Page:An account of the natives of the Tonga Islands.djvu/328

262 favourable eye, but a sense of duty had caused her to smother the growing fondness, till the late sad misfortune of her family, and the cir- cumstances attending her escape, had revived all her latent affections, to bestow them wholly upon a man to whom they were so justly due. How happy were they in this solitary retreat ! tyrannic power now no longer reached them : shut out from the world and all its cares and perplexities; — secure from all the eventful changes attending upon greatness, cruelty, and ambition J — themselves were the only powers they served, and they were infinitely delighted with this simple form of government. But al- though this asylum was their great security in their happiest moments, they could not always enjoy each other's company ; it was equally necessary to their safety that he should be often absent from her, and frequently for a length of time together, lest his conduct should be watched. The young chief therefore panted for an opportunity to convey her to happier scenes, where his ardent imagination pictured to him the means of procuring for her every enjoyment and comfort, which her amiable qualifications so well entitled her to : nor was it a great while before, an opportunity offering, he devised the means of restoring her with safety to the cheerful liglU of day. He signi-