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In forming an estimate of the three successive aspects under which this government appears, we may observe, that the first is too savage, too deeply tinged with the preceding ferocity; while the last is effeminate and licentious to an excessive degree. But the intermediate state, lying at a distance from both extremes, presents us with many very amiable and happy forms of society.

The sovereign of Otaheite rarely condescended to set his foot to the ground; he was carried about every where on the shoulders of his attendants. Even the lifting of food to his mouth was considered by him as too great an effort; and he left this office to them also. After Pomarre's army had gained a signal victory over that of a rival chief, he himself was found at a great distance from the battle, lying flat on the ground, and holding fast by the roots of a tree, motionless with terror. However powerful the influence of habit, when deeply rooted, Account of FOWLS-HEUGH, near it cannot be supposed that, among a people who still retain somewhat of an active and warlike character, such a dynasty should not gradually lose their influence. The governments of the Sandwich and Friendly Islands have already begun to be broken up by the successful rebellion of several chiefs, whose authority, notwithstanding the outward reverence paid to it, could not rest upon the same foundation of

public opinion. As the royal power declines, an aristocracy is formed, consisting of princes of the blood and their descendants, who, in process of time, multiply to a considerable number; of distinguished warriors; and of priests. -Yet their authority, too, gradually declines, from the operation of the same causes which had undermined that of the sovereign. The people, at length, shaking off that blind submission to which they had resigned themselves, become sensible of their superiority in physical strength, and lay claim to a share of the public authority. A government is then formed of a free, active, and enterprising cha

racter, almost in every respect the reverse of the present. This, however, constituting a stage by itself, does not now come under our notice.

*We were surprised to see so stout a man, perhaps the largest in the whole island, fed like a cuckoo. Missionary Voyage, 75—† Missionary Voyage, 182.

STONEHAVEN.

FOWLS-HEUGH is a steep rock

on the eastern coast of Scotland, about three or four miles to the southward of Stonehaven. It is nearly a quarter of a mile in length; and its height from the sea, which washes the foot of it, is upwards of two hundred

feet. It is observed from a considerable distance by persons at sea; and is rocks by the whiteness of its appeareasily distinguished from the adjacent

ance.

numerable small chinks and crevices, On the face of it, there are inin which the fowls make their nests; and at some places there are long shelves, or ledges, which are occupied

in the same manner.

The rock, and the birds which lodge on it, are considered the property of the proprietor of the neighbouring estate, who lets them for a considerable called the Heughman, and who is obsum of yearly rent to a tenant, who is liged annually to give the landlord a young hawk, from a nest of one of these birds, of an uncommonly large size, which builds in the rock regularly every year.

The fowls called Queets, Nories, and Kittyweaks, are those which build in greatest numbers on this rock; and besides these there are Gulls, Shags, and various other kinds of aquatic birds.

The Queets and Nories are much smaller in size than an ordinary

duck,

duck, and have very short wings; but their eggs, which are of different colours, are very large, exceeding a duck's egg in bulk considerably.

rope

to

At some places, where the top of the cliff is projected over the subjacent sea, he will hang suspended in the air at a considerable distance from

the face of the precipice. When in this pendulous situation, he will place his pole, which is about twenty feet long, against the rock, and, by that

A person cannot stand on the brink of this vast precipice, and observe the adventurous fowler, half-way down, engaged in this frightful employ, while thousands of fowls are flying to and fro from one place to another, without being put in mind of Edgar's description of Dover cliff:

"How fearful 'tis to cast one's eyes so "low!

"The crows and choughs that wing the "mid-way air

"Seem scarce so gross as beetles. Half. way down

46

The manner of taking the eggs and young fowls from the nest is very strange, and attended with a considerable degree of hazard. As the face of the rock is perpendicular, and wash-means, forcing himself farther from its ed at the foot by the sea, it is impos- front, will swing back into the recessible to ascend it by ladders or other- ses where the birds build, and remain wise. The Heughman is therefore till he has emptied the nests, when he poliged to descend from the top, which is lowered or raised to some other he does in the following manner :place. He provides himself with a large sack or sheet, a strong rope, and a pole, on the end of which is a small bag kept open at the mouth by an iron ring. When the rope is fastened round his body, he is lowered down from the top of the cliff by five or six persons, most of whom are generally women. On the margin of the cliff there is faced a small wooden machine, on which is fixed a pulley for the run upon, that it may not be cut by rabbing upon the edge of the rock. In going down he poizes himself by plaing his feet against the front of the precipice; and when he arrives at the faces where the eggs are in greatest Benty, he makes signals to the persons bove, who allow him to stop till he as emptied the nests, which, by means of the bag at the end of his pole, he can do for a considerable distance aand him. When he is out of the sght and hearing (which is very often the case) of those who hold the rope bove, there is a person placed on some rojecting point, to whom he makes ignals when he wishes to be lowered er hoisted from one place to another; ad this person communicates the sigas to his companions. As soon as has collected all the booty within s reach, or as much as he can convely stow about him, he is pulled and when he has emptied his sack, e again descends at another place, llects the eggs, and is again hoisted in the same way. July 180s.

