i835.] A PRETTY SCENE. 399 



appear to be in greater want of some becoming costume 

 even than the men. 



Nearly all the natives understand a little English — that 

 is, they know the names of common things ; and by the 

 aid of this, together with signs, a lame sort of conversation 

 could be carried on. In returning in the evening to the 

 boat we stopped to witness a very pretty scene. Numbers 

 of children were playing on the beach, and had lighted 

 bonfires, which illumined the placid sea and surrounding 

 trees ; others, in circles, were singing Tahitian verses. 

 We seated ourselves on the sand, and joined their party. 

 The songs were impromptu, and I believe related to our 

 arrival : one little girl sang a line, which the rest took up 

 in parts, forming a very pretty chorus. The whole scene 

 made us unequivocally aware that we were seated on the 

 shores of an island in the far-famed South Sea. 



November lyth. — This day is reckoned in the log-book 

 as Tuesday the 17th, instead of Monday the i6th, owing 

 to our, so far, successful chase of the sun. Before break- 

 fast the ship was hemmed in by a flotilla of canoes ; and 

 when the natives were allowed to come on board I suppose 

 there could not have been less than two hundred. It was 

 the opinion of every one that it would have been difficult 

 to have picked out an equal number from any other nation, 

 who would have given so little trouble. Everybody brought 

 something for sale : shells were the main article of trade. 

 The Tahitians now fully understand the value of money, 

 and prefer it to old clothes or other articles. The various 

 coins, however, of English and Spanish denomination 

 puzzle them, and they never seemed to think the small 

 silver quite secure until changed into dollars. Some of the 

 chiefs have accumulated considerable sums of money. 

 One chief, not long since, offered 800 dollars (about ;£^i6o 

 sterling) for a small vessel ; and frequently they purchase 

 whale - boats and horses at the rate of from 50 to 100 

 dollars. 



After breakfast I went on shore, and ascended the 

 nearest slope to a height of between two and three 

 thousand feet. The outer mountains are smooth and 

 conical, but steep ; and the old volcanic rocks of which 

 they are formed, have been cut through by many profound 

 ravines, diverging from the central broken parts of the 

 island to the coast. Having crossed the narrow low girt 

 of inhabited and fertile land, I followed a smooth steep 



