534 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. 



So fond are they of this amuse- 

 ment, that they dance almost on 

 all occasions. However extrava- 

 gantly they have mourned for the 

 dead, they generally terminate 

 their grief with this ceremony of 

 joy ; in which I have seen the wo- 

 men so eager, that they have for- 

 gotten all sense of decorum, and 

 thrown oft" all incumbrance of 

 dress for greater freedom and di- 

 version. 



This is the general mode of life 

 at Tongataboo. They never rise, 

 but, the kava is prepared, and dis- 

 tributed in the exact order I have 

 described ; and immediately the 

 tackhangers call for the cooks in 

 the badoo, or kitchen, who bring 

 the baked yams, and present them 

 to the guests. If there is no se- 

 rious business for the chiefs, indo- 

 lent slumbers or the amusements 

 of conversation and choice, fill 

 up the middle part of the day, 

 which is, however, sometimes di- 

 versified with boxing, or other 

 athletic exercises ; and luxurious 

 festivities close the evening. 



Such an indulgent life, however, 

 is only in the power of the chiefs. 

 The lower classes, as will be far- 

 ther shown, are obliged to labour, 

 not only for themselves, but for 

 their superiors; and, after all, 

 their little stock is not secured to 

 them by that inviolable right of 

 private property and personal 

 safely, which, in our unequalled 

 land of liberty and law, renders the 

 poorest peasant as secure and inde- 

 pendant as the senate that guards, 

 or the sovereign that rules it. 



Accustomed to these scenes of 

 pleasure, luxury, and amusement, 

 unrestrained by the presence of my 

 companions, unassisted byanypub- 

 lic means of grace, having singly 



to stem the torrent of iniquity, it 

 was not long before I felt the per- 

 nicious influence of general exam- 

 ple. This, however, was much 

 owing to my own negligence of 

 private duties, and my yielding to 

 the corrupt inclinations of my sin- 

 ful nature. Indeed, when I look 

 back, I perceivethat the unsubdued 

 propensities of my heart, which 

 began to operate before I came to 

 reside with Mulkaamair, were not 

 duly resisted. Instead of praying 

 for grace to withstand and mortify 

 them, I began to indulge in foolish 

 imaginations, and neglect theneed- 

 full exercises of private prayer, 

 reading the bible, and meditation. 

 These first steps out of the path 

 of duty, which are generally taken 

 by most backsliders, soon led me 

 into still farther aberrafions from 

 the right way. I began to dislike 

 the means of grace; 1 never visited 

 the brethren ; found delight in the 

 company, manners, and amuse- 

 ments of the natives ; and soon 

 took too large a part in them. As 

 the religious impressions of my 

 mind were weakened, the corrupt 

 dispositions of my heart gathered 

 strength. Yet, at times, my con- 

 science troubled me with loud ac- 

 cusations of inconsistency, which 

 forced me to pray. At length, 

 however, I became so hardened 

 as to despise my convictions ; and 

 totally absented myself from those 

 appointed periodical meetings of 

 the brethren, which might have 

 revived them. My regard for 

 them daily diminished, and I left 

 off visiting them. 



My evil inclinations, now un- 

 checked by law, and by the reve- 

 rential sense of the Divine Being, 

 gradually gained the dominion. As 

 my sense of the turpitudeand guilt 



