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on every occasion, she conducted herself towards him with the greatest maternal affection, modesty, and propriety: she was a woman of great understanding, personal beauty, and amiable man

ners.

If a young girl is betrothed, or set apart to be the wife or concubine of a noble higher in rank than herself, she derives more respect on that account, independent of what is due to her own proper rank.

The women employ themselves (particularly nobles,) in making a variety of articles, chiefly ornamental; these employments, however, are considered accomplishments, not professions: some of the higher class of women not only make these employments an amusement, but actually make a sort of trade of it, without prejudice to their rank; which is what the lower class of women could not do, because what they make is not their own property, but is done by the order of their superiors; the highest accomplishments cannot add to a woman's rank, though it does somewhat to the estimation in which she may be held, for such things, when well done, are honourable in a woman of rank. These things will be farther spoken of hereafter.

Children acquire their rank by inheritance, as before observed, from the mother's side: if she be not a noble they are not, and vice versa. If a man, however high his rank, have a child by a woman who is only a tooa, no matter whether they are married or not, (but indeed there is no instance of a noble marrying a tooa,) that

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child would not be a noble, though it were known that the father was a noble; the child might rank as a mooa, but not higher: on the contrary, if a woman who is a noble were to have a child by a tooa, the child would be a noble ; but this perhaps seldom happens, for the pride of the females would not allow of such a low intrigue; or if such a circumstance were to take place, the greatest care would be used that it should not be known. Children that are nobles are somewhat less respected, as may be supposed, on account of their childhood; but then any familiarity or slight disrespect that might be shewn them would only be by nobles nearly equal or superior to them. If Finow were to see a child of superior rank approach or be brought near him, he perhaps would say, (and frequently does on such occasions,) Take that child away! why do you bring him here, troubling me with the taboo? or some such abrupt expression: such language, however, would not be decorous from an inferior, unless he be of nearly equal rank, and then only by authority of his superior age."

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settle a mission from the latter country to New Zealand. They were attended by a chief of the island named Duaterra, together with two other chiefs, Shungi and Korra-korra, who sailed with them from New South Wales.

In December 1814, the ship, with two other missionaries on board, arrived off the North Cape of New Zealand. Mr. Marsden was principally induced to make this attempt by a conviction that the merchant vessels which had occasionally touched upon the islands had been the aggressors, and had propagated the opinion, that the natives were no better than cannibals; he therefore, with his companions, landed without scruple upon an isle within the Bay of islands. This was very near the spot where the English ship Boyd had been totally cut off in 1809; and it happened that about a hundred of the warriors of Wangeroa, the scene of the action, were collected on the isle to attend the funeral of a deceased chief. The description given by Mr. Nicholas of his adventure with this band of warriors, is extremely striking.

"The public, I should suppose, are already aware from Mr. Marsden's statement, that the chief George, who is known by this name to the European sailors, some of whom, in all probability, first gave it to him, had been the principal agent in cutting off the Boyd, and certainly the face of this man bespoke him capable of committing so atrocious an act. His features were not unsightly, but they appeared to veil a dark and subtle malignity of intention, and the lurking treachery of a

depraved heart was perfectly legible in every one of them. He had acquired too, from his intercourse with European sailors, a coarse familiarity of manner mingled with a degree of sneering impu dence, which gave him a character completely distinct from his countrymen, and making him odious in our view, reconciled us the more easily to their unsophisticated rudeness. This chief having served on board some of the whalers, could speak English very fluently, and on my going up to shake hands with him, he thought proper to return the compliment with "How do you do, my boy?" which he uttered in so characteristic a style of vulgar freedom, yet so totally unlike the blunt familiarity of honest friendship, that he excited at the same moment my abhorrence and disgust. It was necessary, however, to be very circumspect towards this designing chief, and I took care that he should see nothing in my conduct that could lead him to suspect he was at all obnoxious to me.

The contending parties being now in perfect amity with each other, and peace firmly established, we left the camp to return to the village, resolving however to come back again, and spend the night among these warriors, with whose reception of us we had every reason to be satisfied. We wished to shew them by all the means in our power, that we were capable of forgetting the enormity of the crime they had committed, and that we harboured no resentment against them for the cruel slaughter of our unfortunate countrymen. It was with this view, therefore, that we determined on trusting ourselves

ourselves for the night to their good faith, and Mr. Marsden was anxious to convince George, by such confidence, he was no longer in our eyes an object of hatred or suspicion. But whatever may have been the sentiments of this gentleman towards that insidious barbarian, my own were decidedly prejudiced against him; and if I had no apprehensions for our personal safety, it was because I trusted more to the hearts of his people, than to any other honourable principle in their chief. As sured by Duaterra that these people were never known to violate the signal they had given us, I felt perfectly at ease; and though George might himself be disposed to act treacherously, he could find none in this instance who would co-operate in his designs. Yet here let me be understood as speaking of this man only from my own individual feelings, and the impression he made on me by his appearance and behaviour, for there was no positive act to warrant the censure I have passed upon him, though I rather think I have not been much deceived as to his real character.

