In the afternoon of the 2nd of November, our navigators sailed out of Fare harbour, when five guns were fired as a salute. Omai came off with the ships a short distance; and then went on shore, having bid farewell to his kind British friends, in the most affectionate manner, with many tears.
Before he sailed, the Captain, for the further security of Omai, intimated to the principal chiefs, that if they should presume to molest his friend, they might expect to feel the weight of his resentment, on his next visit to their island. Captain Cook felt much satisfaction, in having restored him safe to the very spot from which he was taken. Yet he justly questioned, whether the happiness of Omai was not diminished, rather than increased, by his connexion with the British; both because his riches exposed him to greater danger, and because the sweets of civilized life, of which he had tasted, were no more within his reach. This last idea is beautifully illustrated by Cowper:
From all that science traces, art invents,
Or inspiration teaches; and enclos'd
In boundless oceans never to be pass'd
By navigators uninform'd as they,
Or plough'd perhaps by British bark again:
But far beyond the rest, and' with most cause,
Thee, gentle savage! whom no love of theo
Or thine, but curiosity perhaps,
Or else vainglory, prompted us to draw
Forth from thy native bow'rs, to show thee here
With what superior skill we can abuse
The gifts of Providence, and squander life.
The dream is past; and thou hast found again
Thy cocoas and bananas, palms and yams,
And homestall thatch'd with leaves. But hast thou found
