Personal endowments being in great esteem amongst them, they have recourse to several methods of improving them, according to their notions of beauty.  In particular, it is a practice, especially among the Erreoes, or unmarried men of some consequence, to undergo a kind of physical operation to render them fair.  This is done by remaining a month or two in the house; during which time they wear a great quantity of clothes, eat nothing but bread-fruit, to which they ascribe a remarkable property in whitening them.  They also speak, as if their corpulence and colour, at other times, depended upon their food; as they are obliged, from the change of seasons, to use different sorts at different times.

Their common diet is made up of, at least, nine-tenths of vegetable food, and, I believe, more particularly the mahee, or fermented bread-fruit, which enters almost every meal, has a remarkable effect upon them, preventing a costive habit, and producing a very sensible coolness about them, which could not be perceived in us who fed on animal food.  And it is, perhaps, owing to this temperate course of life that they have so few diseases among them.

They only reckon five or six, which might be called chronic, or national disorders; amongst which are the dropsy and the fefai, or indolent swellings before mentioned as frequent at Tongataboo.  But this was before the arrival of the Europeans; for we have added to this short catalogue, a disease which abundantly supplies the place of all the others; and is now almost universal.  For this they seem to have no effectual remedy.  The priests, indeed, sometimes give them a medley of simples; but they own that it never cures them.  And yet they allow that in a few cases, nature, without the assistance of a physician, exterminates the poison of this fatal disease, and a perfect recovery is produced.  They say, that if a man is infected with it, he will often communicate it to others in the same house, by feeding out of the same utensils or handling them; and that, in this case, they frequently die, while he recovers; though we see no reason why this should happen.

Their behaviour on all occasions seems to indicate a great openness and generosity of disposition.  Omai, indeed, who, as their countryman, should be supposed rather willing to conceal any of their defects, has often said that they are sometimes cruel in punishing their enemies.  According to his representation, they torment them very deliberately; at one time tearing out small pieces of flesh from different parts; at another taking out the eyes; then cutting off the nose; and, lastly, killing them by opening the belly.  But this only happens on particular occasions.  If cheerfulness argues a conscious innocence, one would suppose that their life is seldom sullied by crimes.  This, however, I rather impute to their feelings, which, though lively, seem in no case permanent; for I never saw them, in any misfortune, labour under the appearance of anxiety after the critical moment was past.  Neither does care ever seem to wrinkle their brow.  On the contrary, even the approach of death does not appear to alter their usual vivacity.  I have seen them when brought to the brink of the grave by disease, and when preparing to go to battle; but in neither case ever observed their countenances overclouded with melancholy or serious reflection.