272 THE OCE^VN. 



and think meanly of themselves, if they do not excel 

 the lower classes in the arts necessary for their con- 

 struction. Their wives, also, surpass their inferiors 

 in making cloth. The queen and her daughter-in- 

 law, dressed in the English fashion, received us in 

 their neat little cottage. 



"The sound of industry was music to my ears. 

 Hammers, saws, and adzes, were heard in every 

 direction. Houses in frame met the eye in all parts, 

 in different stages of forwardness. Many boats, after 

 our manner, were building, and lime burning for 

 cement and whitewashing. 



" I walked out to the point forming the division 

 between the two bays. When I had reached it I sat 

 down to enjoy the sensations created by the lovely 

 scene before me. I cannot describe it ; but it pos- 

 sessed charms independent of beautiful scenery and 

 rich vegetation. The blessings of Christianity were 

 diffused among the fine people who inhabited it ; a 

 taste for industrious employment had taken deep 

 root ; a praiseworthy emulation to excel in the arts 

 which contribute to their welfare and comfort had 

 seized upon all, and in consequence civilization was 

 advancing with rapid strides." 



The volcanic islands, like the first-described class, 

 are protected from the fury of the tempestuous Ocean 

 by the natural rampart of a coral reef The reef is 

 often a mile and a half or two miles from the beach, 

 though sometimes it approaches so close as to be con- 

 nected with it, interrupting in that part the continuity 

 of the lagoon. The usual width of the coral rock is 

 from five to twenty or thirty yards ; yet over this the 



