448 
NEW ZEALAND 
CHAP. 
every other respect his character is of a much lower order. 
One glance at their respective expressions brings conviction to 
the mind that one is a savage, the other a civilised man. It 
would be vain to seek in the whole of New Zealand a person 
with the face and mien of the old Tahitian chief Utamme. No 
doubt the extraordinary manner in which tattooing is here 
practised gives a disagreeable expression to their countenances. 
The complicated but symmetrical figures covering the whole 
face puzzle and mislead an unaccustomed eye : it is moreover 
probable that the deep incisions, by destroying the play of the 
superficial muscles, give an air of rigid inflexibility. But, 
besides this, there is a twinkling in the eye which cannot 
indicate anything but cunning and ferocity. Their figures are 
tall and bulky ; but not comparable in elegance with those of 
the working-classes in Tahiti. 
Both their persons and houses are filthily dirty and 
offensive: the idea of washing either their bodies or their 
clothes never seems to enter their heads. I saw a chief, who 
was wearing a shirt black and matted with filth, and when 
asked how it came to be so dirty, he replied, with surprise, 
“ Do not you see it is an old one ? ” Some of the men have 
shirts ; but the common dress is one or two large blankets, 
generally black with dirt, which are thrown over their shoulders 
in a very inconvenient and awkward fashion. A few of the 
principal chiefs have decent suits of English clothes ; but these 
are only worn on great occasions. 
'December 23 rd .—At a place called Waimate, about fifteen 
miles from the Bay of Islands, and midway between the 
eastern and western coasts, the missionaries have purchased 
some land for agricultural purposes. I had been introduced 
to the Rev. W. Williams, who, upon my expressing a wish, 
invited me to pay him a visit there. Mr. Bushby, the British 
resident, offered to take me in his boat by a creek, where I 
should see a pretty waterfall, and by which means my walk 
would be shortened. He likewise procured for me a guide. 
Upon asking a neighbouring chief to recommend a man, the 
chief himself offered to go ; but his ignorance of the value of 
money was so complete, that at first he asked how many 
pounds I would give him, but afterwards was well contented 
