194 PUNISHMENT OF THEFT. 
always refrain from endeavouring to appropri- 
ate the articles they prize so highly. For in- 
stance, I think if any one of the Tahaitian 
ladies had found an opportunity of stealing a 
bit of the mock gold lace, the temptation would 
have been tco great to withstand. Every theft 
however is, on discovery, punished without dis- 
tinction of persons, and the criminal, on convic- 
tion, is generally sentenced to work on the 
highway. A road has been made round the 
island, on which those who have committed great 
transgressions, are condemned to labour; but 
it is probable that neglect of prayer, or any 
trifling offence against the Missionaries, would 
also entail this punishment upon them. 
We had an opportunity of observing the 
severity with which theft is punished. A com- 
plaisant husband could not resist the entreaties 
of his wife, who longed for one of our sheets. 
One day, when the sailors were washing in the 
river, he took an opportunity, unperceived as 
he thought, to snatch up one of these coveted 
articles and run off with it. Some of his coun- 
trymen, who had watched him, directly brought 
him back, bound him to a tree, and informed 
