him, "You are growing old and infirm. Death will soon claim you, for you are a native of earth. This fair home of mine must not be defiled with a corpse. We will therefore embrace and part. Return to earth and there end your days." At this moment Ina caused a beautiful rainbow to span the heavens, by which her disconsolate aged husband descended to earth to die.

ECLIPSES.

Tuanui-ka-rere, or Tuanui-about-to-fly, a demon from the east, is at times subject to excessive fits of rage, in which he thinks nothing of swallowing up the moon whole. Affrighted mortals exclaim, "Alas! a divinity has devoured the moon!" and very anxiously wait to see whether the useful luminary will be restored

or not.

Tangiia-ka-rere, or Tangiia-about-to-fly a demon from the west, was the ill-mannered god who devoured the sun in his anger. It was very comforting to find that in every instance sun and moon were vomited forth whole again, and resumed their old duties, apparently none the worse for what they had endured.

No offerings were made at Mangaia to these demons, as was the invariable custom at Rarotonga, when the irritated Tangaroa was there believed to have done what at Mangaia was attributed to Tangiia and Tuanui.

The upshot, however, was a very serious matter; for the anger of these demons having been vainly exercised against the heavenly bodies, must occasion the death of some man of distinction, to assuage their ire, and as a sort of payment for giving back to mankind those luminaries.

Note the inconsistency of this with the former myth.

A CELESTIAL FISH-HOOK.

The tail of the constellation "Scorpio," consisting of eight stars, two of which are double, is here known by the curious designation of "the great fish-hook of Tongareva." The monstrous myth

associated with it is as follows:

Vātea, the father of gods and men, whose home was in a part of Avaiki, or nether-world, called The-thin-land, one day went fishing in the deep blue ocean. He carried with him a great fishhook, which he baited with a star (doubtless an allusion to the bright star, the last in the tail). Notwithstanding this brilliant bait, he caught nothing. Vatea now resolved to imitate the conduct of his mother, Vari-ma-te-takere, i.e. The-very-beginning; accordingly, he pulled a piece of flesh off one of his own thighs and baited his big fish-hook afresh. This time he found that he had got a prize, but it was extraordinarily heavy. Fortunately, however, the line attached to the hook was the strongest known, consisting of many strands of cinet cord plaited round. Vātea pulled away lustily at this line, and was rejoiced at seeing a large dark round mass slowly rising to the surface. This proved to be the island of Tongareva, which had till then lain at the bottom of the deep blue sea. Vastly pleased with this achievement, Vātea hung up his great fish-hook in the sky. Hence its name, "the great fish-hook of Tongareva."

In some islands this constellation is known as "the fish-hook of Māui, with a somewhat similar myth to account for it.

It is not a little remarkable that this group of stars was so called on Mangaia long before any European had discovered the island in question. When found, it was designated in the charts as Penrhyns, without its native name, Tongareva, being known until a schooner, in 1853, had the misfortune to go ashore there.

When discovered, the inhabitants of Penrhyns knew of the existence of Auau (or Mangaia), and asserted that Tāvai, the erring wife of their great ancestor Mahuta, was a native of that island.

A DAY SONG FOR MAAKI'S FÊTE.

BY TANGATAROA, 1820.

tions of Tane they come from "the sunrising." The "brilliant right eye" of Tane is Venus.

"Tavare" is the lengendary sound sleeper (the mother of Moke), who passed each winter in unconsciousness.

CHAPTER IV.

THE EXPLOITS OF MAUI.

THE FIRE-GOD'S SECRET.

ORIGINALLY fire was unknown to the inhabitants of this world, who of necessity ate raw food.

In nether-world (Avaiki) lived four mighty ones: Mauike, god of fire; the Sun-god Ra; Ru, supporter of the heavens; and lastly, his wife Buataranga, guardian of the road to the invisible world.

To Ru and Buataranga was born a famous son Māui. At an early age Māui was appointed one of the guardians of this upper world where mortals live. Like the rest of the inhabitants of the world, he subsisted on uncooked food. The mother, Buataranga, occasionally visited her son; but always ate her food apart, out of a basket brought with her from nether-land. One day, when she was asleep, Maui peeped into her basket and discovered cooked food. Upon tasting it, he was decidedly of opinion that it was a great improvement upon the raw diet to which he was accustomed. This food came from nether-world; it was evident that the secret of fire was there. To nether-world,