her abode; Ohiaotelani is one corner of her house. From the land beyond the sky, in former times, she came.' Immediately the chanting, shouting, and laughing were resumed, after which the old lady launched forth into the deeds and honours of Pelé, in so rapid and vociferous a manner, accompanied by such violent gestures, that she seemed to have lost all command of herself; lastly, assuming a haughty air, she exclaimed, 'I am Pelé; Í shall never die; and those who follow me, when they die, if part of their bones be taken to Kirauea, will live with me in the bright fires there.'

It will now be necessary to give a short account of this Kirauea, the terrific abode of the goddess of subterranean fires, and the largest and most extraordinary volcanic crater on the face of the globe. It is situated in the midst of a plain, fifteen or sixteen miles in circumference, the whole surface of which, sunk from two to four hundred feet below its original level, appears rent into deep chasms, out of which columns of flame, smoke, and vapour are continually ascending; here and there a few beds of sulphur, and black pools of fresh water diversify, without diminishing, the savageness of the scene.

'After walking some distance (says Mr. Ellis) over the sunken plain, which in several places sounded hollow under our feet, we at length came to the edge of the great crater, where a spectacle, sublime and even appalling, presented itself before us

"We stopped and trembled."

Astonishment and awe for some moments rendered us mute, and, like statues, we stood fixed to the spot, with our eyes riveted on the abyss below. Immediately before us yawned an immense gulf, in the form of a crescent, about two miles in length, from north-east to south-west, nearly a mile in width, and apparently eight hundred feet deep. The bottom was covered with lava, and the south-west and northern parts of it were one vast flood of burning matter, in a state of terrific ebullition, rolling to and fro its "fiery surge" and flaming billows. Fifty-one conical islands, of varied form and size, containing so many craters, rose either round the edge or from the surface of the burning lake. Twentytwo constantly emitted columns of grey smoke, or pyramids of brilliant flame; and several of these at the same time vomited from their ignited mouths streams of lava, which rolled in blazing torrents down their black indented sides into the boiling mass below.'-Ellis, pp. 206, 207.

'The agitated mass of liquid lava, like a flood of melted metal, raged with tumultuous whirl. The lively flame that danced over its undulating surface, tinged with sulphureous blue, or glowing with mineral red, cast a broad glare of dazzling light on the indented sides of the insulated craters, whose roaring mouths, amidst rising flames, and eddying streams of fire, shot up, at frequent intervals, with loudest detonations, spherical masses of fusing lava, or bright ignited stones.'-Ibid. p. 215.

Lieutenant

Lieutenant Malden, of the Blonde, estimated the height of the plain at about three thousand feet; the circumference of the great crater, nearly eight miles; the depth, from the edge to a black rocky ledge surrounding it, nine hundred and thirty-two feet; and from this ledge to the bottom four hundred more,-making the total height of the crater one thousand three hundred and thirtytwo feet. The cones rising out of the bottom, about fifty in number, and from twenty to seventy feet high, resemble in their shape the chimneys of a glass-house, and some of them were constantly vomiting out flame and liquid fire.

No one can wonder that these enormous volcanoes, from which they have so frequently suffered, should have inspired the simple natives of Owhyhee with terror and superstition. We learn without surprise that even down to the other day, neither the missionaries nor the officers of the Blonde could without considerable difficulty prevail on the inhabitants to accompany them to Kirauea. The king, with all the assistance of his chiefs, and all the endeavours of the missionaries, strove, and strove in vain, to put down the worship of Pelé; nothing, it seemed, was ever to be able to expel the belief that the goddess, when offended, visited the children of men with thunder, lightning, earthquakes, and streams of liquid fire-the instruments of her mighty power and vengeance. What the united efforts, however, of kings and chiefs and missionaries failed to accomplish, has been brought about by the heroic act of one woman: but we shall leave it to Mr. Bloxam to describe this courageous enterprise, worthy an apostle of old, of Kapiolani. This lady, he says,

