they were of the nature or even the existence of metal, they at first imagined that these articles must be the shoots of some hard-wooded plant; and accordingly a brilliant idea struck these Polynesian philosophers. The nails were very well, but had the sore fault of being very scarce and dear. Why not increase them by cultivation? No sooner was their happy thought devised than acted upon. Part of a bag of nails was carried to the temple and deposited on the altar, the rest they actually planted in their garden, and with the highest expectation and hopes of an abundant crop watched their growth-a result in which it is needless to say they were sadly disappointed; but in course of time they learned sounder lessons in metallurgy. They have no domestic animals except dogs, fowls, and pigs, and these have been introduced by

ships within the last century. In the more civilised islands, however, horses and most of the European domestic animals have been naturalised, and are increasing to a great extent. In the Fiji, Sandwich, and other islands wild pigs and cattle are abundant, and a great nuisance to the plantations of the natives.

Many pages would be required to describe, even in outline, the various canoes used by the Polynesians. In navigating their frail craft they have no equals in any part of the world, and their taste for maritime adventure is proved by the long voyages they will make from island to island, and by their wide distribution over such an extent of island-dotted ocean. They are a nation of sailors, and in no part of the civilised world is the tahua tarai vaa (or builder of canoes) held in such great respect.* Some of those used by the principal chiefs are

The word "canoe," now used by the English-speaking nations to designate the hoats now used by uncivilised natives in every part of the world, is the name given to their boats by the natives of the Carribean islands in their intercourse with Columbus, and since then generally adopted.

as much as fifty, sixty, or even seventy feet in length; about two feet wide, and nearly three or four in depth. The sterns are remarkably high, being often raised fifteen or eighteen feet out of the water, and ornamented with carved hollow cylinders, square pieces, or grotesque figures, called tiis. The embellishments and size of a canoe in some manner bespeak the dignity of a Polynesian chief, as the elegance of a yacht is a sign of the wealth of a civilised "canoeman." The stern of the war canoes is low, and covered so as to shield the occupants from the stones and darts of the enemy, and a grotesque carving of the human head, or some such figure, is usually carved on each. The bow, often carved like the neck of a swan, is terminated by the carved figure of a bird's head (p. 32). The war-canoe is also much more compact and solidly built than those used for fishing and voyaging. At one time all the Polynesian tribes possessed large and magnificent fleets of these canoes, which the diminution or entire discontinuance of war, since the advent of civilisation, has almost entirely caused to disappear in favour of the clumsier but more convenient vessels of Europe. There is another curious arrangement characteristic of the Oceanic canoes. This-which is not found on all of themis a rude sort of grating, made of the light but tough wood of the bread-fruit tree, covering the hull of the canoe and the intervening space between the sides, and projecting a foot or eighteen inches over the outer edges. On this the paddlers usually sit, and attend to the sails with greater convenience than they could from the narrower edge of the canoe. Sails were early in use among the Sandwich Islanders, even before the arrival of Europeans, but in calms the paddle made of the tough wood of the Hibiscus was the universal means of propulsion. When a chief leaves or approaches the shores these paddles are beat against the canoe-side with a sound like the smacking of a whip at the starting of a coach. There is a neat and very safe double canoe in use among them; called machi (or twins), each made out of a single trunk of a tree, and shaped exactly alike. The stem and stern are sharp, though occasionally there is a small board projecting from each bow. The smaller canoes, like those in use among the north-western Indians and other savages, are hollowed out of a single tree, but the larger ones are carefully built of hewn planks, after the civilised fashion. A single canoe is, however, never used without the "outrigger," so associated with the vessels of the Oceanic people. This ama, or outrigger, is usually formed by a light spar of the Hibisens or Erythrina on account of its combined lightness and strength. It is always fastened to the left side, and fastened to the canoe by two horizontal poles, from five to eight feet long; "the front one is straight and firm, the other curved and elastic. It is so fixed that the canoe, when empty, does not float upright, being rather inclined to the left; but when sunk in the water, on being laden, it is generally erect, while the outrigger, which is firmly and ingeniously fastened to the sides by repeated bands of cinnet, floats on the surface. In addition to this, the island canoes have a strong plank, twelve or fourteen feet long, fastened horizontally across the centre, in an inclined position, one end attached to the outrigger, and the other extending five or six feet over the opposite side, and perhaps elevated four or five feet above the sea. A small railing of rods is fastened along the sides of this plank, and it is designed to assist the navigators in balancing the keel, as a native takes his station on the one side or the other, to counteract the inclination which the wind or sea might give to the vessel. Sometimes they approach the shore with a native standing on the extremity of the plank, and presenting a singular appearance, which it is impossible to behold without expecting every undulation of the

