280 THE OCEAI^. 



quently made to the Sandwich Islands, many a 

 pleasant hour was spent in watching the rising of 

 those luminaries of heaven, which we had been 

 accustomed to behold in our native land, but which 

 for many years had been invisible. When the polar 

 star rose above the horizon, and Ursa Major, with 

 other famihar constellations appeared, we hailed them 

 as long absent friends ; and could not but feel that 

 we were nearer England than when we left Tahiti, 

 simply from beholding the stars that had enlivened 

 our evening excursions at home." * 



A stranger is forcibly struck with the remarkable 

 fearlessness which the natives of these islands have 

 of the sea. They appear almost as amphibious as 

 seals, sporting about in the deep sea for many hours, 

 sometimes for nearly a whole day together. No 

 sooner does a ship approach a large island, than the 

 inhabitants swim off to welcome her ; and long before 

 she begins to take in sail, she is surrounded by human 

 beings of both sexes, apparently as much at home in 

 the Ocean as the fishes themselves. The children are 

 taken to the water when but a day or two old, and 

 many are able to swim as soon as they are able to 

 walk. In coasting along the shore, it is a rare thing 

 to pass a group of cottages, at any hour of the day, 

 without seeing one or more bands of children joyously 

 playing in the sea. They have several distinct games 

 whicb are played in the water, and which are followed 

 with exceeding avidity, not only by children, but by 

 the adult population. One of these is the fastening 

 of a long board or pole on a sort of stage, where the 



* Poly. Res. iiL 164. 



