168 GAMBIER ISLANDS. 
the king and natives in the most perfect sub- 
jection both temporal and spiritual. There are 
several stone-built houses on the island, and 
a handsome Romish church 200 feet long, with 
a double row of columns inside, and capable of 
containing a thousand persons : the altar is 
chaste and beautiful, formed of mother-of-pearl. 
Upon the hill on the south side of Mount DufT is 
a cemetery, and a convent containing one hundred 
nuns and sixty children, whose interval between 
prayers and penance is filled up by trundling 
a distaff, and spinning native cotton, to supply 
a factory with a dozen hand-looms at work. 
" With respect to supplies, mountain sheep, 
goats, hogs, fowls, and fish can be procured. Most 
of the tropical vegetables grow, tara and pump- 
kin being principally cultivated ; but onions, 
leeks, carrots, spinach, lettuces and cabbages, 
with a few European potatoes, are cultivated 
by the French families. Of fruit, cocoa-nuts, 
bananas, bread-fruit, and pine apples, are abun- 
dant and very fine ; oranges and limes are scarce ; 
the paw-paw apple, and fig are also there. Wood 
for building and firing is scarce and bad, the 
bread-fruit timber being principally used. 
" The islands produce annually about four 
hundred tons of pearl-shells, and pearls about 
equal in value to the shells. Nearly every native 
had a few pearls concealed about his person, and 
rather over estimated their value. There were 
several large collections on the islands, and some 
very indifferent ; but a few in the possession of 
the king were magnificent. The population is 
now a little above two thousand, an epidemic 
