compare them together.  The Greeks were doubtless better armed, having the use of metals; but it seemed plain, from the writings of Homer, in spite of poetical embellishment, that their mode of fighting was irregular, and their arms simple, like those of Otaheite.  The united efforts of Greece against Troy, in remote antiquity, could not be much more considerable than the armament of Otoo against the isle of Eimea; and the boasted mille carinae were probably not more formidable than a fleet of large canoes, which require from fifty to an hundred and twenty men, to paddle them.  The navigation of the Greeks, in those days, was not more extensive than that which is practised by the Otaheitans at present, being confined to short passages from island to island; and as the stars at night directed the mariners through the Archipelago at that time, so they still continue to guide others in the Pacific Ocean.  The Greeks were brave; but the numerous wounds of the Otaheitan chiefs, are all proofs of their spirit and prowess.  It seems to be certain, that in their battles they rouse themselves into a kind of phrenzy, and that their bravery is a violent fit of passion.  From Homer’s battles, it is evident, that the heroism which produced the wonders he records, was exactly of the same nature.  Let us for a moment be allowed to carry this comparison still farther.  The heroes of Homer are represented to us as men of supernatural size and force.  The Otaheitan chiefs, compared to the common people, are so much superior in stature and elegance of form, that they look like a different race.  It requires a more than ordinary quantity of food to satisfy stomachs of unusual dimensions.  Accordingly we find, that the mighty men at the siege of Troy, and the chiefs of Otaheite, are both famous for eating, and it appears that pork was a diet no less admired by the Greeks, than it is by the Otaheitans at this day.  Simplicity of manners is observable in both nations; and their domestic character is hospitable, affectionate, and humane.  There is even a similarity in their political constitution.  The chiefs of districts at Otaheite are powerful princes, who have not more respect for Otoo than the Greek heroes had for the “king of men;” and the common people are so little noticed in the Iliad, that they appear to have had no greater consequence, than the towtows in the South Seas.  In short, I believe the similitude might be traced in many other instances; but it was my intention only to hint at it, and not to abuse the patience of my readers.  What I have here said is sufficient to prove, that men in a similar state of civilization resemble each other more than we are aware of, even in the most opposite extremes of the world.”—­G.F.—­ This gentleman guards against any more particular deductions from such resemblance as he has now noticed, by adverting to the havoc made in history by the modern itch for tracing pedigrees, alluding especially to the affinity imagined betwixt the