The houses of these poor creatures, if houses they should be called, are merely temporary, miserable huts. They are generally about ten or twelve feet long, eight or ten in width, and five or six in height; and some are even smaller, affording scarcely room for a man to lie down at his full length. They are built by driving posts into the ground, at a short distance apart; from the top of the posts on one side, poles are extended, until meeting those that extend from the other side, they are tied together, and lashed to the ridge pole, which is supported at each end by a tall post. The spaces between the posts are filled by small round sticks, fastened at intervals of five or six inches from each other, and the whole s then covered or thatched with grass and eaves. These habitations have no windows or the admittance of light or air, and but one oor, which is so low that a person of comnon size can enter only by crawling upon his ands and knees. Neither have they any coneniences for building a fire in these rude uts; and although the climate is generally ery mild, the missionaries complain of havg suffered on this account during their northast storms, which are sometimes violent and dious.

There are many other disadvantages attendg this manner of building. The materials nploved are so slightly put together, as to

and the whole structure is so frai must be rebuilt once in every thre years. The grass and leaves which in thatching these huts, besides aff shelter for mice, lizards, and other reptiles, at length become very offe consequence of being exposed to heat and dampness, and thus rende within impure and unwholesome.

In some parts of the islands, the prefer sleeping in the open air, du very warm weather, rather than in th fined huts. Their furniture consist thing more than one or two mats, whi for seats as well as beds, the calabash contain their food and drink, and th ments they use in the cultivation of the and in their simple manufactures.

The mats which are so much used two kinds, the one being made of a of rush, and the other of palm leaves. is also a variety among them as to texture; for while some are large coarse, others, which are smaller, the Leghorn hats in fineness and In the braiding of these mats, which entirely by the hands, the natives exh siderable taste and skill, interweavi with grass of different dyes, in such a as to form a pleasing variety of figure number of mats employed in forming depends on the rank of him who is

*A gentleman, who has been long resident in the ndwich Islands, informs us, that the commonly reived spelling of the following words is incorrecta. tattoo, tabu, taro. Tahiti: and that these words

cloth, and occasionally a kihei, or about two yards square, which, passi one arm, is fastened in a knot on the shoulder. The females wear a pau, of cloth, several yards in length, an breadth, wrapped about the body waist to the knees; and to this they s add a mantle of larger size than th by the men, thrown carelessly over t ders. These mantles are but occ worn, and the mass of the people, their work or play, or in their hous only the malo, or the pau. It is prop ever, to add, that the natives are rapid ing the English or American fashion and procure foreign cloth and garmer as they have the means of purchasin

The tapa, of which these garm made, is manufactured by the fema the inner bark of the paper mulberr is cultivated in large quantities for pose. By cutting the bark from th the bottom, it is easily taken from t in a single piece; the outer coat hav removed, it is flattened by rolling, a immersed in water, where it is suffer main until it is covered with a slim tinous substance. It is then taken beaten with an instrument of hard

words are however so generally adopted in literature, that we have retained the commo writing them.

the desired thinness. If greater length or breadth is required, other pieces of the bark are added, and the whole is beaten until it becomes of an uniform texture. Some pieces of this cloth are made almost of the thinness of muslin or crape; others are of the thickness of paper, and others again are as thick as morocco, and glazed in such a manner as to resemble it considerably. The last mentioned kind is reserved for the use of the chiefs.

The natives contrive also to vary the appearance of the tapa, by carving the sides of he instrument with which it is beaten, so that hey may, at pleasure, leave an impression reembling dimity, corded muslin, or diaper, on ne cloth. It is sometimes worn without farer preparation; but more frequently it is ained with a variety of beautiful colours. The whole piece having been stained throught with a single dye, may be again stamped th others, by means of a piece of bamboo, nich is so cut as to represent the intended -ure, and having been covered with the coar or colours to be added, is carefully and sely pressed by the hand upon the cloth, The tapa is not durable, neither can it be shed, unless it has been soaked in the oil the cocoa-nut, which causes it to shed waand also to last longer. The very best ds, however, soon wear out, and garments He of them require to be replaced every