82 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
should fear that many would abandon the pro¬ 
fession they have made, and return to their former 
course of life. 
Although the advantages resulting from frequent 
meetings for religious conversation were too ob¬ 
vious to allow us to withhold every encouragement; 
and though, under the present circumstances and 
feelings of the people, they were peculiarly so; 
yet, as many of the communicants, and several 
who were desirous of uniting with them, were 
females, there were many things in reference to 
which they needed advice, but which they did not 
deem suitable to introduce at a public meeting. 
Mrs. BarfF and Mrs. Ellis, therefore, being able to 
converse familiarly in the native language, pro¬ 
posed to meet the female members of the church, 
and those of their own sex who were desirous of 
joining them, once a week, for general conversa¬ 
tion, and mutual spiritual improvement. This 
was an interesting meeting; it was held alter¬ 
nately at our respective habitations, Mrs. BarfF 
and Mrs. Ellis both attending. It commenced 
with singing a hymn ; a prayer was ofFered, and a 
portion of scripture read. After this, the most 
unreserved conversation followed, on religious sub¬ 
jects, the training of their children, and other rela¬ 
tive duties connected with the new order of things 
which Christianity had introduced. 
Parental discipline among the people, prior to 
their reception of Christianity, had been remark¬ 
ably lax. The children were their own masters as 
soon as they could act for themselves, and the 
restraint which the mother could impose was 
trifling indeed. Such, indeed, was the abundance 
of provision, that the maintenance of a child was a 
matter of no anxiety to any one. Hence, if a boy 
