ree_, baron;
_manahouni_, vassal; and _toutou_, villain. The earee rahie, of which
there are two in this island, one being the sovereign of each of the
peninsulas of which it consists, is treated with great respect by all
ranks, but did not appear to us to be invested with so much power as was
exercised by the earees in their own districts; nor indeed did we, as we
have before observed, once see the sovereign of Obereonoo while we were
in the island. The earees are lords of one or more of the districts into
which each of the peninsulas is divided, of which there may be about one
hundred in the whole island; and they parcel out their territories to
the manahounies, who cultivate each his part which he holds under the
baron. The lowest class, called toutous, seem to be nearly under the
same circumstances as the villains in feudal governments: These do all
the laborious work, they cultivate the land under the manahounies, who
are only nominal cultivators for the lord, they fetch wood and water,
and, under the direction of the mistress of the family, dress the
victuals; they also catch the fish.

Each of the eares keeps a kind of court, and has a great number of
attendants, chiefly the younger brothers of their own tribe; and among
these some hold particular offices, but of what nature exactly we could
not tell. One was called the _Eowa no l'Earee_, and another the _Whanno
no l'Earee_, and these were frequently dispatched to us with messages.
Of all the courts of these eares, that of Tootahah was the most
splendid, as indeed might reasonably be expected, because he
administered the government for Outou, his nephew, who was earee rahie
of Obereonoo, and lived upon his estate. The child of the baron or
earee, as well as of the sovereign or earee rahie, succeeds to the title
and honours of the father as soon as it is born: So that a baron, who
was yesterday called earee, and was approached with the ceremony of
lowering the garments, so as to uncover the upper part of the body, is
to day, if his wife was last night delivered of a child, reduced to the
rank of a private man, all marks of respect being transferred to the
child, if it is suffered to live, though the father still continues
possessor and administrator of his estate: Probably this custom has its
share, among other inducements, in forming the societies called
Arreoy.[35]

[Footnote 35: What renders this opinion the more probable, is the
circumstance of these socie