372 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
prayer. I one day visited this garden, a few weeks 
after it had been enclosed and stocked with the 
most valuable indigenous plants of the islands. 
Towering above the plantains, papaws, &c., the 
shaddock planted by Captain Cook appeared, like 
an inhabitant of another country, in solitary exile ; 
for though the climate is similar in point of tem¬ 
perature to that in which it is accustomed to thrive, 
its shoots are not so long and vigorous, its leaves are 
not so clear, dark, and glossy as those of the other 
plants, and the fruit, though large and abundant, 
falls prematurely to the ground. The place where 
it stands is rather damp, and this may, perhaps, 
have caused it to appear so sickly. 
After wandering some time among the clustering 
sugar-cane, rows of pine-apples, plantains, and 
bananas, I approached this house for private devo¬ 
tion. A narrow path covered with sand and anaana, 
or branches of coral, led to the entrance. An 
elegant hibiscus spread its embowering shade on 
its rude and lowly roof. A native palm-leaf mat 
covered the earthen floor,—a rustic seat, a table 
standing by a little open window, with a portion of 
the Scripture, and a hymn-book in the native lan¬ 
guage, constituted its only furniture. The stillness 
of every thing around, the secluded retirement of 
the spot, and the varied objects of nature with 
which it was associated, seemed delightfully adapt¬ 
ed to contemplation and devotion. The scene 
was one of diversified beauty, and the only sounds 
were those occasioned by the rustling among the 
sugar-canes, or the luxuriant and broad-leaved 
plantains, while the passing breezes swept gently 
through them. 
I naturally inferred that the house was appro¬ 
priated to purposes of secret devotion; and meet- 
