TAHITI: THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. BY THE SAME AUTHOR. VIA NICARAGUA. " A readable account of a journey from New York to San Francisco, written in graphic language." Morning Post. " Mrs. Hort relates her experience with spirit and good humour. The ride on mules from Lake Nicaragua to San Juan del Sud was through a pathless forest, deep ravines, and rocky precipices, and crossing of mountain torrents. Those who have read Mr. Belt's Naturalist in Nicaragua' will be prepared to feel with this authoress a wish that they could explore the beauties of such a region without so much discomfort." Illustrated News. "A pleasant narrative of the travels of a lady under difficulties." Vanity Fair. " Is one of the best records of travel we ever read, because it is picturesque, brings the route before one's eyes, and has never a suspicion of the glorified guide-book style." Pictorial World. " Mrs. Hort's voyage is described with a certain amount of picturesque effect, as is the wonderful loveliness of nature which made the traveller forget discomfort and danger." Spectator. " Mrs. Hort preserved some racy and graphic recollections of her voyage ; the sketch of tropical forests and their denizens are very good. The book is pleasantly written and worth reading." Glasgow Herald. " There is much in the book to form pleasant reading, and also to give information to the non-travelled reader as to the scenery and characteristics of some of the most striking parts of tropical and western America." The Queen. " The hardships of the overland transit, the tropical scenery, the writer's personal adventures, and the peculiarities of her various companions in adversity, are vividly described. The description from the pen of a fellow- countrywoman of the unscrupulousness of the American speculator and agents throws Martin Chuzzlewit's adventures into the shade." A thenteum. " A sketch of travel, an account of privations endured in a voyage from New York to San Francisco may serve to while away an idle hour, and no doubt when in the form of pleasant letters home, was eagerly welcomed by Mrs. Hort's relatives and friends." Saturday Review. TAHITI THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC DORA HORT AUTHOR OF " VIA NICARAGUA," ETC WITH FRONTISPIECE T. FISHER UNWIN PATERNOSTER SQUARE 1891 THIS VOLUME IS DEDICATED TO MY MUCH ESTEEMED NEPHEW, W. H. LEVIN, OF WELLINGTON, NEW Z E A IA N D . , CONTENTS. CHAP. PAGE I. FROM SAN FRANCISCO TO TAHITI ... ... 7 II. FIRST IMPRESSION OF PAPEETI ... ... 22 ^ III. TAHITI AN CUSTOMS ... ... ... 28 iv. THE 'ENVIRONS OF PAPEETI ... ... 35 V. RIDE TO THE CASCADE OF FANTAUAU ... 41 VI. CRUELTY TO ANIMALS ... ... ... 50 VII. LA VALLEE DE LA REINE ... ... ..-55 VIII. THE CONVENT OF THE ORDER OF PIC-PUS 6l IX. A NATIVE REGATTA ... ... ... 69 X. SAD FATE OF LAURITTA ... ... 74 XI. A TRIP TO MOREA ... ... ... ... 78 XII. A STATELY CEREMONY ... ... ... 86 XIII. A WEDDING BREAKFAST ... ... ... 91 XIV. A TAHITI AN WELCOME ... .., ... 95 XV. ENTERTAINMENTS AT SYDNEY, NEW SOUTH WALES ... ... ... ... IO4 XVI. OUR FELLOW PASSENGERS ... ... Io8 XVII. A SURPRISE ... ... ... ... Il6 XVIII. REMINISCENCES OF THE PAST ... ... 123 XIX. AN UNPLEASANT PASSENGER ... ... 127 4062 i 7 6 CONTENTS. CHAP. PAGE XX. CANNIBALS ... ... ... ... 135 XXI. A CRUEL DEED ... ... ... ... 143 XXII. OVERTAKEN BY A STORM ... ... l6l XXIII. A GREAT ROBBERY OF JEWELS ... ... 169 XXIV. A CHARMING VISIT TO CHILI ... ... 178 xxv. EVIL EFFECTS; OR, INFLUENCE OF THE MOON IN THE TROPICS ... ... ... l88 XXVI. SEIZURE OF PERUVIAN VESSELS ... 194 XXVII. A FETE AT MOREA ... ... ... 2O2 XXVIII. A BALL AT POMARE'S PALACE ... ... 21$ XXIX. CHANGE OF ADMINISTRATION ... ... 224 XXX. SAD NARRATIVES ... ... ... 234 XXXI. DISCOVERY OF STOLEN JEWELLERY ... ... 244 XXXII. A PLEASANT SURPRISE ... ... ... 258 XXXIII. AN UNNATURAL MOTHER ... ... ... 263 XXXIV. A PLEASANT TRIP ... ... ... 275 XXXV. A FEARFUL NIGHT AT SEA... ... ... 278 XXXVI. A BRITISH SAILOR ... ... ... 291 XXXVII. A COWARDLY CAPTAIN ... ... ... 302 XXXVIII. SENT ADRIFT ... ... ... ... 312 XXXIX. THE DE LA RONCIERES VISIT OPENOHU ... 323 XL. PRINCE ALFRED'S VISIT ... ... 332 XLI. A SHAM TRIAL ... ... ... ... 340 CHAPTER I. FROM SAN FRANCISCO TO TAHITI. HAD always been under the im- pression that the Polynesian Islands attracted to their shores none but religious denominations, that Otahiti and missionaries were synonymous, until undeceived by A , who described to me the South Pacific in such marvellously glowing colours that it induced me to accompany him to Tahiti, the beauty of which he had in no way exaggerated. We sailed from San Francisco on board a small clipper brigantine of 160 tons, called the Emily , which might have passed for a yacht had it not been for the absence of a flush deck and the cargo she carried. A half-deck house occupied most of the space aft, leaving merely a vacant corner near the wheel, where I had my sea-chair placed, and there I sat in close proximity to the silent helmsman. A few steps led down to the main cabin, which was divided into a small saloon with dinner-table, 8 TAHITI: THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. stationary benches, and four open berths, besides the captain and officers' state-rooms. At meals the captain sat in an imposing arm-chair at the head of the table. The second compartment was much smaller, and when necessary could be added to the tiny saloon by throwing back the folding-doors. It contained only two state-rooms, one of which was allotted to Margaret my maid, A and I occupied the other an arrange- ment that suited us in every respect, as it secured our privacy, though there was only one other passenger besides ourselves, a Frenchman, who revolted me daily by floating down his throat two pills in his first spoonful of soup ! The captain was a thorough John Bull, short, stout, and florid a striking contrast to his chief mate, who was tall, thin, and angular. The cook was an Italian and a chef par excellence ; it was really inconceivable how he contrived to concoct so many tempting dishes out of canned provisions, of which our fare principally consisted. Beppo was our trump card, who evidently annoyed Captain Sutton by persistently coming to me for orders. I could not make him comprehend that, though the owner's wife, I was simply a passenger, without authority in the internal manangement of the vessel. Our steward proved a snare and delusion. A little niece of mine in San Francisco had unearthed him from a dilapidated hut outside her mother's fence. Her attention had been drawn to the spot by either the harmonious or inharmonious notes of an accordian FROM SAN FRANCISCO TO TAHITI. 9 an instrument I never could endure played within a clump of stunted oak trees which curiosity led the child to examine, where she discovered a huge negro whose pitiable tale of want excited her sympathy. His name, he said, was Isaac, and he declared that he was absolutely starving, that he would be willing to work for his food if he could find employment. Hearing this the little girl ran off and told her mother, who hastened to satisfy the man's hunger ; she subse- quently employed him in odd jobs, and finally he got promoted to indoor work. Amongst ourselves we had decided that Isaac was in all probability a runaway slave, an impression that was confirmed when he implored me almost with tears in his eyes to let him accompany us to Tahiti. He had heard that the captain of the Emily was looking out for a steward and begged for the position, asserting that he understood the duties, and was not a sufferer from sea-sickness, which was an essential point. Out of commiseration for his distress, which I construed into fear of being caught by his owner, I used my influence with A , who engaged him as our private steward. During the first two or three days of our voyage the weather was intensely disagreeable, so boisterous that the Emily was like a mere cockle-shell in the trough of the sea ; she rolled, pitched, and trembled, to my utter discomfort. As to my maid, she was so fright- fully sea-sick, that when I heard Isaac was in the same deplorable condition and unable to do his work, I commiserated his sorry plight, though I had to admit that he had grossly deceived us on that very point. But when the sea subsided and the vessel io TAHITI: THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. glided on her course with no perceptible motion, and our steward still continued to shirk his duties, I concluded that the wretch had taken us completely in and was making no effort whatever to disguise the fact. He had gained the end he had in view his escape from San Francisco, where his master was very likely hunting for him and as idleness was more con- genial to him than work, lies and deceit more natural to him than truth and honour, he had made up his mind not to fulfil any part of his contract if he could possibly avoid doing so. Depend upon it there were many more Isaacs than Uncle Toms among the Southern negroes ! Beppo, in consequence of the steward's non- appearance, had, for the time being, to perform double duty, an imposition to which he submitted most cheerfully. A sudden squall sprang up onei morning when Beppo was crossing the slippery deck with an armful of plates. Captain Sutton shouted to him to close the skylight. Naturally he had to enter the cabin first, so as to deposit his burden in safety ; he had barely effected his object before the captain rushed after him, looking like an infuriated bulldog, and, notwithstanding that I stood by, he grasped the man's neck and struck him repeatedly in the face. I was horrified at witnessing such brutality, and hurried away as fast as I could in search of A , whom I implored to come and put a stop to the disgraceful scene. I pronounced the captain's conduct to be perfectly scandalous ; A was of the same opinion, but explained that he could not possibly interfere between the captain and one of his crew. FROM SAN FRANCISCO TO TAHITI. 11 From this I judged that Captain Sutton had availed himself of the earliest opportunity to let poor Beppo know who was his real master. For my part, I considered such brutality an abuse of power, and I retraced my steps to find the ill-used man laying the breakfast-table with anything but a placid counte- nance. His face was bruised and swollen, his shirt torn to shreds and stained with blood, as were his trousers ; his scowling face indicated a capacity for some murderous deed which impressed me uncom- fortably, and I tried to propitiate him by expressing my indignation at his being subjected to such treat- ment. I blamed the captain unstintingly, which I fear was an unwise proceeding, but I was overflowing with compassion for the poor fellow's sorry plight. A gave me a shirt and trousers for Beppo, which I begged him to wear in place of those he had'on. He took the clothes, but, to my intense disgust, 'continued to appear in his very objectionable garments ; if with the object of annoying the captain, he no doubt suc- ceeded, for it must have been extremely aggravating to him to have constantly before his eyes the evidence of his outrageous conduct. Beppo imparted to me in confidence that out of consideration for the signora he had abstained from mortally injuring the man who had dared to strike him, but that as soon as we reached Tahiti he would have his revenge ; but I imagine that long before then he had reconsidered his threat. The poor fellow had experienced very hard lines. He had accumu- lated a small capital during the Crimean campaign, when he had held a lucrative position as chef on board 12 TAHITI: THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. an English frigate. After the war Beppo made his way to California, where he established himself as a Restaurateur in a large mining district, and did a thriving business until his premises caught fire, when he lost everything he possessed save the clothes he stood in. Unable to resume the same line of busi- ness for want of means, Beppo resolved to try his luck in Australia, where he had friends, and was working his way thither, which explained how a chef of his ability came to be cook on a craft such as ours. A little Scotch terrier that I had brought with me became an especial pet of the captain's, and was allowed the run of the vessel. She slept in the cabin, and was always on hand at meal-times. Her regu- larity was so noticeable in this respect that the first time she failed to be in her usual position begging we all exclaimed, " Why, where is Rosy ? " In vain we called her name ; the captain's familiar whistle also remained unanswered, and Rosy never reap- peared. No one was more active in searching for the missing dog than Isaac, who finally suggested that she must have fallen into the hold and got jammed among the cargo. As it was impossible to make a thorough examination of the hold, her fate remained a mystery. One morning, when I occupied my sea-chair, the man at the helm suddenly addressed me : " We hope, lady, that you don't suspect any of us sailors of having made away with your little dog? " As the man's tone implied even more than his words, I did not hesitate to question him further, and had no difficulty in eliciting the truth that the black FROM SAN FRANCISCO TO TAHITI. 