from the early fires of the inhabitants.

"At nine o'clock, the breeze being light, a boat was sent off from the Thames for refreshments. Not long afterwards, the deck of our ship echoed, with the cry, a canoe!-a canoe !'-and one of the rude barks of the natives was seen rapidly approaching us. Every eye was, instantly, fixed on it, with intense observation; and I hastened to assist H- from her state-room to the cabin windows, to view the uncultivated beings, with whom we are to spend our lives. A first sight of these wretched creatures was almost overwhelming. Their naked figures and wild expression of countenance-their black hair, streaming in the wind, as they hurried the canoe over the water, with all the eager action and muscular power of savages-their rapid and unintelligible exclamations, and whole exhibition of uncivilized character, gave to them the appearance of being half-man and half-beast, and irresistibly pressed on the thoughts the query-Cun they be men-can they be women!-do they not form a link in creation, connecting man with the brute! This, indeed, seemed to be the general impression; and, the officer heading the boat sent to the shore, on his return, exclaimed as he ascended the ship, well, if I never before saw brutes in the shape of men, I have seen them this morning :' and, addressing himself to some of our company, added, you can never live, among such a people as this-we shall be obliged to take you back with us!'

"Other canoes soon arrived, and many gathered round us, to gratify their curiosity, and dispose of fish, watermelons, bananas, sugar cane, and sweet potatoes. They remained an hour or two, and, notwithstanding our first impressions, greatly commended themselves to us, by their artlessness and simplicity, and an apparent sprightliness, and intelligence of mind. They seemed rejoiced to know, that more Missionaries had arrived, and on hearing it, addressed one another with great animation, exclaiming, Mikanere-maitai, maitai-nui, nui maitai.' Missionary-good, good-very, very good.' They informed us, that the Missionaries at the Islands were all well; and were, with the king and chiefs, at

Oahu.

"At twelve o'clock, we entered the channel between Maui and Hawaii, and ran close along the north shore of this last Island. Every thing here, exhibited great poverty. The mountains were covered with clouds, and not a tree or shrub was to be seen. The whole surface of the country, was spread with dark rocks; and the little grass perceptible was scorched and sunburnt. The huts seen scattered along the beach, looked more like the styes and kennels, of pigs and dogs, than the abodes of men: and the whole appeared, something like the Hawaii, I had pictured to my mind's eye, when I first seriously thought of devoting my self to the missionary work in these Islands. Yet, the sight made me almost draw back, from a home so barren, and so miserable.

"In the evening, Hawaii and Mouna-kea again at a distance, afforded another of the sublimest of prospects;-while the setting sun and rising moon combined in producing the finest effects on sea and land. The mountains were once more unclouded, and, with a glass, we could clearly discern immense bodies of ice and snow on their summits."

The following additional excerpts, will serve to illustrate further the character of Mr. Stewart's pages.

"The idolatry of the Sandwich Islanders was of a form peculiar to the Polynesians, called tabu, from an appendage to the ordinary worship of images expressed by that term, so singular in its nature as justly to give name to the whole system. The tabu, though intimately connected with the services of religion, did not consist of any fixed and unchanging observances—but was uncertain and arbitrary in its requisitions. It was an instrument of power in the possession of the priests and king, which might be made to assume any shape, which interest, passion, or even caprice might dictate, and to extend to all things civil as well as religious. And every breach of tabu being punishable

with death-it was an instrument by which the people were governed as with a 367 rod of iron.

"The word, itself, has generally been considered by foreigners as synonymous with the English word prohibition. But its literal and peculiar meaning is con secration. Thus the priests, the king, the chiefs, who claimed descent from the gods and the temples, were tabu. So also an animal or cluster of fruit, or other article, set apart for sacrifice—and a day, week, or month, appropriated to the worship of the gods.

