commencement of the complete subjugation of the Tahitians
to the French. So much for the history of the island.

The valleys, and a plain which extends from the sea-shore to the spurs
of the mountains, are very fertile, and produce in great abundance all
tropical plants. The climate is warm, but not enervating; the scenery
is in many parts very beautiful. Thus the natives are tempted to lead
an easy and idle life, exerting but little their physical and mental
powers. It is, indeed, to their credit that they do not altogether
abandon themselves to indolence. They are by nature constituted to
enjoy the beautiful scenes by which they are surrounded. Consequently,
they delight in building their cottages in the most retired and lovely
spots they can find. Their habitations are surrounded with fences,
inside which they cultivate the taro, and sweet potatoes, the banana,
the bread-fruit, the vi-apple, groves of orange and cocoa-nut trees, and
at times the sugar-cane. Their habitations are of an oval shape, often
fifty or sixty feet long, and twenty wide. They are formed of bamboos,
planted about an inch apart in the ground. At the top of each wall thus
formed, a piece of the hibiscus, a strong and light wood, is lashed with
plaited rope. From the top of the four walls the rafters rise and meet
in a ridge, those from the ends sloping like those from the sides. The
rafters, which touch each other, are covered with small mats of the
pandanus leaf, which, closely fitted together and lapping over each
other, forms a durable roof, impervious to the rain. The earth, beaten
hard, forms the floor. There are no regular partitions, but mats serve
the purpose when required. Their bedsteads are made of a framework of
cane raised two feet from the ground, and covered with mats, the most
luxurious using pillows stuffed with aromatic herbs. They have neither
tables nor chairs. Their style of cooking is very simple: they bake
their food in extemporised ovens filled with hot stones. Since my
return I have often intended to propose having a picnic, and to cook all
our food in Tahitian fashion. The dress of the people is undergoing a
rapid and considerable change. Formerly a native cloak and kilt was all
that was thought necessary; now every sort of European clothing is in
vogue. We had an example of this at a feast our English friend gave to
a number of chiefs and their relations. Some of the gentlemen had on
uniform coats,