after me. The natives seemed pleased, and the young chief
nodded his head to show that we had done what he thought right. I don't
say there would have been any use in the form, or if I had done it
merely to please the natives, but I really did pray to God as truly as I
ever did, but I own that, in a way, the natives shamed me into it.

There was an old chief and his wife and two daughters, and three other
lads, besides our friend. They had all much more clothing on than the
other people we had seen, and were more quiet in their manners. As soon
as prayers were over, they hung up large pieces of native cloth from the
rafters, reaching to the floor, so as to form a number of little rooms.
Mats were laid on the floor to form the bedding, and pieces of cloth
served as coverlids. The pillow was a curious affair, being a thick
piece of bamboo, about four feet long, on little legs. We were shown
into one of these rooms, and a sign made to us to go to sleep. Even the
largest houses have not a nail in them, but are fastened together with
sennit, which is a line made from the root of a tree. I may say that
everything is fastened with sennit--canoes, as well as houses--so that
large quantities are used.

We slept very soundly, having no longer any fear of being cooked and
eaten. In the morning, as soon as it was daylight, the whole family was
on foot, and before anything was done they had prayers, as in the
evening; the young chief leading and reading more out of the Bible. As
soon as that was over, they all set about their daily work. The men and
boys went into the fields to cultivate the taro and other roots, on
which they live; while some of the women got out their mallets and
boards to make the native cloth; others employed themselves in plaiting
mats and baskets, which are so fine that they will hold water. Bill
thought that he was going to be a gentleman, and do nothing, as he said;
but I said that if we didn't work we could not expect to be fed, and
made signs to the young chief that we were ready to help him. He
smiled; perhaps he thought that we couldn't do much, and certainly we
could not hope to do anything as well as the natives did. They seemed
to me a very clever people, considering the small means they had. They
have now iron tools, but they showed me those they had before the
English came to the island, very neatly made of flint and shells and
bones. They made fish-hooks and spears, and many other