POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
527 
Ill mental application to learnings Pomare certainly 
exceeded every one of his subjects ; and^ had he been 
free from practices which so banefully retarded his pro¬ 
gress, and enjoyed the advantage of a regular and liberal 
education, there is every reason to believe the develop¬ 
ment and culture of his intellect would have shewn that 
it was of no inferior order. 
He had heard much, from the early visitors to his 
island, of king George, and appeared, on more than one 
occasion, desirous to make the British sovereign his 
model. He was walking one day in the district of 
Pare with great dignity, in the company of the Mis¬ 
sionaries, when he suddenly stopped, and said, ^^Does 
king George walk in this way?’^ As soon as he in 
any degree comprehended the use of letters, he mani¬ 
fested a great desire to be able to read and write, and 
was one of the first pupils. Looking over the books of 
the Missionaries one day, he saw a Hebrew Bible: the 
singularity of the letter attracted his attention; and 
having been informed that it was the language of the 
Jews, in which the greater part of the Scriptures was 
written, he expressed a wish that one of the Mission¬ 
aries would teach him to read it, inquiring at the same 
time whether king George understood Hebrew. In this 
he did not persevere, but he soon made himself master 
of the English alphabet, and could read in the English 
Bible, not with fluency, but so as to comprehend the 
meaning of the plainest parts. 
It was, however, in his native language that the Tahi¬ 
tian ruler made the greatest progress, and in writing this, 
he excelled every other individual. Mr, Nott and Mr. 
Davies were his principal instructors; the latter has spent 
many hours with him, sitting on the ground, and teaching 
