The Express.
London, England, 1851-02-22 00:00:00

THE EXPRESS, SATUDRAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 22, 1851.

•
LITERATURE. so apostate to his Maker expect to be listened to when he
. pretends to proich the word of truth ? 1 hate heard worts
of arguMents about bring o guided by my word., not by
R,,,orqg is ids Patifr, !coos MI In 1849; ritA a famics my deeds," ge., but will a blighted tree hew fruit ? I
at t4jancia. By a•Merehant, long resident at Tahiti. esteem and venerate holy TIM, who act aceortliaz to their
Two `oh. Imuntarts, profesaion, and ant aware that no man is infallible ; but
In the year lel7. a young man, just convalesetlit when on'• yields to the " old man " the corrupt portion of
from sit attack of plturisy, and labouring wider other his nature, and finds himself incapable of multduiog hit,
" distreming circumstances"- - the victim of "ruined ienen: doutmaal r4.011u. tcletir.re...nisizr
uacr.l;:trlnwl eihngaraccnt:zmnpdt
affection.' put up at a tavern iu the Borough, where on the mii..,!onary cause, and standing forth to the heathen
be met a shipping friend, who offered hint a rtos:king comment on the Word of God.
a fn.st passage to Australia in a ship vessel outward- After collecting all that was worth collecting from
bound with convicts. Glad to knee behind him the wreck of which the author went in search, he
scent-4 of which he was weary,to fly from the scn TONV4 appears to have entered into a commercial partner-
that had
„gathered about his young head—the author ship, and forthwith to have started on a pearl-diving
of " Ramp in the Pacific" determined, with a expedition. At Bow Island his divers prepared to
manly heart, tos.Fek a new and distant scene for the i begin their labours.

employmnt of his faculties. Ile left England spoor
man, and worked hi: way out to Australia. In an
early page of his book we have a sketch of his ElCOo-
mutes on the voyage:
tyro og Posan A cowvtev %MP.
The boatswain was esteemed a first-rate seaman, a man of
about tire feet in height, but with limbs and a breadth and
depth of chest that could well base supported an additional
foot in altitude. Ilia head was massive as his body, but
round u a bulls t, thickly entered with coal black hair, in-
clined to curly : he had a frank, manly look, which did nut
belie his ehameter, and a mouth famished with a most
powerful set of grindi r, which wan continually laughing
all liver his face." lle was exceedingly good-tempered,
bad an ambition to 1e urn to write and cipher, and was im-
bued with much of that hartulew superstitions lore which
sailor. lute to impart out to the other during the unbroken
Midas ss, of the tnystt .iuus night-watches. " Old Sail.," as I
his name implies, was past the prime of life, a tall gaunt
figure. the rains of a Hercules . his body was warped by 1
age, and he hadn't a ruainled limb belonging to him ; but
where that plumpness of youth had faded, the muscles and i
sinews protruded in With and bunehe., bringing out his
joints iu acute anal, s. His long horny finger resembled
carrots Marled together, hot tho y curved like talons ; his
shaggy black locks we re still a semptsal from the bleaching
effects of time, and were matted on his brow like the inter-
mingled masses in front of a buffalo ; his forehead was low,
and hi'. remarkably small me shaded by a penthouse of
thick black hair, 'dun eseiitesi by mirth or anger, would
neatly disappear, hut emit a sparkling light like the
glancing of a fire-fir. whilst innumerable wrinkles would
radiate from tho outer corners. lie was never without a
plug of the weed of wisslora in his niouth, and the draining.