"The tabus varied greatly both in extent and duration. Sometimes a single tree, or a single animal only, would be made tabu, and at others, a whole grove or herd,-sometimes a single house, or piece of land, or fishing ground, at others a whole district or even island. Sometimes the tabu would be limited to a day; at others, would continue for weeks and months. Tabus of time, varied in the degree of rigour with which they were to be observed; sometimes requiring only a cessation from ordinary work and amusement; at others, an entire seclusion: when, to be seen abroad, was death. Every fire, too, must then be extinguished-every sound, even to the crowing of a cock or barking of a dog, prevented, and the silence and desolation of death, be made to reign throughout the whole extent of the tabu, whether of district or island.

"But though thus various in its features, and changeable in its forms, there were points in the tabu which were general and unalterable. One of these was the tabu of all the best kinds of food for sacrifice to the gods, and for the use of the men; the women were thus excluded from the use of hogs, fowls, cocoanut, bananas, several kinds of fish, &c. &c. Another, was a tabu excluding the females from the houses of the men. habitation, even of her father or husband, nor to eat in company with any man: A woman was not permitted to enter the These were the points, a breach of which, the king determined to make the sig nal for the abolition of the whole, and for the downfal of idolatry.

"Having secretly consulted the high-priest and principal chiefs upon the subject, and gained their consent and co-operation, he made a great entertainment, in the month of November, 1819, to which all the foreign traders, mercantile agents, and residents, then at the Islands, were invited, together with the whole company of chiefs. Two long tables, one for males and another for females, in conformity to the tabu, were spread in an open bower, around which a great concourse of common people assembled. After the food was served up, and all the company had taken their seats, the king, evidently much agitated, arose with a dish of the food denied to females in his hand, and walking first round the table of the men, as if to see that all were properly provided, hastily turned to that of the women, and seating himself between two of his queens, began to eat with them, from the dish he had carried. At this, the whole astonished mul. titude burst into the exclamation, ai noa! ai noa! (ai food-noa common, or general, in contra-distinction to ai tabu-food sacred.) The high-priest himself, rushed to fire an adjoining temple, and messengers were instantly despatched in all directions to perpetrate a similar conflagration. In a very few days, every heathen temple, in the group, was mouldering in ashes, and the idols, which had not shared the same fate, were cast useless on the beach, or reserved merely as objects of curiosity.

"That it was the pleasure of the king, thus to cast off the tabu, and to abolish idolatry, seemed sufficient to satisfy the minds of the people. One ambitious young chief of rank, however, attempted, by it, to excite the natives to a rebelLion; but in this he was unsuccessful-his party was defeated, and himself and wife slain in battle, in the winter of 1820."

"At the present time, a favourite sport-moku-moku, or boxing, has been revived. It is a national game, regulated by established principles: to secure an adherence to which, managers and umpires are appointed, who preside over it, and determine points of dispute. The champions usually belong to different chiefs, and enter the ring inspirited by a pride of clanship, as well as by the ambi tion of personal distinction. When one has been prostrated, so as to yield the contest, the victor paces the circle with an air of defiance, challenging any other to a trial of strength and skill: and thus, in the course of half an hour, a dozen VOL, IIL-NO. 6. 47

may successively lose an ultimate triumph, by being themselves knocked down by some combatants of greater tact or muscular power, who at last clears the

arena.

"A well directed blood-starting or levelling-blow, is followed by unbounded applause from the surrounding multitude, testified in the most appropriate manner, by yells and shouts of barbarity, that make the whole welkin ring, while the tossing of thousands of arms into the air, jumping, dancing, and clapping of hands, prolong the expression of delight.

"These boxing matches, often lead to wagers among the spectators-and not unfrequently end in violence and death. At almost every shout from the ring, the natives of our household exclaim, Taha! taha! mamuri make!-Ah! ah! by and by murder! and inform us that many are killed in the moku-moku; and that, only a few years ago, forty men were murdered at one time, on the very spot now occupied by the exhibition."

"The common people, not unfrequently, become so much excited at games of the uru maita and pahe, that the greater number of thousands collected round will be themselves betters on the different parties; though in doing it, hundreds stake the very last article they possess in the world, even to the maro or pau, they are wearing at the time."

