Page:An account of the natives of the Tonga Islands.djvu/479

Rh THE TONGA ISLANDS. scal<i in favour of Fiiiow's humanity and discri- minative justice, we may quote the instance of pardon granted to the two boys of the Port au Prince, who, notwithstanding they were guilty of theft and sacrilege, were excused on account of their supposed ignorance of the extent of their crime j whilst a native would have been executed upon the spot. (See p. 1 63.) His conduct towards Mr. Mariner must also be no- ticed at - the time when the Hope, Captain Chace, arrived at Vavaoo. (See p. 303.) It should here moreover be observed, that Pinow's temper was uncommonly irritable ; when once excited into anger, his rage was terrible : this he acknowledged himself, and would frequently say that his quick temper was the infliction sent him from Bolotoo*': and in some measure to obviate its ill effects, he frequently charged his matabooles to hold him whenever they saw him -getting violently angry ! This they always did, and in about ten minutes or a quarter of either in his mental or bodily constitution, sent him by the gods ; but for which they assign no other reason than the delight they take in punishing mankind: this last opinion is however by no means universal, the generality of the na- tives do not pretend to assign any reason ; and upon mature consideration Mr. Mariner is convinced that the malignancy of the gods is not a Tonga doctrine, except as far as regards the Hotooa Pow hereafter to be spoken of.
 * They believe that every man has some deep-seated evil,