POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 487 
The moon rose soon after the light of the sun had de¬ 
parted^ and although she shone not at first in cloudless 
majesty through an untroubled sky^ yet the night was 
a perfect contrast to the day. The light fleecy 
clouds that passed over the surface of the sky, 
fringed with the moon’s silver light, gave a pleasing 
animation to the scene, and 
With scarce inferior lustre gleamed the sea, 
Whose waves were spangled with phosphoric fire, 
As though the lightnings there had spent their shafts, 
And left the fragments glittering on the field.’^ 
After rowing some time, we heard the hoarse roaring 
of the surf, as it broke in foam upon the coral reef 
surrounding the shore. To us this was a most wel¬ 
come sound, indicating our approach to the land. 
Shortly afterwards we saw a small island, with two 
or three cocoa-nut trees upon it, and subsequently 
the coral reef appeared in view. We now found 
ourselves near the Moa^ Sacred Passage, leading 
to Opoa, the southernmost harbour in the island of 
Raiatea | and after rowing two or three miles, landed 
about midnight. Weary and famished, drenched with 
the rain, and suffering much from the cold occasioned 
by the wetness of our clothes, we were truly thank¬ 
ful, after the incidents of the day, to find ourselves 
once again on shore. The hospitable inhabitants of 
the dwelling which we entered soon rose from their 
beds, kindled a large fire in the centre of the floor, 
cooked us some provisions, and furnished us with 
warm and clean native cloth, to wear while our own 
clothes were hung up to dry. Having refreshed our¬ 
selves, and united in grateful thanksgiving to the 