"The climate of the Islands is far more cool, than might be supposed, judging from the latitude in which they are situated. This is partly owing to the vast unbroken body of water by which they are surrounded, but principally and more immediately to the prevalence of the north-east trade wind, which, during the larger portion of the year, sweeps over and about them with great velocity, and from the direction in which it comes, and the surface over which it passes, possesses no inconsiderable refrigerative power. In the trade wind, the mercury in Farenheit's thermometer-in the shade-seldom rises higher than 80° and 82°, during the summer, and 72° and 74°, during the winter.

"From the very height of the mountains, however, there are places and districts, on the leeward or western sides of some of the islands, which are inaccessible to the regular wind, except when it becomes a gale, breaking over the lower hills, and rushing in strong eddies round the points and promontories, which at ordinary times form a barrier to it. Lahaina is situated on one of these spots, and probably is the hottest district in the group-the mercury usually rising as high in winter here, as it does in summer where the trades prevail; and in summer frequently to 88° and 89°.

"During the summer months, or from March to October, when the trade wind is most strong and most regular, Lahaina enjoys a pleasant, and often fresh breeze; but even then there is not circulation enough to give it the ventilation received, wherever the former wind reaches. In winter, when the trades are generally light, and often interrupted entirely by calms and south-westerly winds, the sea-breeze also becomes light and variable, and a much greater stagnation of air takes place, rendered doubly impure by exhalations from the taro beds and fish-ponds, with which the settlement is more or less filled. These circumstances cause the climate of Lahaina to be rather unfavourable to health.

"As to clouds and rain, from March to October the atmosphere throughout all the islands is usually clear and bright, similar to your finest June weather. On the windward, or eastern parts, however, there are almost daily showers, and in the mountains not unfrequently continued rains, from the lodgment of clouds against their tops and sides. In most places on the leeward sides, there are also Occasional showers; but at Lahaina scarcely a cloud, except on the mountains, is, during the summer, to be seen, and almost never a drop of rain. From September to April the atmosphere is more or less hazy-obscure and cloudy-with frequent light rains in some places, and in others heavy storms of two or three day's continuance. We have had three storms only at Lahaina, since our residence here, and they have been in December, January, and March.”

"I have seen a female, of high rank-and monstrously large-going to church a loose slip of white muslin, with thick woodhnan's shoes, and no stockings

a heavy silver-headed cane in her hand, and an immense French chapeau on her head!

"On Sunday, too, there is a display of equipage, not seen every day. The chapel being near half a mile from the village, some of the grandees ride to church-their carriages, to be sure, belong to the birth day of invention'— especially the state coach of the late king, which, I presume, was once a tinker's wagon. Kaahumanu and Taumuarii always come in this; the young queens, usually, in one more modern and airy-of the kind called Dearborn in America. These vehicles are always drawn by twelve or fifteen natives; their horses hav ing not yet been broken to the harness.

"Whether the nobility here have been told that those, who wish to be considered most genteel, in America, do not go to church till after the services have commenced, or whether the newly introduced duties of the toilette occasion the delay, I cannot determine; but, the most stately do not generally arrive at the chapel till some time during the first prayer, which, consequently, is disturbed by the rumbling of their chariot wheels-the hooting of the rabble that hurry them along the plain-the bustle of alighting, and the parade of entering. You could not avoid smiling, were you to see with what dignity some of these saunter up the aisle. I speak without hyperbole, in saying that one queen dowager takes at least ten minutes to walk froin the door to her sofa in front of the pul pit."

"The poverty of many of the people is such, that they seldom secure a taste of animal food, and live, almost exclusively, on taro and salt. A poor man of this description, by some means, obtained possession of a pig, when too small to make a meal for his family. He secreted it, at a distance from his house, and fed it till it had grown to a size sufficient to afford the desired repast. It was then killed, and put into an oven, with the same precaution of secrecy; but, when almost prepared for appetites, whetted, by long anticipation, to an exqui site keenness, a caterer of the royal household, unhappily, came near, and, attracted to the spot, by the savoury fumes of the baking pile, deliberately took a seat till the animal was cooked, and then bore off the promised banquet, without ceremony or apology!"

