party of the officers, who had been previously wading outwards, and the whole, instantly getting under weigh, made sail off, fired at by our people, but unfortunately without effect; for, in addition to the dexterous management of their boats, the wind enabled them to weather the rocks. It was fortunate, however, this attack on them took place, and that it had the effect of driving them away: for had they stood their ground, we were as much in their power as ever, the ship being obliged to anchor eight miles to leeward of the island, and eleven or twelve from our position, on account of the wind and current; and, as this wind and current continued the same for some time afterwards, they might, most easily, with their force, have cut off all communication between us. Indeed it was a most providential and extraordinary circumstance, during this monsoon, that the ship was able to fetch up so far as she did. The blockade being now raised, the gig, with Messrs. Sykes and Abbot, was despatched to the ship, which proved to be the Ternate, one of the company's cruisers, sent by Lord Amherst to our assistance, having on board Messrs. Ellis and Hoppner, who embarked on the day of their arrival at Batavia, and pushed back to the island.

The gig was able to return (being a light boat); but our friends, who attempted to pull ashore in the cutter, were compelled to put back, after struggling with the current for nine hours, during the night of Monday, and morning of Tuesday the 4th. That

day was employed in getting all the moveables we had saved from the wreck ready for embarkation. Wednesday the 5th, landed Messrs. Ellis and Hoppner: the recollection of the voluntary promise made by the former at parting, now fulfilled, and re-appearing as a deliverer, added to the many interesting and peculiar circumstances of the meeting, gave a new glow to every feeling of friendship; and on entering Fort Maxwell, they were received with heartfelt acclamation by the whole garrison under arms.

This fortification and its inhabitants had altogether a very singular and romantic look. The wigwams (or dens, as they were called) of some, neatly formed by branches, and thatched with the palm-leaf, scattered about at the feet of the majestic trees, which shaded our circle; the rude tents of others; the wrecked, unshaven, ragged appearance of the men, with pikes and cutlasses in their hands, gave, more especially by fire-light at night, a wild and picturesque effect to this spot, far beyond any robber-scene the imagination can pourtray.

Two of the Ternate's boats also arrived with a twelve-pounder carronade, some round and grape, and musket ammunition, in the event of the pirates thinking proper to return before we had finished our business; which, from the difficulty of communicating, required the whole of Wednesday to perform.

On Thursday the 6th, the majority of the officers and men embarked in the boats (now increased in number), and proceeded

to

to the Ternate; the raft, also, with four officers and forty-six men, and a cow, got under sail, and, after a comfortable cold-bath navigation of eight hours, reached the ship after dark. Every article which could not be carried off, and was thought might be of the slightest use to the savages, was piled into a heap, on the top of the hill, and made into a bonfire.

At midnight the boats returned to bring off Captain Maxwell, and those remaining with him; the whole arriving safe on board the Ternate on the morning of the 7th March, where we were most hospitably received by Captain Davidson and his officers.

The island of Pulo Leat is about six miles long, and five broad; situate about two degrees and a half to the southward of the equator it lies next to Banca, and is in the line of islands between it and Borneo. As far as we could explore, (and exploring was no easy task) it appeared to produce nothing for the use of man. We found a great number of the rinds of what we afterwards discovered at Batavia to be the far famed and delicious mangustin, which only thrives near the Line; but the baboons, who manage to live here, had previously monopolized all the fruit. Had we found any entire, we might have indulged in them, even without knowing their nature; as, more especially in a case of short commons like ours, there could be no great danger in following the example of a monkey. We found a number of oysters adhering to the rocks along the sea-shore, which at first we were afraid to eat, from their exciting

thirst; but as soon as we were happy enough to obtain a suffici. ent supply of water, they very speedily disappeared.

The soil of the island appears to be capable of affording any production of the torrid zone, and, if cleared and cultivated, would be a very pretty place; the tree which produces the caoutchouc or Indian rubber grows here.

From something like smoke having been repeatedly observed rising at one particular place among the trees, about a mile from the head of our creek, it was by some imagined that either the island was peopled, or that the savages had taken post there. In various attempts, however, to reconnoitre this spot, no trace of human footstep could be found, being in every direction an impenetrable thicket; and we ultimately ascertained that it was entirely uninhabited.

The small stock of provisions saved from the wreck, and the uncertainty of our stay there, rendered economy in their distribution, as well as the preventing any waste or abuse, a most important duty. The mode adopted by Captain Maxwell, to make things go as far as possible, was to chop up the allowance for the day into small pieces, whether fowls, salt beef, pork, or four, mixing the whole hotch-potch, boiling them together, and serving out a measure of this to each, publickly and openly, and without any distinction. By these means no nourishment was lost; it could be more equally divided than by any other way: and, although necessarily a scanty, it was not an unsavoury

All the bread,

unsavoury mess. except a few pounds, was lost. The men had half allowance of rúm divided between dinner and supper, (sometimes more on hard fags,) and the officers two glasses of wine at dinner, and a quarter allowance of rum (a small dramglass) at supper. It is astonishing how soon order sprung out of confusion, and the general cheerfulness and content which prevailed, for Saturday night was drank in defiance of the Malays.

