their arms with a&ivity and effe<a. By various windings
we came back to their habitations, where the women were
employed in drefiing their dinner. They had made a fire
of a few flicks above ground, under the fig-tree, and
broiled the roots of yams and eddoes over it. As foon
as we arrived they were flartled, and began to run away,
but our condudtors quieted them, and they continued their
operations. We fat down on the trunk of a tree which
lay before one of the houfes, and endeavoured to talk
with our new friends as well as we could, whilll fome of
them were gone to fetch us fome refrefhments. We col-
lefted a number of words of their language on this oc-
cafion, and had the pleafure to fatisfy their curiofity re-
fpefting our drefs, arms, and various implements, con'
cerning which they had hitherto not ventured to afk a
fingle queftion. The inhabitants of adjacent plantations
hearing of our arrival, crouded about us, and feemed
much pleafed that they could converfe amicably and familiarly
with us. As I happened to hum a fong, many
of them very eagerly intreated me to fing to them, and
though not one of us was properly acquainted with mufic,
yet we ventured to gratify their curiofity, and in fad, offered
them a great variety of different airs. Some German
and Englifh fongs, efpecially of the more lively kind,
pleafed them very much ; but Dr. Sparrman’s Swedifh tunes
gained univerfal applaufe; from whence it appeared that
their
their judgment of mufic was not influenced by the fame
rules which regulate the tafte of other countries. When
w£ had performed, we defired them in return to give us an
opportunity of admiring their talents, and one of them immediately
began a' very fimple tune ; it was however harmonious,
and, as far as we could judge, fuperior to the mufic
of all the nations in the tropical part'of the South Sea, which
we had hitherto heard. It ran through a much more con-
fiderable compafs of notes, than is employed at Taheitee, or
even at Tonga-Tabboo ; and had a ferious turn which diftin-
guiflicd it very remarkably from the fofter effeminate mufic
of thofe iflands. The words feemed to be metrically arranged,
and flowed very currently from the tongue. When
the firft had finiffied his fong, another began; his tune
was different as to the compofition, but had the fame ferious
ftyle which ftrongly marked the general turn of the people.
They were indeed feldom feen to laugh fo heartily, and jeff
fo facetioufly, as the more polilhed nations of the Friendly
and Society Iflands, who have already learnt to fet a great
value on thefe enjoyments. Our friendly natives likewife produced
a mufical inftrument, which confifted of eight reeds,
like the fyrinx of Tonga-Tabboo, with this difference, that
the reeds regularly decreafed in fize, and comprehended, an
odtave, though the fingle reeds were not perfectly in-tune.'
We might perhaps have had an opportunity of- hearing
them play on this inftrument, had not the arrival of fome
of their brethren with a prefent of coco-nuts, yams, fugarcaneSj.
1774.
A ugust.