13 monster had thrown Rosy overboard. A sailor on watch saw him do it, and heard him mutter, "You damn filthy beast, I'll take good care that you don't make your bed on my trousers again." Then came a whine and a splash. The cowardly deed had occurred before daylight, and was therefore supposed by Isaac to have been unperceived. Completely outraged I carried my complaint to Captain Sutton, hoping in my heart that he would rope's-end the wicked wretch to within an inch of his life. What, then, was my amazement to hear him call Isaac forward, and tell him to return to the fore- castle, and never show his ugly black face aft while we were afloat. I was utterly confounded and indig- nant at his displaying such leniency, and exclaimed, " Good gracious, Captain, can you not punish a heartless brute like that with more severity ? " He coolly replied, " He is your servant, not mine " ; and in this way the inhuman rascal failed to get his deserts, as A also declined to meddle with him I trust not on account of the man's colossal stature ! The weather was delightful and most enjoyable, a smooth, rippling sea, balmy breeze, and exquisite phosphorescent lights. I then saw and tasted for the first time flying-fish, and very delicious I found them. Everything was agreeable save the pumping which took place at the change of each watch, a precaution which induced me to believe that a leak existed somewhere or another, but I could obtain no satis- factory answer to my numerous questions on the subject. The novelty of a fresh fish on my break- fast plate made me ask how I came to be so especially 14 TAHITI: THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. favoured. " We pumped it up last night," promptly replied the captain, an avowal that staggered me. I looked askance at the fish, debated whether it could have floated through bilge water without taint; fancy- ing myself unperceived I stooped and smelt it. " Oh, it's none the worse," said Captain Sutton. " If you are doubtful, pass it over to me," came from A . I certainly was doubtful, but yet it looked so tempting, so crisp and yellow, and I had had such a surfeit of canned salmon, sardines in oil, and anchovies, that I ventured on tasting a morsel, which was repeated until the entire fish was consumed it weighed con- siderably less than twenty pounds. After breakfast I took A aside for a little private confabulation. " Mustn't there be an immense hole in the bottom of the vessel to admit of a fish passing through ? " I asked. We were crossing the line at this time, and Margaret expressed a desire to see it. The telescope was handed to her, which she applied to her eye, and presently exclaimed, " Yes, indeed, there it is as plain as plain can be." A hair had been previously drawn over the focus. As we sailed farther south the heat increased, and the cockroaches in proportion ; and such cock- roaches ! Never before had my eyes lighted on any- thing in the form of insect life that was half so disgusting monstrous things, with wings as trans- parent as were those of the flying-fish, but, unlike them, they smelt horribly, and tended to render me nervous and uncomfortable, for I was constantly changing my position to avoid coming in contact with them, so repugnant were they to me. FROM SAN FRANCISCO TO TAHITI. 15 One night I was on the point of getting into bed, when, to my horror, I saw a huge cockroach on my pillow. I rushed out and screamed to A , who hurried down the companion steps, expecting to see me or the cabin in flames. He pooh-poohed my consternation, but I insisted on having the repulsive thing killed, though it was nowhere to be seen, the trunks and bags scattered about, to say nothing of a multiplicity of crevices, afforded ample means of escape, but when A made the haphazard state- ment that it was gone I declared that it was not, and, moreover, vowed that unless the lifeless body of that cockroach was produced I would sit up all night. He at first treated this as an idle threat, but when he perceived that I was serious a mild term for obstinate he called it making a ridiculous fuss about nothing ! An offensive reptile with wings like a bat, nothing, was too much for my injured feelings, it caused me to indulge in tears and to have recourse to any alter- native rather than share my pillow with this nothing, which I felt convinced was still in the berth, so I sat up in an arm-chair. A attempted to dissuade me and then tumbled into bed himself, leaving me to a nuit blanche, which I passed, nursing my resent- ment at his utter want of sympathy. The next morning he offered the olive-branch by sending for the ship's carpenter, whom he instructed to line the entire state-room with canvas, which effectually ex- cluded these unwelcome visitors. The temperature of the cabins and state-rooms became so intolerably hot that it induced extremely early rising ; we were usually on deck before sunrise, 16 TAHITI: THE .GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. where we partook of delicious coffee or chocolate served with rusks. How charming were all these novelties to me, and how delightful to sit in a loose, thin wrapper, thrown over an equally thin night-dress, one's bare feet encased in slippers, inhaling the pure air what little there was of it watching with rapt attention the sun, resembling a globe of fire, emerge, as it seemed, from the ocean itself, tinging the grey firmament with glowing hues, and the fleecy clouds rolling upwards shaded off to the palest pink ; it was indeed a resplendent sight, but the sunset even surpassed it, producing still more gorgeous tints and more effec- tive transitions the heavens were then ablaze with prismatic colouring, and an ever-changing scene of brilliant lights and shades conjuring up a succession of panoramic views, wherein distant mountains were gradually transformed into fiery forests with the forms of a variety of animals clearly traced among the flaming trees, imperceptibly metamorphosed into a barren coast with vessels displaying blood-red sails, a la Flying Dutchman : a pageant which my pen fails to portray as it merits ; to be thoroughly understood and appreciated such scenes require to be witnessed. As the sun, still resplendent with its halo of dazzling rays, sinks lower and lower on the horizon the transi- tion of colouring is marvellous, paling in the waning light to grey the sky becomes illumined with myriads of twinkling stars, celestial gems and blessed har- bingers to the watchful mariner. The rainbows in these latitudes are likewise wonder- fully effective ; the reflection on the water gives them FROM SAN FRANCISCO TO TAHITI. 17 a complete oval shape rather than an arch, and also produces the impression of there being two bows instead of one. I loved to study the variety of vivid hues employed in their beautiful irises. " Triumphant arch that fills the sky When storms prepare to part, I ask not proud philosophy To tell me what thou art ; My heart leaps up when I behold A rainbow in the sky. So was ' It when my life began ; so is it now I am a [wo]man ; so be it when I shall grow old, or let me die." As we approached nearer to the Tahitian coast we espied some distant low-lying islands, our first glimpse of land, nor up to that time had we sighted a single craft. It was twenty-three days since we had left San Francisco, and we were then about ending what had been to me a most delightful voyage. The sun had set, but there was land ahead, as we could discern the faint lights on shore, and still more distinctly flaming torches on the reefs, which separated us from our haven, used by natives to attract fish to the surface of the water ; a balmy breeze wafted the perfume of many an exotic from terra finna so tanta- lizingly near, yet out of our power to reach in conse- quence of the intervening barrier of corals, a boundary that necessitated the process of continual tacking. The constant flinging down of huge coils of ropes over my head, the flapping of sails, and vociferous shouts from captain and mate precluded sleep, so I went on deck and sat inhaling the fragrant air, while 2 i8 TAHITI: THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. admiring the effect of the moon's rays on the cocoa- nut palms, the long trunk surmounted by crests of large, gracefully drooping leaves. Groves of these palms fringed the shore ; I needed no telescope to distinguish them happily so for me, as it was an article I never could use advantageously, though I followed instructions, closed one eye and opened the other to see nothing. The Tropics had a peculiar charm for me, and I was looking eagerly forward to seeing Tahiti by daylight ; the grey tinge which precedes it, and imparts such a mystic effect was already perceptible. I was so absorbed watching the gradual changes of light and shade that I had not remarked how close we were to the land until aroused by the sound of the captain's stentorian voice ; sails were wildly flapping under a general slackening of ropes, sailors hurrying to and fro : what did it mean, if not some fearful catastrophe ? I hastened to our state room where I found A shaving, apparently totally indifferent to the excite- ment and noise over his head, neither did my rather incoherent explanation stop his operation, though I told him we were high and dry on the reefs and going to pieces. My report produced an incredulous smile he could not speak because his lips were covered with soapsuds when crash went the falling anchor, and, regardless of his lathered face, he rushed on deck and I after him, as the unusual noise made me fear the worst. The sea-breeze had sprung up so suddenly and unexpectedly that the captain found himself actually between the reefs before he could manage to shorten, FROM SAN FRANCISCO TO TAHITI. 19 sail, and not being sufficiently experienced to pilot the vessel through the passage, he judiciously dropped the anchor at Taunoa. It was a risky position not- withstanding this precaution, and A looked anxious. Our approach to the coast had been announced from the semaphore at Papeeti the previous evening, and as the arrival of any vessel creates lively inte- rest, many eyes were watching our movements with dismay ; they saw with consternation the error of pointing our course for the Taunoa passage instead of that of Papeeti, which is more usually resorted to, at that early hour, and our vicinity to the reefs created genuine fear of the consequences. We had hugged the land much too closely, and our having anchored where we had done, gave the impression that we were on the reefs, instead of between them as was our more fortunate position, but viewed from Papeeti the grave supposition spread that a complete wreck was not only imminent but unavoidable. Boats were forth- with manned and sent to our rescue, but our situation was found to be far less perilous than had been an- ticipated. The Emily however, was obliged to remain at her anchorage until the tide served, which was not till late in the afternoon, but A 's private boat was on its way to fetch us, and while we awaited its arrival I availed myself of the'opportunity to admire, a volonte\ the beautiful island that was henceforth to be my home. " Tahiti, the Garden of the Pacific," a title well bestowed, was the impression I formed from that 20 TAHITI: THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. short distance. With what silent rapture did I gaze on those mountains of varied and peculiar formation, seeming to comprise the exterior of the island, whereas there were lower lying hills and a wide belt of table-land clothed with tropical growth, as indeed were, more or less, the higher eminences. Prolific in every acceptation of the term is the vegetation on these islands, where many of the trees are equally fragrant, ornamental, and productive. Under fine umbrageous trees nestle native huts either near a river or within view of the sea. From the Emily's deck Tahiti was seen to the best advan- tage, or, more properly speaking, the environs of Papeeti its principal town and seat of government which were at first shrouded in sombre hues and then brightened by the sunbeams which cast fitful shadows on the mountain peaks and crevices, while heightening the beauty of the bread-fruit palms and banana leaves, which give a tropical aspect wherever met. As soon as A 's boat came alongside we lost no time in stepping into it, and the row down to Papeeti between the coral reefs was a treat that quite repaid me for our delay ; it was an indescribable scene of prismatic tints. The excrescences resembling branches of trees, distended fans, or rosettes of varied dimensions, were seen through the pellucid water, while still deeper down was a nether continent where fish of all sizes, shape, and colour, disported among aquatic plants in a region of their own marvels of nature hitherto unknown to me, which excited my curiosity and enthusiasm as we calmly glided towards Papeeti. FROM SAN FRANCISCO TO TAHITI. 