150 OBSERVANCE OF SUNDAY. 
dwellings of the happy inhabitants of this great 
pleasure-ground, built of bamboos, and covered 
with large leaves, standing each in its little 
garden; but, to our great astonishment, the 
stillness of death reigned among them ; and even 
when the sun stood high in the heavens, no one 
was to be seen. 
The warm friendships formed but yesterday 
seemed already to have cooled; we were quite 
forgotten. At length we obtained from. the 
boat, sent off to us at break of day with pro- 
visions, an explanation of this enigma. The 
inhabitants of Tahaiti were celebrating the 
Sunday, on which account they did _ not 
leave their houses, where they lay on their 
bellies reading the Bible and howling aloud ; 
laying aside every species of occupation, they 
devoted, as they said, the whole day to prayer. 
According to our reckoning, the day was Satur- 
day. This difference proceeded from the first 
Missionaries having reached Tahaiti from the 
west by the way of New Holland, while we had 
come eastward by Cape Horn. 
I resolved to go ashore and pay a visit to 
