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and sciences. It is impossible to imagine how rich and flourishing France might have become under his reign had the resources employed on extensive foreign wars been expended upon internal improvements. During his stay in Paris, Cellini was kindly treated by the king, and encouraged to attempt a number of large silver statues representing Grecian divinities, several of which he finished before he left the country, besides making tasteful ornaments for the fountain at Fontainbleu, and other smaller works.

On his return to his native city, Florence, where he now took up his permanent abode, he entered the service of Cosmo de Medici, and for that prince accomplished the two last and greatest works of his life, viz: a life size Christ upon the cross, cut out of marble, which Vasari pronounces "a most exquisite and extraordinary performance," and a bronze statue of Perseus holding in his hand the head of Medusa. This last statue gave him immense trouble, so that during its progress he fell quite sick from over exertion. Taking a short recess from labor, he made a trip to Venice, in which beautiful and opulent city he enjoyed pleasant intercourse with Titian and the statuary Sansovino. His Perseus being at length completed, it was set up in an honorable place, hard by the gate of the ducal palace, upon a basis of marble, and received with enthusiasm by the people of Florence.

Thus Benvenuto Cellini, from being an humble goldsmith, had risen to the enviable rank of a sculptor, for his genius could not rest content until it had reached the highest sphere in which it was capable of moving. And not only was he an artist, but also an author, depicting with his lively and familiar pen, the men and manners of his age.

In closing, we may say of him that he was a true Italian, full of life and energy, talented and ingenious, indefatigable when at work, yet restless as a bird on the wing, sociable and amorous, excitable and reckless when seeking to revenge himself or kindred, yet withal of a devout turn of mind in the Catholic way.

His life may be compared to a mountain stream, which spends its young strength in coursing swiftly down the rock worn channel, or tumbling wildly in a cataract over high rocks, carrying along in its impetuosity whatever impedes its progress; but which, arrived at the plains below, meanders through the quiet meadows, its limpid waters sometimes sparkling in the noonday sun, or shaded by overhanging trees, or perhaps darkened by lowering clouds, until they are lost in the wide blue ocean.

TALES OF THE HULUMANU.

EDITED BY AN HAWAIIAN.

THE sun's last rays were gleaming across the water, and gilding the grim peaks of Leiahi. The day had been a season of prolonged festivity and mirth. From level plain and fertile valley, the shark-skin drum, with its monotonous tattoo, had summoned the inhabitants to the cocoanut groves at Waikiki. Clothed with a magnificent feather-robe, surrounded by his chieftains, and preceded by the insignia of royalty, the King of Oahu had come from the temple, to witness the games, and to preside over the amusements of the occasion. All day long, the merry dancing-girls had tripped lightly to the sound of the reed, displaying their witching charms before an admiring crowd. Brave warriors had proved their skill in the spear-exercise; while the young men vied with each other in throwing the discus.

But now the clink of dog-tooth bracelets and bangles had ceased; the rattle of gourd-shells was hushed; the people were retiring to their homes. When the stars began their nightly twinkling in the sky, the noisy hula ground was deserted and silent; the dancers were gone, to bathe their weary limbs in the surf; and, within the royal enclosure, brawny spearmen were carving choice morsels of dog's flesh, and gormandizing the carcasses of slaughtered swine.

Apart from the circle of inferior braves, sat the king and his chiefs. A huge kou tree spread its branches above their heads; and the nightwind, as it rustled the leaves, shook the fragrant flower-dust over the wooden dishes that contained the savory feast. A blazing fire perfumed the air with sweet odors of burning sandal-wood, and lighted the countenances of the jovial banqueters with its cheerful glow. Around a large

calabash sat the favorite ladies of the harem, mixing bitter awa for their lord and his companions. It was a scene of rude mirth and savage revelry.

When, at length, hunger was appeased, and the cocoa-nut shell cups were less eagerly drained, an old man drew near, and crouched beside the fire. His locks were white, and the long hairs of his scanty beard were gathered in a knot under his chin. Holding out his thin hands to the blaze, he began a wild chant, recounting the exploits of illustrious champions and heroes of the olden time. The king soon invited the venerable man to his side, and desired him to relate one of those curious tales with which his memory was stored. Drawing his flowing mantle carefully around him, the reverend sage quaffed the proffered cup of awa, and then commenced the following narration:

The waves rose,

Ages and ages ago the earth was covered with water. and fell, and sparkled in the sun-light, as now; but they washed no sandy shores, nor dashed their spray over any rocky cliff. Men and beasts were not yet; and the monsters of the deep had the world all to themselves.