21 It is hard to reconcile oneself to the idea that such impregnable reefs can be the work of an insect, a microscopic labourer of the lowest order of life and to a novice like myself wonders never ceased. Cling- ing to the coral were shellfish resembling small porcupines : one of the rowers dipped his hand into the water and detached one for my inspection ; it was covered with sharp spikes. As I was informed that the natives ate them I concluded to taste one myself, and found it very similar to an oyster in flavour but the flesh was softer and more watery. On landing at Papeeti I was surprised at the seeming sparseness of inhabitants : scarcely a native was to be seen on the beach, much less a European. I afterwards learnt that the population repose during the heat of the day pretty much as they do in other tropical climes transact business in the early morn- ing, and reserve the evenings for amusement. CHAPTER II. FIRST IMPRESSION OF PAPEETI. AM about to quote some statistics derived from old archives for the benefit of those whom they may interest. The island of Tahiti rests on a volcanic shell, the summit of which is as nearly as possible a mile and a quarter above the level of the sea. The highest mountain is called Orohena, 7,250 feet above the sea-level. The Oarai, 6,576 feet, so nearly resembles a crown in shape that the French have rechristened it La Diademe. It is the first distinctive feature that strikes the eye on sighting Tahiti. The peninsula of Tairabu,*] ',150 feet in width, is united by the isthmus to the island of Tahiti. On the highest elevation is situated the fort of Taravao, which is 4,600 feet above the level of the sea. The river Punavia courses through an extensive valley ; it was there that the French, in 1845, en- countered the Tahitian forces, resulting in the most FIRST IMPRESSION OF PAPEETI. 23 sanguinary battle ever fought on the island. The brave natives defended themselves gallantly, but they were outnumbered, and inexperienced in the art of modern warfare ; their defeat obliged them, malgre ' eux, to accept the French Protectorate. The Tahitians, had the choice been theirs, would have much preferred the English flag floating over their beloved island a flag that would have ensured a degree of prosperity which could never be acquired under the existing laws, by-laws, and counter-laws, which form a most unsatisfactory triple system in all its bearings. The French are undoubtedly bad colonists. Too much administration is, and ever will be, their bane. A preponderance of useless officials who pass their time in framing every description of aretes, many of them being detrimental to both commerce and agriculture, besides causing much annoyance to all classes and conditions of society, annoyances that I am fain to admit were not borne unmurmuringly, as I used to hear most uncomplimentary remarks about the authors of their subjugation. I myself could not deny that the term Protectorate was a palpable misnomer, for even at that period the island, inclusive of its dependencies, were to all intent and purpose a French possession, ruled, as it seemed to me, with unnecessary severity. The natives had to either work without pay for the government, or be imprisoned. The class of officials who made it their business to meddle in what did not concern them were principally young ensigns and middies, in whom was vested an amount of authority which they rarely failed to abuse. Whether this course was approved 24 TAHITI: THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. by the governor or vice-governor must remain an open question. The French who migrate to Tahiti are of those who possess neither the adequate means nor the ambition to become planters of anything beyond vegetables. Whereas the Administration was very desirous to organize cultivation on an extensive scale, to insure this they held out very favourable promises to foreigners as an inducement to undertake what their own compatriots were unable to attempt. In one instance these offers were accepted in good faith, but no sooner had the property been acquired and labourers employed, than the Government had re- course to such measures as to preclude the possibility of ultimate success. But I anticipate^ Why such adverse measures should have been so invariably adopted I am unable to explain, but during my long residence on the island I never knew the Administration to pursue any other, nor could I help remarking that straightforward, hearty encouragement was a thing unknown. In fact nothing succeeded at Tahiti unless through such questionable agencies as bribery and corruption. Tahiti possesses an unexceptionable climate, a delightful land-breeze prevails throughout the night, and a sea-breeze during the day ; a more equable temperature could not be found in any part of the globe, while the scenery, for variety and sublimity, could not be surpassed. The fertile valleys, in- tersected by charmingly picturesque rivers, flowing between luxuriant banks, meandering rivulets rippling beneath verdant arcades formed by the interlacing FIRST IMPRESSION OF PAPER 77. 25 of low-lying branches, from which pend clusters of parasitic blossoms, this lovely combination over- shadowed by the lofty mountains baffles description. Papeeti is also charmingly situated ; it faces the lovely bay and forms a crescent by the land at each side, curving outward and terminating in a grove of cocoanut-palms. That of Fairiute is the most important, as a patent slip exists there, and likewise the arsenal, near which is the residence of M. le Capitaine du Port. The small town consists of several streets shaded by fine trees, the branches of which almost meet overhead. There is also a wide avenue called the broom road, that extends to a considerable distance round the island. The houses are mostly detached and surrounded by umbrageous trees, and bright heavily-scented tropical shrubs, such as the tree flora ponda, the gardenias called there tiari and Castilian roses, &c. A 's bachelor abode was then being renovated and refurnished in my honour. Glancing at the dis- coloured walls and odds and ends of old-fashioned hair -cloth furniture scattered in all directions, I thought it about time to renew them, and touch things up generally. A had expected to find the house in readiness for our reception ; the disappoint- ment was due to the workmen who, apparently, are as dilatory at Tahiti as elsewhere, for the roof of the house had been removed and it still remained in that unfinished condition. In the meanwhile we took possession of a villa situated in a large garden, then in a neglected state 26 TAHITI: THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. in consequence of the place having been for a long time untenanted ; the weeds were of such proportions that they screened the rose-bushes, gardenias, and a variety of other fragrant shrubs. The veranda was trellised and covered with the jessamine and passion vine in full flower, which charmed me to the extent of overlooking other imperfections. Margaret (my maid) and I, unmindful of the intense heat, strolled about the grounds ; perceiving a tree laden with what we supposed to be fruit, we pulled down a branch, and after considerable difficulty succeeded in detach- ing one, and had nothing but the trouble for our pains, as our teeth could make no impression on the green rind. We subsequently found out that it was a vegetable called the bread-fruit, which required to be cooked before being eaten. Our unsatisfactory ramble brought on one of my fearful headaches, which was aggravated by the venemous sting of the mosquitoes ; the air was thick with them, yet they bestowed none of their attentions on Margaret, though they clung to me like leeches. She said it was because my skin was more delicate than hers ; if so, I would have willingly exchanged membranes to suit the occasion. The only refuge against such persistent tormentors was bed, to which I betook myself as soon as a mosquito-net could be adjusted to the queerest-looking wooden bedstead I had ever seen, and a receptacle for a certain insect that shall be nameless ; what consoled me was the knowledge that we had brought with us a pretty bedroom set. Thus ended my first day at Papeeti. Margaret had been engaged to act in the double FIRST IMPRESSION OF PAPEETI. 27 capacity of lady's-maid and companion, a provision against my being left alone during A 's absence, who had occasionally to visit the several islands where he had shelling and oil stations. I could never accompany him on these trips, as there was no accommodation for ladies on the schooners he went in. I heard with delight that there were two saddle- horses at my disposal, which I immediately turned to account. Margaret was the daughter of a well-to-do farmer in the Atlantic States, where she had been in the habit of riding ; I therefore got her to accompany me, as A declined on the plea of the exercise being hurtful to him. CHAPTER III. TAHITIAN CUSTOMS. HE French Government House com- pletely outrivalled the Queen's palace, which might have been mistaken for a cttpendance. (Was it not so in more senses than one ?) The Elyse"e of Papeeti was a two- story square building entirely surrounded by a covered veranda enclosed with Venetian blinds, and occupied a prominent position in the midst of a park shaded by magnificent trees and beautified with rare tropical shrubs of unusual height. The flower and vegetable gardens were at the rear, and there was also a fine fruit orchard wherein were cultivated only the best specimens of tropical fruits. M. le Viscomte du Bouzet then held the position of Governor, but being absent at- New Caledonia he was replaced, ad interim, by the Vice-Governor, M. le Comte P , whose residence was a much less pre- tentious building, being merely a villa of one story, situated in a pretty garden, divided by a rippling TAHITIAN CUSTOMS. 