THEPACIFICOCEAN. 47 



iilence ; but as foon as it was clofed, had made no fcruple ^ ^^^^' 



•* September. 



in expreffing our fentiments very freely about it, to Otoo, 

 and thofe who attended him ; of courfe, therefore, I did not 

 .conceal my deteftation of it, in this converfation with 

 Towha. Bciides the cruelty of the bloody cuftom, 1 llrongly 

 urged the unreafonablenefs of it ; telling the Chief, that 

 fuch a facrifice, far from making the Eatooa propitious to 

 their nation, as they ignorantly believed, would be the 

 means of drawing down his vengeance; and that, from, 

 this very circumflancc, I took upon me to judge, that their 

 intended expedition againft Maheine would be unfuccefsful. 

 7'his was venturing pretty far upon conie(n:ure ; but flill, 

 I thought, that there was little danger of being miftaken. 

 For I found, that tliitre were three parties in the illand, with 

 regard to this war; one extremely violent for it; another 

 perfectly indifferent about the matter; and the third openly 

 declaring themfclves friends to Maheine, and his caufe. 

 Under thefe circumllances, of difunion diftracfbing their 

 councils, it was not likely that fuch a plan ot" military ope- 

 rations would be fettled, as could infurc even a probabi- 

 lity of fuccefs. In conveying our fentiments to Towha, 

 on the fubjcift of the late facrifice, Omai was made ufe of 

 as our interpreter ; and he entered into our arguments 

 with fo much fpirit, that the Chief feemed to be in great 

 wrath ; efpecially when he was told, that if he had put a 

 man to death in England, as he had done here, his rank 

 would not have protc6ted him from being hanged for 

 it. Upon this, he exclaimed, juaeno ! maem ! [vile ! vile !J 

 and would not hear another vi^ord. During this debate, 

 many of the natives were prefent, chiefly the attend- 

 ants and fervants of Towha himfelf ; and when Omai be- 

 gan to explain the puniflimeut that would be inflicfted in 

 3 England, 



