Colenso. — History of a Block of Greenstone. 605 



hints of superstitious ritual observances, reminded me of a 

 beautiful torso dug out of the earth, possessing but a small 

 part of its pristine elegance of form and expression ; but when 

 the portions that are lacking can be supplied from classic tale, 

 then all (as it were) is revealed. Even the apparently trivial 

 circumstatice of the man, when setting out on his journey to 

 obtain greenstone, ceremonially placing the two sprigs of 

 named shrubs in his ears, has a deep meaning ; besides, some 

 such simple observance, of using sprigs and branchlets and 

 leaves of certain herbs and shrubs, was always made use of by 

 the tohunga in all the various lustrations and charms and per- 

 formances connected with the laws of the tapxi — tending to 

 show the natural simplicity of their more recondite or sacred 

 actions. Moreover, similar shoots or sprigs of various and 

 named British trees were also used by the Druids in their re- 

 ligious ceremonies, according to the Triads ; and so by the 

 Jews under the Levitical ritual were sprigs of hyssop. 



Addendum. 

 The Maori Relation referred to above. 



" E koro, e Te Koreneho, tena ra ko koe. Tenei ka tukua 

 atu te korero, o te pounamu. E ki ana a Te Akaipikitia : 

 He ika ano tenei mea te pounamu. (A, he aha ra i maro ai?) 



" Engari, pea, ta tetahi tangata o Ngatimarau, i hoki mai, 

 i reira. Ko Hanita Te Maero tona ingoa ; kua mate ia. 



" Ko tana korero tenei: Ka hiahia te tangata o reira, ka 

 kii atu ki tana wahine, kia patua he aruhe hei o mona ki 

 reira. I te po ka moe. Moe rawa iho ia, e awhiawhi ana 

 raua ko tetahi wahine i te po, wahine pai o te poo. Oho ake 

 te ao, ka korero, taku moe. E awhiawhi ana maua ko Mea. 



" Ka kii atu ki te wahine, kia homai te pooi aruhe. Ko 

 nga takai o te pooi aruhe, he kawakawa, he kokomuka. 

 Ka haere, ko te pitau tutu, ara ko te rito o te tutu, ki tetahi 

 taringa, ko te kokomuka ki tetahi taringa. Ka haere, ka tae 

 ki Poutini, kei reira a Arahua, te wai i takoto ai te pounamu. 

 Ka tae, ka ruku ; na, e takoto ana ; ka herea te taura ; ka 

 tooia e nga mea i uta ; ka takoto ki uta. Ka mauria ki te 

 kainga, ka mahia. Ko nga pounamu e mahia nei e te pakeha, 

 ehara i te mea no roto no te wai, no raro ranei no whaka- 

 takere rawa o te wai ; kaore, no uta noa nei, no te wahi 

 whitinga ra nei. 



" E kiia ana, e nga korero parau a nga iwi nei : He ika 

 tonu te pounamu. (He aha ra i maro ai?) Haere mai ana 

 taua ika nei, te pounamu, i raawahi, tae rawa mai ki Tuhua, e 

 pakiri atu ana nga niho o te paretao o Tuhua. Haere tonu i 

 waho, tarewa tonu i waho, kaore i tata mai ki uta ; tae rawa atu 

 ki waenganui o Whareama, o Motuairaka, ara ki Takiritaane, 