29 stream fringed with large-leaved palms and ferns, where he received his own particular friends. The first time I attended one of these select dinners, my reception by two immense white geese not swans was more noisy than agreeable. The moment I entered the gate they flew at me, flapping their dis- tended wings and screeching in a terrific manner. Our host the while stood on his veranda enjoying the scene : my fright. He met me with the assu- rance that Clairon and Trompet were perfectly harmless and privileged pets. No accounting for taste ! M. le Comte P was not at all prepossessing in appear- ance, but extremely partial to native ladies. It was regrettable to see a man of his rank and age amusing himself without regard to appearances an example his entourage was not slow to follow. One could not shut one's eyes to the fact that morality at Tahiti was at a very low ebb, notwith- standing the efforts of clericals to raise the standard by inculcating purer principles. Queen Pomare resided in what looked like an old-fashioned one-story missionary house, with the usual back and front verandas, situated so near the Government grounds that it afforded the soldiers on guard a good opportunity to watch her Majesty's movements and report the same to the Governor. The interior of Pomare's establishment was as simple as the exterior. The principal adornments consisted of two immense mirrors and a full-length portrait of her olive-coloured Majesty ; and a remark- ably good likeness it was, though taken years before in a smaller form by a French officer for King Louis 30 TAHITI: THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. Phillipe, who had it copied by a better artist for Pomare, to whom it was subsequently forwarded with a royal gift of a complete dinner and coffee service of exquisite Sevres porcelain off which I never dined without experiencing an envious feeling. A beautiful silver filigree basket under a glass shade, occupied a conspicuous place on the centre table. Admiral Bonard had brought it from Peru, where the nuns make that sort of work a speciality. Queen Pomare was a tall, dignified-looking woman, without being handsome. No doubt she was con- versant with the French and English languages, but she could never be induced to express herself in either, preferring to do so in her own vernacular : the Tahitian. Pomare, when little more than a child, had been wedded to the King of Bora-Bora, an island of the Leeward Group. As there was no prospect of their having a family she was obliged to divorce him, and married for the second time a handsome young chief, by whom she had several children. Her firstborn and only daughter was immediately presented to the Queen's former husband, the King of Bora-Bora, who adopted the infant princess, and at his death she inherited the throne of Bora-Bora. This is the strangest among the many strange native customs. Giving away their own children and adopt- ing those of friends is a common practice on these islands. Assuredly blood in their case cannot be thicker than water, as the adopted child is as fondly loved and cared for, as if it really were flesh of their flesh! TAHITIAN CUSTOMS. 31 Yet many of their primitive habits are fast dying out; they no longer, as of yore, regard their queen as a holy being, or revere her as a personage not of earth or ordinary blood, fearing to touch an article of her wearing apparel lest they became maimed. Even Europeans were imbued with this superstition, for a carpenter who worked at our house had a stiff neck from exposure to a draught, whereas he in- sisted that it had been produced by wearing a cravat which had belonged to Pomare's husband, Ariifaiti. Though born on the island, he was the son of an English missionary ; nevertheless, he firmly believed in such ridiculous nonsense, even at a time when the pure native was getting bravely over it. In former days the humbler class used to precede their chiefs and sweep the road before their exalted feet passed over it. A curious sight it must have been, as the natives do this work hopping like frogs. I have frequently been amused watching my servant with her loose 7^apa tucked round her legs, armed with a short-handled broom, sweeping our rooms in a similar fashion ; but such abject subserviency to their superiors no longer exists rather the other way, I should say. Extremes meet, we are told, and the principle of "hail fellow well met" extends to the parent and child ; the latter display no respect what- ever towards the author of their being, whom they abuse and call the most odious names on the slightest provocation : unnatural conduct which may be laid to the common tenor of their lives. It is a well-known fact that too much familiarity breeds contempt, and what else could be expected from the style of native 32 TAHITI: THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. habitation, composed of but one room : oval bamboo huts, without a partition, in which the entire family sleep and eat unless the weather be propitious, when they invariably take their meals in the open air under a friendly tree. Their language among themselves is likewise of a most indelicate kind, and vulgar ex- pressions are employed in the presence of children, who adopt the same style. How, then, can veneration^ or even filial respect, exist in such an atmosphere ? The natives are devoted to the young of anything, be it biped or quadruped ; a tiny sucking-pig or kitten receives the same attention and fondling as a little child, and when they increase in size they are also treated alike : equally neglected and left to their own resources. Young folks can go, come, or do as they please without questioning, as a child is never reproved, no matter what may be the nature of the offence. Another peculiarity is the source from which they derive their names, and, I may add, change them. That of Pomare arose from a former king, who was seized with a violent fit of coughing after dark : po signifies night, mare cough, and the name has descended from generation to generation of crowned heads. When the eyes of a dying person rest on any particular article of clothing or furniture, mem- bers of the family adopt it for a name, dropping the one they had formerly held a privilege freely in- dulged in as they have no tax to pay. A native clings with more affection to his patri- mony, than to any other thing he may possess, be it wife or child. He disputes every inch of ground TAHITIAN CUSTOMS. 33 when his rights are invaded by other claimants for the same piece of land a contest that often occurs when, to settle the question, an " au feu fetu " is summoned. This consists of a jury, seated in a circle round the spokesman, who stands and explains the case, by tracing on the sand the position of the property in litigation. These trials are usually de- cided in favour of the claimant whose memory serves him best as to the exact date when the said land came into his, or her family's possession. For this purpose children are taught at an early age their genealogy, so as to be prepared, in the event of any land question arising. The Polynesians are passionately fond of music, and some of their compositions are extremely me- lodious. They call everything " hymnees," a word introduced to them by the missionaries, though the true significance is unknown, as I was assured their verses were far from holy, chanted in chorus in a monotonous, though not unmusical, tone. Most of the Government buildings had been sent out from France to be put together at Papeeti. The Fari Opera is the native house of assembly. It is built of white coral, in the form of the Pantheon at Rome, apart from the roof, which is entirely out of keeping with the rest of the building, and mars its architectural effect. The original plan, I was told, had been very different ; but as each governor in succession made a point of undoing, as far as lay in his power, the acts of his predecessor, the artistically designed roof of the Fari Opera had been removed, and replaced by a flat, unsightly object. 3 34 TAHITI: THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. The governor of a French colony is an autocrat, whose commands may not be questioned ab uno disce cmnes. The royal princes were handsome youths, but a badly-brought-up, dissipated brood. Their father, Ariifaaite could drink to excess without becoming more than pleasantly jocose in public, whatever he may have been in private whereas his sons had no mauvais honte about exposing their weakness. It was no uncommon occurrence to see them reeling down the beach, in a state of intoxication as early as nine o'clock a.m., dressed in a pareu a piece of printed calico fastened round the waist, which reaches to the ankles and replaces trousers a shirt hanging loosely over the pareu, wearing neither shoes nor stockings, which are reserved for state occasions. I have frequently seen Queen Pomare's sons shouldering a new broom, with a bar of yellow soap and other domestic commodities pending from one end. CHAPTER IV. THE ENVIRONS OF PAPEETI. AHITI is divided into numerous districts. The larger ones possess a church and school-house, con- structed of white coral ; the vil- lages are picturesquely situated, invariably midst abundant foliage, and within view of water of some kind, either the sea shore, a river, or running brook. I had speedily instituted early morning rides, and visited in turn the many points of interest in the environs of Papeeti. Margaret and I usually started at five a.m., which is the most enjoyable hour in the tropics, when the dew still sparkles on the prolific foliage, and the sun's rays have less power than later in the day. Is it a dream, and not a reality, that far-off time, when I wandered with Margaret through shady avenues, between groves of fragrant trees, by limpid streams,and flowingrivers in the sunny island of Tahiti? It all occurred so long ago, and yet how vividly I recall every circumstance attending those delightful 36 TAHITI: THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. rides, which ever had an aim in view perhaps a particular point to be reached before we could be induced to turn our horses' heads homeward. My mare's name was Dolly, and Margaret rode a colt of hers ; called Openohu, in consequence of his being raised on that property. I had one or two favourite routes which we frequented more than others ; one was to Tarn, a charming spot on the seashore. Unlike the beach of other latitudes, this one was fringed with tropical foliage of trees, and shrubs, hitherto unknown to me. How beautiful they were. I can see them now as I saw them then : the leaves glistening with a silver sheen, and among them great clusters of heavily-scented white blossoms, hanging so tantalizingly high as to be quite beyond our reach, but we never failed to rein in, and revel in the delight- ful perfume. This splendid specimen of the tropics was the candle-tree, from which, in former days, the natives obtained their artificial lights. The process was a very simple one : they baked the nuts till the hard shell became brittle and the kernels easily ex- tracted ; these were strung on to the fibre of the palm, which formed the wick, and emitted a very feeble flicker I have no doubt ; nevertheless suffi- cient for native requirements, who employ lights, not to illumine their huts, but for the purpose of igniting their cigarettes. After dark, they as a rule, lie on their backs or stomachs relating stones. This is a source of unfailing amusement, as they are both capital narrators and good listeners. What unevent- ful lives were theirs ; ignorant of any other, they could not repine, and were a happy race until civili- THE ENVIRONS OF PAPEETI. 37 zation meddled with them. How favoured by prolific nature are the South Sea Islands, where per- petual summer reigns, where Providence has been so lavish of its gifts : a delightful climate, fruit and vegetable-bearing trees, indigenous to the soil and sea and rivers plentifully supplied with fish. Why, we ask ourselves, should they be so prodigally favoured, while others are forced to endure frost and famine ? a superabundance in one part of the world, scarcity in another : here luxurious idleness, there a hard- working, poverty-stricken crowd. Until the European came to the island and imbued the population at large with other ideas, and other tastes, they even clothed themselves with a material made out of the bark of trees and very effective were the specimens I saw, now only employed to decorate boats or tents on festive occasions. After this, I hope pardonable, digression, I resume my subject. The district of Faaa lies seaward, but, unlike Tara, the ocean flows on one side of the route, and a Pacific jungle on the other, a mingling of trees, shrubs, and vines entwined with parasites and flowers ; out of decayed bark, sprout orchids in a variety of for-m and colour. I may say that no matter what path we took, it was always through luxuriant foliage, and tangled undergrowth, redolent with oleanders, gardenias, starry lilies, and a pro- fusion of other scented shrubs and 'trees common to the island. In a bend of this road stood a dilapi- dated hut shrouded in foliage, which had such a picturesque effect, that I never failed to rein in and admire it from a short distance, and when the 38 TAHITI: THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. opportunity offered I had it photographed. The Tahitians in some respects resemble water-nymphs ; if not bathing, swimming, or diving, they lie on the grass near enough for their feet to dangle in the cool, rippling stream. When mere infants their mothers throw them into a river, where they float, and in time learn to swim. We used to meet lovely children in our rides, especially the half-castes, whose features are more delicate than those of the pure native, their hair, of softer texture, falling over their shoulders in a mass of silken curls : poor little nude