Page:An account of the natives of the Tonga Islands.djvu/130

64 not only to kill an enemy, but also all his friends and relations, if possible: the three missionaries then replied that as they had done no harm, and meant no harm, their God would protect them: at this moment, a party of natives, who were lying in wait in a neighbouring thicket, rushed out and killed them with their spears. The natives in the canoe pushed off from the shore, and made their escape.—How necessary it is to know the customs of the country! how baneful it is to be presumptuous! Our best intentions may be ruined by the ignorance of the one, and influence of the other.

But to return from this digression; Mr. Mariner, and his companions, ignorant of the language of the country, and of the customs of the people, were often much distressed for want of food: sometimes indeed it was brought to them, but often not; sometimes they were invited by the natives to walk into their houses and eat with them; but frequently they seemed to be quite neglected, and were reduced to the necessity of procuring what they wanted by stealth. At length, through Tooi Tooi's interpretation, Mr. Mariner made known their wants to the king, upon which the latter seemed greatly surprised at their apparent stupidity; and inquired how food was obtained in England: and when he heard that every man procured the necessary