by revenge. Nor is this all, for though it may be pretended, by fome who wish to appear fpeculative and philofophical, that whether the dead body of an enemy be eaten or buried, is in itself a matter perfectly indifferent; as it is, whether the breafts and thighs of a woman should be covered or naked; and that prejudice. and habit only make us fhudder at the violation of custom in one inftance, and blush at it in the other: yet, leaving this as a point of doubtful difputation, to be difcuffed at leifure, it may fafely be affirmed, that the practice of eating human flesh, whatever it may be in itself, is relatively, and in its confequences, most pernicious; tending manifeftly to eradicate a principle which is the chief fecurity of human life, and more frequently reftrains the hand of murder. than the sense of duty, or even the fear of punishment.

Among those who are accustomed to eat the dead, death must have loft much of its horror and where there is little horror at the fight of death, there will not be much repugnance to kill. A fenfe of duty, and fear of punishment, may be more easily furmounted than the feelings. of Nature, or those which have been ingrafted upon Nature by early prejudice and uninterrupted cuftom. The horror of the murderer arises lefs from the guilt of the fact, than its natural effect; and he who has familiarifed the effect,

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will confequently lose much of the horror. By our laws, and our religion, murder and theft incur the fame punishment, both in this world and the next; yet, of the multitude who would deliberately fteal, there are but very few who would deliberately kill, even to procure much greater advantage. But there is the strongest reafon to believe, that those who have been fo accustomed to prepare a human body for a meal, that they can with as little feeling cut up a dead man, as our cook-maids divide a dead rabbit for a fricaffee, would feel as little horror in committing a murder as in picking a pocket, and confequently would take away life with as little compunction as property; fo that men, under these circumftances, would be made murderers by the flight temptations that now make them thieves. If any man doubts whether this reafoning is conclufive, let him afk himself, whether in his own opinion he should not be fafer with a man in whom the horror of destroying life is strong, whether in confequence of natural instinct unsubdued, or of early prejudice, which has nearly an equal influence; than in the power of a man who under any temptation to murder him would be reftrained only by confiderations of intereft; for to these all motives of mere duty may be reduced, as they must terminate either in hope of good, or fear of evil.

The

1

The fituation and circumftances, however, of these poor people, as well as their temper, are favourable to thofe who fhall fettle as a colony among them. Their situation fets them in need of protection, and their temper renders it easy to attach them by kindnefs; and whatever may be faid in favour of a favage life, among people who live in luxurious idlenefs upon the bounty of Nature, civilization would certainly be a bles fing to those whom her parfimony fcarcely furnishes with the bread of life, and who are perpetually deftroying each other by violence, as the only alternative of perifhing by hunger.

But these people, from whatever cause, being inured to war, and by habit confidering every ftranger as an enemy, were always difpofed to attack us when they were not intimidated by our manifeft fuperiority. At first, they had no notion of any fuperiority but numbers; and when this was on their fide, they confidered all our expreffions of kindness as the artifices of fear and cunning, to circumvent them, and preferve ourselves: but when they were once convinced of our power, after having provoked us to the use of our fire-arms, though loaded only with fmall fhot; and of our clemency, by our forbearing to make ufe of weapons fo dreadful except in our defence; they became at once friendly, and even affectionate, placing in us the most unbounded confidence, and doing every thing which

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which could incite us to put equal confidence in them. It is also remarkable, that when an inter course was once established between us, they were very rarely detected in any act of dishonesty. Before, indeed, and while they confidered us as enemies, who came upon their coaft only to make an advantage of them, they did not fcruple by any means to make any advantage of us; and would, therefore, when they had received the price of any thing they had offered to fell, pack up both the purchase and the purchase-money with all poffible compofure, as fo much lawful plunder from people who had no view but to plunder them.

I have obferved that our friends in the South Seas had not even the idea of indecency, with respect to any object or any action; but this was by no means the cafe with the inhabitants of New Zealand, in whofe carriage and converfa tion there was as much modefty, referve, and decorum with refpect to actions, which yet in their opinion were not criminal, as are to be found among the politeft people in Europe. The women were not impregnable; but the terms and manner of compliance were as decent as thofe in marriage among us, and according to their notions, the agreement was as innocent. When any of our people made an overture to one of their young women, he was given to understand that the confent of her friends was ne

ceffary,

ceffary, and by the influence of a proper prefent, it was generally obtained; but when thefe preliminaries were settled, it was also neceffary to treat the wife for a night, with the fame delicacy that is here required by the wife for life, and the lover who prefumed to take any liberties by which this was violated, was fure to be difappointed.

One of our gentlemen having made his addreffes to a family of the better fort, received an anfwer, which, translated into our language, according to the mode and fpirit of it, as well as the letter, would have been exactly in these terms: "Any of thefe young ladies will think themselves honoured by your addreffes, but you must first make me a suitable present, and you must then come and fleep with us on fhore, for daylight must by no means be a witness of what paffes between you,"

I have already observed, that in personal cleanlinefs they are not quite equal to our friends at Otaheite; becaufe, not having the advantage of fo warm a climate, they do not fo often go into the water; but the most difgutful thing about them is the oil, with which, like the Iflanders, they anoint their hair: it is certainly the fat either of fish or of birds, melted down, and though the better fort have it fresh, their inferiors. ufe that which is rancid, and confequently are almost as difagreeable to the fmell as a Hotten

tor;