Hangs one that gathers samphire,"dreadful trade! "Methinks he seems no bigger than "one's head.

"The fishermen that walk upon the
"beach

"Appear like mice; and yon tall an-
"choring bark
"Seems lessen'd to her cock, her cock
"a buoy,

"Almost too small for sight

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The murmuring surge beneath "Cannot be heard so high."

The eggs, immediately after they are taken from the nests, are boiled till they become quite hard, when they will keep, without spoiling, for a considerable time. They are sometimes packed up, and sent even as far as London; but the greater number of them are sold by the Heughman at his own house, near the top of the rock, particularly on Sundays, when great numbers of people come from Stonehaven, and other places in the neighbourhood.

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A short time after the season of the eggs is over, the Heughman again descends the rock in the way before described, and collects from the nests the young Kittyweaks, which are the only fowls whose flesh is generally eaten, When the feathers are taken off, the birds are carried about and sold thro' the country. Though they might be preserved for a long time, and made fit for exportation to distant places, by being salted and dried in the sun, yet this is never done, as the demand for them in the neighbourhood is so great that they are all sold as soon as they are taken from their nests.

About the beginning of autumn, when the young birds begin to fly, and the Heughman has taken all that he can get at by descending from the top of the rock, he places nets over the face of it at certain places, where great numbers of the fowls are caught. The old ones, which are catched in this. manner, are only valuable on account of their feathers, their flesh not being nearly so good as the flesh of the young ones, and very seldom eaten.

The Fowlsheugh shooting season commences about this time, when great numbers of the birds are killed. Every day, while the season lasts, people from Stonehaven, Aberdeen, and other places, come to the foot of the rock in boats, when they get liberty to shoot from the Heughman, upon paying hiar a shilling for each gun that they bring with them. The fowls are still so numerous, notwithstanding what have been taken by the Heughman, that persons who are accustomed to shooting will bring down two or three at every shot, and sometimes even five or six. The shooting at the birds in most places of the cliff must be from the boats, there being only one landing-place at the foot of the rock from which they can be fired at. The noise made by the fowls while the shooting continues, is so great as almost to exceed description, and has even become proverbial in the country.

As soon as the young ones are able to procure their own food, and to fly a considerable distance, the whole birds, old and young, whose number is still immense, notwithstanding the extraordinary havock which has been made by the pillaging hand and ensnaring nets of the Heughman, and the thousands which have been destroyed by the murderous gun of the sportsman, take their departure from the rock, where there is scarcely one to be seen until the ensuing spring, when they again return to lay their eggs.

SCOTTISH REVIEW.

I. Dissertations on the Existence, Attributes, Providence, and Moral Government of God; and on the Duty, Character, Security, and Final Happiness of his Righteous Subjects. By the Rev. David Savile, A. M. 8vo. Mundell & Co. Edinburgh. 7s. 6d.

IN the introduction to this work, Mr

Savile justly observes, that the subjects discussed in it are among the most important which can occupy the attention of the human mind. Any attempt to illustrate them, therefore, must, if well executed, be extremely deserving the attention of the public. Most of them indeed have been already treated of at great length; the advantage, however, which our author proposes to himself, is that of giving a more popular, uniform, and connected view of them, than is to be found in former publications. For this purpose, his work appears to us, in many respects, to be well qualified. He appears to have deeply studied the subject, both by reading and meditation. His stile is very well suited to a popular work completely oratorical, bold, and rapid; sometimes deficient in polish and regularity, but always animated, and frequently eloquent. The following are

the

the important subjects of which he

treats:

1. The existence of God. 2. The omnipresence of God. 3. The goodness of God. 4. The providence of God. 5. The moral Government of

God. 6. Moral obligation. 7. The character of the upright. 8. The security of the upright. 9. The final triumph of the upright. 10. The evidences of a future state. 11. The prospect of a future state opened by the gospel. 12. The knowledge of eternal life. 13. The glory of the righteous in Heaven. 14. The same subject.

-

Mr Savile considers as incorrect the distinction of the arguments for the existence of the Deity into that a prieri and a posteriori, and therefore has endeavoured to blend the two into one. We think indeed he has fairly proved the inaccuracy of the former term.That which is called the argument a priori certainly pre-supposes the observation that something exists. It requires no more, however; it is prior to any particular and detailed examination of what that something is. We are still therefore inclined to think, that it may be advantageous to treat it separately, since it certainly admits of a more rigid and accurate mode of proof, than the other.

Mr S. considers Dr Clarke as having failed in his management of the argument above alluded to. We confess, however, it appears to us that he has only proved the inaccuracy of his definition of the term "Necessary Existence." Most of the reasoning of that celebrated writer, when cleared of this defect, stands, we think, upon an immoveable foundation. The arguments, however, which our author has substituted in the room of those of Dr Clarke, appear to possess considerable ingenuity, though our limits de not permit us to enter into any particular examination of them.

The following passages will afford very good specimens of our author's mode of reasoning, and of that flowing

and copious eloquence which is characteristic of his style. The first relates to the happiness to be derived from the observance of the law of God.

