12 NATIVES OF NEW ZEALAND. [PART I. 



influence in all the affairs of a tribe, they are bur- 

 dened with all the heavy work ; they have to culti- 

 vate the fields, to carry from their distant planta- 

 tions wood and provisions, and to bear heavy loads 

 during their travelling excursions. Early inter- 

 course with the other sex, which their customs per- 

 mit, frequent abortions, and the long nursing of the 

 children, often for three years, contribute to cause 

 the early decay of their youth and beauty, and are 

 prejudicial to the full development of their frame. 

 Daughters of influential chiefs, however, who have 

 slaves to do the work of the field, are often hand- 

 some and attractive, and no one can deny them this 

 latter epithet as long as they are young. This is 

 heightened by a natural modesty and childlike 

 naivete, which all their licentiousness of habit can- 

 not entirely destroy. The children of both sexes, 

 with their free, open, and confident behaviour, have 

 always been my favourites. Brought up in the so- 

 ciety of the adults, partaking in the councils of their 

 fathers, their mental faculties become awakened and 

 sharpened earlier than is the case in more civilised 

 countries. 



But I must not forget to pay my tribute of praise 

 to the old ; the old women especially are the best- 

 natured and kindest creatures imaginable, and the 

 traveller is sure to receive a smile and a welcome 

 from them, if no one else shows any intention of 

 befriending him. 



