RITES AND CUSTOMS RELATING TO THE DEAD. 
233 
Mr. Cross is said to have produced a small midge from 
some of his chemical solutions, and now even that seems far 
to exceed more recent productions, but from the spirit when 
severed from the body the Maori discovered several larger 
species of insects, coleopterous, lepidopterous, and others. 
Whilst with ourselves they have found that putrified remains 
produce a small worm, and that the human spirit undergoes 
a regular gradation of metempsychosis after death, gradually 
descending lower and lower, from the butterfly to the beetle, 
thence to the spider, lower still to his prey the fly, and ter- 
minating with the midge, the highest organization we are 
said to have discovered. 
The following account was given me of an old woman who 
lived near Rotorura some years ago : — She was taken ill and 
died, as was thought; they laid her out in the native fashion, 
on a bier in her house, and then rubbing the door over with 
red ochre, in token of its being tapu, her relatives left her ; 
some days after, two natives were paddling along the coast 
in their canoe, when an old woman called to them to take 
her with them ; they landed, and were rather frightened at 
her appearance, her eyes being sunk in her head and glassy : 
she gave the following account of herself : she said, she had 
returned from the Reinga, that after her death, she reached 
a river, where some one met her, and bid her run and call for 
a canoe, otherwise she would be hindered by a large bird ; 
she accordingly ran with all her might, and called for one, 
which immediately came for her, with one of her deceased 
relatives in it, she had only just time to get in, before 
the bird tried to stop her ; they were soon at the other 
side, arrived at a village, where they were sitting down to 
their food ; she recognized several of her acquaintance, who 
offered her a fresh-made basket with some in it, but her 
relative warned her not to eat any, otherwise she could 
never return; so when they pressed her she refused, and 
looking at it perceived it was only filth ; after some time, 
her relative bid her get up and return, she obeyed, he 
told her she might go back to the earth, as he wanted 
her to take care of his grandchild, for it was too young 
