llelurn of a Portion to Pitcairn Island. 275 



twenty huts came handy, while a plentiful stock of goats, 

 sheep, and poultry were roaming at large about the island. 

 A considerable quantity of valuable tropical fruit was hang- 

 ing ripe upon the trees, and seemed only awaiting the re- 

 turn of the former owners to be plucked for use. 



'' The baggage was speedily landed, and an unusual ac- 

 tivity prevailed, with the view of getting housed as speedily 

 as possible. It was plain these poor people had never ex- 

 pected again to get possession of a domain which they had 

 abandoned through ignorance and misrepresentation. The 

 reverent air with which they entered their huts and gazed 

 around with keen scrutinizing glance to see if all had been 

 left in its former state, showed with what love and veneration 

 they clung to this gloomy possession of their progenitors, 

 with all its melancholy traditions, which seemed to exercise 

 over them a deeper attraction than the majestic ruins of a 

 princely ancestral castle, with all its world-famous memories, 

 sometimes does upon the youthful representative of its pris- 

 tine glories. 



'' The important part played by the women during the 



consultations held at Norfolk Island seemed anew to be 



claimed by the fair sex at Pitcairn, and Captain Stewart 



could not sufficiently wonder at the high social position they 



occupied in the little community. The ladies for their part 



made the most of this privilege, and their utmost efforts were 



directed towards justifying it by their activity in household 



matters." 



T 2 



