An Account of the Natives of the Tonga Islands in the South Pacific Ocean.; With an original grammar and vocabulary of their language. Compiled and arranged from the extensive communications of Mr William Mariner

London: John Murray, 1818. Second edition, with additions. Two volumes, 8vo., Volume I, lxvi, 44; II., 344, Vol. II, 344 pp. Contemporary half Russia, bound without half titles; extremities a little worn, light foxing (mostly on the first and last few pages). Each volume is inscribed and signed by Mariner, a rare find, although the presentee's name was removed. "A key historical text on the history and culture of [the Tongan] island group" Forbes. Mariner was a young British sailor on the Port au Prince, a whaler which sailed in 1805, but spent much of her time attacking Spanish shipping. In the spring of 1806 she captured two ships, the brig Santa Isidora and the corbeta Santa Maria, both of which were then sent to Port Jackson to be sold. The Port au Prince visited Hawaii in late 1806, then sailed with a number of Hawaiian crew. At Tonga the crew mutinied, and most were massacred by the natives, but Mariner came under the protection of the King and lived there as his adopted son for four years. Mariner's story was cited by Byron as one of the two sources for his poem The Island, or Christian and his Comrades, a romantic narrative of the Bounty mutiny. There is an account of the visit to Hawaii where the ship took on crew, and later description includes discussion of the skills of the Hawaiian surgeon. Mariner lived as a stockbroker after returning from Tonga to England. Forbes 487 (see Forbes 467 for the first, 1817, edition).