1769, ROUND THE WORLD. 241 



Their weapons are slings, which they use with 

 great dexterity, pikes headed with the stings of sting- 

 rays, and clubs, of about six or seven feet long, made 

 of a very hard heavy wood. Thus armed, they are 

 said to fight with great obstinacy, which is the more 

 likely to be true, as it is certain that they give no 

 quarter to either man, woman, or child, who is so 

 unfortunate as to fall into their hands during the 

 battle, or for some hours afterwards, till their passion, 

 which is always violent, though not lasting, has 

 subsided. 



The Earee rahie of Obereonoo, while we were here, 

 was in perfect amity with the Earee rahie of Tiarre- 

 boo, the other peninsula, though he took himself the 

 title of king of the whole island : this, however, pro- 

 duced no more jealousy in the other sovereign, than 

 the title of king of France, assumed by our sovereign, 

 does in his most Christian Majesty. 



In a government so rude, it cannot be expected 

 that distributive justice should be regularly adminis- 

 tered, and indeed, where there is so little opposition 

 of interest, in consequence of the facility with which 

 every appetite and passion is gratified, there can be 

 but few crimes. There is nothing like money, the 

 common medium by which every want and every 

 wish is supposed to be gratified by those who do not 

 possess it; there is no apparently permanent good 

 which either fraud or force can unlawfully obtain ; 

 and when all the crimes that are committed by the 

 inhabitants of civilized countries, to get money, are 

 set out of the account, not many will remain : add to 

 this, that where the commerce with women is re- 

 strained by no law, men will seldom be under any 

 temptation to commit adultery, especially as one 

 woman is always less preferred to another, where 

 they are less distinguished by personal decorations, 

 and the adventitious circumstances which are pro- 

 duced by the varieties of art, and the refinements of 

 sentiment. That they are thieves is true ; but as 



VOL. I. R 