waifs, who are in most instances the abandoned children of French officers, left to be supported by charity, beholden to the poor native for their food, and ragged chemise, and more often than not, an absence of even that garment. Who could help admiring their dark, languid eyes, dimpled cheeks, and slender, rounded limbs, as they stood and stared at us from a shelter of bush, or when we caught sight of a sweet, pensive little face, peeping out from long, rank grass miniature Hebes who in a few years hence were to follow their mother's example and share her fate, and, like her, bring children into the world to be disowned by unnatural fathers ! Civiliza- tion has little to boast of in this respect, least of all among the South Sea Islands, whose population they have degraded rather than elevated. The Tahitians are slowly but surely dying out from diseases in- troduced into the country by Europeans, a pre- ponderance of whom entertain extremely vague ideas on the subject of morality. Occasionally one met with remarkably handsome native women of THE ENVIRONS OF PAPEETL 39 unmixed blood. I returned home from a matutinal ride to find a tall, beautiful creature waiting to see me ; her every gesture was the personification of grace, and I was immediately struck by her striking resemblance to a coloured engraving of " Rebecca at the Well," which hung on the wall above her head ; it really could not have been a better likeness had she herself sat for the portrait. She was a native of the opposite island, Morea, and her name was Teina. Curiosity, I expect, to see what I looked like, led to her visit, which was rather a tame affair, as she could not converse in my language nor I in hers, and the time was passed by an interchange of smiles and bows, which a third party would have been authorized to call idiotic. I make no doubt that Madame Teina understood more of English than I did of Tahitian, for when I ventured on a diversion from our simpering silence, and made some remark in my own vernacular, she raised her chin in assent ; such a pretty rounded chin as it was, indeed all her features were quite perfect, of the pure Grecian type, and when she smiled (I never saw a native laugh) her cheeks dimpled, the lips parted slightly, and displayed the most exquisite rows of even, small, white teeth. In reputation, however, she was not so unblemished ; she had had several indiscretions, which she carried off with a high hand. Teina, I could imagine, was not a woman to be easily humbled, neither was she without ambitious aims, as the sequel proved. She had a little daughter who bid fair to outrival her mother in beauty, whom she was carefully rearing with the 40 TAHITI; THE GARDEN. OF THE PACIFIC. object of uniting her in due time to one of the royal princes, and by this means obtain for herself a footing in the Queen's household, which the natives esteem as one of the greatest honours that could fall to their lot. And Teina persevered in her efforts, until they were crowned with success. CHAPTER V. RIDE TO THE CASCADE OF FANTAUAU. HE Cascade of Fantauau, in the neighbourhood of Papeeti, is con- sidered to be one of the great sights of Tahiti, one I was most curious to see, as I erroneously supposed it to be easy of access ; an impression A strenuously disputed. He said that the road was all but impassable, and begged me not to attempt it, until he could ascertain whether it had been repaired ; this he kept on postponing to do, which induced me to discredit his statement, and to imagine that it had been employed as an excuse ; he was not disposed to accompany me himself, and objected to my going without him : a dog-in-the- manger spirit I pronounced it, whereas in reality it was more a case of discretion being the better part of valour. A owned an extensive farm on the island of Morea called Openohu. A man from Devonshire worked it, and regaled us with a weekly supply of 42 TAHITI: THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. butter and little pots of clotted cream, which re- presented in my eyes any number of large-eyed gentle cows, a fine dairy filled with crocks of milk and delicious cream, the result of excellent pasturage for the cattle. I wanted to see the property a wish that still remained to be gratified, though A crossed over occasionally to visit it himself. And I took advantage of one of these temporary absences to undertake the ride to Fantauau. Puhia, who was our house servant, accompanied Margaret and me on foot, carrying over his shoulder a small basket of provisions for our breakfast. The morning on which we started was bright and cloud- less, and the first part of the route promised well. The surrounding country presented a state of culti- vation unseen elsewhere. We passed a good deal of sugar-cane, and the sough of the wind among the long leaves had a pleasant rhythmical sound ; cool I could not conscientiously term it, as we were just then finding it insufferably hot. Puhia helped himself to cane, from which he removed the thick, glossy rind, and cut the succulent part into strips which we chewed and extracted the refreshing juice. He occasionally varied our entertainment by scaling a tall cocoanut-tree to gather the young fruit, or picked ripe guavas, until I felt that if no limit was to be put to these tempting offerings, we would be break- fasting en route, and our chicken -and rolls go begging. White folk do not possess the native capacity for either an endless supply of food, or a long fast. Overtaxed digestion is an ailment un- known to these fortunate people. RIDE TO THE CASCADE OF FANTAUAU. 43 The path we followed was on the border of the Fantauau river, which derives its name and source from the cascade, which we were then wending our way to visit. It is so shallow in some parts, that the beds of huge stones were clearly seen ; many of them rose above the water, but elsewhere it resumed its nature, and at times even merged into a wild torrent, sweeping over the rocks with such force that from a short distance it resembled the report of a cannon fired off at intervals, which startled the horses and intimidated one of the riders, if not both. Margaret assumed a courage if she felt it not ; in that respect she always possessed a marked advantage over her mistress, who never could disguise the loss of it, or abject fears when in danger facts that were patent to all beholders, so I have no hesitation in referring to them, or in frankly admitting that I already re- gretted not having followed A 's advice, and waited. Though I had every confidence in my mare Dolly, I misdoubted that colt of hers from Morea. Openohu was an obstinate brute, with a mouth of cast-iron ; tug as one might it left no impression, and he was therefore hard to control. Aware of his weak points I preferred to ride behind, rather than before him, and left Margaret to take the lead when we began to ascend the mountain. Up a narrow path traced on its side, and suspended, as it were, over a frightful precipice, did not tend to allay my trepidation especially so as there was neither barrier or pro- tection of any description in case we made a false step. This was no doubt the danger to which A 44 TAHITI; THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. had alluded, as we encountered no other. The rocky acclivities, rising one above the other till they reached a high altitude, were clothed with tropical vegetation, yet so exceedingly slippery that it precluded any but the slowest pace. We were gradually losing sight of the river ; the noise had ceased, but its mournful murmur continued to follow us, and saddened one, when the road became more and more sombre, more and more solitary, for neither bird, beast, or native, did we meet throughout our ride ; though the latter frequent the forests in search of the wild plantain, called in Tahitian Feeiis, which forms a large proportion of their daily food, and can be prepared in a variety of ways. The fruit, like that of the banana, is in branches, but grows on the top of the tree above the leaves, and points upwards, whereas bananas form under the leaves and hang down. Both trees share the same fate, viz., as soon as the fruit is mature, they die and are replaced by their respective off-shoots. Feeiis have a thick, mottled-red skin, and have to be cooked before they can be eaten ; they are very delicious baked and mashed into a pulp. The men returning from these mountain raids carry as many as three and four heavy branches, suspended from both ends of a long pole balanced over their bare shoulders. Clothing in no way impedes their movements, as it consists wholly and solely of a remarkably short pareu twisted round their loins, and a wreath of leaves round their heads, as a protection from the sun. Their bodies reek with perspiration a repulsive sight at ordinary times, but one I would have hailed with pleasure RIDE TO THE CASCADE OF FANTAUAU. 45 that memorable morning. In the absence of traffic the road was so choked up with parasitic foliage inter- laced among the branches, as to render it all but impregnable. Puhia had to make frequent use of his clasp-knife, to enable us to pass through the compact mass of vegetation. This prolific growth formed natural bowers ; these were isolated Arcadian retreats, but I had seen them elsewhere, for they exist all over the island. In the neighbourhood of Papeeti they are favourite spots for love-making, friendly meetings, or story recitals. What roman- tically sheltered nooks they are, hidden from prying eyes by the in these cases useful parasite vine and fragrant blossoms that scent the air with a subtle fragrance, which tends to create a dreamy langour ! Many a time, when riding, have I glanced in at the aperture of these charmed circles, when I have seen mats spread on the ground and wreaths of faded flowers scattered about, denoting recent occupation unlike those we discovered in the mountain recesses, which had not yet been desecrated by amorous pleadings. Through the screen of foliage we occasionally caught glimpses of picturesque scenery as we con- tinued to ascend and ascend, until I began to wonder whether we should ever reach our destination. These mountains sloped down hundreds of feet, to an ex- quisite valley, though it appeared of microscopic dimensions when seen from such an elevation, the native huts were just discernible and the rivulets glistened like silver threads in the sunlight. How cool and moist the earth was down there I well 46 TAHITI: THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. knew from past experience, as we often rode in that direction. The valley was near the sea, where we more frequently than not halted, to watch the canoes being paddled about in search of fish, to be eaten raw with the bread-fruit then baking for their morning meal. The pungent aroma issuing from the native ovens, was not the least agreeable feature to me in the component parts, for I was very partial to the smell of the burning twigs and leaves. After three hours' slow riding, an unusually steep ascent that cast in the shade all the others, led us into the Fort, where a few soldiers were stationed. What for, was impossible to define. They neither kept the road in order, nor the interior of the Fort decently clean. We were escorted to a small pavilion, which contained two rooms and a few articles of moth-eaten, dusty furniture. The aspect was so uninviting, that we declined to make use of it; indeed, the dirt had accumulated to such an extent, that we hurriedly backed out on to the veranda, which, being in an equally filthy condition, we receded still further to a pretty terraced garden, filled with rose-bushes, where we partook of our frugal breakfast, to which the soldiers contributed some lettuce, and a few of the very tiniest strawberries the Alpine strawberries are giants to them that I had ever seen, or care to see again. If they were intended as a specimen of these soldiers' culture there was plenty of room for improvement. When we had satisfied our appetite, and taken a good rest, we pro- ceeded to look about us ; the air was decidedly chilly so cool, indeed, that I firmly believe European fruit RIDE TO THE CASCADE OF FANTAUAU. 