2*6 A N A C C O U N T OF
1783. ferior natives flocked round to look at the Bone) and appear-
NOVEMB ER. ' _ , . V . , . . . . . . ed highly pleafed to fee his arm adorned with, it, cabling him
Englees Rupack.
Thofe who may have be'en witneifes of the conferring
the more fplendid Orders of diftindiion, beftowed by
fovereigns of powerful and polilhed kingdoms, where thé
m Gothic hal is decorated with waving^banters-*-'where^ mitred
prelates affift the ceremony—where the pomp of regal
ftate impofes on the fenfé—and the blaze of fuperb ornaments,
beaming from female beauty^ gracing the cere-
mony, overpowers the fpedtator with a vaft difplay ofmag-
nificence—fuch may with a fmile of contumely read the
conceptions of thefe children of nature, of be difpofed
to ridicule the fimplicity with which the unadorned natives
of Pelew hold a chapter of théir higtoèft Order
of the Bone. But it will be recollected, that the &b)e£f
and the end are every where the fame.—This mark of
diftindtion is given and received in thole regions as a reward
of valour and fidelity, and held- out as the prize of merit.
—In this light fuch public honours were originally confi-
dered., and ftill ought to be fo, in every ftate, from Pelew .
to Br it a in .—And while they continue to be thus regarded,
they will operate on the human paflions, excite emulation,
infpire courage, promote virtue, and challenge refpedt.—
The decoration indeed derives all its fplendor from the
combined ideas of the mind whilft viewing i t ; and the
imagination
*
imagination is etjuajly imprefied with the fame fentiment,
Whether the badge of honour be a ftrip of velvet: tied round
the knee, a tuft of ribband and crofs dangling at the buttonhole,
a ftar embroidered on the coat,—or a Bane upon the
arm.
*783*
NOVEMBER.
CHAP T ER