best springs; I'll pluck thee berries; I'll fish
for thee, and get thee wood enough," &c.

Mr F. himself, as we shall soon see, has specified one link large and
strong enough to answer for a chain in holding together British
sailors at least, and New Zealanders, or, indeed, any other savages,
however degenerate and abominable, to the end of the chapter!--E.

[3] "Our crews, who had not conversed with women since our departure
from the Cape, found these ladies very agreeable, and from the manner
in which their advances were received, it appeared very plainly that
chastity was not rigorously observed here, and that the sex were far
from being impregnable. However, their favours did not depend upon
their own inclination, but the men, as absolute masters, were always
to be consulted upon the occasion; if a spike-nail, or a shirt, or a
similar present, had been given for their connivance, the lady was at
liberty to make her lover happy, and to exact, if possible, the
tribute of another present for herself. Some among them, however,
submitted with reluctance to this vile prostitution: and but for the
authority and menaces of the men, would not have complied with the
desires of a set of people, who could, with unconcern, behold their
tears and hear their complaints. Whether the members of a civilized
society, who could act such a brutal part, or the barbarians who could
force their own women to submit to such indignity, deserve the
greatest abhorrence, is a question not easily to be decided.
Encouraged by the lucrative nature of this infamous commerce, the New
Zealanders went through the whole vessel, offering their daughters and
sisters promiscuously to every person's embraces, in exchange for our
iron tools, which they knew could not be purchased at an easier rate.
It does not appear, that their married women were ever suffered to
have this kind of intercourse with our people. Their ideas of female
chastity are, in this respect, so different from ours, that a girl may
favour a number of lovers without any detriment to her character; but
if she marries, conjugal fidelity is exacted from her with the
greatest rigour. It may therefore be alleged, that as the New
Zealanders place no value on the continence of their unmarried women,
the arrival of Europeans among them does not injure their moral