Matarai Bay is rich in finely flavoured fish, of various, sometimes extraordinary form, and beautiful colours. The Tahaitians eat them raw, or only steeped in sea-water. Their fishing-tackle consists of nothing more than bad angling lines and hooks; to make nets as their forefathers did, would trespass too much upon the time they are obliged to spend in prayer. Hence fish is so great a rarity to them, that their eager desire for it sometimes prompts them to belie their good character, of which we had an example. One of our large nets having brought up a multitude of fine fish, the temptation was too strong to be resisted, and our friends would have forcibly shared our acquisition with us, had not our severe reproof, and the accidental appearance of the judge of the district, restrained them. They then tried to obtain the fish by barter, and offered their most valuable tools for the smallest and worst of them; I gave them, however, so many, that for once their appetite was fully satisfied with a luxurious repast. I had heard much of an institution established by the Missionaries for the instruction of the people, and was desirous to learn what progress the Tahaitians had made in the rudiments of science. Being informed that the lessons commenced at sunrise, the first rays of that luminary found me one morning at the school-house, as I conceived the simple structure before me to be. Its walls were formed of bamboo canes, erected singly, at sufficient distances to admit the refreshing breeze from all sides, and supporting a good roof. The interior was one spacious quadrangular apartment, provided with benches, and raised seats for the teachers. I had not waited long before the pupils of both sexes entered. They were not lively children, nor youths, whom ardour for the acquisition of knowledge led to the seat of instruction, but adults and aged persons, who crept slowly in with downcast looks, and prayer-books under their arms. When they were all assembled and seated on the benches, a Psalm was sung; a Tahaitian then rose, placed himself on an elevated bench, and read a chapter from the Bible. After this they sang again, and then knelt with their backs to the reader, who, also kneeling, repeated with closed eyes a long prayer. At its conclusion, the orator resigned his place to another Tahaitian, when the whole ceremony commenced anew; another Psalm, another chapter, and another prayer were sung and said; again and again, as I understood, a fresh performer repeated the wearisome exercise; but my patience was exhausted, and, at the second course, with depressed spirits and painful impressions, I left the assembly.