RetrofpeSi of Domejllc Liter aUire.—Vcyagei and Travels. 609 



ties, puni^irr.fnts, cufloms, &c. are inoft 

 cn;i. tain.ni^'.y defcribed ; and htm (uh- 

 jeils neatcil ; n whicii hai'e b-ren but little 

 fpoken of by former wiifcii. But the 

 principal part of Mr. TuinbuM's obfei v- 

 ations are confirjEd within the tropics, 

 p.irticulsr'.y to the Society and Sandwich 

 jflands, where 'die itnder will perceive a 

 wou(ierfai con^rart in the gerius and dil- 

 poli'ions of the two nation*. The one 

 jnaki.'ig rapid arlvaiices towards civiliza- 

 tion, and a krr;)V9lfdge of tne roech^nical 

 aits; { -.e • "her, for whom na:i'.rc may !ie 

 fad to h.ivc exerted herutmoir tfFurts, by 

 a Itr.ir.ge peiverfion of htr laws, litting 

 up a high hand to countfracl her inden- 

 tions. Much alio will be found rela'lng 

 t ■ the prcfent Rate of the miirK.naries. 

 \V.;uld ihe lini's of our retrofpe:^' allow 

 a complete araiyfis of the voyHge', we 

 would very reai^il. jjre'ent it to the reader. 

 Of the inhibitants of Otaheite, Neitca, 

 and Maui a, many of ihe anted ites are 

 not only new, but curious: and in t!>e 

 del'cription of the Sapdwich Ill.inds, we 

 fou;;d an account of Tamahama, thtir 

 grest chief, which at the prelcnt moirent 

 cannot but be highly ir.tereiiing. Taina- 

 hama, he oblerves, is no unwcr'hy imi- 

 tator of his European oii„inal : his 

 haughty tone to hisensDiies, and his ge- 

 nius aiidlpiiit of en;erprize in creating 

 refources which did not evil! bcfoie h in, 

 may not unjuftly bring him ioio a com- 

 p^rilbn with the Emperor of the French. 

 Th; iiaiticulars iht relare to him are re- 

 raikabic: — he has created f r his country 

 a iittie navy, an^i ftemsto pofTels ageni's 

 far ai). ve his fituaticn. Mr. Turi)iu!i'» 

 ini!'ce!ianeou> remarki en the mannTrs, 

 cuftoms, popuhtion, &c of the Otal^eit. 

 ans, aie Very numrrous ; and he iup,il;es 

 more fajli for tlie illui'i^iion of poll ical 

 enquiries th iii any vifiiant who went be- 

 fore him. The hoi rid piaclicesof child- 

 murder and liMmaii facr fices, aie among 

 the reafor.s whi. h ace uat for the fiiigular 

 dim nution in the uumbets of their people: 

 added lo which, the doctrine of fatality 

 picvail.i am^'ngft theui to a moft fingular 

 excelii. Every diftali: is the immcdia e 

 conftquence of the vi n^.^ance of tiieir of- 

 fended deities, arid thcrcf'jre every thought 

 C/f renietly oi relief ib !• juiced, as equally 

 uielefs and impious; tl.ty are left to ihtir 

 fate, and their dileafcs me unfortunarly 

 (uch as, ho^vever eafy tf cuie under a 

 legular couiic, are hut lOO fatal whin 

 luff. red to augment under neglefl. On 

 the various advcnluies and uiisfji tunes 

 which heel the author we (hall wiihhold 

 our obfci vations. Having been twice at 

 IVloNTiiLY Mag, No. 138. 



O-aheite, he arrives a fecond time at Port 

 Jackfjn, wh»re a longer rtlidcnce eiialdeJ 

 hiin to form abetter view bch ot the. 

 ftate of the colony and its ailininilhation. 

 Upon the fiift eftabliftiment of this fettle- 

 ment, ihe policy of the ith ine was much 

 doubted, and its future exiiience tre=tted 

 by many as vill n*ry : " Buf the expe- 

 ri:^en^" fays Mr. Turnbull, " of a re- 

 gular government for fifteen years, in a 

 region fo extenfive and f.> d ftant from the 

 mo'iier-country, has n<'W lieen m<de, and 

 the col ny at pitAnt wears a frvomable 

 afpc6f."' Throus-h'-ut hi- work, Mr. 

 Turnbull obfcives, it has betn nis iinde- 

 viatino effort to confine hiirifeif to thofe 

 ohjeSls which v/crt-. moft fuited to mterell 

 the general reader ; and though he f'-.nnds 

 no pieteniions to the r aatr's not.ce, 

 either in his ftyle ordicii^n, we n-uft (io 

 him t'le juifice 'o make one remark : it is 

 more fi.iiply neat than could have b^en 

 expeifed from one who has pilfed the 

 greater part rf his life in the exercife of 

 his profcirion as a feaman. 



" Defci-iption of the IJland. of St. He- 



Una ; cmtinnhig Obfir^vatiuns on its fin- 



gu'ar StruSiure and Fjrmalwn, and an 



Account of its Climate, Natural H^fory, 



' and Inhabiiaiits. 



Siint Helena, fituated about a thnufand 

 nii.es to the (outhward of the equinoflial 

 lint, and ncaily at the fame diltance Iroin 

 the weliern (hore ot .•\frica, wasdifcovered 

 by the Portnguefe in 1508. It «as at that 

 time without inhabitants, without quad- 

 rupeds, ai:d alni'.lt without birds. The 

 Eiiglifh m>de a ftttlement on it in 1660 j 

 and in )6-/3 the Ditih tO' k it by I'ur- 

 prize. It was retaken the tollowing y>ar, 

 with the Dutch (hips in the roads, by 

 Captain M'>nden : P.ud has rcmamed ever 

 fine:-: in the polTeffi .n of the EnglKh E:(t 

 In lia Company. The wildnef. and ir- 

 regularity of its alptft fuggefts ihe idea 

 that the iflmd was produdd liy fnbter- 

 ranean fi e, an! the obftrvations ot the 

 author of the work before us t^nd (Iroiig'y 

 to corroborate the notion. In the two 

 firft chap'trs, the origin and formation of 

 this curious ifland aie aticinped to be 

 explained, Irom the baalnc and other 

 mineialogical ajipeaiances of its fliara. 

 In the third we fiin! it> di'nare a-d dilear « 

 treated) the greaieli inconveniiuce "f lii.e 

 forniir fterps o be tie fcmttncls nid un- 

 certainty of tj)c rains ; U'di'S peculiarities 

 are partially iHuilrat(d by fouie of ih^ 

 moft rema-kahie circumilarccs '\\\ the cli- 

 mate ot ill' peiiinluh of ^niiia. The 

 greattft fingulaiiiy a'Hong the dili-rtftsi Jj 

 the abftnce ai the finall-injx from the re- 

 ij. H ficltsit 