of it impart.' a liquorice appearance to him mouth and
Math. Ile was a great salininr of the Romans and Cartha-
ginians, and ever ready to lug them into his discourse ; his
knowledge of their history haying been derived from a mu-
tilated metrical amount of the Punic wars. The carpenter,
Of " Chips," as wax his mare common appellative, was the
medium in years between the lamtswain and sail-maker, a
dry caustic being, of reserved habits, aml inclined to be
cynical ; like many of his class, his frame was bowed from
the nature of him work, and his legs resembled the styles of
a pair of onnpariss s ; he hall a crafty, clear blur eye ; and
his head, square :IV a die, was covered with a tits., crop
of flat curling Lrnwu hair, und altogethar the exprerion of
hi. tat, was a eumloissation of reserve and cunning. :Mak-
elesee was his idol, and his works formed the wily volume
in his pnosss edon ; and in any controversy he was as mady
with his favourite author as " 01.1 Sails" wax to lug into
the held his Roman history. The steward wax a hut-beaded
Irishman. sta ls in the performaioce of his duty, fasouring
neither friend ow foe, and in that respect well itualitied for
his situation ; bat he was rather fond of taking purser's
nips. and in csnoispienee towarls night would talk with a'
wait...chat thicks anal burr, grow disputatious, and occasion-
alt roll out his brogue in a way practicable only to a true
M,lesiun.
The hand of convicts with whom the author was
necessarily brought in contact, during his lung
voyage to St (lacy, included a disgraced solicitor, who
beguiled the tedium of the ~.sago by tslit ing a weekly
journal—of which the authtir gives a brief descrip-
tion:

PEARL DIVERS IN Till PACIFIC.
Qn comhez to a stationary anchorage the divers erected
temporary huts fur themselves ashore ; and their custom
was to start away at davityak for the diving ground, and
return to the vowel by three or four o'clock in the after-
noon. The tient. that I accompanied them they were abso-
lutely diving for about six hours ; and the only relaxation
W:,l pulling from oue coral knoll to another, indulging in
an occasional smoke be the way, and resting for a few
minutes to partake of a little MOW nut and dried fish. The
coral knolls have about two feet water on their heads, and
the• water round them varies from three to twelve fathoms.
The knolls are composed of sprouts of coral, which have a
growth something like broeoli or the heads of cauliflower ;
and the pearl orb rs are found attached to and lying
around these marine productions. On arriving at a reef or
knoll the boat was secured by it. painter to *projecting
branch, and the divers proceeded to dive from it in all di-
rection ; and as they brought up the shells, so they threw
them into the shallow water on the knoll, until the shale
became seam. or they became tired and wanted to pull to
another station. Shell-fish of various descriptions are at-
tached to and wedged in the coral branches, apparently
having grown with their growth. On a still calm day you
may see to the bottom at ten or twelve fathoms, and the
shell-fish when feeding reflect tints of the most brilliant
and beautiful hue ; and fish of every conceivable form and
colour may be seen sporting in the interstices of the coral
branches.
It is a curious sight to watch the divers : with scarcely a
movement they will dart to the bottom like an arrow, exa-
mine beneath every protruding ruck, and, on continuing
their investigations, by a simple movement of the arm will
propel themselves horizontally throuth the water, and
this at the depth of seven mai eight fathoms. I timed
several by the watch ; and the longest period I knew any
of them to keep under water was a minute and a quarter,
and there were only two who accomplished this feat. One
' of them, from his great skill, was nicknamed by his com-
panies the " WM" (stone). Itather less than a minute
was the usual duration. In fine weather they can see the
shell., when, if the water is deep, they dive at an angle fm
t►em ; and as the shells adhere firmly to the coral by strong
beards, it requires no little force to detach them. I was
LwOanished ou one occasion at witnessing a diver, after one
sr two ineffectual attempt. to tear away a large oyster, sink
►is leg. beneath him, and, getting a purchase w ,th his feet
against the coral, use both his hands and fairly drag it off.
When they dive in very deep water they complain of pains
in the ears, and they sometimes come up with their noses
bleeding ; but it is rarely that you can get them to attempt
such diving, to, let the shells be ever so abundant, they will
come up and swear there arc none ; the exertion from the
great promisee is too painfully dietreseing. It has frequently
happened, after a set of worn-out divers have sworn that
no more shells could he obtained, that a fresh set has come
and procured from fifty to sixty tons without difficulty.
Circummtuncea carry the author into every part of
the Pacific; and he gleans from every landing some-
thing mutating and instructive. In Vulpo.raiso he
learns that in Chili no man's signature is valid with-
out a flourish appended, although the flourish sub-
scribed to a promissory note or other document with-
out the siynalsre is esteemed legally binding! At
l'ahiti the pearl merchant becomes concerned for the
cause of Queen Pomare, and is entangled in the

CONVICT.% WITILLT JOCIVIAL.
