14 ELLIS' POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. Christianity, was drawn up by the Rev. Mr. Nott, one of the first missionaries that came to the islands, and adopted by the king and whole body of chiefs in public council. Every law has a specific penalty attached-rendering the administration of justice, after the guilt of a person is established, perfectly equal: no discretion being left to the judge, in a modification of the sentence. The rehearsal of the law and its penalty, both of which are familiar to the person under trial-as every family is furnished with a printed copy of the code-is the only judgment pronounced. With the "Polynesian Researches" of our beloved friend Ellis before you, it will be unnecessary, however, for me to enter upon any elucidation of facts of this kind, that may come under my notice, during the visit we shall make at the Georgian and Society Islands. The original state of the people as found by the missionaries, their habits and customs, their religion, civil polity, and history—including the conversion of both groups from idolatry, the establishment of Christianity, and their present conditionare portrayed in his volumes with so much talent and such lively interest, with such perfect candor and minute correctness, and in such fullness of information, that I at once refer you to them for every thing connected with this section of the South Seas, except the incidents which may pass under the immediate observation of myself and shipmates, the few days we may remain within its limits. SCENERY ALONG SHORE. 15 LETTER II. HARBOR OF PAPEETE. Matavai Bay, at Tahiti, MR. and Mrs. Wilson and daughters dined with Captain Finch on Monday; and on Tuesday, a party from the ward-room and steerage, consisting of the lieutenants Stribling, Dornin, and Lardner, Dr. Wessels, midshipmen Maury, Keith, Hawkins, and myself, visited the harbor of Papeeté, six or seven miles westward of Matavai. The scenery along the intervening shore, beautiful by nature both in wild mountain and palmy plain -is now doubly so, from the neat cottages and lofty chapels, which, at the short intervals of two and three miles, insensibly blend thoughts of civilization and piety, with the impressions made on the mind by the luxuriance and grandeur of the natural imagery. We sailed the whole distance within a coral reef, which, shortly after leaving Matavai, lines the coast at a half a mile from the beach to the entrance of the harbor, and arrived at Papeeté at eleven o'clock. The bay, about three miles in circumference, is formed by an indenture of the shore between two points covered with groves of cocoanut trees; while the coral reef in front-through which there is an 16 SKETCH OF PAPEETE. entrance by a narrow ship channel-with a small islet based upon it, protects it so fully from the swell of the sea, that it is, at all times, as smooth as a lake. The panorama, from the anchorage, is rich and lovely. A spacious and elevated white chapel presents a conspicuous and pleasing object in the centre of the view inland. On one side of this, within a neat inclosure planted with shrubbery, stands the cottage of the resident missionary; and on the other, corresponding to it, the parish school-house: from both of which the habitations of the natives--some in the primitive and some in the modern style of building-stretch in half embowered perspective along the curvature of the beach, to the cocoanut points, jutting on either hand, at a distance of half a mile or more, in heavy groves towards the reef. Clumps of the orange and lemon tree-of the hibiscus and pandanus, with rich plantations of the bread-fruit, cocoanut, and broad-leafed banana, and here and there a single tree of the lofty and wide spreading vi―spondias dulcis—fill up the remaining parts of the foreground; while lofty and abrupt hills, overtopped by bold and verdant mountains, complete the sketch interior. Our party was welcomed on the beach, by Mr. Marenhaut, a Dutch gentleman temporarily at Tahiti, and by Captain Brock, late commander of an English vessel wrecked on the eastern side of the island-both of whom had visited the Vincennes the first day of her arrival. Learning from them, that the Rev. Mr. Pritchard, the missionary at this MR. AND MRS. PRITCHARD. 17 station, was quite ill, we accompanied them to their cottage, before calling at the mission house. At twelve o'clock, we paid our respects to Mr. and Mrs. Pritchard; and were delighted with the neatness, taste, and beauty of their humble dwelling. Mr. Pritchard, a well educated and intelligent man, though much indisposed, received us with great cordiality and kindness; and in Mrs. Pritchard, we were pleased to meet, in this happy and honorable exile, a refined and lovely woman. Their little parlor— though furnished with a plainness and simplicity appropriate to the situation and character of the occupants-wore an aspect of refinement and cultivation that bespoke a familiarity with more polished scenes than those in which they are now found. Two fine, healthful, and neatly dressed children, beside their mother on a sofa, added greatly to the charm of a home scene, so welcome to us, after the exhibitions of heathenism with which we had been conversant at Nukuhiva. An hour passed rapidly away under such circumstances; when we took leave, to pass over the bay to the islet in front of the harbor, where we had made arrangements to partake a repast, furnished from stores brought with us from the Vincennes. This is a delightful little spot; a few rods only in circumference, but covered with groves, in miniature, of almost every variety of growth found on the mainland. Beneath the thick shade of these, fanned by a refreshing sea breeze, we enjoyed our pic-nic till it became time to return to the ship, as we intended calling on the way at a point two miles above, VOL. II. 3 18 PLANTATION OF MR. BICKNELL. occupied by Mr. Bicknell, an English planter, and at the missionary station, under the superintendence of the Rev. Mr. Nott, in sight of Matavai. - The habitation of Mr. Bicknell is a respectable, new frame building-weather boarded at the sides and end with a roof of thatch in the native stylethe wooden part being neatly painted in cream color, with doors, Venetian blinds, and a covered veranda in green. Within, the arrangement, finish, and furniture, correspond with the neatness, and even elegance, for this part of the world, of the exterior: while horses and mules, herds of cattle and flocks of goats in the adjoining enclosures—a sugar mill and boilers, and a warehouse filled with beautifully grained sugar, molasses, and rum-testify to the resources, and promising circumstances of the proprietor. On landing, in front of the establishment, we were received at the gate, and very kindly welcomed by Mr. Bicknell, introduced to Mrs. Bicknell, and welcomed to the hospitality of his house. From this point, a part of our number walked along the beach to the residence of Mr. Nott. It was quite dark before we reached his grounds, and we called with the intention of stopping a moment only; but the kindness and hospitality of himself and wife obliged us to remain to a cup of tea; and it was late in the evening, before, much gratified with our visit, we rejoined our barge, and rowed in safety beneath a lovely sky, the remaining distance to the Vincennes. On Thursday, I made a second visit to Papeeté, with Lieutenants Magruder and Sullivan, and Mid |