WHALING VOYAGE. 
885 
much- coveted dues were equally divided by the reluc- 
tant navigator, when this curious exchequer scene ter- 
minated seemingly to their mutual satisfaction. 
When I saw at this place, the father of two very young, 
but pretty and interesting girls, with the Bible on his 
knees, apparently devoted to its truth, lifting his eyes to 
heaven with his features seemingly filled with sincere 
sanctity, I could scarcely doubt the purity of his in- 
tentions ; but when I saw T the base hypocrite the next 
moment, in the most cunning manner, offering his two 
little innocent-looking daughters at the shrine of the 
voluptuary, and for the most miserable pittance, I could 
not help reflecting how little practical morality he had 
acquired during the course of his religious studies. 
The women of Bolabola, like the men, are far from 
being disagreeable in their appearance, many of them 
being very good looking, their features being of that 
form in most instances, which coincides with our own 
ideas of beauty. They are of a light olive complexion, 
but they disfigure their skin nearly all over the body 
with tattooing, which is done nevertheless in a very in- 
genious manner, displaying some degree of elegance in 
the scrolls and circles that appear in every part ; then* 
hair is constantly kept cut very close to the head, except 
a circle of it in the form of a coronet, which surrounds 
the crown of the head, and which is allowed to grow to 
about an inch and a half in length. They are much less 
in stature than the men, and they possess the proper 
slenderness and proportions which belong to the true 
feminine figure. If they are not really handsome, they 
s 
