[1] "The Accounts Of The Situation And Distances Of These Isles, Were So Various And So Vague, That We Could

By no means depend upon them, for we never met with any man who had visited them; however, they served

To convince us, that the natives of the Society Isles have sometimes extended their navigation farther than its present limits, by the knowledge they have of several adjacent countries. Tupaya (Tupia), the famous man who embarked at Taheitee in the Endeavour, had enumerated a much more considerable list of names, and had actually drawn a map of their respective situations and magnitudes, of which Lieutenant Pickersgill obligingly communicated a copy to me. In this map we found all the names now mentioned, except two; but if his drawing had been exact, our ships must have sailed over a number of the islands which he had laid down. It is therefore very probable, that the vanity of appearing more intelligent than he really was, had prompted him to produce this fancied chart of the South Sea, and perhaps to invent many of the names of islands in it, which amounted to more than fifty." - G.F.

[2] Some of our readers might be profited, perhaps, by considering the moral of the following incident, which occurred at this play. - "Among the spectators we observed several of the prettiest women of this country; and one of them was remarkable for the whitest complexion we had ever seen on all these islands. Her colour resembled that of white wax a little sullied, without having the least appearance of sickness, which that hue commonly conveys; and her fine black eyes and hair contrasted so well with it, that she was admired by us all. She received at first a number of little presents, which were so many marks of homage paid at the shrine of beauty; but her success, instead of gratifying, only sharpened her love of trinkets, and she incessantly importuned every one of us, as long as she suspected we had a single bead left. One of the gentlemen fortunately happened to have a little padlock in his hand, which she begged for as soon as she had perceived it. After denying it for some time, he consented to give it her, and locked it in her ear, assuring her that was its proper place. She was pleased for some time; but finding it too heavy, desired him to unlock it. He flung away the key, giving her to understand, at the same time, that he had made her the present at her own desire, and that if she found it encumbered her, she should bear it as a punishment for importuning us with her petitions. She was disconsolate upon this refusal, and weeping bitterly, applied to us all to open the padlock; but if we had been willing, we were not able to comply with her request, for want of the key. She applied to the chief, and he as well as his wife, son, and daughter, joined in praying for the release of her ear: They offered cloth, perfume-wood, and hogs, but all in vain. At last a small key was found to open the padlock, which put an end to the poor girl's lamentation, and restored peace and tranquillity among all her friends. Her adventure had, however, this good effect, that it cured her, and some of her forward country-women, of this idle habit of begging." - G.F.

SECTION XIV.

An Account of a Spanish Ship visiting Otaheite; the present State of the Islands; with some Observations on the Diseases and Customs of the Inhabitants; and some Mistakes concerning the Women corrected.

I shall now give some farther account of these islands; for, although I have been pretty minute in relating the daily transactions, some things, which are rather interesting, have been omitted.

Soon after our arrival at Otaheite, we were informed that a ship about the size of the Resolution, had been in at Owhaiurua harbour, near the S.E. end of the island, where she remained about three weeks; and had been gone about three months before we arrived. We were told that four of the natives were gone away with her, whose names were Debedebea, Paoodou, Tanadooee, and Opahiah. At this time, we conjectured this was a French ship, but, on our arrival at the Cape of Good Hope, we learnt she was a Spaniard, which had been sent out from America.[1] The Otaheiteans complained of a disease communicated to them by the people in this ship, which they said affected the head, throat, and stomach, and at length killed them. They seemed to dread it much, and were continually enquiring if we had it. This ship they distinguished by the name of Pahai no Pep-pe (ship of Peppe), and called the disease Apa no Pep-pe, just as they call the venereal disease Apa no Pretane (English disease), though they, to a man, say it was brought to the isle by M. de Bougainville; but I have already observed that they thought M. de Bougainville came from Pretane, as well as every other ship which has touched at the isle.

Were it not for this assertion of the natives, and none of Captain Wallis's people being affected with the venereal disease, either while they were at Otaheite, or after they left it, I should have concluded that long before these islanders were visited by Europeans, this or some disease which is near akin to it, had existed amongst them. For I have heard them speak of people dying of a disorder which we interpreted to be the pox before that period. But, be this as it will, it is now far less common amongst them, than it was in the year 1769, when I first visited these isles. They say they can cure it, and so it fully appears, for, notwithstanding most of my people had made pretty free with the women, very few of them were afterwards affected with the disorder; and those who were, had it in so slight a manner, that it is easily removed.

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