the wife of Nahi, a female chief of the highest rank, had recently embraced Christianity; and desirous of propagating it, and of undeceiving the natives as to their false gods, she resolved to climb the mountain, descend into the crater, and, by thus braving the volcanic deities in their very homes, convince the inhabitants of the island that God is God alone, and that the false subordinate deities existed only in the fancies of their weak adorers. Thus determined, and accompanied by a missionary, she, with part of her family, and a number of followers, both of her own vassals and those of other chiefs, ascended Peli. At the edge of the first precipice that bounds the sunken plain, many of her followers and companions lost courage and turned back; at the second, the rest earnestly entreated her to desist from her dangerous enterprise, and forbear to tempt the powerful gods of the fires. But she proceeded; and on the very verge of the crater caused the hut we were now sheltered in to be constructed for herself and people. Here she was assailed anew by their entreaties to return home, and their assurances, that if she persisted in violating the houses of the goddess, she would draw on herself, and those with her, certain destruction. Her answer was noble:-" I will descend into the crater,"

said she;" and if I do not return safe, then continue to worship Peli: but if I come back unhurt you must learn to adore the God who created Peli." She accordingly went down the steep and difficult side of the crater, accompanied by a missionary, and by some whom love or duty induced to follow her. Arrived at the bottom, she pushed a stick into the liquid lava, and stirred the ashes of the burning lake. The charm of superstition was at that moment broken. Those who had expected to see the goddess, armed with flame and sulphurous smoke, burst forth and destroy the daring heroine who thus braved her in her very sanctuary, were awe-struck when they saw the fire remain innocuous, and the flames roll harmless, as though none were present. They acknowledged the greatness of the God of Kapiolani; and from that time few indeed have been the offerings, and little the reverence offered to the fires of Peli.'-Voyage, pp. 187, 188.

What a sublime subject to exercise the powers of the pencil! -the bottom of a deep crater, vomiting forth streams of igneous lava, a terrified group receding from the fiery furnace, a missionary in the attitude of prayer, while Kapiolani, with a rod in her hand, marches with confident step to the very orifice of the gulf, to dissolve for ever the spell which had bound these islanders from time immemorial to the service of the terrific goddess;-a spell which was too powerful for all the art and eloquence of the missionaries to deal with. It was in vain they set up, as they were wont to do, Jehovah in opposition to Pelé: it seems never to have occurred to these worthy men, that a simple practical explanation of the power of steam might have done more to weaken the belief of her votaries than five hundred sermons.

The missionaries in this quarter have not, indeed, displayed much common sense in their methods of proceeding. It is but justice, however, to say, that they have at least conferred one most important secular benefit on the people of the Sandwich Islands, by instructing them in the pala pala, or arts of reading and writing. The king, Riho Riho, his queen, and the chiefs of both sexes, applied themselves with the greatest diligence to these new studies. Their progress was rapid; they were soon able to write letters to one another in their own language, and heard to exclaim with rapture how wonderful, how delightful it was thus to whisper in the ear of a friend-though removed to the greatest distance. Mr. Ellis says, the king, in particular, would sit for hours together at his writing-desk, and on opening it one day, he remarked that he expected more advantage from that desk than from that fine brig,' pointing to one of his vessels then lying at anchor in the bay. I have sat beside him,' he adds, at his desk sometimes from nine or ten o'clock in the morning till nearly sun-set, during which his pen has not been out of his hand more than three-quarters of an hour, while he was at dinner.' It is stated,

stated, that his mind was naturally inquisitive, his memory retentive, and his thirst for knowledge incessant; and certainly his information respecting the different nations of the world appears to have been much more extensive than could have been expected. 'I have heard him,' says Mr. Ellis, 'entertain a party of chiefs for hours together, with accounts of different parts of the earth, describing the extensive lakes, the mountains, and mines of North and South America; the elephants and inhabitants of India; the houses, manufactures, &c. of England, with no small accuracy, considering he had never seen them.' He frequently declared his conviction of the truth and the advantages of Christianity, attended public worship on the Sabbath, and recommended the same to his people. He was generous and kind-hearted. In several places on our tour,' says Mr. Ellis, the mothers showed us their children, and told us, that when Riho Riho passed that way he had kissed them.' Though he wanted that energy and strength of character so conspicuous in his father, he possessed both decision and enterprize; his abolition of the national idolatry was a striking instance of the former, and his voyage to England of the latter.

