POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
409 
followed by the darkness of nighty which in much less 
than an hour veiled the surrounding objects. The glance^ 
however, which we had obtained of the mountains of 
Huahine, was serviceable and cheering; it convinced us 
that the current had not swept us aside from our course, 
and it enabled us to fix satisfactorily the direction in 
which to steer until morning. Although our rest 
had been but broken and short during the preceding 
night, our present situation repressed any desire for 
repose. 
Nothing can exceed the solemn stillness of a night at 
sea within the tropics, when the wind is light, and the 
water comparatively smooth. Few periods and situa¬ 
tions, amid the diversity of circumstances in human life, 
are equally adapted to excite contemplation, or to impart 
more elevated conceptions of the Divine Being, and more 
just impressions of the insignificancy and dependence of 
man. In order to avoid the vertical rays of a tropical 
sun, and the painful effects of the reflection from the 
water, many of my voyages among the islands of the 
Georgian and Society groups have been made during the 
night. At these periods I have often been involuntarily 
brought under the influence of a train of thought and 
feeling peculiar to the season and the situation, but 
never more powerfully so than on the present occasion. 
The night was moonless, but not dark. The stars 
increased in number and variety as the evening ad¬ 
vanced, until the whole firmament was overspread with 
luminaries of every magnitude and brilliancy. The 
agitation of the sea had subsided, and the waters around 
us appeared to unite with the indistinct though visible 
horizon. In the heaven and the ocean, all powers of 
vision were lost, while the brilliant lights in the one 
II. 3 G 
