CHAPTER VIII. 



(1.) View of Tahiti from the Sea.— (2.) Size and Description of the Group.— 

 (3.) Rivers. Harbors. Principal Towns— (4.) Form of Government. Queen 

 Pomare.— (5.) Social and Physical Condition of the Inhabitants. — (6.) Dress. 

 Manners and Customs.— (7.) Trees. Fruits. Vegetable Products.— (8.) Zo- 

 ology.— (9.) Dwellings.— (10.) Commerce. Manufactures.— (11.) Influence 

 of the Missionaries. 



(1.) Tahiti well deserves the appellation which has been 

 bestowed upon it, of " the brightest gem of the Pacific." 

 When its tall pinnacled cliffs and rugged peaks are first 

 descried, far out at sea, but little promise is afforded of the 

 luxuriant beauty and magnificence which a nearer view pre- 

 sents. The object that soonest attracts the attention, is the 

 fringe of snow-white surf, wreathing itself, as if instinct with 

 life, about the coral reef that encircles the island. Within 

 this is a girdle of quiet water, — deep, calm, and placid, — 

 sheltered from the ocean-storm by the line of breakers, and 

 rarely disturbed, save by the soft invigorating breezes wafted 

 from the shore, 



■ : where the pale citrons blow, 

 And golden fruits through dark green foliage glow." 



In the centre of the circle is the island itself, — the coast 

 irregular in outline, and indented with numerous bays, but 

 having a decidedly pleasing effect ; beyond it, extend a suc- 

 cession of undulating slopes and pleasant valleys, carpeted 

 with rich verdure or enamelled with flowers, interspersed 

 among embowering groves and noble forests, conspicuous in 

 which, are the leafy canopies overshadowing, like the pana- 

 che of the Peruvian warrior, the branchless trunks of the 

 stately cocoa ; and in the midst of these Hesperian gardens, 



