out one hand, and applied it to one of the words, then moving the other hand under it, he pronounced the second word; intimating that the upper was properly the sky, and the lower the clouds which moved under it.  His manners at table were extremely becoming and decent; and the only practice which did not appear quite cleanly in our eyes, was his making use of a stick, which he wore in his hair, instead of a fork, with which he occasionally scratched his head.”—­G.F.

[4] These people, according to Mr G.F., frequently alluded to this horrid practice, and threatened it indeed to those of the crew that, in opposition to their will, offered to go to certain spots on the island.  Hence, that gentleman infers the existence of the practice among them, and perhaps with great justice, as there can be little or no doubt that it either has prevailed or now prevails in all the islands of the South Seas.—­E.

[5] “We took a walk to the eastward along the shore of the bay, and looked into the groves which skirted the flat hill before spoken of.  We found these groves to consist of coco-palms, and several species of shady fig-trees, with eatable fruits, nearly of the size of the common figs.  We also observed several sheds, under which some of their canoes were secured from the sun and weather; but there were no habitations, except towards the eastern point.  We found a path, which led through a variety of bushes upon the flat hills.  In our way to it, we crossed some glades, or meadows, enclosed in woods on all sides, and covered with a very rich herbage of the most vivid green.  We passed through a little airy grove, into several extensive plantations of bananos, yams, eddoes, and fig-trees, which were in some places enclosed in fences of stone two feet high.”—­G.F.

[6] “We took the opportunity of the absence of the natives, to walk out upon the plain, behind the watering-place.  We met with several ponds of stagnant water, in which the natives had planted great quantities of eddoes.  The coco-palms formed spacious groves, full of different shrubberies, where a great number of birds of different sorts, chiefly fly-catchers, creepers, and parroquets, resided.  We saw likewise many lofty trees, covered with nuts, which are common at Otaheite, (isrocarpus Nov.  Gen.).  These trees were commonly the resort of pigeons of different kinds, and chiefly of the sort which are to be met with at the Friendly Islands, where the natives catch and tame them.  We passed by some plantations of bananas and sugar- canes, but saw no houses, the greatest part of the ground being uncultivated, and covered with shady forests, or low shrubberies.  At the east end of the plain we observed a long and spacious valley, from whence we saw a great number of smokes rising, and heard the promiscuous voices of many men, women and children.  We stood in a path, on both sides of which were thick shrubberies; and the vale itself was so full of groves, that