80 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
dwelling, half native hut, and half European cottage, 
which many of the people at this time inhabited. 
They marked the steps, and developed the process, by 
which they were rising from the rude and cheerless de¬ 
gradation of the one, to the elevation and enjoyment of 
the other. These sensations were often heightened by 
our beholding in the neighbourhood of these half-finished 
houses, the lonely and comfortless hut they had aban¬ 
doned, and the neatly finished cottage in which the 
inmates enjoyed a degree of comfort, that, to use their 
own powerful expression, made them sometimes ready 
to doubt whether they were the same people who had 
been contented to inhabit their former dwellings, sur¬ 
rounded by pigs and dogs, and swarms of vermin, 
while the wind blew over them, and the rain beat upon 
them. 
The greater number of houses, already erected, con¬ 
tain only two or three rooms on one floor, but several of 
the chiefs have built spacious, and, considering the ma¬ 
terials with which they are constructed, substantial 
habitations, with two stories, and a number of rooms in 
each, having also some of the windows glazed. Mahine, 
the king of Huahine, was, we believe, the first native of 
the South Sea Islands, who finished a house with upper 
rooms. When done, it was quite a curiosity, or occa¬ 
sion of wonder, among the natives of the Leeward 
Islands, and multitudes came on purpose to see it. It 
was built with care, and, considering it as a specimen 
of native workmanship, was highly creditable to their 
industry, perseverance, and ingenuity. Many of the 
natives, especially those who have been native house¬ 
builders, are tolerably good carpenters, and handle tools 
with facility. They have also been taught to saw 
