1840.] PERSONAL APPEARANCE OP THE NATIVES. 341 



and evenly set. Their eyes are black as night, and when 

 kindled with the demoniacal passions so easy to be inflamed, 

 they glow like coals of fire. The forms of both sexes are cast 

 in a fine mould, and corpulence is almost unknown. Their 

 hair is naturally black, but it is so much discolored by the 

 use of the ley obtained from the ashes of bread-fruit leaves, 

 lime, white clay, and other substances, to destroy the vermin, 

 that it often assumes a reddish appearance. The women, 

 too, dye their hair with various pigments for the sake of im- 

 proving their beauty, of which last commodity, however, they 

 do not ordinarily possess a superabundance, although now 

 and then a tolerably pretty and pleasing face may be seen. 

 If they were confined more to their houses they might im- 

 prove in this respect, but as they are now employed for a 

 great part of the time out of doors, and almost in a nude 

 state, whatever personal charms they naturally possess soon be- 

 come impaired. They are the mere creatures and slaves of 

 their husbands, yet from custom and habit seem to bow them- 

 selves willingly to the yoke. 



It is usual among the Feejeeans to wear moustaches, and 

 to allow the beard to grow long. The hair of the boys is 

 kept cropped short, in order to keep out all strange intruders, 

 with the exception of a single lock which is allowed to grow, 

 till they arrive at man's estate, when it is spread out in a 

 mop-like form, and often frizzled with great care and skill by 

 the native barbers. Instead of the curling-irons of the friseur, 

 a long and slender hair-pin, made of tortoise-shell or bone, is 

 used for this purpose. Some of the chiefs keep several bar- 

 bers among their retainers, and spend a great deal of time 

 in dressing their heads, and their beards and moustaches. 

 Cocoa-nut oil, scented with sandal- wood, is liberally applied to 

 their hair. This singular mode of wearing that useful appen- 

 dage gives the Feejeean dandies a most strange appearance ; 

 but they pride themselves much on the exquisite finish of their 

 toilet, and like other fops, will spend hour after hour in sur- 

 veying themselves in a mirror. The loss of the hair is 

 esteemed a great misfortune, and its place is always supplied 



