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late. All evil appetites and qualities, bodily organs and deformities, mischievous acts and vices, were turned into names. Thus there are persons named Moekolohe, (adultery;) Kekuko, (lust;) Kahahu, (anger;) Haaheo, (pride;) Kalili, (jealousy;) Kaino, (bad;) Aihue, (thief;) Wahahe, (liar;) Pelapela, (filth ;) Molowa, (lazy ;) Pupule, (crazy ;) Puhi-baka, (tobaccosmoker;) Inurama, (rum-drinker,) &c.

It is not a little amusing sometimes, though it be disgusting at others, to trace out their etymologies. When the chief woman, Kapiolani, at Kealakekua, was sick, and had submitted to a surgical operation, a child of a common man happening to be born about that time, was called Four-Inches-Long, in order to commemorate the length of the wound.

So, not to mention a great variety of natural objects from which they derived names, there are some men noways deformed, called Pupuka, (crooked;) Makaino, (ugly-face;) Kamakalepo, (dirty-face ;) Kealiiopunui, (big-bellied-chief ;) Blind-of-one-eye, Lame-ofone-leg, &c.

The names of the Diabolonians and Men of ManSoul in Bunyan's Holy War, or of the soldiers of Cromwell's army, are not more whimsical and odd than are to be found often in Hawaii-nei. Messrs. Jolly, Gripe, Griggish, Rake-all, and their excellencies, Mr. Carnal-sense, Live-by-feeling, Love-lust, Hategood, Mr. Facing-both-ways, Sergeant Bind-their-kingsin-chains, Captain Hew-Agag-in-pieces-before-the-Lord, and others, compare very well with the queer appella

tions by which Hawaiians often call each other and

foreigners.

Missionaries were for a long time called the Ai-oe-oe, (long-necks,) because, when the Hawaiians first saw the missionary wives with bonnets, making them to appear as if long-necked, they cried out, Ai-oe-oe. Chiefs among them went by many names, all expressive of something; and a new name was frequently assumed after any exploit or event of their lives, to keep it in memory, as the Romans honored their successful generals with appellations derived from the cities or countries which they had conquered; as, Caius Marcius Coriolanus, Scipio Africanus, Cato Uticensis, &c. The names of the present King, Kaui-ke-ao-uli, and of the Premier, Ke-kau-luohe, mean Hangingupon-the-blue-sky, and Bamboo-grove.

The Hawaiian language, that admits so readily of these compounds, is simple in its structure, and very easy and uniform both in its orthography and pronunciation. Aside from the facile genius of the tongue, this is owing to the good sense and judgment of the missionaries who first reduced it to writing. They admitted no silent letters, and adopted the uniform Spanish designation of the vowel-sounds. Hence, as in that beautiful language, a, e, i, o, and u, always have each but one, and its own sound, varied only by quantity: so that, unlike what is found in the English and French, the language is spelt and pronounced just as it is written, and vice versa. Any one that has a knowledge of the Spanish at once

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slides into the pronunciation of the Hawaiian vowels.

The variety of only twelve letters expresses every Hawaiian sound, by reason of which, and the constant repetition of vowel terminations, the language to foreigners sounds monotonous. Also, no word ever ends in a consonant, nor can two consonant sounds come together, but a vowel is always interposed. Thus, an Hawaiian, in writing or pronouncing Boston, London, Bedford, will say Bosetona, Lonedona, Bedefoda.

Some of the idioms are very peculiar and curious. There is no auxiliary verb to be, nor any word to express the abstract idea of being or existence. Good idiomatic Hawaiian is, therefore, in short sentences, or clauses thereof, and the same word may be a noun or a verb, according to the sense to be expressed, without change. This, and the destitution of general terms, while specific ones are numerous, constitutes a state of the language favorable to the art of poetry.

There are no variations in nouns for case, number, or person; but the mood and tenses of verbs are pretty clearly distinguished by simple prefixes and suffixes. The mode of conjugating verbs, the existence of a causative form, and the derivation of words from roots of two syllables, are thought to indicate a resemblance and cognate origin with the Hebrew and other Oriental tongues.

The use of the particle no in the way of affirmation or affirmative emphasis, like yes indeed, no indeed, is

very peculiar, as being so the reverse of all the languages of Europe, where it is negative. Tell an Hawaiian to stop or leave off any thing he is doing, as ua oki, ua oki pela, and he answers, I stop indeed, oki au no, or stop no!

Ask a man a question to which he does not know or wish to give the answer-as, What did you do it for?and the reply commonly heard will be, He aha la! what indeed! Ask a native about the climate of a place-as, whether it is rainy or not-and he will think he gives you a very wise answer, though it is a most amusing and unsatisfactory one to the asker: Ina ua, ua no, (If or when it rains, it rains;) Ina aole, aole no, (If not, no indeed;) Ina ua pinepine, pinepine no, (If it rain often, often indeed it rains ;) Ai hiki i ka manawa ua, ua no, (And when the rain-time has come, there is rain indeed!)

So, when you ask a native, sometimes, where he is going, he will answer you very respectfully, E hele au makahi E hele ai, I am going where I'm going, or what amounts to the English expression, without any of its impudence, I am following my nose! Ask a man whom you are employing what shall be done in any exigency, and he generally answers, Eia no ia oe, (That's with you, that's for you to say.)

There is one Hawaiian word which, for its singular convenience and expressiveness, I would be glad to get domesticated into English, and that is Pilikia. They use it to signify any strait, or difficulty, or perplexity a man is brought into, by acci

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dent, or sickness, or the mismanagement or ill conduct of others.

In the speech of the King at the forced cession of the Islands to Paulet, it occurs very aptly. "Hear ye! I make known to you that I am in perplexity (pilikia) by reason of difficulties into which I have been brought without cause; therefore I have given away the life of our land. Hear ye! But my will over you, my people, and your privileges, will continue, for I have hope that the life of the land will be restored when my conduct is justified."

When one becomes familiarized with this term, there is no word that can be thought of half so expressive to denote one's extremity and strait; and hence you will hear it used in conversation by missionaries in the midst of their English, as if it were legalized old Saxon. The same is true of the word akamai, expert, skilful, ready at any thing.

The compound word for hope is beautifully expressive: it is manaolana, or the swimming thought—faith floating and keeping its head aloft, above water, when all the waves and billows are going over one—a strikingly beautiful definition of hope, worthy to be set down along with the answer which a deaf and dumb person wrote with his pencil, in reply to the question, What was his idea of forgiveness? "It is the odor

which flowers yield when trampled on."

At a convocation of teachers held at this place, to consider their disabilities, and petition government for