where stands the grim god of war, with numerous other
idols on either side of him. In front rises a lofty obelisk of
wicker-work, and inside this the priest who acts the part of the oracle
takes his stand. Just outside this inner court is the altar on which
the human sacrifices are made. Near it stands the house occupied by the
king when he resides in the temple, and numerous other idols fill the
rest of the space. All have hideous countenances, large gaping mouths,
and staring eyes. Tairi is crowned with a helmet, and covered with red
feathers. Great labour must have been expended in rearing this vast
structure, and in carving all these hideous images, and sad indeed is it
to consider the object for which all these pains have been taken.

The king, with whom we have been on good terms, sends to Captain Fuller
to beg that he will lend him some of his ship's guns and muskets, and a
few of his crew, as he is about to make war on a neighbouring island. I
am on shore with Golding and Taro, and while a message is being
returned, he invites us to witness the usual ceremonies which take place
before war. As we accompany him to the morai, we see dragged on by the
crowd no less than eleven men, whose looks of terror, show that
something they dread is about to happen. Arrived before the temple,
there is a cry from the multitude, who instantly set on them with their
clubs. Taro tells us not to grieve; that some are prisoners taken in
war, others guilty persons who have broken a taboo, and others the
lowest of the people. While we stand shuddering, a concourse of people
arrive bearing fruits of all sorts, and hogs, and dogs. The human
victims are stripped of all their garments, and placed in rows on the
altars; the priests now offer up some prayers to the hideous idol, and
then the hogs and dogs are piled up over the human bodies, and the
whole, we are told, are left to rot together. Sometimes, on occasions
of great importance, twenty-two persons have been offered up.

The oracle is favourable, we hear, and the king sends round to all his
subjects to collect at his camp with their arms--spears, clubs,
javelins, and slings--ready for battle. No one dares refuse. Vast
numbers assemble, but a few only of his immediate attendants have
firearms. Nothing can be more fittingly hideous than their idol god of
war, with his grinning mouth armed with triple rows of sharks' teeth. A
hundred war-canoes are prepared. The army e