ere
are Pomarees in Tahiti. The name was originally assumed by the great
Otoo, (to be read of in Captain Cook,) who united the whole island under
one crown. It descended to his son, and then to his grandson, who came
to the throne an infant, and, dying young, was succeeded by her present
majesty, Pomaree Vahinee I., the first female Pomaree. This lady has
been twice married. Her first husband was a king's son, but the union
was ill assorted, a divorce obtained, and she took up with one Tanee, a
chief from the neighbouring island of Imeco. She leads him a dog's life,
and he consoles himself by getting drunk. In that state, he now and then
violently breaks out, contemns the royal authority, thrashes his wife,
and smashes the crockery. Captain Bob gave Typee an account of a burst
of this sort, which occurred about seven years ago. Stimulated by the
seditious advice of his boon companions, and under the influence of an
unusually large dose of strong waters, the turbulent king-consort forgot
the respect due to his wife and sovereign, mounted his horse, and ran
full tilt at the royal cavalcade, out for their afternoon ride in the
park. One maid of honour was floored, the rest fled in terror, save and
except Pomaree, who stood her ground like a man, and apostrophised her
insubordinate spouse in the choicest Tahitian Billingsgate. For once her
eloquence failed of effect. Dragged from her horse, her personal charms
were deteriorated by a severe thumping on the face. This done,
Othello-Tanee attempted to strangle her, and was in a fair way to
succeed, when her loving subjects came to her rescue. So heinous a crime
could not be overlooked, and Tanee, was banished to his native island;
but after a short time he declared his penitence, made _amende
honorable_, and was restored to favour. He does not very often venture
to thwart the will of his royal wife, much less to raise his hand
against her sacred person, but submits with exemplary patience to her
caprices and abuse, and even to the manual admonitions she not
unfrequently bestows upon him.

Upon the whole, life, at the Calabooza was not very disagreeable. The
prisoners, now only nominally so, had little to complain of, except
occasional short commons, arising not from unwillingness, but from
disability, on the part of the kind-hearted natives, to satisfy the
cravings of the hungry whalers, whose appetites were remarkable,
especially that of lanky Doctor Long Ghost. The doctor wa