en their
king, Thakombau,--a true descendant of the lineage of
"Hokey-Pokey-Winkey-Wum,"--with other dignitaries of this man-eating
nation. He had seen their huge caldron for cooking the flesh of men,--
their pots and pans for stewing it,--their dishes upon which it was
served up,--the knives with which they were accustomed to carve it,--
their larders stocked with human flesh, and redolent of human blood!
Nay, more; the English sailor had been an eye-witness of one of their
grand festivals; where the bodies of men and women, cooked in various
styles,--stewed, roasted, and boiled,--had been served out and partaken
of by hundreds of Thakombau's courtiers; the sailor's own captain,--the
captain of a British frigate,--ay, the commodore of a British
squadron,--with cannon sufficient to have blown the island of Viti Vau
out of the water,--sitting alongside, apparently a tranquil and
contented spectator of the horrid ceremonial!

It is difficult to account for the behaviour of this Englishman, the
Hon. -- by name. The only explanation of his conduct one can arrive at
is, to believe that his weak mind was fast confined by the trammels of
that absurd, but often too convenient, theory of international
non-interference,--the most dangerous kind of red-tape that ever
tethered the squeamish conscience of an official imbecile.

How different was the action of Wilkes,--that Yankee commander we are so
fond of finding fault with! He, too, paid a visit to the cannibal
island of Viti Vau; and while there, taught both its king and its people
a lesson by the fire of his forty-pounders that, if not altogether
effective in extinguishing this national but unnatural custom, has
terrified them in its practice to this very day.

Non-interference, indeed! International delicacy in the treatment of a
tribe of cruel savages! A nation of man-eaters,--forsooth, a nation!
Why not apply the laws of nationality to every band of brigands who
chances to have conquered an independent existence? Bah! The world is
full of frivolous pretences,--drunk with the poison-cup of political
hypocrisy.

It was not Ben Brace who thus reasoned, but his biographer. Ben's
reflections were of a strictly practical character His belief in
cannibalism was complete; and as the craft to which he had so
involuntarily attached himself drifted on towards the mysterious islet,
he was not without some misgivings as to the character of the people who
might inhabit it.