Polynesian., 1844-06-01


matters, great results are often obtained.
But to the work before US. 1t is particular
ly interesting to us Polynesians; because it
treats Of phenomena which come under our
peculiar cognizance, and the hints therein,
may be an inducement for others to prose-
cute the inquiries which the author has so
we'll begun.
Fully to understand them, the work itself
should be studied. We however shall trans
fer portions of it to our own columns. As
samples Of his powers of description we give
the following extracts.
Speaking of Tahitian scenery, he says:-
1T is on the plains at the termination of these
ravines, that the villages of the natives are usually
situated, and the voyager who has coasted the shores
of Tahiti, can never forget the Eden beauty of some
ofthese spots. The groves Of orange, whose golden
fruitage and snowy blossoms CLEAN star-like from a
mass of dark verdure; the intermingling of the tall
cocoa's graceful, plumelike crest of dropping foil
age; the lofty and wide spreading vi, (SpoadidS dul-
cts,) and Barringtonia, (B. spcciosa,) the rich hues
of the bread fruit tree; the deep shining green of the
broad, bannery leaves of the plaintain: the Hibiscus,
with its large, gay blossoms of orange and crimson
the coral tree, (Erythriaa coraNodenaron,) one daz-
Ling mass of scarlet flowers; with a little wilderness
of lines, guavas, and other trees peculiar to these
climes-the picturesque cabins, peering out here
and there from the dense vegetation-the wild and
gloomy ravines in the rear, lighted up in spots by
sparkling waterfalls; and in the remote back ground
the fantastic pinnacles of the grandly broken noun
tajns, towering up in clear relief against the soft blue
tropical sky-all these combine to form "A picture of
such transcendant loneliness as can be scarcely
equalled in any other part of the world.
Referring to the coral reefs, he writes:-
cit is upon the lower terraces and margin of the
upper one, that the corals are found in their greatest
variety, and exhibit the richest hucs. Clusters of
orange, violet, crimson, green of every shade, pur-
pie, blue and yellow, are intermingled in gay confu-
sion, and with a briliancc yet sofiness of celebration
of which pen or pencil can give but IA faint idea.
When first passing over them, | could compare their
appearance to nothing but Il pavement thickly strewn
with bouquets Of beautiful Towers.
SAT a depth of three or four fathoms, the forms
were as manifold as their celebration, some branching
like beautiful shrubbery, others spreading out like
the most delicate mOsses, and others again resem-
bling beds of saffron, or daisies and amaranths, while
in and ont OF, above and between the thickets OF
these Neptunian gardens, sported thousands of
splcndidly colored fishes, from not more than an Inch
to two or three feet in length. A large bright scar
let Diacope (D. TTea, Lesson) IA julius about a foot
long, of a rich blush green, marked with blood red
bands crossing the back to the lateral line, and in.
tersected by others extending from the operches to
the TAN, (Js qU0dTtcOfOF, Less Serfanl, Scafl, tly-
phisodons, Chptodons, Balistes and Ho,ocentri, all
richly adorned, were some of the most conspicuous
in the bright array. The water was so transparent
that the smallest object on the bottom could be seen
as distinctly as if it were not three feet from the sur
face; and gazing down upon the beautiful creatures
that tcnanted these coral groves, like Coleridge's
Ancient Marinere,' 81 blessed them unawares''
although the next moment | could not avoid wish
ing to coax them into my net. AS "A drawback how
ever, upon all this beauty, silently but swiftly, near
yhn ,rt,n, lido ~ ha,ln III an< mad ma n,
nant, ravening salt sea shark, - reminding one OF
satan's intrusion of his hateful presence amid the
bowers Of Paradise. So fierce were these tigers OF
the deep, that they repeatedly seized hold of the
oars as we pulled toward the reef; rendering the at
tempt to reach by swimming Gotten the only chancc)
a coast thus sentinelled, rather a hazardous affair."
MIR. G. gives all his proper names with the
accuracy of a native. But we must reserve
for another number our further examination
of his work.