p w -
a few moreiof the miffionaaies, -wention-iliore ih "order to examiqp
a lairge hoilfe ftaMing on ithe extremity o f Point Venus *>»■ They called
it E Fwhaffe no Ptitane ( the Britifh Hotsfe),- and; -fkid if had-heen
biiilt b y • P ^ S a e ; BIi^,^wh|>'Jiatt faid he fhould cöme
back aikkrefide there. It.-is ia* large and fpacious» building'of a*i
oblong figure, one hundred and eight feet-Ibng ahckforty-eight’wide,
fn-the' middle are1 four large wooden pillars about eighteen feet
'high, bn which-the ridge-tree isfupported. About three feet within
the fides ftand-pill^rS,all round, about nine feet-dongTfeöndJdïx feet
tiifiaht froiii'leacK other. I -On the to p o fth e fe ap lan k is'-let'dawn,
which raps Ground the'whole noufej from; thence to the riHge'lkrge
poles aref fet up, and handfomely bounds round with ïfihehmatfeg
about eighteen inches afunder: on this the thatch is laid, o f palm-
tree leaves moil beautifully worked. About one foot from thefe*pillars*
on the o«tfide,r runs. a fkreen o f bamboo all round, except-
about twen ty feet In the middle on both fides i— Thus hath the Lord
appeared to; fct'before _us-.an.open doör, which we truit!ifOpe. ihall
henceforth be* able-to Ihut.
The chief o f ‘.the diftridt (an-old man named" Pyfëah) welcomed
them to^the hland, faid: tlmt the houfe.twas theirs; aa«lfhould‘be
cleared«fof-their ^reception the nesbt day;:; He »them fheivcd them the
pidture o f Captain Cook’, upon the bafek o f J which were writtemthe
names o f his Majefly’s Ihips and their commanders w&lhadvifited
Matavai finee that great navigator’s time. The.' naHveYf.oiV'ïhnre
feemed tranfported w ith the idea o f men coming,purpofely from Pré-;
tane to fettle among th em th i s f e t thófe miffionaries .off who were
to fix here, in . very high fpirits.
yth. Mature Manne was as good as his word, coming, early
alongfide with three hogs, fome fowls, bread-fruit, cocoa-ftuts, and
a quantity o f their clothj the whole intended as a prefent for his
tayo, thecaptain. He made! a long oration, defenptive o f aE;thé fliips
and captains which had touched at Otaheite, with the ..names" o f the
gods o f UIietëa; but faid, that Otaheite had none but from him,
ackfldylldfging^the?1 Britifh Oefchtobe the'beft;-''abd' that he fhould
requeft'Oteo toWorfhip Him, an d to order 'the; people to 'do the fame.
afiMI Peter th$ .SWede -arrived from a diftant part o f 'the ifland
wifh b fb l? Ik iit, add’ a’3rerhärkJDly^Jäfge hog,1 the two fides öf which,
okijlUfiyctof’ tlie ’heUd^ahd* entrails,* w'oi'gh'dy three^himfired änd forty
jjfounä's^Kit: had on JäaGw’fidt. df'sfpmoulli twc^-large tu'fks ;’»Y3r/mb’it
wls äfif tspf^ptjfor‘| , p ^ K ^ ^ i Jmäny fmall mgs1 were1 broiigM^fti’the
höffifö of'itneiUJsy'*, but little of it was^^teri?^
Vr.Mätine1 Manne, the FS^ed^Kigh-pfieft;1 Had brought five‘'o f his
jpWes- with h im on beard* not one of which exceeded fifteen years
old;-and i dlp'ed'-he^might fleep in the- CabinV and,|!aeeofdiiig,'tö 'the
cuftoiri of th e , c b u n |# , Vefy ^ » ä ä ly 'd e f ir e d Captain Wilfomf his
t a ^ ^ ^ jM k ^ ,Jhi1s*Ahdid^ahy.*epUld‘ihardly pteffuadfe himfelf' he was
ferious in dedlÄmgfihe offer; nor bailed? fh'e next morning to inquire
■ off them whifch' b e' had ^hbfervi^' This bloilght on a-convci fatibn- On
the Uature o'f-fileiii cuftotos * thes captain explained to' the ®ljf prieft,
how little fuch a1 Hate o f polygamy 'Was’ fuited to Kap'pinpfi; ; that
'n b aW n ä ff c o ild ^ e ^ e ith e r fo'-attached, faithful, \affedtionate, or
careful "to promote domeftic felicity, as where the heäifWa's fixed
en-bnle 'n b jl^w ith “o‘ut a rival. The old1'prieft did not at all relilb this
d o d lrifl^ an d 1 faid, fucK wasi not the* euftom o f Otaheite; but the
ladies' highly approved, and faid» th e aPritäne- cUfibm was my ty,
•my ty, very good.
.buManttei Männe was now 'very defiroüs feir us tmgqtto Eimeo with"
thefhip, and there land the mifiionaries undfer1 his!i.prbtedtibn', m aking
ufe of all h is rhetoric tö^ perfuade* the captain, . aSdpbringi'ng "the
two Swedes, whom he feems tö have’ much under his command, to
prove that Pomärre never adted honourably by1 the EngHüi, 'or any
pother, after he had 'dbhe» with 't?Meif :l'leÄ^es y'thät''tHefrifelves !had
affifted him in his Wars, had bepri' the'principal in'ftrUments of his
fu^cefs but, fincelhrs turn was ferved, he would hardly'give them
a fmall hog. This,» and all they urged, might have gained credit
with us, as all the late voyagers have related incidents.which mark