When inquiry as to statistics began, it was found that a considerable number of the couples were old hands—that is to say, they were recent converts, who, having renounced polygamy, were about to settle down in sober double harness, instead of the four-in-hand (at the very least) of previous matrimonial arrangements. The age and extreme ugliness of some of these brides suggested great constancy in their lords, and greater attractions in the ladies than mere personal beauty. The discarded wives invariably seem in great demand, as under the old system of polygamy a large proportion of the men were doomed to involuntary celibacy; the emancipated women have therefore no difficulty in selecting new homes, wherein they may hold undivided sway—an honour which may perhaps scarcely prove a source of unmingled satisfaction, considering the amount of hard work which falls to the lot of a Fijian wife, in fishing, and other necessary labour, which the lords of creation prefer generally to do by deputy, though he is accounted a sorry idler who sends his wife to dig in the distant yam-garden. The position of women in these isles has hitherto been as low, and their lot as hard, as in most other uncivilised lands; but Christian teachers are now doing their utmost to raise them in the social scale, and with considerable success—their bright intelligent faces telling, in many instances, how readily they will do their own share in improving their condition when once such a possibility has dawned on their minds. Some of the brides and bridegrooms retained their old original names, which, literally translated, are characteristic; those of the women being such as Spray of the Coral-reef, Queen of Parrot’s Land, Queen of Strangers, Smooth Water, Wife of the Morning Star, Paradise, Mother of her Grandchildren, Ten Whale’s Teeth (_i.e._, very precious). Some were cruelly ill named from their birth. To any one who has suffered from the sting of a Fijian nettle such a name as Lady Nettle seems rather a cruel one to bestow on a little innocent. Nor can Waning Moon, Drinker of Blood, or Mother of Cockroaches be considered flattering, though Mother of Pigeons sounds more kindly. Earthen Vessel is more complimentary than might at first sight appear, when we consider the preciousness of the water therein stored; while Waited for, Smooth Water, Sacred Cavern, One who Quiets, are all more or less pleasant. The men’s names are equally fanciful. Such are The Stone God, Great Shark, Bad Earth, Bad Stranger, New Child, More Dead Man’s Flesh, Abode of Treachery, Not Quite Cooked, Die out of Doors, Empty, Fire in the Bush, Spark of Fire, Day, Night, The Great Fowl, Quick as Lightning, Laggard, Imp, Eats like a God, King of Gluttony, Ill Cooked, Dead Man, Revenge, Carpenter,—and so _ad infinitum_.