of, was residing at Hihifo, a town or fortress on the west end of the island, where he converted a few of the natives, who were required to remove from the district by the ata, which is the title the governor of the district bears. They refused, as they asserted their lands were all there, and they wished to remain. About the same time, Mr. Rabone thought proper to shoot one of their sacred pigeons, which incensed the people against him; for if a native had committed the same act, he would have been clubbed, and as he himself confessed he knew their superstitious feeling for this bird. Mr. Rabone, in consequence of this occurrence, was obliged to remove to Nukualofa. The heathen also complained that their temples were desecrated, their customs broken in upon, and their pleasures destroyed by the Christian party, who endeavoured to interdict their comforts, and force laws upon them in the shape of taboos through their king; that they even prohibited the smoking of tobacco, an innocent pleasure, which the natives have long been accustomed to, and take great delight in, but which is now forbidden by royal ordinance to the Christian party, and any infraction of the law severely punished. The heathen now said that they could no longer endure these acts, and were determined to resist them by retaliation, and prevent the further propagation of the .Christian religion.

The natives who had renounced heathenism, and joined the Christian party, finding they were not permitted to remain at Hihifo, retired to a short distance from it, and built themselves a small fortress, which the ata finally blockaded. The Christian party now sent for aid to Nukualofa, and having enlisted the feelings of the missionaries and their adherents in the cause, they sent a message for King George, who again came with a large force from Hapai and Vavao to their assistance. On his arrival, a long conference ensued, in which the ata expressed himself desirous of treating for peace, and proposed that a conference should take place in his fort.

To this King George assented, and proceeded to the small Christian fortress in the vicinity of Hihifo, where it is said he was met by a deserter from Hihifo, who told him that the only purpose of inviting him to a conference there was to assassinate him and his chiefs. This story was said to have been confirmed from other sources, but this additional evidence seemed far from being satisfactory. King George immediately resolved to invest and storm the fortress of Hihifo; and, for the purpose of diminishing the enemy's strength, had recourse to a singular stratagem. He directed all of his men who had any friends. or acquaintances in Hihifo, and of these there were many, to advance towards the walls, and each one to call to his relation, friend, or

acquaintance, within, and assure him of safety if he would desert! This had the desired effect, and a great many persons, forming a large part of the garrison, jumped over the wall, and joined the besiegers. The remainder, being weakened and disheartened, surrendered. Thus the difficulty ended for the present, the rest of the heathen not having yet joined in the affair, although it was said they were fully prepared for hostilities. King George now re-embarked, to return home with his warriors, sailing for Honga Tonga and Honga Hapai, which is the route taken in their voyages when going back to Vavao.

The following account of the resolution he took there was derived from King George, through Mr. Tucker, and clearly proved to my mind that his object now was to enlarge his dominions, by adding to them the island of Tonga. "Here he reflected upon the subject of his departure, and the defenceless state of King Josiah or Tubou; and he was so forcibly struck with his danger, and that of the missionaries, that he resolved to return, and remain at Nukualofa until the heathen were finally subdued." We, in consequence, found him established, building and fortifying a town, and his forces daily arriving from Vavao and Hapai. Indeed his whole conduct did not leave us any room to doubt what his intentions were, and that the missionaries and he were mutually serving each other's cause. I mentioned my suspi-. cions, relative to King George's ambition, to the missionaries, and how likely it would be to prevent any reconciliation or peace with the heathen, and was much surprised and struck with the indifference with which Mr. Rabone spoke of the war. He was evidently more inclined to have it continue than desirous that it should be put a stop to; viewing it, in fact, as a means of propagating the gospel. I regretted to hear such sentiments, and had little hope, after becoming aware of them, of being instrumental in bringing about a peace, when such unchristian views existed where it was least to be expected.

On consultation, Eliza Anne Tubou was selected as the most proper messenger of peace that could be sent, and the only one indeed who could go with safety. She is the daughter of Faatu, the heathen chief of Moa, one of the largest heathen fortresses; is married to a chief of the Christian party. She is a fine intelligent-looking woman, with good sense and much good feeling, and entered warmly into the arrangements. She was despatched with a written proposal for the conference, and was to return the next day. She is called the sacred daughter, and goes where she likes without being molested.

