446 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
blackness. On public occasions, he was some¬ 
times called Tamehameha, after his father, though 
names are not always hereditary. Besides these, 
he had a variety of other names, the most common 
of which was lolani. The word lani , heaven or 
sky, formed a component part in the name of most 
chiefs of distinction. The following is a fac-simile 
of the official signature of the late king. 
The early habits of Rihoriho did not warrant any 
great expectations. His natural disposition was 
frank and humane. The natives always spoke of 
him as good-natured, except when he was under 
the influence of ardent spirits; his manners were 
perfectly free, at the same time dignified, and 
always agreeable to those who were about him. 
His mind was naturally inquisitive. The ques¬ 
tions he usually presented to foreigners were by 
no means trifling ; and his memory was retentive. 
His general knowledge of the world was much 
greater than could have been expected. I have 
heard him entertain a party of chiefs for hours 
together, with accounts of different parts of the 
earth, describing the extensive lakes, the moun¬ 
tains, and mines of North and South America; 
the elephants and inhabitants of India; the houses, 
manufactures, &c. of England; with no small 
accuracy, considering he had never seen them. 
He had a great thirst for knowledge, and was dili¬ 
gent in his studies. I recollect his remarking, one 
