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his friend. Sometimes the razor becomes rather dull, and something more than a little additional strength is necessary. A whetstone is then applied to the edge; but if this be not at hand, the man gets up half-shaved, and both go together to the nearest grindstone; and I have beheld that the transition from the grindstone to the chin is sometimes direct, without any intermediate application to the edge of the razor. The hone and the strap, however, have been introduced, and ere long will probably supersede the use of the grindstone, and also the whetstone.

The islanders appear to have paid at all times great attention, not only to cleanliness, but to personal ornaments. On public occasions, their appearance was in a high degree imposing. At their dances, and other places of amusement or festivity, they wore a profusion of ornament, and on ordinary occasions, with the exception of the aged and decrepit, devoted much time to the improvement of their appearance. The hair of the females, which was neatly trimmed, and sometimes appeared in short loose curls, was an' object of great attention; the eye-brows were also reduced, or shaped according to their ideas of beauty. The hair was ornamented with elegant native flowers, sometimes exhibited in great profusion and variety, at others with only one or two single jessamine blossoms, or a small wreath interwoven with their black and shining ringlets. They displayed great taste in the use of flowers, and the adorning of their hair. Frequently I have seen them with beautiful wreaths of yellow flowers, worn like fragrant necklaces on their bosoms, and garlands of the same around their brows, or small bunches of the brilliant scarlet hibiscus rosæ chinensis

fastened in their hair. Though totally unacquainted with what we are accustomed to call artificial flowers, yet the brilliant and varied odoriferous plants, that grew spontaneously among their mountains or their valleys, did not suffice to gratify their wishes; they were therefore accustomed to manufacture a kind of artificial flowers, by extracting the petals and leaflets of the most fragrant plants and flowers, and fastening them with fine native thread, to the wiry stalk of the cocoa-nut leaf, which they saturated with monoi, or scented oil, and wore in each ear, or fixed in the native bonnet, made with the rich yellow cocoa-nut leaf. The men, though unaccustomed to adorn their hair with flowers, were careful of preserving and dressing it. They generally wore it long, and often fastened in a graceful braid on the crown, or on each side of the head, and spent not a small portion of their time in washing and perfuming it with scented oil, combing and adjusting it. When it was short, they sometimes dressed it with the gum of the bread-fruit tree, which gave it a shining appearance, and fixed it as straight as if it had been stiffened with rosin. The open air was the general dressing-place of both sexes; and a group of females might often be seen sitting under the shade of a clump of wide-spreading trees, or in the cool mountain-stream, employing themselves for hours together in arranging the curls of the hair, weaving the wreaths of flowers, and filling the air with their perfumes. Their comb was a rude invention of their own, formed by fixing together thin strips of the bamboo-cane. Their mirror was one supplied by nature, and consisted in the clear water of the stream, contained in a cocoa-nut shell.

The attention of the people to personal decoration rendered looking-glasses valuable articles of trade in their early intercourse with foreigners; and although the habit has very much declined, and their taste with regard to ornament, &c. is materially changed, lookingglasses are still, with many, desirable articles. Those, however, who have furnished them, have often made a mistake in sending, on account of their cheapness, an inferior kind, which, in consequence of a defect in the glass, exhibits the face in a distorted and ludicrous shape. Nothing will more offend a Tahitian than to ask him to look in one of these glasses. They call them hio maamaa, foolish glasses, and, instead of purchasing them, would sometimes hardly be induced to accept them as presents.

Since the introduction of Christianity, the use of flowers in the hair, and fragrant oil, has been in a great degree discontinued-partly from the connexion of those ornaments with the evil practices to which they were formerly addicted, and partly from the introduction of European caps and bonnets, the latter being now universally worn.

CHAP. V.

Improved circumstances of the females-Instruction in needleworkIntroduction of European clothing-Its influence upon the people-Frequent singularity of their appearance-Development of parental affection-Increased demand for British manufactures-Native hats and bonnets-Reasons for encouraging a desire for European dress, &c.Sabbath in the South Sea Islands-Occupations of the preceding dayEarly morning prayer-meetings-Sabbath schools-Order of divine service-School exercises-Contrast with idolatrous worship.

WHILE the enclosure of plantations and gardens, the erection of neat and commodious dwellings, schools, and the spacious building for the worship of the true God, after the European plan, were rapidly altering the aspect of the settlement, the natives themselves were undergoing a change in appearance, in perfect keeping with this transformation of the surrounding country. The females, no longer exposed to that humiliating neglect to which idolatry had subjected them, enjoyed the comforts of domestic life, the pleasure resulting from the culture of their minds, the ability to read the scriptures, and to write in their own language, in which several excelled the other sex; they also became anxious to engage in employments which are appropriated to their own sex in civilized and Christian communities. The females in Huahine, and the other islands, were therefore taught to work at their needle, and soon made a pleasing proficiency.

The Missionaries' wives had taught some few in Eimeo prior to our arrival; but, until their reception of Christianity, they considered it degrading to attach themselves to the household of the foreigners, or to learn any of their arts and customs; they also thought their own manner of wearing a piece of native or foreign cloth, cast loosely round the body, preferable to the European mode of dress, and consequently had no inducement to learn needlework, or any other kind of female employment. They were, however, now anxious not only to adopt the English style of clothing, but also to be able to make their own dresses. This was a kind of instruction which our wives were competent to impart, even before they had acquired a sufficient knowledge of the language to enable them to teach in the schools. Mrs. Ellis had engaged in it ever since our arrival in Eimeo; and, as soon as we were settled in the Leeward Islands, some were daily occupied in teaching the native females

to sew.

In Huahine a large class attended every afternoon from two till five o'clock, alternately at our respective houses, where Mrs. Barff and Mrs. Ellis met, and spent the afternoon pleasantly in each other's society, and unitedly teaching the females by whom they were surrounded. The natives, in general, now considered it a great favour to be taught, though it was sometimes found that they had entertained very incorrect ideas of the motives by which their instructors were influenced. A young woman had attended very regularly for some weeks, and had learned to use her needle as well as could be expected in that time. One Saturday night she presented herself with our native domestics, and begged to be paid her wages for learning to sew! Mrs. E.

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