47 could be successfully cultivated at Fantauau. The test had never been made, nor was it likely to be, judging by the state of things generally at the Fort. The road to the cascade and flagstaff, led through a dense forest of Feeiis. To my astonishment and delight, I saw, adhering to the leaves, the most ex- quisitely-tinted land-shells. Need I say, that I lost no time in filling my pocket, as well as Margaret's ? We then visited the cascade, with which I was much disappointed. I had expected to see Falls resembling those of North America not Niagara, nor the Schwinegan, nor yet the Grand Mer, but similar to the Chandiere or Montmorency Falls near Quebec, whereas the Falls of Fantauau is a remarkably narrow stream of water which would not be worth seeing, were it not so picturesquely situated. Two natural basins project from the rock, and receive their supply of water from the cascade. Some venturesome people have even undertaken to bathe in them. I was told of a soldier who was carried by the rush of water, from the top basin, to the lower one, and escaped uninjured ; of yet another who attempted to jump from basin to basin, and was dashed to pieces : a verdict of " serve him right " would not have been unmerited. The flagstaff is at an elevation of 4,500 feet above the level of the sea, and commands an extended view. Our curiosity gratified, we prepared to retrace our steps, when the descent struck me as infinitely steeper than the ascent, which I might have expected had I given it a thought ; but that was precisely what 48 TAHITI: THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. I had failed to do, and the glance I took downward absolutely appalled me. Margaret, as before, was to have taken the lead, but her horse became fractious, and stubbornly declined to go ahead ; whipping and coaxing were alike in- effectual ; urge as she might Openohu would not budge. I scarcely knew what to do, or how to decide, as I had a horrible presentiment that some mishap was about to befall me, and dreaded beyond measure to precede an animal on which I had so little reliance. If I started first, he was as likely as not to dash past me, or endeavour to pace beside Dolly, as he was in the habit of doing in our daily morning rides. If I thought it prudent for Margaret to go in advance in the ascent it was still more advisable in the descent, so I persevered in my intention, and held back until she suggested that perhaps her vile brute would be more willing to follow the mare. I myself felt that we had no more time to waste unless we intended to pass the night at the Fort, which I certainly had no desire to do, so with a quaking heart I gave Dolly the rein. The per- pendicular declivity was on my left, a yawning gulf, that to my morbid ideas invited destruction, from which I steadily turned my eyes. Openohu came so close on my track that I had to warn Margaret to keep further off. The caution was no sooner uttered than her animal sprang forward, keeping to the right side, and dashed past me. I felt Dolly's fore and back hoof slip over the edge of this awful gap. The worst had come I thought, and I closed my eyes not to witness our fall, our headlong course downward ; RIDE TO THE CASCADE OF FAUTAUAU. 49 no such thing occurred, or I should not now be describing the heavenly relief I experienced at finding myself safe and sound. All unconsciously I must have tugged at the right-hand rein, which caused my Dolly to quickly recover her footing ; nevertheless I felt that I had narrowly escaped a fatal accident, and the dread I had experienced was written on my face. Margaret perceived it, and feared that I might be unable to ride back to Papeeti ; but I managed to keep my seat, though how I contrived to accomplish the undertaking was a marvel to myself; my head ached to distraction and every step Dolly took, produced acute agony. Altogether I felt myself to be an injured individual, and refused to reply to any of Margaret's anxious questions, as I blamed her I fear unjustly for being the cause of my wretched plight. On reaching home I went straight to bed, where I slept off my aches and anger. The morning was far advanced when I awoke to feel that I had brought all the previous day's trouble on myself by disregarding A 's wishes ; but I could never bear the sight of Openohu after the incident of that day, though he had to be tolerated for the want of a better steed. CHAPTER VI. CRUELTY TO ANIMALS. HE society at Papeeti was composed of a medley of natives, half-castes, and foreigners ; the cream of the latter consisted of the wife of the English Consul and those of the missionaries and French officials. The natives and half-castes had decidedly the better time, notwithstanding that some writers assert that they are treated " in an unchristian spirit." It is difficult in a passing visit to decide such questions in an unbiassed manner. The opinion I formed during the first six months, I had occasion to materially modify during a long residence on the island. When I arrived at Papeeti, I found that etiquette required me to call on the ladies. I suppose I ought to have done so, but I didn't. The fact of the matter was, A had lived there for many years, and had entertained these people time and again ; CRUELTY TO ANIMALS. 51 I therefore considered it a fitting occasion for them to make him an inexpensive return for all his hospitality. But even this easy method of paying off old indebtedness was declined ; they stood on | their dignity and kept aloof; I upheld mine and did the same. I also condemned their action as most ungrateful, and they no doubt retaliated by abusing mine. My experience of the " mean whites " as some clever writers term them is, that they could be ungracious to each other, but never to the " dirty j browns." Conviction forces me to differ from those who express an opposite opinion on this and other points. I therefore think it advisable to give readers the benefit of both sides of the question. Among the residents to whom I have alluded there were two exceptions Madame Perraud, whose husband commanded the artillery corps ; she and I were on terms of the sincerest friendship, a friendship which even the lapse of years has failed to weaken. The other lady was Mrs. Miller, a Peruvian by birth, and wife of the English Consul. A invited two chiefs to dinner. I can safely I say that I never before sat at table with men dressed as they were, in gaudy pareus and shirts worn in a fashion that looked as if they had forgotten to tuck the tails in, or to put on their shoes and stockings ! What they did not fail to do, was to eat and drink to their hearts' content. When we adjourned to the__ drawing-room, coffee was served, and with it came a liqueur-case, containing four different kinds ; they partook of each one, and then turning to me, said, " All the same as nectar of the gods ; very good 52 TAHITI: THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. indeed, but too little glass " they contained about a thimbleful Our house was enlivened by a very clever green parrot, which sang and spoke whole sentences quite distinctly ; she also imitated the native cries to a distracting extent. When in trouble, women and children yell at the pitch of their shrill voices, Awaie ! Awaie! Awaie! and from a little distance it was impossible to distinguish whether it was the bird or a native hallooing. Lauritta enjoyed perfect freedom^ and passed most of her time on the trees. She had a wing clipped to prevent her flying too far, as on one occasion she had alighted on the sea and was nearly drowned ; but even with one wing she managed to go to a considerable distance. Margaret and I were surprised one evening on returning from bathing, to hear Lauritta call lustily to us ; looking upwards we discovered her in a tree, coming down from the top twigs as fast as she could. She had no doubt taken her position at that elevation so as to watch for our return and accompany us home, which she did on my finger, chattering excitedly at the success of her undertaking. Was this instinct or reasoning ? Lauritta had come from Australia in a vessel bound for California; the passenger to whom she belonged needed money and sold her to A for twenty-five dollars. The last time A was in San Francisco he entered a shop with the object of making some purchases, when one of the young clerks rushed up to him and asked after Lauritta. Poor boy ! the parrot had been his particular pet, which necessity had forced him to give up. But the CRUELTY TO ANIMALS. 53 bird had never forgotten her young master ; she continually called Edward the boy's name. Besides Lauritta, I got possession of a tiny white spaniel, one that I heard was being cruelly used by his master. I discredited some of the statements until I saw the mite of a dog fastened to the veranda by an iron chain, weighty enough to have secured an ox. From that day forth A experienced neither peace nor quietness till by dint of urging he obtained the little animal for me. My first act was to ad- minister a warm bath, which I fear was not as much appreciated as I should have liked it to be ; he kicked against it, and finding that feat useless Margaret having seized his legs he snapped at my fingers. Poor little wretch ! it required a deal of scrubbing before his coat resumed its natural tint white and silky with a gold sheen ; it was so matted that we had to cut a quantity off, and by that means discovered the cuts of the whip on his body, which was a mass of wounds. He had lovely hazel eyes and light-brown ears. My new acquisition was named Floristo, but I called him Flody for shortness. His former master, M. B , was what he looked, a wicked brute. He had married a beautiful girl, the daughter of an English missionary, who owned a little dog that invariably slunk away under her skirts at sight of M. B ; this enraged him to such an extent, that after she became his wife he took the earliest opportunity to assert his power, and strangled the dog before her very eyes for refusing to answer his call. He ill-used a splendid .collie of his own, and finally chased him into an 54 TAHITI: THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. outhouse ; after having secured the door, he poured boiling water on the wretched animal through a hole in the roof, and by this means succeeded in scalding him to death. Like all such characters, he was a poltroon, and was afraid of the poor cowed beast which he had so cruelly tortured. Quadrupeds were not his only victims ; he neglected his children and ill-treated his wife, facts that would have redounded to his discredit in any community but that of Papeeti, where the generality of people gave him a hearty welcome. For my part, I could not endure the sight of his handsome, sinister face. CHAPTER VII. LA VALLEE DE LA REINE. SHIP came into port commanded by a captain whose accent was decidedly Scotch. He had on board a splendid milch goat with two little kids, one of which he presented to me. Chancing to hear call me Doady, he said, " Now, don't you let him call you dowdy, for indeed an indeed you are not at bit like one." Droll as the captain was, his goat and kids were yet more so ; mine followed me about everywhere, and when I happened to be out, she generally jumped through the window, and settled herself either on my bed, or promenaded the dinner- table in search of something toothsome. Among several French sloops of war en rade was the steam corvette Milan, commanded by M. de Paralo, who traced in me a resemblance to his absent wife, whom he termed une cJiere petite femme. Now I am not little by any means, though perhaps dear at any price. To this circumstance, however 56 TAHITI: THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. fancied or otherwise I was indebted for many kind acts. Like myself, M. de Paralo was fond of animals, and had a variety of dogs. I chanced to admire a splendid Newfoundland of his named Leone, without any desire on my part to own one of his kind in a climate like that of Tahiti, and I therefore felt more regret than satisfaction when a sailor brought me Leone with the commander's card, on which was simply written " Pour Madame? I did my utmost to decline his present, but he refused to see it in any other light than a disinclination to deprive him of his favourite dog ! The little kid took a great liking to Leone ; she may have reminded her of her mother. One evening I returned home late, to find my bed already occu- pied. Leone was coiled up in the middle, and the kid reposed on my pillow. My entrance in no way disconcerted them ; they were seemingly perfectly content, whatever I was. Flody had not been idle either ; he had dragged down my nightdress and was sleeping on it. A and I were always accompanied in our night strolls down the beach by the dogs and kid. The latter took such audacious liberties, that we had finally to banish her to the farm at Morea. When the time arrived for us to move into our own house on the beach, I began to regret leaving the villa and pretty garden, where I had passed some very happy hours. Our new residence faced the sea with a view of the opposite island, Morea ; the back commanded the Mountains and Semaphore. The verandas at Tahiti are constructed on the same LA VALLEE DE LA REINE. 