he had attained the sovereign sway, was persuaded by Vancouver, the
celebrated discoverer, to acknowledge, on behalf of himself, and
subjects, allegiance to the king of Great Britain. The reader cannot but
call to mind the visit which the royal family and court of the Sandwich
Islands was, in late years, induced to make to the court of St. James;
and the serio-comic ceremonials and mock parade which attended that
singular travesty of monarchal style.

It was a part of the wide and comprehensive plan of Mr. Astor to
establish a friendly intercourse between these islands and his intended
colony, which might, for a time, have occasion to draw supplies thence;
and he even had a vague idea of, some time or other, getting possession
of one of their islands as a rendezvous for his ships, and a link in the
chain of his commercial establishments.

On the evening of the 12th of February, the Tonquin anchored in the bay
of Karakakooa, in the island of Owyhee. The surrounding shores were wild
and broken, with overhanging cliffs and precipices of black volcanic
rock. Beyond these, however, the country was fertile and well
cultivated, with inclosures of yams, plantains, sweet potatoes,
sugar-canes, and other productions of warm climates and teeming soils;
and the numerous habitations of the natives were pleasantly sheltered
beneath clumps of cocoanut and bread-fruit trees, which afforded both
food and shade. This mingled variety of garden and grove swept gradually
up the sides of the mountains, until succeeded by dense forests, which
in turn gave place to naked and craggy rocks, until the summits rose
into the regions of perpetual snow.

The royal residence of Tamaahmaah was at this time at another island
named Woahoo. The island of Owyhee was under the command of one of his