One of the quondam solicitors ennintenced editing a
mniiieeript newxpaper, undu•r the title of the "Traveller," I
with "Open to all, ingueneed by none," for ill watchword 1
of intl. is while, It altirdvd groat amusement ; and as ,
the editor'. boa was so pooled close to the stanchions of
the after-hatch% ay, it used to reecive general contributions. !
It was isu.d a eery Saturday evening, nod two sheets of
foolscap, ruled in (4.111:1111.1, were regularly filled with clear
mien writing. It had its advertisements, its city and
Gxs•ign intelligenes•, its hinter, state of markets and stocks,
police and law reports, fashionable nt ws, literary notices,
original essays, poets' comer, correvondenee, &c. ; and
I haM upon saue of the eltsay* a. worthy of being charac-
terised i.I print. Independent of literary labour for the
" Travel!. r," I persevered in maintaining a daily journal ;
but the monotony of the on ago wow nearly unbroken.
Although the it rovings iu the Pacific were under-
taken in the pursuit of c..mmen•int schemes, and the
reader allowed to peruse the story of the author's
marriage to an adopted daughter of a Tahitian chief
(an English woman by descent), and is kindly per-
mitted to enjoy the amatory verses which the fond
hu.band ha. written on more than one occasion to
his wife, the author's sudden elevation from a
clerkship at Sydney.—after a fruitless voyage to New
Zealand.—to the proprietorship and command of a
twuntl on a wrecking expedition, is not so
fully recounted for. Suddenly we find our poor,
light-hearted eulventurer become a apeeulativu mer.
ehant,eruizingubmt the l'acitic,and combining all the
ardour and daring of a true sailor with that shrewd-
ness whieli is the nurture of the counting-house. The
P4l-111, of most interesting adventures which belel him
in the course of his reveler., are narrated in vigo-
rous and unpolished language; and are evidently
faithful impression. set down while experience was
fresh, and while the author was far away from the
comentionulititawhichotteu deaden original faculties,
and constrain men's thoughts. On his way to the
wreck he lands at the ishuidof Itntumah, walk Ribald
in a business-like way, and collects a number of
t'm•ta relating to the manners and customs of
the makes, of which the following is not the least
remarkable :

schemes and plots which preceded her overthrow.
He gives an account of the death of this notorious
lady s child—that child which she had christened
Victoria, iu the hope that our Queen would recipro-
sate the compliment by calling some future daughter
Pomare; and a little experience gleaned in the Sand-
wich Islands, relative to California, is thus heartily
given :
vice. CALIFORNIA MANIA AT HONOLULU.
Judging from details that were furnished me, I imagine
that fur tiniest few yens as much business has been trans-
acted at Honolulu, as at any place of its size upon the
glebe ; but latterly, within seven or eight months, a rush
has been made to 'aliforuia, in consequence of the discovery
of a gold region of unknown extent ; andthe islands in the
Paribe are emptying themselves of their white population
to Seek thither. Rumour after rumour reached us in Ta-
hiti, but we were unwilling to credit the reports. At
length parties appeared, bringing with them their swugs of
the precious metal, having made their "eternal" to the
Yankees called it, and botind to their respective homes to
enjoy it. The sight en ated a "golciferce,' and every one
who could muster sufficient to pay his passage commenced
packing up for the land of El Dorado. The tales in the
Arabian Nights are put to shame, and poor Dick Whitting-
ton's speculation as to the streets of London being paved
with gold, are more than realised. The immense sums of
gold that are reported to have been taken are incredible,
and still the cry le, that ant one half the truth is known. Both
whites and browns are Mocking from the Sandwich Islands
and the impossibility of procuring labour at San Francisco
fur the ordinary purposes of life, is such, that day labourers
are receiving ten dollars per day, when they will condescend
to work; conks, on board vessels plying up the
river Sacramento, IA dollars per month; teamsters,
200 dollars per month, and their board ; and every
thing else is in the same outrageous proportion. The store,
in }lonian's, that were glutted with goods previous to this
wonderful epoch, are now emptied, and merchants are
homeward-bound with realised capital. The most extravie•
gent prices an. asked; and even to the immaculate
Hudson's Bay Company's store the contagion has spread,
their servants demanding the same ratio of prices ruinous
to visitors not coming from San Francine. I remonstrated
playfully with a pale flat-faced Highlander in charge al
the store, against his putting on the screw so powerfully :
"By Jove," said I, "it isn't the screw you're applying, but
the hydraulic press. Sir George. Simpson has announced to
the world, that the Company is content with reasonable
profit over cost and charges • but here you age charging
fift per cent. on the wholesale prices over what we ask re-
MD in Tahiti; I think I must undeceive the world."