57 principle as in all warm climates, very wide with green Venetians, and form a most important feature in one's establishment, being the recognized rendez- vous, unless in the reception of very ceremonious visitors. We absolutely lived on ours, changing from one to the other, according to the position of the sun. Undaunted by our Fautauau experience, Margaret and I ventured on another excursion to the Vallee de la Reine. We pointed our horses' heads in what we supposed to be the right direction, for by this time we knew most of the ordinary rides in the neighbourhood of Papeeti, and on this occasion took quite a new path ; and a very lovely one it was, through groves of orange and ito trees. Imperceptibly to us we were all the time ascending, and were suddenly faced by a steep rise which we surmounted to encounter another, and still another. I began to question whether we were, after all, pursuing the right course, but was induced to persevere by Margaret, who believed that at a certain elevation we should reach the desired point from which to descend to the valley. This sounded plausible enough, and I accordingly urged Dolly forward, though at the same time it seemed to me far more probable that we should reach the top of a mountain instead of a descent, as we had entered a forest of tomano and ito trees, through which the sky was invisible. Anything more dense and gloomy I had never beheld, and, to add to our uncertainty, we had lost all trace of a path ; in and out, zigzag fashion we wandered, I becoming queru- lous, and Margaret screaming with laughter every time she caught sight of my anxious face at finding 58 TAHITI: THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. myself in such an isolated position, where I felt sure no other human being had penetrated. The trees grew so close together, and the foliage was so thick and sombre, that it terrified me. To my infinite relief my fears having reached a climax the welcome sound of wood-cutting fell on our ears, and we issued from the forest on to a circular clearance, where a native stood with uplifted axe, glaring at us in blank amazement. He no doubt took us for revenants (Taupapahous], as the natives call ghosts. Mounted ones, must have struck even him, as out of the common, but his axe remained elevated and his expression of face unrelaxed until we cantered towards him and spoke in a mixture of French, English, and Tahitian. Our question must have indeed surprised him : " Where was the Vallee de la Reine?" He gravely pointed downward. How we got to be where we were evidently puzzled the man, and to a certain extent made him still dubious of our being after all only white women and not the genuine Taupapahons ! It required a deal of persuasion to induce him to show us the way back, when we extracted from him the information that there had never been a road up this mountain, which natives scaled in search of Feeiis or to fell trees, that none but natives had ever penetrated to the plateau we had reached, and how a horse had accomplished the feat was to him a marvel ; so it was to me. Under his protection I enjoyed the return ride amazingly. Previously I had only been impressed by its intense sombreness. Actual danger there was none, for there were no precipices, as in the case of LA VALLEE DE LA REINE. 59 Fautauau. The plateau itself was a grand sight, situated at the base of frowning mountains, and brightened by the rays of the sun, which penetrated the canopy of leaves and produced fitful shadows on the smooth green turf, a scene of varied splendour from beginning to end ; and, when my fears were at rest, I rejoiced to think that we, Margaret and I, had been where no other European was likely to go. The pleasure of our snail's-pace descent, was very materially enhanced, by the knowledge that we were under trustworthy guidance. When A heard of our exploit, he called us over-venturesome, and prophesied that we should get into serious trouble if we were not more careful. Captain and Madame Perraud were highly enter- tained at the description I gave them of our search for "La Vallee de la Reine" and the native's ex- pression of horror when we suddenly appeared before his startled gaze. I subsequently visited the Vallee de la Reine in company with A and the Perrauds, and candidly confess that it was about as uninteresting a ride as I had ever taken on the island, along a level road constructed by the artillery soldiers to enable them to reach the stone quarries which were situated in the valley and utilized by the French Government, whose desire for easy access had robbed the route of its rural character by converting a shady path into a dusty highway. And dusty it was in all conscience, and, oh, so hot, so purgatorially hot ! The Vallee was in possession of artillerymen busily employed at stone- cutting. Tents were scattered about, but the glare of 60 TAHITI: THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. light on the huge blocks of stone, added to the din of anvil and hammer, were intolerable, and I gladly left the noisy spot to return home, over-heated of course, but where we found an appetising dejeiiner a la fourchette quite ready for us in our shady, cool dining-room. I wish this pleasant degree of tem- perature had lasted, but by dinner-time the room was equally hot and uncomfortable. No ride, drive, or walk can be totally devoid of interest in a country where such prolific vegetation exists as to cause the whole island to resemble a series of flower-gardens and fruit-orchards, inter- spersed with forests of magnificent trees. No matter what path one traversed, it led through groves of fragrant trees and shrubs, or green labyrinths with tempered light, a combination of natural charms that render Tahiti the Garden of the Pacific, a terrestial paradise ; nevertheless, that one can become satiated by the beautiful was an experience I eventually made. CHAPTER VIII. THE CONVENT OF THE ORDER OF PIC-PUS. ICNICS, in the ordinary acceptation of the term, are organized anywhere and everywhere ; but at Tahiti such entertainments present very different features ; for example, as a rule, guests contribute nothing in the shape of food, which is cooked in native ovens, near the spot where the collation is to take place, generally in the vicinity of a river, or some kind of watercourse. Every variety of vehicle is brought into requisition on these occasions, to convey the company composed of whites, half-castes, full natives, and French officers. The cavalcade makes a duty of starting before the sun is too high, as near six A.M. as possible. As a rule the gentlemen ride, the ladies drive, and merri- ment is the order of the day, in which respect it rarely fails, as the gathering is bound to be a gay one. No skeleton has a seat at these feasts, the partici- pators following the principle of enjoy the present, and letting the future take care of itself. The 62 TAHITI: THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. collation consists of fowls, pork, fish, pawns, lobster, with bread-fruit, taro, feeiis, and poi-poi. This is made of feeiis, baked and beaten to a pulp ; poi- taro is a mixture of the two vegetables, moistened with the juice of the matured cocoa-nuts. The native mode of cooking interested me very much ; it was all done so daintily, though in deep holes dug in the ground ; these are encircled with stones, and filled with loose twigs, branches, and leaves, which are set on fire and covered with sods. When the stones are sufficiently hot to receive the food, every article is carefully wrapped in leaves before being placed on them, and then recovered with twigs, branches, layers of leaves, and sods. The cooking is rather a slow process, but equally sure, for I never saw anything under or over done unless with intention, as the natives and half-castes even, prefer their pork saig- nante in its literal sense. Many eat fish raw, and say that it is far more delicate than when cooked. I could never be persuaded to test it. When the fare is prepared, it is laid on a thick layer of leaves spread on the grass under a canopy of foliage or in a grove of shady trees. Portions of vegetables on leaves instead of dishes are placed before each guest, and small calabashes containing sea-water are distributed about in place of salt. The usual beverage is the milk of green cocoa-nuts, which is as clear as water, and nothing can be nicer or more refreshing. I must admit that I enjoyed these national repasts amazingly, though I found eating without knife or fork, rather an awkward process. I never could make use of my fingers, as the hdbituees did, conveying each morsel to THE CONVENT OF THE ORDER OF PIC-PUS. 63 their mouths without soiling any part of the hand beyond the mere tips of their fingers. When I operated, the grease trickled down to my very elbows. At Tahitian picnics there are many amusing incidents : wreaths of natural flowers adorn every guest, which, as may be imagined, are more becoming to the ladies than to the gentlemen, an opinion shared by the young girls who were in a constant state of titter at the outre effect it had on some of the mascu- line heads. Bathing constitutes a part of the day's programme and more often than not the jolliest part. I say nothing about flirtation, as I take it for granted cela va sans dire. I was much amused at the assumed modest shyness of the pretty half-castes in the presence of white ladies, but out of it, couldn't they employ their seductive arts on the opposite sex. They possess the faculty in a remarkable degree, of imparting their wishes and intentions, by the mere raising and drooping of their fringed lids. I used to enjoy watching these children of nature, who were so true to their instincts. Inborn coquettes they never missed a chance of airing it, too often to their cost : for many of these attractive girls who deserved to be loved and cherished for their trust and simplicity, were misled and induced to become native wives, in plain language, mistresses and mothers of children, who in time were bound, like themselves, to be abandoned by the gay deceivers who leave the colony, to revisit it no more. According to French law, children not born in wedlock possess but one parent ; the father, in legal 64 TAHITI: THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. parlance, escapes the scandal by being termed pete inconnu, though he acknowledges his child. Civi- lization in some respects has retrograded ; the patriarchs set a very different example. The Bible teaches us that the children of wives and concubines were on an equality, a humane ordinance which civilization has condemned by obliging the innocent babe and forlorn mother to suffer, while cloaking the sin of the greatest criminal, the seducer and father, who is received in society be he never so guilty. The ways of the world are indeed inconsistent. Madame Perraud accompanied the Superior of the Order of Pic-Pus, when, in the interest of the propa- gation de la foi, she called upon me. I found Mere Marie de la Croix an exceedingly agreeable person, but so excessively stout, that I could not refrain from thinking, that Tahiti must have been a mild purgatory to her, until I heard that she had been for some years at Cayenne. After such an experience as that, any climate would have been bearable, even Tophet itself. When I returned the Superior's visit, I was lost in admiration of the Convent grounds, as I had no idea such a pretty place existed within the limits of Papeeti. This property was charmingly undulating, divided by a stream of water, the banks on each side sloping down, and dotted with tropical plants and umbrageous trees, were in such perfect order that a stray leaf was not to be seen. The fruit trees com- prised the most approved descriptions indigenous and cultivated on the island, and no less taste was shown in the selection of the flowers. Besides native pro- ductions, there were roses, fuchsias, heliotrope gera- THE CONVENT OF THE ORDER OF PIC-PUS. 65 mums, mignonette, and sweet peas, in addition to a variety of unscented perennials. Mere Marie de la Croix occupied a small pavilion