It is a common practice for women of rank to be the adopted mother of some individual for whom their husbands entertain great regard. One of the wives of Finow performed this office for Mr. Mariner during his residence in the Tonga islands, and he owed much of his convenience and comfort to her motherly care. The women of the Ladrone or Marian islands are of a dark yellow complexion. Their teeth are spoiled by the constant use of betel. They dress modestly, and wear the hair tied very low, almost in the neck. If a man marries a woman whose fortune is superior to his, he performs the menial offices of household labor; he cannot dispose of the smallest article without her permission; and should his temper or habits prove disagreeable, she can leave him, carrying with her all the children and property. If he detects her in misconduct, he may kill the gallant, but has no right to use her ill. Should he, on the contrary, be found guilty of the same fault, his wife collects all the women of the neighborhood, who destroy his garden, his grain, and his dwelling, and beat him like so many furies, if they can find him. Where the husband and wife possess an equal degree of property, labor and authority is more equally divided. It is not probable that these things are regulated by laws; but where women are upheld by powerful connections, their husbands are compelled to yield to the right of the strongest. According to an ancient law, if the father or brother of a young woman saved a superior from any imminent danger, the latter was required to prove his gratitude by marrying the girl without any dowry. This law was repealed, but by the force of custom it is still generally observed. Disputes between the men are decided by the women; but female disputes are settled by themselves. When champions try their skill in single combat, women adjudge the victory, and present the reward, which usually consists of fruit or linen. Mourning is worn in the Ladrone islands two months for a man, and six months for a woman. In the South Sea islands men and women never eat together. Women take their food in the same huts in which they sleep; and if any one should presume to enter the eating-houses of the men, she would be immediately strangled and thrown into the sea. Articles of luxury, such as pork, turtle, shark, cocoa-nuts, bananas, or plantains, are forbidden to women. These rigorous prohibitions are disobeyed whenever it can be done secretly. When ships are near the shore, the women often swim off to them in the night, and indulge their appetites by feasting on various forbidden delicacies. Mr. Campbell says that he once saw the queen of the Sandwich islands herself guilty of this transgression; but she told him her life would be forfeited, should the circumstance be discovered.