NORFOLK ISLAND. 13 



DancinLi' uud siuging arc their principal means of recrea- 

 tiou. After having, for two honrs each evening, charmed 

 our ears with tlieir strains in a great hall, wherein the 

 whole island was collected, they began dancing, which, on 

 one occasion, was continued until almost daybreak. Our 

 young officers were so much pleased with these diversions 

 as to declare them the most charmin" and deliohtful of 

 any they had ever experienced ; some went so far as to 

 say they had never met so many pretty girls collected 

 together in one ball-room. The sober truth is, there 

 was not a single girl of any very striking beauty, but 

 the majority of them were attractive, and very pleasant 

 to look upon. Admirable figures, fine eyes, good teeth, 

 and remarkably clear, slightly olive-tinted complexions, 

 were no mean constituents of personal comeliness. But 

 not the least of their attractions was their sparkling 

 gaiety. 



We passed a Sunday in the island, and were present at 

 morning service in the ci-devant convict chapel. Bishop 

 Patteson confirmed a number of young people, among whom 

 the girls appeared to great advantage in their white dresses, 

 and veils hanging from the back of the head to the feet. 

 The ceremony concluded, the Bishop delivered a touching 

 address, in which he introduced an account of the painful 

 affair that happened in the island of Santa Cruz at the time 

 of his last voyage, which may be told in a few words. The 

 Bishop, when touching at Norfolk Island, had taken on 

 board two of the most respectable youths of the place, one 



