98 VOYAGE TO THE 



sentinel presented his musket when an officer entered 

 the threshold of the royal abode ; soldiers paraded the 

 ramparts of a fort mounting forty guns ; and " all's well" 

 was repeated throughout the town during the night. 

 The harbour in the spring and autumn was crowded with 

 foreign vessels, as many even as fifty having been seen 

 there at one time ; five thousand stand of arms were 

 said to be distributed over the island ; three hundred 

 men were embodied and dressed in regimentals ; and 

 the Sandwich Island flag was daily displayed by five 

 brigs and eight schooners. The islands had already 

 received consuls from Great Britain and the United 

 States ; had concluded treaties of alliance with them ; 

 and we have just heard that their spirit of enterprise 

 has induced them to fit out, and despatch an expedi- 

 tion to take possession of some of the islands of the 

 New Hebrides. 



This state of advancement, considering the remote- 

 ness of the situation of these islands, and the little 

 intercourse they have hitherto held with the civilized 

 world, could hardly have been anticipated ; and we 

 hope it may not prove too rapid to be advantageous 

 to the country, which has now several expensive es- 

 tablishments to maintain, and extravagant ideas to 

 satisfy, with means evidently diminishing, if not 

 nearly exhausted. The treasures accumulated by 

 Tamehameha, and the supply of that precious wood 

 which has been so instrumental in bringing the islands 

 into notice, have been drained to meet the expenses 

 of ruinous purchases which have materially contri- 

 buted to the apparent show of grandeur and prospe- 

 rity above mentioned. The sandal wood, it is known, 

 requires many years to arrive at a fit state for the 

 market, and its cultivation not having been attended 