One day, when the warm south wind blew, a mighty bird came sweeping along with the breeze. Her plumage was white as the foam of the sea; and her wings measured four hundred thousand fathoms from tip to tip. Day after day, she went circling over the water, occasionally dipping down to snap up a whale, or a shark, by way of refreshment, till, at length, she folded her wings, and settled quietly on the waves. Here she sat for three weeks; and then flew away to parts unknown; leaving a great, white egg that drifted slowly around, in the water, and turned up its shining sides to the rays of the sun. Finally, it opened, and released six full-grown islands, which settled themselves in the midst of the ocean, ⚫ and are called the Hawaiian Islands. They were not the green and lovely isles that now greet the weary mariner's eye as he comes over the sea; but their valleys and hills were bleak and bare of vegetation. Soon the clouds began to cling around the mountain-tops; and the south wind no longer came gently over the waves; but it brought storms and rain which quenched the fires of goddess Pèlè. She had made for herself a home on each of the islands; but the tempests drove her from place to place till she reached the pit of Kilauea, behind the mountain, where the rain comes not, and the springs of water do not flow. Then grass began to grow in the valleys; and cocoa-nut trees sprang from the sea-monsters' teeth that were washed upon the sandy shores; and the gods came down by star-light, and planted the bread-fruit, the ohia, and the koa; so that,

in the morning, the land was covered with trees. Very beautiful were the islands then; for Pèlè had not yet been made wroth; nor did she pour forth floods of fire from her mouth, as when, in after times, men mocked her with their scorn. There were neither beasts nor birds in the forests; nor was any living thing in all the island; so the nymphs and fairies came often from their celestial home, and bathed in the clear, mountain streams, and twined their hair with the bright blossoms of the ohia.

Thus time wore away till, one morning, the sun, peeping over the waves, saw two strange birds sitting together on a rocky crag. They were an owl and a hawk; and they rested as quietly as if, from its earliest creation, sole tenants of the island. When the dew was dried from the grass the owl commenced prying around after mice, while the hawk flew off toward the mountain, in search of small birds. Both were, however, disappointed, and came back, at nightfall, to roost on the crag. The owl complained of the bright sun-light, and declared that, in future, he should not stir from his perch till nearly evening, when the sun was obscured by the clouds that gathered around the western hills. The hawk, whose eyes were partial to a powerful light, seeing how great an advantage the owl would have during cloudy weather and in the night time, proposed a partnership of spoils and an equal division of prey. To this the owl readily consented; and, tucking their heads under their wings, the two birds were soon snoring through their bills with the utmost regularity and precision.

A few nights after this, the hawk came home with a very jubilant expression of countenance, and informed his friend that he had found a mouse. "A mouse!" replied the owl. "Have you killed it?" No; he had only found its hole, just as he was coming home; and, on the morrow, in accordance with the agreement, they would go together, and banquet on the unhappy animal. So they formed a plan for decoying the mouse from its nest; and then the hawk, being very much fatigued, fell asleep. Not so the owl, who had been droning all day at home, and was therefore not in the least inclined to slumber. As soon as the moon rose, he spread his wings and flew to the spot where the hawk said the mouse had its hole. But he could not find the exact place, though very sure that it was near; so he perched on a small tree, and called out, "Mouse!" The little creature, hearing the voice, was very much surprised; but, putting its nose above the ground, answered, "What?" "Come forth," said the owl. The mouse, who had always lived alone, and had never seen, or even heard of, a cat or an owl, came out of its nest, and began to look around

in the moonlight, when the owl, instantly swooping down from the tree, caught the little animal in his talons.

As the owl was leaving the perch beside his friend, he accidentally loosened a small stone, which soon fell from its place into the water with a splash that awakened the hawk. Rubbing his eyes with the corner of his wing, he looked up and found himself alone. Instantly surmising the truth, he started in pursuit, and was just in time to pounce upon the owl as that treacherous bird seized the mouse. Then followed a sanguin ary contest, during which the poor mouse crawled off to its hole; though not without a considerable loss of blood and hair, which the night winds transformed into singing birds. The blood was changed into the beautiful red birds which hover round the blossoms of the ohia; and the hair, into the dove-colored birds that live among the mountains, and feed on strawberries and ohelos.

The hawk and the owl, in the meantime, gave loose rein to their anger, and tore each other's plumage with the most unexampled fury. Every feather, as it was loosened, sprang a living bird, into the air; so that the two combatants were very soon surrounded by a perfect cloud of song. sters of all sizes and colors; and, when the morning dawned, the hitherto silent forests were alive and vocal with music.

The fates of the hawk and the owl are not stated in the ancient legend; but it may be supposed that their difficulties were finally adjusted; for, on any cloudy afternoon at the present time, you may see their progeny quietly sailing around over the fields with their great, green eyes ever on the watch for mice or small birds.

In the course of time, it came to pass that men found a home on the islands. Whence they came, is not known; but it is certain that they were destitute of fire, and utterly unacquainted with the method of obtaining that inestimable blessing. A tribe of water-fowl, called Alae, was man's superior in this respect, for it possessed the secret of procuring, and using, fire. At early dawn, these birds would settle in the edge of the forest, where the wild bananas grow-kindle a blazing fire, roast the bananas, off which they would breakfast sumptuously, and then return to their native marshes and pools along the sea-shore.

Two brothers, among the inhabitants, had observed this custom of the Alae, and had partaken of the dainty fragments of the feast. They de termined to lie in wait for the birds, and rob them of their fire, when they came, to roast bananas in. the woods. Accordingly when the birds again came, and made a fire at the accustomed spot, these two enterpris

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