428 CHARLES DARWIN 



habit; but it is the fashion, and that is a sufficient answer 

 at Tahiti, as well as at Paris. I was much disappointed in 

 the personal appearance of the women: they are far inferior 

 in every respect to the men. The custom of wearing a white 

 or scarlet flower in the back of the head, or through a small 

 hole in each ear, is pretty. A crown of woven cocoa-nut 

 leaves is also worn as a shade for the eyes. The women 

 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 chil- 

 dren 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, form- 

 ing a very pretty chorus. The whole scene made us une- 

 quivocally aware that we were seated on the shores of an 

 island in the far-famed South Sea. 



lyth. This day is reckoned in the log-book as Tuesday 

 the i7th, instead of Monday the i6th, owing to our, so far, 

 successful chase of the sun. Before breakfast 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 articles 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 i6ol. sterling) for a small vessel; 



