O TAHAITI. 
Tuts beautiful island, so richly endowed by 
nature with every thing that its simple and in- 
nocent natives can require for the enjoyment of 
existence, was perhaps first seen by the Spanish 
voyager Quiras, when, in the year 1606, he 
made an expedition from Lima, ‘‘ to win,” as a 
countryman of his expresses it, ‘“‘ souls for 
Heaven, and kingdoms for Spain.” Since, how- 
ever, the position pointed out by him is ex- 
tremely incorrect, it is uncertain whether the 
island which he called Sagittaria was really 
O Tahaiti or not. More probably, the honour of 
the discovery belongs to the English Captain 
Wallis, who in the year 1767 landed there, 
and took possession of the country by a solemn 
VOL. f. G 