"The king and highest chiefs have a singular mode of raising money, and one I presume entirely peculiar to themselves. It is by building a fine new house; and, on taking possession of it, to refuse an entrance to any one, without a present in cash proportionate to the rank and property, both of the giver and receiver. The tabu on the house of the king, at the time of our arrival, was of this nature. Many of the chiefs presented fifty, sixty, and eighty dollars; merchants, sea-captains, and foreign residents, twenty and thirty; and every servant of the household, even his pipe lighter, at least two dollars. The whole sum thus collected amounted to several thousand dollars. A few months ago the mother queen raised eight hundred dollars in the same manner."

"The nobles of the land are so strongly marked by their external appearance, as at all times, to be easily distinguishable from the common people. They seem, indeed, in size and stature, to be almost a distinct race. They are all large in their frame, and often exceedingly corpulent; while the common people are scarce of the ordinary height of Europeans, and of a thin rather than of a full habit. Keopuolani, the mother of Riho-Riho, and Taumuarii, king of Tauai, are the only chiefs, arrived at years of maturity, I have yet seen, who do not weigh upwards of two hundred pounds. The governess of Tauai, the sister of Taumuarii, is said to weigh near four hundred; Nahamana, one of the queens of Tamehameha, weighs two hundred and ninety-her sisters, Kahumanu and Kalakua, nearly the same; and her brother Kuakini, governor of Hawaii-though little more than twenty-five years old-three hundred and twenty-five pounds. This immense bulk of person is supposed to arise from the care taken of them from their earliest infancy, and from the abundance and nutritious quality of their food, especially that of poe-a kind of paste made from the taro, an esculent root-a principal article of diet. They live on the fat of land and sea-and, free from all toil and oppression, their only care is, to eat, and to drink, and to be merry.”

ART. IV.-BEES.

1.The Honey-bee;-its Natural History, Physiology, and Management, by EDWARD BEVAN, M. D. London: Baldwin, Cradock & Jay, 1827.

2.-The Rural Economist's Assistant in the Management of Bees, principally taken from the German writings of the Rev. J. L. CHRIST, First Minister of Krohnberg, and Member of the Royal Husbandic Society at Zelle: by DAVID SOUDER. Lancaster, Pennsylvania, 1807.

To the youthful mind, natural history presents a delightful and exhaustless feast. In the history of the horse, the dog, and the cow, we feel a particular interest, created by familiarity and a sense of usefulness. There is something inspiring in the very air and bearings of a gallant steed, which, independently of his services, excite our admiration, and win our affections: but, in the faithfulness, love, and temper of the noble animal, we find increasing inducements to esteem and to cherish him. Every thing relative to him, has thus its sentimental value; and, in his history, we fail not to feel continued and even progressive satisfaction. The savage lords of the forest enchain attention, and rivet curiosity, by other qualities. It is in the very nature of our race, to be attracted by beauty of form and colouring, to be captivated by graceful movements, and to delight in exhibitions of fleetness and dexterity; but a more intense, though more fearful interest is created by the manifestations of superior strength, courage and ferocity. Hence, in the presence of the lion, the steed stands unheeded; and when the tiger or hyæna is near, we dwell not on the less exciting qualities of our faithful dog.

As the intellectual faculties unfold themselves, we begin to enjoy the subject of natural history, on a higher ground, with feelings less absorbing, but with relish more continued, and in lessons more instructive. Mind, in insensible gradation, is seen to pervade the whole animal creation, from that glimmering of instinct which is dimly perceived in the polypus and the worm, to that still limited but strong intelligence, which illumines our race, and gives to it the mastery over the rest. The survey of such a series, cannot fail to throw new light on the difficult but important study of moral philosophy; which indeed owes much of its recent progress to the lights of analogy. In the nice adaptation of means to an end, in the care which has been taken to preserve each generation, and to continue the species, and in the numberless proofs of pafernal regard for all his creatures, we find ever multiplying proofs

The existence, the wisdom, the power and the benevolence of

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