NATIVE CONGREGATION. 207 
destitute indeed of magnificence and splendour as 
to the structure itself, or the richness in personal 
adornment of its inmates, but certainly the most 
delightful and affecting Iliad ever beheld, appeared 
before me. Between five and six hundred native 
Christians were there assembled, to worship the 
true God. Their persons were cleanly, their appa¬ 
rel neat, their countenances either thoughtful, or 
beaming with serenity and gladness. The heads 
of the men were uncovered, their hair cut and 
combed, and their beards shaven. Their dress 
was generally a pareu round the waist; and a 
native tiputa over their shoulders, which covered 
the upper part of the body, excepting the arms. 
The appearance of the females was equally 
interesting; most of them wore a neat and 
tasteful bonnet, made with the rich yellow-tinted 
cocoa-nut leaf. Their countenances were open 
and lively; many had a small bunch of the fra¬ 
grant and delicately white gardinia, or Cape 
jessamine flowers, in their hair; in addition to 
which, several of their chief women wore two or 
three fine native pearls fastened together with 
finely braided human hair, and hanging pendent 
from one of their ears, while the other was adorned 
with a native flower. Their dress was remarkably 
modest and becoming, being generally what they 
term ahu bu , which consists of large quantities of 
beautifully white native cloth, wound round the 
body, then passed under one arm, and fastened on 
the other shoulder, leaving uncovered only the neck 
and face, and part of one arm. 
The assembly maintained the most perfect silence, 
until Mr. Davies, who officiated on the occasion, 
and was seated behind the table, which answered 
the double purpose of a desk for the schoolmastei; 
