190 INFLUENCE OF THE MISSIONARIES. [1839. 



glories of France.* True, the one labored to establish a 

 temporal power on a firm foundation, while the others were 

 employed on a divine mission ; but the laws of nature, of 

 man's physical constitution, can never be disregarded with 

 impunity. As the love of flowers might have been made to 

 subserve a happy purpose, so might the amusements of the 

 natives, by rendering them harmless, or substituting others 

 in their stead, if that were impossible, have produced a hap- 

 piness, and contentedness of feeling, under the influence of 

 which they would have been less likely to fall into the vices, 

 and become victims to the temptations, introduced, or placed 

 before them, by some of the foreign residents. 



The traders and merchants who followed the missionaries, 

 have undoubtedly done much to counteract their efforts; but 

 the influence exerted by their own children has been equally 

 pernicious, and the establishment of a separate school for 

 them, looks so much like exclusiveness, like an aristocratic 

 barrier, that its tendency cannot be otherwise than prejudi- 

 cial. Until quite recently, very little pains have been taken 

 to instruct the natives in any useful arts, or to present in- 

 ducements for them to be active and industrious. Had they 

 been taught some light and easy employments, particularly 

 the females, and been allowed to indulge their native tastes 

 and customs, where they were not decidedly immoral, it is 

 but reasonable to suppose that they would have been a hap- 

 pier, more virtuous, and better contented people. 



* "A toutes les gloires de la France," is the inscription on the portico of tho 

 palace of Versailles. 



