anual exercise,
triumphing over a fallen foe; or, as I have frequently seen it, they are
represented as carrying a human sacrifice to the temple. Every kind of
animal--goats, dogs, fowls, and fish--may at times be seen on this part
of the body; muskets, swords, pistols, clubs, spears, and other weapons
of war are also stamped upon their arms and chest."

These figures are not all crowded upon the same person, but each man
makes a selection according to his fancy. The women also tattoo their
persons, but not to such an extent as the men, and their designs and
figures are usually more tasteful.

Cook says that Mr Banks saw this operation performed on the back of a
girl about thirteen years old. The instrument used upon this occasion
had thirty teeth; about a hundred strokes were given in the minute, and
each stroke drew a little blood. The girl bore it bravely for about a
quarter of an hour; but at the end of that time the pain of so many
hundred punctures became unbearable. She first complained in murmurs,
then wept, and at last burst into loud lamentations, earnestly
beseeching the operator to stop. He, however, firmly refused, and when
she began to struggle, she was held down by two women, who sometimes
soothed and sometimes scolded her, and, now and then, when she became
very unruly, gave her a smart blow. Mr Banks stayed in a neighbouring
house an hour, and the operation was not over when he went away, yet it
was performed only on one side of the back; the other had been tattooed
some time before, and the loins had still to be done.

Tahiti is now one of the civilised islands of the South Seas. At the
time of Cook's visit the natives were absolutely savages. They lived in
a state of partial nakedness, and their manners and customs were of the
grossest description. Their religion and superstitions were degrading
in the extreme, and, until Christianity obtained a hold upon them, they
delighted in war, and practised horrible cruelties on their enemies.

Yet, even in their low condition, there were good points about those
islanders. Cook says that they were as large as the largest-sized
Europeans. The men were tall, strong, well-limbed, and finely shaped.
The tallest he saw, on a neighbouring island, was a man who measured six
feet three inches and a half. The women of the superior rank were above
our middle stature, but those of the inferior class rather below it.
Their complexion was a kind of clear oli