the kingdom.' At the conclusion of
the service they requested permission to sing their parting hymn, when
the whole congregation, in good time, sang 'Depart in peace.'

Captain Waldegrave, like all former visitors, bears testimony to the
kind disposition and active benevolence of these simple islanders. The
children, he says, are fond and obedient, the parents affectionate and
kind towards their children. None of the party ever heard a harsh word
made use of by one towards another. They never slander or speak ill of
one another. If any question was asked as to the character or conduct of
a particular individual, the answer would probably be something of this
kind, 'If it could do any good, I would answer you; but as it cannot, it
would be wrong to tell tales'; or if the question applied to one who had
committed a fault, they would say, 'It would be wrong to tell my
neighbour's shame.' The kind and benevolent feeling of these amiable
people is extended to the surviving widows of the Otaheite men who were
slain on the island, and who would be left in a helpless and destitute
state, were it not for the humane consideration of the younger part of
the society, by whom they are supported and regarded with every mark of
attention.

The women are clothed in white cloth made from the paper mulberry, the
dress extending from the shoulders to the feet, in double folds, and so
loose as entirely to conceal the shape of the person. The mothers, while
nursing, carry the infant within their dress; as the child advances in
growth it sits across the hip of the parent with its little hands
clinging to the shoulder, while the mother's arm passing round it keeps
it in safety. The men and boys, except on Sunday, when they appear in
English dresses, generally wear only the _mara_, or waist-cloth, which,
passing over the hips, and between the legs, is knotted behind; the
climate is in fact too hot for cumbersome clothing. The women, when
working, use only a petticoat, with a jacket.

The men are stated to be from five feet eight inches to six feet high,
of great muscular strength and excellent figures. 'We did not see,' says
Captain Waldegrave, 'one cripple or defective person, except one boy,
whom, in the most good-humoured way, and laughing heartily, they brought
to me, observing, "You ought to be brothers, you have each lost the
right eye." I acknowledged the connexion, and no doubt for the future he
will be called the Captain.'

Capta