14 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
crater; nor have I heard of the existence of any, 
with the exception of the large lake called by 
the natives Vaihiria, situated among the moun¬ 
tains of Tahiti. The wild and broken manner, 
however, in which the rocks and mountains now 
appear, warrants the inference, that since their 
formation, which was probably of equal antiquity 
with the bed of the ocean, they have been thrown 
up by some volcanic explosion, the disruptions of 
an earthquake, or other violent convulsions of the 
earth ; and have, from this circumstance, assumed 
their bold, irregular, and romantic forms. 
Every writer on the South Sea Islands has been 
lavish in praise of their scenery. Malte Brun 
observes, “ A new Cythera emerges from the bosom 
of the enchanted wave. An amphitheatre of ver¬ 
dure rises to our view ; tufted groves mingle their 
foliage with the brilliant enamel of the meadows; 
an ^eternal spring, combining with an eternal au¬ 
tumn, displays the opening blossom along with the 
ripened fruits.”* When speaking of Tahiti, he 
remarks, that it “ has merited the title of Queen 
of the Pacific Ocean.” The descriptions in Cook’s 
voyages are not exaggerated, and no scenery is 
adapted to produce a more powerful or delightful 
impression on the mind of those who traverse the 
wide ocean, in which they are situated, than the 
islands of the South Sea. The effect on my own 
mind, when approaching Tahiti for the first time, 
will not be easily obliterated. 
The sea had been calm, the morning fair, the sky 
was without a cloud, and the lightness of the breeze 
had afforded us leisure for gazingupon the varied, 
picturesque, and beautiful scenery of this most en¬ 
chanting island. We had beheld successively, as 
* Syst. of Geog. vol. iii. p. 396. Ibid. p. 631. 