A small bag of oatmeal was found one morning, which some of the young Scotch midshipmen considered as their own, and sat down, with great glee and smiling countenances, round a washhand basin full of burgoo, made from it; but they reckoned too securely on the antipathies of their English friends, (for not thinking this, perhaps, a proper time for indulging national prejudices) they claimed their share, and managed to get through it without a wry face. A few weeks schooling on a desert isle would also be a great blessing to many thousands who are capriciously unhappy in the midst of superfluity, and wretched only because they have never known distress.

The guards at the posts, covering the boats, were generally under charge, alternately, of Lieut. Hay, Messrs. Casey, Johnstone, Cykes, Abbot, Brownrigg, and Hope. The garrison duty, at night, was conducted, in turns, by the surgeon, chaplain, Messrs. Eden, Raper, Mostyn, Stopford, and Gore; thus making it light, and enabling them to keep their eyes open, and walk vigilantly round to oberve that all the sen

tries were on the alert, and called out every quarter of an hour; the younger midshipmen, Messrs. Maxwell, Martin, Hawthorn, Gordon, and Browne, being perched, in rotation, on the look-out rock during the day, to watch the motions of the pirates, and give notice of any ship or vessel which might appear in the offing.

As there is no evil from which some good may not be derived, so the young officers had, on the present occasion, an opportunity of marking the resources which spring from self-possession and cool exer.on, even under the most appalling difficulties; and thereby of imbibing a character of promptitude, with a contempt of helpless indecision-a failing of all others, in cases of danger or emergency, not only the most injurious to private fame, but to the public service.

It is somewhat remarkable, that, during our stay here of nineteen days, exposed alternately to heavy rain, and the fierce heat of a vertical sun, none were taken sick, and those who landed so (some very ill) all recovered, except a marine, who was in the last stage of a liver complaint, contracted whilst in China, as one of guard to the Embassador. Another man, of very troublesome character, thought proper to leave his companions on the third day after landing. He may have been bitten by a serpent in the woods, and died there, or have fallen into the hands of the savages; but he was never afterwards heard of. We marked with oil and blacking, in large characters, on the rocks, the date of our departure, to be a guide to any that might come

there

cast his eye upon a sail just as the sun had descended beneath it, and directed his men to paddle him on board. As they made some scruple, he gave a violent stab in the loins with a musket to one of the three, which disabled him, and the other two submitted to his orders. The vessel proved to be the English brig Favourite, bound to Macao roads, and thence to England. To this fortunate escape, for such it was, the history of the Tonga islands owes its origin, as will appear from the preceding account of its composition. His arrival at Gravesend is dated in June 1811.

From the voluminous narrative relating to these isles we shall only copy the 17th chapter, in which are discussed the different ranks in society under which the nativeз are distributed, from the king to the peasant.

"The rank or estimation in which individuals are held in society at the Tonga islands may be most conveniently treated of, first, under three different points of view, viz. religious, civil, and professional, with reference to their mythology, political subordination, and their arts and manufactures; and secondly, with reference to old age, female sex, and infancy. In this chapter, we propose to speak merely of rank in society, and the degree of respect due from one man to another; all which is determined in regard to every individual, by one or other, or more of the foregoing circumstances, mythology, politics, arts, age, sex, and childhood.

To divide society into distinct classes, and to discourse of the degree of rank or respect accruing to individuals, accordingly as they

may belong to one or other of these classes, would be a task very difficult to execute, and perhaps impossible in respect to the people of these islands; at least, not without making numerous exceptions and explanations, which would only be the means of rendering the description both tedious and complicate. For one and the same individual (a priest), who to-day is held in scarcely any estimation, may to-morrow (under the influ ence of the inspiration of some god), take place of every body present, seat himself at the head of the cava ring, be respected as the god himself, and his discourse attentively listened to as oracular. Again, the king himself, whom one might suppose to be the greatest person in the country, (and in fact he has the greatest power) is by no means the highest noble, but must yield in point of rank to many others. In this order of things, therefore, we shall first speak of those persons to whom rank and respect is yielded, on the score of religious circumstances; and these are Tooitonga, Veachi, and the priests.

We here speak of Tooitonga as if actually existing in his full rank, with all the public honours of religious estimation; but it will be recollected, that before Mr. Mariner's departure from Vavaoo the king had done away entirely with all the ceremonies formerly considered due to the divine character of this chief; and as this was done immediately after Tooitonga's death, his son did not succeed to this high title; so that if affairs still remain in the same state at Vavaoo, there is at present no Tooitonga, and probably never