th respect to
Otaheite. As land is scarcer, private property is more exactly
ascertained, and each man's possession fenced in with a beautiful Chinese
railing. Highways, and roads leading to public places, are neatly fenced
in on each side, and a handsome approach to their houses by a
gravel-walk, with shubbery planted with some degree of taste on each side
of it. Many of them had rows of pine apples on each side of the avenue.
Messrs. Hayward and Corner, with their usual benevolence, took much pains
in teaching them the manner of transplanting their pine-apples; which
hint they immediately adopted, and were very thankful for any advice,
either in rearing their fruit, or cultivating their ground. The shaddocks
are superior in flavour to those of the West Indies; and they will soon
have oranges from what we have left amongst them.

The women here are extremely beautiful; and although they want that
feminine softness of manners which the Otaheite women possess in so
eminent a degree, their matchless vivacity, and fine animated
countenances, compensate the want of the softer blandishments of their
sister island.

There is a favourite amusement of the ladies here, (the cup and ball),
such as children play at in England. It serves to give them a degage kind
of air, by which means you have a more elegant display of their charms.
They are well aware of their fascinating powers, and use them with as
much address as our fine women do notting, and other acts of industry.
Trade went briskly on. They brought abundance of hogs, and several ton
weight of very excellent yams. We found that the pork took salt, and was
cured much better here than at Otaheite.

Many beautiful girls were brought on board for sale by their mothers, who
were very exorbitant in their demands, as nothing less than a broad axe
would satisfy them; but after standing their market three days, _la
pucelage_ fell to an old razor, a pair of scissors, or a very large nail.
Indeed this trade was pushed to so great a height, that the quarter-deck
became the scene of the most indelicate familiarities. Nor did the
unfeeling mothers commiserate with the pain and suffering of the poor
girls, but seemed to enjoy it as a monstrous good thing. It is customary
here, when girls meet with an accident of this kind, that a council of
matrons is held, and the noviciate has a gash made in her fore finger. We
soon observed a number of cut fingers amongst them; and had the razors
h