524 



RECREATION - HITOTE POMARE. 



Nov. 



It was certainly better to suppress altogether, rather than 

 only to restrain and alter their former licentious amusements, 

 but it seemed to me that some kind of innocent recreation was 

 nuch wanted by these light-hearted islanders. There is a 

 void in the mind where a naturally thoughtless and vola- 

 tile disposition exists, which it is extremely difficult to fill 

 with serious thoughts of any duration. To such minds " a 

 quiet reflecting day,*" (as my respected and much lamented 

 messmate in the Thetis, the Rev. Henry Hall, used to term 

 Sunday), is, in a great measure, a vacant time of leisure, which 

 if not occupied by innocent thoughts which interest without 

 doing harm, is certain to be seized upon by evil imaginations 

 and bad passions. 



During the time we passed in the churches it was sufficiently 

 plain that there was no harshness usually shewn towards the 

 children : for they clustered round their minister so closely 

 when he moved about, that he was obliged to push them away, 

 good natu redly, several times. From the manner of elderly, 

 as well as young natives, I should conclude that " Pritate,""* 

 as they called Mr. Pritchard, was a favourite. 



S3d. With Mr. Henry (the son of the missionary) a well 

 known chief, ' Hitote,' came on board to share our breakfast. 

 Captain Beechey has introduced him in his work and described 

 his character. Mr. Henry was born upon the island, and had 

 never visited England, yet a more English countenance, or 

 more genuine English ideas, I have seldom met with in any 

 part of the world. From him I received some information, to 

 me very interesting, and to those for whom it was my duty to 

 collect nautical intelligence, I hope useful. -f- Afterwards I 

 hastened to Papiete to pay my respects to Queen Pomare. I 

 was in time to see her arrive from Eimeo, sitting on the gun- 

 wale of a whale-boat, loosely dressed in a dark kind of gown, 

 without anything upon her head, hands, or feet, and without 

 any kind of girdle or sash to confine her gown, which was fas- 



* Having so few consonants in their language, obliges them to change 

 most of our names, 



t Mr. Henry's data were also used in adding to Krusenstern's chart. '■ 