This long and hazardous expedition was prompted by his earnest desire to see for himself a country of which he had heard so many interesting accounts,-to obtain a personal interview with the king, for the purpose of placing himself and his islands, as his father had done, under the protection of Great Britain, -to make himself acquainted with our institutions, and to witness the forms and proceedings of our courts of justice. It was his wish that Mr. Ellis should accompany him as interpreter, but Starbuck, the master of the Aigle, (the vessel in which the king proposed to sail,) refused to receive the missionary, insisting that a Frenchman, of the name of Rives, a low, cunning, and profligate man, who had lived upwards of twenty years on the islands, should act as interpreter. This Starbuck is an American, although his owners were English. Boki, governor of Whahoo, and Leliah, his wife, were to be of the party. It was arranged that Karaimoku (or William Pitt, brother to Boki) should be regent in the king's absence, and in case of his death be joined in that office by the late king's widow, during the minority of Kiau Kiouli, her youngest son, then about ten years of age.

Kamehamaroo, the name of the queen who accompanied Riho Riho, was twenty-six years of age-two years younger than her husband—a woman distinguished for great good-nature and benevolence; she was ever ready to step forward to protect the poor against the displeasure of the king or the chiefs; her aid was never refused to those who sought it, and many a distressed foreigner

foreigner had experienced relief at her hands; the temper of her mind was equable, inclining to the vivacious, her manners agreeable, her disposition most kind and affectionate. It may easily be imagined with what regret all ranks of people must have witnessed the parting with two persons so amiable and so universally beloved the scene is thus described by Mr. Ellis, who was an eye-witness :

The circumstances attending her departure from the islands were peculiarly affecting. The king had gone on board the L'Aigle; the boat was waiting to convey her to the ship. She arose, embraced her mother and other relations most affectionately, and passed through the crowd towards the boat. The people fell down on their knees as she walked along, pressing and saluting her feet, frequently bathing them with tears of unfeigned sorrow, and making loud wailings, in which they were joined by the thousands who thronged the sea-shore.

Let

'When she reached the water-side, she turned and beckoned to the people, to cease their cries. As soon as they were silent, she said, “I am going to a distant land, and perhaps we shall not meet again. us pray to Jehovah, that he may preserve us on the water, and you on the shore." She then called Auna, a native teacher from the Society Islands, and requested him to pray. He did so; at the conclusion, she waved her hand to the people, and said, “ Arohá nui oukou :" (Attachment great to you:) she then stepped into the boat, evidently much affected. The multitude followed her, not only to the beach, but into the sea, where many, wading into the water, stood waving their hands, exhibiting every attitude of sorrow, and uttering their loud u-e, u-e; (alas! alas!) till the boat had pulled far out to sea.'

The Aigle touched on her way to England at Rio de Janeiro, where the emperor received the king and his companions in a polite and generous manner, and the English consul-general gave a grand ball, to which all the principal Brazilian families and English residents were invited. On their arrival at Portsmouth, Starbuck landed them without ceremony or notice of any kind, and sent them off to Osborne's hotel, in the Adelphi. This man had complete command of the money taken on board by the king; the original amount had been twenty-five thousand dollars -but when the chests were opened at the Bank of England, they were found to contain little more than ten thousand. Starbuck, when called upon to account for this deficiency, alleged that three thousand had been spent at Rio de Janeiro, and a certain sum in travelling from Portsmouth to London; the rest, it may be supposed, he took to himself as a remuneration for the passage. It is shrewdly suspected that his plan was, as soon as the remainder of the money should be exhausted, to carry the whole party to the United States.

On their first appearance in London, the ladies were dressed in strange