ky moss. Thin spears of grass
sprouted from the distended mouth, and fringed the outline of the head
and arms. His godship had literally attained a green old age. All its
prominent points were bruised and battered, or entirely rotted away.
The nose had taken its departure, and from the general appearance of the
head it might have, been supposed that the wooden divinity, in despair
at the neglect of its worshippers, had been trying to beat its own
brains out against the surrounding trees.

I drew near to inspect more closely this strange object of idolatry, but
halted reverently at the distance of two or three paces, out of regard
to the religious prejudices of my valet. As soon, however, as Kory-Kory
perceived that I was in one of my inquiring, scientific moods, to my
astonishment, he sprang to the side of the idol, and pushing it away
from the stones against which it rested, endeavoured to make it stand
upon its legs. But the divinity had lost the use of them altogether; and
while Kory-Kory was trying to prop it up, placing a stick between it
and the pi-pi, the monster fell clumsily to the ground, and would have
infallibly have broken its neck had not Kory-Kory providentially broken
its fall by receiving its whole weight on his own half-crushed back. I
never saw the honest fellow in such a rage before. He leaped furiously
to his feet, and seizing the stick, began beating the poor image: every
moment, or two pausing and talking to it in the most violent manner, as
if upbraiding it for the accident. When his indignation had subsided
a little he whirled the idol about most profanely, so as to give me an
opportunity of examining it on all sides. I am quite sure I never should
have presumed to have taken such liberties with the god myself, and I
was not a little shocked at Kory-Kory's impiety.

This anecdote speaks for itself. When one of the inferior order of
natives could show such contempt for a venerable and decrepit God of the
Groves, what the state of religion must be among the people in general
is easy to be imagined. In truth, I regard the Typees as a back-slidden
generation. They are sunk in religious sloth, and require a spiritual
revival. A long prosperity of bread-fruit and cocoanuts has rendered
them remiss in the performance of their higher obligations. The wood-rot
malady is spreading among the idols--the fruit upon their altars
is becoming offensive--the temples themselves need rethatching--the
tattooed cle