"Do your best, ma friend; ye may tak' it ur leave it, I
don't care a farthing," was the cunediatory rejoinder; sad
Donald thrust his hands deep into the pockets of that gar-
ment proverbially unworn on the heather of his native hills,
and balaiseed himself on his toes and herb., with an air of
unflinching determination and mashed self-importance.
" There s one part of your polite intimation quite un-
necessary," replied I, "fur I suppose I may retain sa
money without requiring your permission to do so; and I
will assuredly want your goods before I pay the exor-
bitant price you ask 'tor them ;" and with this I turned
away, thinking of the old proverb, "Put a beggar en
horseback," de.
This mania scents to have affected the pearl mer-
chant, since we find hint soon afterwards with his
sails hoisted fur the Sacramento, after having carried
his cargo to the market of Hong-Kong. c should
be tempted, had we space, to extract an account of
the great Manilla tobacco manufactory, in which
between MOO and 900 women are employed; and, in
corroboration of the descriptions of the dire state of
things which a scarcity of labour some time since
brought about at St. Francisco, we might cite tho
authority of so practised and truthful a traveller as
the energetic gentleman from whose volumes webers
gleaned so much new and solid information.
We must find space for the following extraordinary
statement relative to that imaginative depicter c
l'acific life, Herman Melville:
Has AN MILLTILLI AND IRS TAHITIANS.
Since the above entry was made in my journal, two
works have appeared, "*Typee" and " Grano," purporting
to have been written by -Herman Melville. By his own
showing, Herman Melville has been a most reckless loafer,
curing not a pin what enterprises were ruined, so long as
he could indulge the gratification of his own propensities.
Gratitude for his escape, and horror at the reminiscences
of the hardships to which he bad been exposed, impel him
to acknowledge the kind manner he was received on board
the Julia, where be met with every attention. His sketches
are amusing, and skilfully drawn, but bear as much
relation to truth as a farthing dos in value to a sovereign.
It is as if the said Herman Melville had burnished and
gilded the farthing, and then circulated it as the gold coin.
With those unable to detect the difference, it would of
course pass current. Herman Melville—l love to repeat his
name—working upon detached images profusely scattered
throughout Polynesia, has drawn largely upon a fertile
imagination in grouping them, and thrown together an ex-
ceedingly spirited narrative; but, regardless of all truth,
gratitude, or manliness, has gronly scandalised hr name
some worthy meu tiring at Tahiti, who very probably have
done more good, gratuitously, to their fellows since the it
residence there, than Herman Melville has done during his
! whole existence. I allude more particularly to Dr. John-
' stone, who has been most grievously misrepresented, and
considerably to his injury. But, as Herman Melville has
born so free in giving publicity to certain names, it is a
pity he did not extend his candour—perhaps his memory
failed him, as he "kept no notes." However, I will try and
jog it for him. After the first desertion with which he
pleases to acquaint the public, and his subsequent escape
from the horrors of a residence in a narrow ravine, shut in
by boulders and inaccessible cliffs, his companions, naked
savages, hideously tattooed, and ferociousas demons, unable
10 vftk their language, trembling. for his life, and without
Mod adapted to his European origin—l say, after his escape
lam this wretched state of existence, in his first deep-felt
enestion at the mercy that had been vouchsafed to him, he
neknowledges the debt, and expresses his gnotude • but
bendoes he ultimately repay it? Why, according to his own
I amount, he is incapable of all bodily exertion ; and he knows
I no other way of repaying the obligation he has incurred bat
by being the instigator of a mutiny, that he, and others like
him, may be sent ashore at Tahiti, where they could loaf