ring two unwritten languages), that we may
pronounce them to be the same word, without exposing ourselves to the
sneers of supercilious criticism.

One or two more such proofs, drawn from similarity of language, in
very significant words, may be assigned. Le Gobien tells us, that the
people of the Ladrones worship their dead, whom they call _Anitis_.
Here, again, by dropping the consonant _n_, we have a word that bears
a strong resemblance to that which so often occurs in Captain Cook's
voyages, when speaking of the divinities of his islands, whom he calls
_Eatooas_. And it may be matter of curiosity to remark, that what
is called an _Aniti_, at the Ladrones, is, as we learn from Cantova
(_Lettres Edifiantes et Curieuses_, tom. xv. p. 309, 310.) at the
Caroline Islands, where dead chiefs are also worshipped, called a
_Tahutup_; and that, by softening or sinking the strong sounding
letters, at the beginning and at the end of this latter word, the
_Ahutu_ of the Carolines, the _Aiti_ of the Ladrones, and the
_Eatooa_ of the South Pacific Islands, assume such a similarity in
pronunciation (for we can have no other guide), as strongly marks one
common original. Once more; we learn from Le Gobien, that the Marianne
people call their chiefs _Chamorris_, or _Chamoris_. And by softening
the aspirate _Ch_ into _T_, and the harshness of _r_ into _l_ (of
which the vocabularies of the different islands give us repeated
instances), we have the _Tamole_ of the Caroline Islands, and the
_Tamolao_, or _Tamaha_, of the Friendly ones.

If these specimens of affinity of language should be thought too
scanty, some very remarkable instances of similarity of customs and
institutions will go far to remove every doubt. 1. A division into
three classes, of nobles, of middle rank, and the common people, or
servants, was found, by Captain Cook, to prevail, both at the Friendly
and the Society Islands. Father Le Gobien expressly tells us, that the
same distinction prevails at the Ladrones: _Il y a trois etats, parmi
les insulaires, la noblesse, le moyen, et le menu._ 2. Numberless
instances occur in Captain Cook's voyage to prove the great subjection
under which the people of his islands are to their chiefs. We learn
from Le Gobien, that it is so also at the Ladrones: _La noblesse est
d'un fierte incroyable, et tien le peuple dans un abaisement qu'on ne
pourroit imaginer en Europe_, &c. 3. The diversions of the natives
at Wateeo, the Friendly, a