When we got back to the village, Duaterra, with Mr. Kendall and Mr. King, returned to the vessel, and Shunghi, who had ordered his people to prepare some fish and potatoes for our dinner, had them now brought before us, and we sat down with a good appetite. Mr. Marsden's New Zealand servant, Tommy Drummond, had by this time come on shore with some tea and an iron tea kettle, and this favourite beverage was never before more grateful to us. The repast was laid out in a large open

space, and we were quickly surrounded by crowds of the natives, each with wild amazement visible in his countenance. Men, women, and children, flocked in upon us in one oppressive body, so that to keep ourselves from being suffocated, we were obliged to form a circle, which none was allowed to pass, and seating themselves all round the verge of it, they watched our motions with the most eager curiosity. Many of them had never before in the whole course of their lives beheld an European, and to see packaka kiki, (the white man eat,) was a novelty of so curious a nature, that they gazed on it with wonder and delight. Our situation at this moment reminded me very forcibly of certain European kings, who to shew their subjects that monarchs must eat as well as themselves, have long been in the habit of taking their sumptuous banquets in public. They kept their eyes steadfastly fixed on us all the time, and not a single occurrence escaped their observation; while staring with surprise, they frequently called to those around them to look at the wonders we presented. Many of them expressed their astonishment in silent attention, and others, bursting out into fits of laughter at every bit we ate, were exceedingly amused by the spectacle. We distributed biscuit and sugar-candy among several of them, which they liked so well that they appeared eagerly desirous to get more, smacking their lips with an exquisite relish for these unknown luxuries.

I observed among the crowd some venerable looking old men,

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who regarded us with silent contemplation, and seemed rather occupied in forming conjectures as to the motives that induced us to visit their country, than in taking any particular notice of what we were doing. They appeared not to feel any interest whatsoever in the distribution of the biscuits and sugar-candy, and while the young folks, with few exceptions, were all as merry as possible, these mute sages were wrapped in profound meditation. Still looking on us with an air of dignified gravity and serious reflection, they never uttered a word, and a strange association of ideas formed in my mind some resemblance between them and the Roman senators, when Brennus came with hostile vengeance to destroy the city. But they had nothing of this kind to dread from us, as we wished rather to improve, than demolish their wretched capital.

After having finished our repast, we walked through the village, which we found to consist of about fifty huts, and one hundred and fifty inhabitants. The huts were much better built than those upon the island, and the roofs of many of them were shaped like the curved top of a waggon, while others extended in the form of a sharp ridge, increasing in breadth from the summit to the extremities on each side. A small enclosure in which there was a shed where the inhabitants used to take their meals, surrounded each of these huts, and the general effect of the whole was not uninteresting.

The solemn hour of night was now approaching, and leaving these poor villagers, we returned

to the camp, accompanied by our friend Shunghi, whose fidelity and attachment were sincere and devoted. We were also attended by the New Zealand sailor, who used to act as interpreter between us and his countrymen; and on our arrival, we found the warriors all seated on the ground, and the brother chiefs, George and Tippouie, in the midst of them. On our approach they instantly made room for us, and we were invited by George to place ourselves next to him, and some dressed potatoes were laid before us in a basket, which we were to partake of for our supper.

After eating a few of the potatocs, we entered into conversation with George, and anxious to learn from him all the particulars respecting the Boyd, we immediately commenced that melancholy subject.

After George had communicated to us all the particulars I have narrated, it was time to prepare for rest, and the warriors, stretching themselves on the ground, began to wrap their kakahows more closely about them. The scene now became awfully appalling. Night threw its gloomy shade over the ruthless murderers of our countrymen, while we, but two in number, remained perfectly defenceless in the midst of them; trusting only to the internal dictates of their hearts, for the privilege of existing a single instant. Yet reflecting on their disposition, which is never vengeful without sufficient cause, we felt no alarms for our safety; and though perhaps we may have subjected ourselves to the imputation of having unnecessarily exposed our lives in

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a perilous situation, we ourselves could see no danger in what we had done, and were prompted to it by far other motives than the vanity of adventurous enterprise. George, to whom I wish to render all the merit he deserves, however I may dislike his appearance and manner, was, I must say, particularly attentive to us, and wished to make us as comfortable as he possibly could. At his particular request, we laid ourselves down to sleep beside himself and his wife, Mr. Marsden being on one side, and I on the other. The ground was our bed, and we had no other covering than the clothes we wore; while stretched at full length under the broad canopy of heaven, we prepared for repose, and feared not to close our eyes in the very centre of these cannibals. They proved themselves worthy of such confidence, and in no instance did there appear the least disposition to take advantage of it. I slept tolerably well for some part of the night, and awaking at the dawn of day, a scene, the strangest that can be imagined, presented itself to my view. An immense number of human beings, men, women, and children, some half naked, and others loaded with fantastic finery, were all stretched about me in every direction; while the warriors, with their spears stuck in the ground, and their other weapons lying beside them, were either peeping out from under their kakahows, or shaking from off their dripping heads the heavy dew that had fallen in the night. Before sun-rise they were all up, and being invigorated and refreshed by that profound sleep which health is always sure to in

vite, they rose with lively spirits to their desultory pursuits, and spent no time in lethargic slumbers.

Our next object was to proceed up the Cowa-cowa, to the part of the island where timber is found in the greatest abundance. It was therefore determined that Mr. Marsden and myself, together with Mr. Kendall and Mr. Hall, should set out without loss of time, in order to engage the natives to cut down as much timber as would be necessary for our purpose, and bring it by the usual conveyance to the vessel. We rowed to the head of the cove, which is about five miles from the place where the ship was lying at anchor, and is navigable to this distance for small vessels, and then came to some extensive flats, which though inundated with the tide, are always dry at low water, except the small channel through which the Cowa-cowa discharges itself into the cove. We now entered the open river, and rowing up along its smooth surface for about ten miles, the scenery on either side was bold and attractive. On whatever part we turned our eyes, a rich and romantic prospect invited our attention, and the river, taking a serpentine course, offered to our view at every new turning, a delightful variety of picturesque images. The tide, which rises in this river about four feet, might render it navigable to some distance for small craft, were the fallen timber cleared away, with which its channel is occasionally obstructed; a work, I should think, of no great labour, though of obvious utility in the event of a more regular intercourse with the island. If the accounts given

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