XVIII 
WAIMA TE 
453 
this change ;—the lesson of the missionary is the enchanter’s 
wand. The house had been built, the windows framed, the 
fields ploughed, and even the trees grafted, by the New 
Zealander. At the mill a New Zealander was seen powdered 
white with flour, like his brother miller in England. When I 
looked at this whole scene I thought it admirable. It was 
not merely that England was brought vividly before my mind ; 
yet, as the evening drew to a close, the domestic sounds, the 
fields of corn, the distant undulating country with its trees, 
might well have been mistaken for our fatherland ; nor was it 
the triumphant feeling at seeing what Englishmen could effect, 
but rather the high hopes thus inspired for the future progress 
of this fine island. 
Several young men, redeemed by the missionaries from 
slavery, were employed on the farm. They were dressed in a 
shirt, jacket, and trousers, and had a respectable appearance. 
Judging from one trifling anecdote, I should think they must 
be honest. When walking in the fields, a young labourer 
came up to Mr. Davies, and gave him a knife and gimlet, 
saying that he had found them on the road, and did not know 
to whom they belonged ! These young men and boys 
appeared very merry and good-humoured. In the evening I 
saw a party of them at cricket ; when I thought of the 
austerity of which the missionaries have been accused, I was 
amused by observing one of their own sons taking an active 
part in the game. A more decided and pleasing change was 
manifested in the young women, who acted as servants within 
the houses. Their clean, tidy, and healthy appearance, like 
that of dairy-maids in England, formed a wonderful contrast 
with the women of the filthy hovels in Kororadika. The 
wives of the missionaries tried to persuade them not to be 
tattooed ; but a famous operator having arrived from the 
south, they said, “ We really must just have a few lines on our 
lips ; else when we grow old, our lips will shrivel, and we shall 
be so very ugly.” There is not nearly so much tattooing as 
formerly ; but as it is a badge of distinction between the chief 
and the slave, it will probably long be practised. So soon 
does any train of ideas become habitilal, that the missionaries 
told me that even in their eyes a plain face looked mean, and 
not like that of a New Zealand gentleman. 
