All this ameliorating cultivation has at last built up in the native women a profound respect for chastity--in other people.

Perhaps that is enough to say on that head.

The national sin will die out when the race does, but perhaps not earlier .-- But doubtless this purifying is not far off, when we reflect that contact with civilization and the whites has reduced the native population from four hundred thousand (Captain Cook's estimate,) to fifty-five thousand in something over eighty years! Society is a queer medley in this notable missionary, whaling and governmental centre.

If you get into conversation with a stranger and experience that natural desire to know what sort of ground you are treading on by finding out what manner of man your stranger is, strike out boldly and address him as "Captain." Watch him narrowly, and if you see by his countenance that you are on the wrong tack, ask him where he preaches.

It is a safe bet that he is either a missionary or captain of a whaler.