OF THE TONGA PEOPLE.

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whom she belonged as a prisoner of war, andwho had been requested by one of the officersof the ship to send a female on board. CaptainCook , also, strongly notices the reserve and mo-desty of the females of these islands; and theobservations of this accurate narrator will serveto corroborate what we have been stating. Wehave already noticed the humane character ofthe Tonga females, and in addition we begto observe, that their behaviour as daughters,wives, and mothers, is very far from being un-worthy of imitation: children, consequently, aretaken the utmost care of; they are never ne-glected either in respect of personal cleanlinessor diet: as they grow older, the boys are madeto exercise thamselves in athletic sports; thegirls are made occasionally to attend to the ac-quirement of suitable arts and manufactures,and of a number of little ornamental accom-plishments which tend to render them agreeablecompanions, and proper objects of esteem: theyare taught to plait various pretty and fancifuldevices in flowers, &c. which they present totheir fathers, brothers, and superior chiefs, de-noting respect for those who fill higher circlesthan themselves. There is still one observationto be made with respect to females, and which isnot of small importance, since it tends to prove

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