Page:An account of the natives of the Tonga Islands.djvu/360

294 Oh ! how irnich happier shall we be thus employed, than when engaged in the troublesome and insipid affairs of life. Now as night comes on, we must return to the Mooa: — but hark! — hear you not the sound of the mat-^ r - they are practising a bo-o6lu * to be performed to-night on the maldi at Tanen ; let us also go there. How will that pcene of re- joicing call to our minds the many festivals held there, befor^ Vavauo was torn to pieces by war. Alas ! how destructive is war! —Behold! how it has rendered the land productive of weeds, and opened untimely graves for departed heroes! Our chiefs can now no longer enjoy the sweet pleasure of wandering alone by moonlight in search of their mistresses : but let us banish sorrow from our hearts : sinr e we are at warj we must think and act like the natives of Fiji, who first taught us this destructive art. Let us therefore enjoy the present time, for to-morrow perhaps or the next day we may die. We wiU dress ourselves with chi coola, and put bands of white fdppa round our waists; we will plait thick wreaths of jiale for our heads, and prepare strings of hooiii for our necks, that their whiteness may shew off the colour of our skins. Mark how the uncultivated spectators are profuse of their applause ! — But now the dance is over: let us remain here to-night, and feast and be cheerful, and to-morrow we will depart for the Mooa. How troublesome are the young men, begging for our wreaths of flowers, while they say in their flattery, " See how charming these young girls look i/" coming from Licoo .' — how beautiful are their skins, dif- " fusing around a fragrance like the flowery precipice of Mataloco:" — Let us also visit Licoo; we will depart to- motrow. The beautiful plantation, of which the above song is partly descriptive, is famed for the great fertility of its fields : the liberal hand of nature has there planted the bread-fruit and
 * A iind of dance performed by torch-liglit.