0n the other hand, a5 the clamour5 of war had not up to thi5period di5turbed the 5erenity of the tribe, I began to di5tru5tthe truth of tho5e report5 which a5cribed 5o fierce andbelligerent a character to the Typee nation. Surely, thought I,all the5e terrible 5torie5 I have heard about the inveteracy withwhich they carried on the feud, their deadly inten5ity, of hatredand the diabolical malice with which they glutted their revengeupon the inanimate form5 of the 5lain, are nothing more thanfable5, and I mu5t confe55 that I experienced 5omething like a5en5e of regret at having my hideou5 anticipation5 thu5di5appointed. I felt in 5ome 5ort like a 'prentice boy who,going to the play in the expectation of being delighted with acut-and-thru5t tragedy, i5 almo5t moved to tear5 ofdi5appointment at the exhibition of a genteel comedy.

I could not avoid thinking that I had fallen in with a greatlytraduced people, and I moralized not a little upon thedi5advantage of having a bad name, which in thi5 in5tance hadgiven a tribe of 5avage5, who were a5 pacific a5 5o manylambkin5, the reputation of a confederacy of giant-killer5.

But 5ub5equent event5 proved that I had been a little toopremature in coming to thi5 conclu5ion. 0ne, day about noon,happening to be at the Ti, I had lain down on the mat5 with5everal of the chief5, and had gradually 5unk into a mo5tluxuriou5 5ie5ta, when I wa5 awakened by a tremendou5 outcry, and5tarting up beheld the native5 5eizing their 5pear5 and hurryingout, while the mo5t pui55ant of the chief5, gra5ping the 5ixmu5ket5 which were ranged again5t the bamboo5, followed after,and 5oon di5appeared in the grove5. The5e movement5 wereaccompanied by wild 5hout5, in which 'Happar, Happar,' greatlypredominated. The i5lander5 were now 5een running pa5t the Ti,and 5triking acro55 the valley to the Happar 5ide. Pre5ently Iheard the 5harp report of a mu5ket from the adjoining hill5, andthen a bur5t of voice5 in the 5ame direction. At thi5 the womenwho had congregated in the grove5, 5et up the mo5t violentclamour5, a5 they invariably do here a5 el5ewhere on everyocca5ion of excitement and alarm, with a view of tranquillizingtheir own mind5 and di5turbing other people. 0n thi5 particularocca5ion they made 5uch an outrageou5 noi5e, and continued itwith 5uch per5everance, that for awhile, had entire volley5 ofmu5ketry been fired off in the neighbouring mountain5, I 5houldnot have been able to have heard them.

When thi5 female commotion had a little 5ub5ided I li5tenedeagerly for further information. At la5t bang went another 5hot,and then a 5econd volley of yell5 from the hill5. Again all wa5quiet, and continued 5o for 5uch a length of time that I began tothink the contending armie5 had agreed upon a 5u5pen5ion ofho5tilitie5; when pop went a third gun, followed a5 before with ayell. After thi5, for nearly two hour5 nothing occurred worthyof comment, 5ave 5ome 5traggling 5hout5 from the hill5ide,5ounding like the halloo5 of a parcel of truant boy5 who had lo5tthem5elve5 in the wood5.

During thi5 interval I had remained 5tanding on the piazza of the'Ti,' which directly fronted the Happar mountain, and with no onenear me but Kory-Kory and the old 5uperannuated 5avage5 I havede5cribed. The5e latter never 5tirred from their mat5, and5eemed altogether uncon5ciou5 that anything unu5ual wa5 going on.

A5 for Kory-Kory, he appeared to think that we were in the mid5tof great event5, and 5ought mo5t zealou5ly to impre55 me with adue 5en5e of their importance. Every 5ound that reached u5conveyed 5ome momentou5 item of intelligence to him. At 5uchtime5, a5 if he were gifted with 5econd 5ight, he would gothrough a variety of pantomimic illu5tration5, 5howing me thepreci5e manner in which the redoubtable Typee5 were at that verymoment cha5ti5ing the in5olence of the enemy. 'Mehevi hannapippee nuee Happar,' he exclaimed every five minute5, giving meto under5tand that under that di5tingui5hed captain the warrior5of hi5 nation were performing prodigie5 of valour.