To induce us to observe this law while it is the law of God and of society, still more strictly, let us recollect, that it is also the law of felicity-Every individual who observes this law, in whatever circumstances he may be placed, whether prosperous or adverse, must feel himself, at least, comparatively happy. This is the natural consequence of what obedience to the law, to promote the has already been said of the tendency of happiness of society, unless we can suppose a whole society to be happy, and at the same time the individuals who compose it to be unhappy. But this we cannot suppose; it is a palpable ab surdity; and in every case it will be found to hold true, that just so much as

we have of devout regard to God and to his holy law, just so much shall we have of true felicity. God himself is eternally and infinitely happy, because, he necessarily loves and acts agreeably to the law of eternal and infinite reason, or, in other words, because he is eter. nally and infinitely holy. Angels too they are much more conformed to God; are much happier than we are, because

much more conformed to reason, his immutable law. And we in our lower sphere can only approach to their happiness, by imitating their obedience. Man, while disobedient, while regardless of God, and without subjection to his holy law, is in a disordered and unnatural state. He is a degraded animal, clinging only to this earth, lying at the mercy of events, tortured by the cravings of insatiable desires, and tossed by the incessant tempest of ungovernable passions. He cannot, at the same time, divest himself of the power of con

science. His sins often rise up in horrible array against him, and stare him in the face. He anticipates the tribunal of God, and has "nothing but a fear"ful looking for of judgment." But he who has grace given him to observe the divine law, is a friend of Christ, and

need fear no evil. Christ loves him and numbers him with his chosen, and bids

him be of good cheer, because his sins are forgiven him. His heart therefore becomes the sanctified seat of serenity

and

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and order; all his desires and passions are directed to their proper objects; his soul is the highly favoured habitation which Deity itself hath chosen to dwell in. "If a man love me," (sayeth Christ,)" and keep my words, (that is, my law,) my Father will love him; and we will come and take up our abode withhim." Who can describe the happiness of that man, who is thus singled out from the world, and admitted to "fellowship with the Father and with "his Son Jesus Christ?" His is a peace that passeth all understanding; the joy of heaven upon earth, the triumph of eternity in the moments of time.-No blighting blast of adversity can wither his comforts. Death itself cannot sever him from the source of happiness.Nay, "glorying in tribulation," he regards death only as his Father's messenger kindly sent to call him home. And when his friends stand weeping around him, and taking their last adieu, with a smile of heaven on his cheek, and a sweet humble hope sparkling in his eye, he can calmly say, "Weep not for me, "but for yourselves, who have still to "st uggle with sin and with mortality. "Earth and you I leave behind me; "but I go to angels, to God my Savi "our, my everlasting joy." He gently falls asleep in Jesus; he rests from his Jabours, and his works do follow him. Evil then shall never reach him; ignorance shall never cloud his understanding; deviations from God's law shall never grieve his spirit: he is then made perfect; and his perfection and happiness are without measure and without end. P. 17. The following passage, which forms part of the discourse on the evidences of a future state, is perhaps still prefer

able:

The doctrine of a future state is evinced not only by the justice, but by the wisdom of God.-Wisdom is never needlessly profuse of its gifts, but propor. tions exactly the means it employs, and the endowments it confers to the nature and value of the end which it designs to accomplish. Now, God is infinite in wisdom, and therefore we are warranted to infer that he suits harmoniously the nature, the powers, and faculties, of all his creatures, to the stations in which they are placed, and the purpo

ses which they are destined to serve.The vegetable tribes are fitted for the particular soil and climate in which they are destined to grow, and the inferior animals receive that particular frame, that particular degree of strength, and those particular instincts and propensities, which are perfectly correspondent to the place they hold in the creation, and the offices they are ap. pointed to perform. The same wisdom, then, is doubtless emploved in the construction of man. Doubtless his nature, with all its capacities and powers, is every way adapted to his rank in the scale of being, and to the measure of his duration.-But how cau this wisdom, this divine adaptation, be made apparent, if he be only the insect of a day : if, after taking a few turns upon the theatre of existence, he sink in death never to exist again?-He has a soul, an immaterial, spiritual principle within him, capable of endless existence; and is it consistent with wisdom,-infi nite wisdom,—to give him this glorious capacity in vain ?-He can think, reason, abstract himself from the objects of sense and time, rise above all that pertains to earth, and soar upon the wings of heavenly contemplation. But why so highly endowed; why so divinely exalted; if he be so soon to be destroyed for ever; to become, both body and soul, as if he had never been?-He can reach the sublimest heights of virtue, he can hold fellowship with angels, and reflect the image of the Divinity; but why furnish him with this excellence; why adorn him with this image, if he were merely to number a few evil days, and then for ever perish ?Our own nature proclaims to us our future existence. The all-wise Creator

has bestowed upon us faculties, the bestowing of which we cannot account for, had they a reference only to this land of shadows. There must then be another scene, where, in a nobler soil, and beneath more friendly skies, they shall mature and flourish, and attain their just, unbounded exercise.—Yes, we are not abortive beings: death does not strike us off from existence; it only changes our residence, and carries us to better mansions," mansions not "made with hands, eternal in the hea"vens." P. 257. My soul awake then into action; gro

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