sea to detach him from his apparently insecure situation, and precipitate him into the water (pp. 28, 29, and 32). This kind of canoe is chiefly used to make voyages to detached islands at some distance. In navigating the double canoe they use two scales, but one only is used with the single canoe. The ropes are not usually fastened, but held in the hands of the natives. The rigging is made from the twisted bark of the Hibiscus, or the fibres of the cocoa-nut bark, or coiar. In building their canoes, not only is care taken to make them strong, safe, and suitable in every part, by their great skill exercised in this branch of architecture, but the blessing of the gods-and especially of Temariotuu, the Tahitian protector of sailors—was, in former days at least, invoked in this as in every other pursuit of their lives. Costly presents were made at every stage of the manufacture to this "cherub aloft," who “takes care" of the Tahitian Jack. When the keel was laid presents had to be made to the god (or to his priest, which was the same thing), when it was finished douceurs had to be made to win his favour, and when it was launched his countenance had to be secured in a similar manner.

Valuable canoes are among the gifts offered up to the sea-gods, and ever afterwards consecrated to the service of the idols. In their sea voyages sharks are their chief dread, and if they fall into the water there is great fear of these monsters attacking them. If armed with a knife, the Polynesian is often more than a master for the fish, but if unarmed he has little chance of escape. On one occasion some Tahitians were overtaken by a storm while passing from one of the Society Islands to another. As a last resort, they gathered together the fragments of their canoe and bound them into a large raft, on which they set out for their home. Their number, thirty-two, was much too great for the raft, the result of which being that it was under water the whole time. The sharks then gathered around them, and snatched off one after another of their number, until the sea was red with blood, and only a few were left. The raft, now lightened of its load, rose to the surface, and the survivors landed in safety to tell the tale of their terrible passage. The danger is further aggravated by the fact that, though they will eat the flesh of most of these voracious fishes, yet the large blue shark is not only not killed by them, but being defied, its anger is attempted to be appeased by prayers and offerings. Temples are erected in its honour, at which priests officiate, and gifts are offered to the sacred monsters, and where fishermen and others who are much at sea seek its favour. The people thoroughly believed that the shark respected the priests of its temples, and paid them great regard when at sea. These fish-gods are not unknown among other nations, and the reader acquainted with Assyrian history may remember that Dagan-one of whose temples Samson overthrew was the fish-god whose priests officiated in a dress made of the skin of a fish, and surmounted by its head (vol. i., p. 146).

The canoes of the New Zealanders are even larger, more elegant in form, and more. elaborately carved than those of the South Sea Islanders. The carving on their vessels is often exceedingly intricate and beautiful. The paddles are of the ordinary shape, but without a "crutch" head formed by a cross-pin, and are used not only to propel, but in the case of the Indians and most other canoe-using people to steer the vessel also.

The houses of the Polynesians are often large, and built in the form of a parallelogram, round at either end, and situated in the midst of an enclosure. Those of the New Zealanders are even finer and more ornamented than the dwellings of their cousins in the Pacific.

Everything about the New Zealander's architecture, and even the most common domestic implements, shows the same intricate elaborate carving, which is a laborious work at any time, but more especially before the introduction of European tools of iron, when everything was executed by implements of jade. The houses of the Samoans look at a distance, and as they appear in sketches, like large mushrooms, consisting simply of a thatch of the leaves of the sugar-cane supported on three or four long upright posts, the place of the walls being supplied by a piece of matting drawn round the posts. The floor is a hard pavement of gravel, and the general apartment is divided into chambers at night by partitions of cloth. The pillow of these people,

like that of most of the South Sea Islanders, is only a sort of stool, consisting of a carved piece of wood supported on four legs. On this the head is placed when the Samoan retires to rest.

Musical instruments of a rude type are common amongst them, particularly drums and flutes, which are in great request at their high festivals. Trumpets formed of shells (a spear of Murex) were used to summon the combatants to battle; to blow when a procession walked to the temple; at the inauguration of the king; during worship, or when a tubu (or restriction) was imposed in the name of the gods. The sound is loud, but dismal and monotonous beyond imagination. Another noisy instrument was the ihara (of the Fijians), which was made of a single joint of the bamboo. In the centre a long aperture was made from one joint to another. The ihara, which appears to be almost identical with the toponaztli of the ancient Aztecs, when used was placed on the ground and beaten with sticks. Songs, often of a plaintive air and poetical sentiment, are also much in favour with the Polynesians; indeed there are, probably, few nations of uncivilised men that have a more extensive repertory of compositions than the