Revised Jun 19 2021
April lst. Wind and weather as yesterday. This day a general meeting was held in the church, to take our case into consideration, the result and minutes of which we did not hear. Papers were also signed by the majority of the islanders who were present when Captain Parker gave us all leave to sleep on shore, promising at the same time to take us all off the next morning, and also by those islanders that particularly watched the Noble on the 21st ultimo∗. Viewed the remaining relics of the Bounty.
∗ [A copy of this paper can be found here.]
A new house having been built for John Adams, which had never been occupied, Carleton proposed that we should all go into it, and keep house for ourselves, so as to relieve our individual hosts from our maintenance, although we should still be dependent upon the community for an occasional basket of yams, &c., &c. We all agreed but one (Baron de Therry) to Carleton’s proposal; as such an arrangement would likewise make us more independent, and enable us to keep our own hours without disturbing any one, as well as allow our hosts and hostesses to take possession of their own sleeping apartments, which they had given up to us from the time we came on shore. Our hosts would not listen to our keeping house for ourselves, neither did they at all like our sleeping out of their houses. But after a good deal of battling, we agreed to take our meals with them as usual, which was the only way by which we could compromise the matter. I then told Mr. and Mrs. Nobbs that they must give up treating me as a guest, and allow me to live just like themselves, in their ordinary way. I offered to assist him in his plantations, which he appeared rather hurt at. I shall not forget a remark that Adams (the elder) made to Carleton, when he offered to work in his plantation. He said, “that now he had three times more pleasure in seeing him in his house than before; for that while the ship was there he might have supposed that he looked for some return, whereas now it was quite clear that he could make none.”
They appeared to rack their ingenuity in trying to put us at our ease, and to make us believe that the advantage was upon their side, and that with a delicacy and natural good breeding which it was refreshing to witness. Towards evening oranges, pine-apples, bananas, plantains, &c., &c., came raining in upon us, together with two large bags of new clothes, voted at the meeting, into which we were to dive, and appropriate whatever happened to fit. [I] took one shirt, one pair of trousers, and one under waistcoat, which was all I required. Shoes and stockings being luxuries, I did not meddle with them.
I should have mentioned that a few days ago Carleton commenced teaching the whole of the adults upon the island to sing, at which they were highly delighted. At 8 P.M. Carleton gave an extra singing-lesson in our new house, which ended in a house-warming. Edward Quintall brought his fiddle; he had picked up some hornpipe and reel tunes by ear on board ship, which he really played with great spirit, and the true artistic twang, not omitting the stamp and wriggle, or the grind upon the fourth string. Some of the islanders danced very well, not waltzes certainly, but reels. The women never dance. We three, Carleton, Taylor, and myself; danced a Scotch reel, which threw the spectators into ecstasies. The women shrieked with laughing. We ended with blind-man’s-buff and many other innocent games, in which the ladies joined: there was every sort of sky-larking possible.