After the council was over, I went with Mr. Tucker to the missionary houses, passing through the town (if so it may be called), composed entirely of reed huts, of small dimensions, and enclosed with

wicker-work fences. The missionary houses are on the out skirts; the whole contains about six hundred houses; and on looking into a few, they did not appear to be very cleanly. The houses are built after the fashion of the Samoans, only the sides are of wicker-work, made of the slender sugar-cane. The dwellings of the missionaries are very like those of the better sort, and are within an enclosure; and the only difference I observed was, that they had glazed windows. Like the others, they had no floors, and the earth was covered with

mats.

Mrs. Tucker, whom we found exceedingly intelligent, gave us a kind welcome. She has for some time been the principal instructress of both old and young: I can myself vouch for the unexpected proficiency of some of her scholars in speaking English. To her and her husband I feel much indebted for their answers to the many inquiries respecting the state of things in the island, - the employments and character of the natives, their wars, manners, and customs. They appeared indefatigable in their exertions for what they considered the good of the natives; among other things, they have endeavoured to introduce a variety of vegetables and fruits: cabbages, turnips, and mustard were seen; among the fruits, were pine-apples and custard-apples, which thrive well; oranges have been introduced, but do not succeed, because they are injured by an insect, which leaves its larvæ on the fruit, and causes it to fall before it reaches maturity. They are obliged to pull all their fruits before they are ripe, in consequence of their liability to destruction by the ants, if left to ripen on the tree.

King George, or Taufaahau, is building his town near by, just without the fortification of King Josiah: it is an enclosure of four hundred yards square; the fence consists of close wicker-work, made of the small sugar-cane, and in order to make it stronger, several thicknesses are put together: this makes a more effective defence than one would imagine; it is about eight feet high, and trimmed off on the

TONGA FENCE.

top, and when new has a very pretty appearance. The permanency and arrangement with which the town is laid out, make Taufaahau's intentions quite evident. The avenues cross the square diagonally, the gates being at the corners, and in the centre is a large area, left for a chapel.

B

The houses of King Josiah's or Tubou's town are mostly within the fortress; this is a high mud wall or embankment, on the top of which is a wicker-work fence; on the outside of the wall is a ditch, twelve feet wide by five feet deep. There are three principal gateways, which are very narrow entrances, formed by thick cocoa-nut posts, set firmly and closely in the ground, admitting only two persons at a time; these entrances are about fifteen feet long, and in order to secure them against an attack, they are so arranged as to be filled up with earth; they have likewise a number of hollow logs buried in the wall, and set obliquely, serving as loop-holes, through which they may have a cross-fire at their enemies as they approach. These loop-holes can only be used for muskets, and have been introduced since the natives began to use fire-arms, or since the time of Mariner, for he makes no mention of them in describing the fortresses.

King George's house is near by: it was originally built at Hihifo, for a chapel; the chief of that place gave it to Taufaahau, and it was divided into three parts, and brought to Nukualofa in canoes. On my

KING GEORGE'S HOUSE.

visit the king was not at home, but Mr. Tucker asked me to walk in. The building is not a large one; it is divided into three apartments by tapa screens, and was partly furnished. I observed many decanters and tumblers on a shelf, the former well-filled to appearance with spirits and gin; but I had no opportunity of knowing actually what the contents were. Many of the queen's waiting-maids were present, arranging the house previous to her arrival; she was hourly expected from Hapai, and is reported to be the most beautiful woman in the group. The new town is rapidly progressing; great regularity exists, and every thing is so arranged that each company of warriors with their families are assigned a particular quarter in which to build ; they have come prepared, too, for the purpose, having brought many parts of their houses with them. These houses have a temporary appearance, although they are very comfortable; and the rapidity with which they build them is astonishing: the enclosure, and about fifty houses, were built in three days; twelve men can complete a house in a little more than a day. The average size of the houses is fifteen by twenty feet, and about fifteen feet high under the ridge-pole; they are of circular or elliptical form. The furniture of the natives consists of their implements of war, ava-bowl, a chest or box for their valuables, and a set of mats, some of which are made for the floors, and others for screens; the latter are about two feet in width, and are seen partly surrounding them when sitting, standing on their edges, which are supported by scrolls at each end; they are quite pretty, some of them being much ornamented.