consisting of two rooms. The school- rooms and nuns' quarters were separate, though within view. From the veranda of the pavilion where we usually sat, I could see several cows browsing in the distant paddocks, and was taken to visit their dairy, and such a dairy ! spotlessly clean with shelves supplied with pans of milk, basins of cream, and cream cheeses in the course of making, in the composition of which the nuns excel. As I gained experience I was fairly puzzled to explain how they contrived to obtain such a quantity of milk and cream, when the pasturage is so sparce, that cows produce very little, and that little of an inferior quality. Before leaving I looked into the school-rooms, where there were children of every shade of colour, some very fair and pretty, others and they were in the majority were dark and ugly. Their educa- tion was of the simplest kind, the mysteries of the Roman Catholic faith took precedence of other studies, such as reading, writing, and arithmetic. The afternoons were devoted to plain sewing, and fancy work, and thanks to the missionaries of all denominations, the native women plied the needle deftly, and by this means can earn an honest live- lihood if they choose. The children all rose when we appeared. One among them attracted my atten- tion ; she was a perfect beauty, and wonderfully fair for a half caste; her eyes were large and veloutt '; she had a straight little nose, and a mouth like a rose- 5 66 TAHITI: THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. bud. The sisters shared my admiration for the dark- eyed young houri, but they shook their heads gravely, and whispered that she was too attractive to escape a sad fate. Virtue is absolutely unknown to the native, but not fidelity; as I had repeated evidence of this steadfast trait in their natures. Marriage as we understand it, was introduced among the islanders by the first missionaries ; prior to that, the natives acted according to the precepts laid down in the Bible ; they imitated to all intents and purpose the Patriarchs, " who took the woman to his tent and she became his wife ;" such a simple process was capable of repetition, and like our forefathers, acknowledge their offspring, be the mother who she may. Illegi- timacy finds no place in the native vocabulary, and as its sting is unknown it is unfelt, otherwise a large proportion of the population would come under its bane. Humanely speaking, is the condemnation of the children of such connection not unjust? The native mother sees no sin in the life she leads, while the white father knows that they are doing wrong ; yet he who neglects his duty and outrages the moral code, is not ostracized by society, nor repulsed by his personal friends. This is a delicate subject to dilate upon, but I have been unable to refrain, as it was one which interested me very deeply during my residence on the island, and each time I met these pretty neglected waifs, I experienced a burning sense of indignation at the conduct of their more enlightened parent. Unnatural conduct, which can never find favour in the eyes of a compassionate Creator " Who alone is good, for His mercies never THE CONVENT OF THE ORDER OF PIC-PUS. 67 fail ; who alone is merciful, for His kindness never ceases." The fears of the gentle nuns with regard to their little pupil, whose name was Etia, were all too soon verified, for she fell an easy victim to the fine appearance of a recent arrival. M. D was a tall slight man, and remarkably good-looking. Etia's scruples were probably overcome through the influence of her Feti (confidant), who encouraged rather than discouraged their dangerous tete-d-tetes by the river- side, reclining under a fragrant tree, or in one of those secluded bowers formed by pendant parasites, where love-making seems to come naturally. Etia eventually became the native wife of M. D ; but previous to that she had ceased to attend the convent school. Before the end of the year she gave birth to a girl, and was in extasies over her new acquisition ; not so her lover, who looked upon it as an encumbrance, and suggested the wisdom of transferring his daughter to some female friend of the mother's (Tahitian fashion was an easy way of getting rid of a nuisance). His proposition, however, did not meet with favour : Etia's face flushed, and her eyes flashed indignantly, as she hugged her treasure closer to her bosom. At the expiration of D J s term of Colonial service, he gladly seized the first opportunity to return to his beloved France, but he kept back this piece of information from Etia until the day previous to his departure, so as to curtail as much as possible the period for reproaches ; hers were confined to mute ones, tears and quivering lips, her grief was too deep for expression, as she 68 TAHITI: THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. had received her death-blow from the man she adored. D 's furniture was sold to pay his private debts. He had made no provision whatever for Etia or his child, who, with her baby in her arms and a small bundle of clothes in her hand, walked out of the cottage at St. Emilie, wherein she had experienced a happiness that was never more to fall to her lot. Etia wandered about without any fixed intention, only anxious to keep aloof from those who would, without doubt, strive to persuade her to accept another protector. She probably revisited the old rendezvous, endeared to her heart by sweet memories, which confirmed her determination to leave Papeeti with her little Noee, as she felt far too miserable to stop and listen to her friends' ridicule when they found that she still loved the man who had forsaken her. The poor mother continued her weary way, taking shelter in any dilapidated shed or hut at night. In her desire to escape from former scenes and familiar faces, Etia overtaxed her strength, and did not long survive her lover's desertion. A rapid decline ter- minated her short, troubled life. Her Feti, Twine, became my sempstress, and to her I was indebted for this pitiful history. She insisted that Etia had died of a broken heart. Altogether a halo of romance surrounded the poor thing's fate, which would have made an excellent foundation for a novel. CHAPTER IX. A NATIVE REGATTA. HE Emperor's fete-day on August 1 5th was a festive season at Tahiti. The population from every district and adjacent islands congregates at Papeeti to participate in the grand feast. The natives are like over- grown children who delight in a show, and are as satisfied and happy eating the food they contribute as if it had been provided for them. The French administration have an unique mode of regulating such matters. They announce a feast to come off at such a date, and then orders are issued to the chief of every district on the island to collect the food for the entertainment ; all that the Government ever provides on such occasions is the vin ordinaire, and ordinary enough one may be very sure so much so, that there was no stint, it flowed literally like water. M. le Viscomte de Bouzet had arrived from New Caledonia, so as to honour by his presence his royal master, Louis Napoleon's fete-day. He was a tall, 70 TAHITI: THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. aristocratic-looking man, known to be invariably courteous to every one, whilst favouring none. We were among those invited on board the steam corvette Milan to witness the boat and canoe races. The regattas at Tahiti, like the picnics and feasts, are peculiar to the island. If the boat race failed to interest me, the canoe race did not. The canoes are long and narrow. Each canoe contain from thirty to forty rowers, who were nude to the waist, and wore pareus of uniform colours, such as orange, red, or blue. Each district sends a double canoe, at the stern of which the chief stands erect, but not motionless. He vociferates, flourishes his paddle over his head, and gesticulates in the most grotesque manner, so as to excite his men to greater speed, while he himself every now and then dips his own paddle as an additional incentive to gain on the others. The strokes are measured to a nicety, as neck and neck they raced with all their might and main. Never before had I witnessed such a scene, and like most first impressions (though I subsequently witnessed many others at Papeeti of even more elaborate decoration), none equalled in my mind this regatta. The gay awnings of the boats, the half-naked rowers in the canoes, their heads encircled by wreaths of leaves, straining every nerve to reach the winning- post, was a sight I can never forget. The Governor awarded the prizes to the fortunate winners, and judging by his countenance, it was an honour he would have gratefully dispensed with. The grounds adjacent to the Government House were gaily decorated, a greasy pole 'was erected, with A NA 7IVE REG A TTA. 7 1 shirts and pareus flying from the top, which naturally were won by the last climbers, knowing hands, who looked on while the pole was being cleansed for their benefit ! Other games were provided for the public, such as jumping in sacks, foot races, &c. The native repast was spread under awnings composed of plaited cocoa-nut leaves supported on bamboo rods. The food was, as usual, daintily laid out on a thick layer of glossy leaves, each individual having his supply apportioned. What they could not eat, they took away in small baskets brought ex- pressly for this purpose, which is an invariable custom of the islanders, whose education had evidently been sadly neglected. " Eat all you want, but take nothing " was a rudimentary precept they had yet to learn ! There was an official dinner at Government House, followed by a ball, when Queen Pomare appeared dressed in a flowing black velvet Tapa (dress), in which she must have been half melted. She wore a wreath, not of roses, but of artificial flowers, made from arrowroot straw, that shines like satin. Attached to one side was a flowing plume of fleecy reva reva, which is made out of the cabbage of the cocoa-nut tree, and is the life thereof, as its removal kills the tree ; and how many must have been sacrificed for that enter- tainment ! The reva reva floated from the head of every native woman, as well as the half-castes, and some of the chiefs wore ponchas entirely trimmed with it. Her Majesty soon wearied of looking on, and betook herself to the veranda, when, after enjoying a 72 TAHITI: THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. few prolonged puffs at a cigarette, she retired to the .card-room, and there passed the remainder of the night playing her favourite game, ecarte. On this occasion I saw the most beautiful girl it was my good fortune to meet during the time I resided at Tahiti. Her features were delicately moulded, and her complexion that of a clear brunette, fairer than most half-castes, yet she was a pure native ' of high birth ; a production of the island of Emeo. Such a type as hers would have been admired in any country throughout the world, and evidently so thought the French officers. M. de Paralo said it was far more amusing outside than in the salon, and asked me to accompany him in a tour about the grounds, which were illuminated by coloured lamps at wide intervals an exhibition only equalled by the display of fireworks which either could not, or would not, go off; each failure was greeted with roars of jeering laughter, as the rockets began and ended in a fizz! The population at large were congregated to par- ticipate in whatever was going forward : they strolled about in pairs, lounged on mats or squatted on the ground like frogs. A twinkling light on the grass and the sound of the turn turn indicated where the Upa Upa dance was being performed, permitted by the authorities on special occasions, otherwise it is tabooed. I had never witnessed it, and was curious to do so. What I saw disgusted me far more than it did my companion, whose eyes were riveted on the series of vulgar wriggles and contortions, which I thought revolting. M. de Paralo's delight reached a A NATIVE REGATTA. 73 climax when the exhibition concluded with a man advancing in a grotesque manner with bent knees towards a woman, who in a similar way came back- ward towards him. When sufficiently near, he gave her a resounding smack ! " J e P ar * e 3 ue Madame ne pourrait pas danser I'Upa Upa" remarked M. de Paralo as we walked away, to which I vouchsafed no reply, though I thought he might have said ne voudrait pas! I must however do M. de Paralo the justice to say that he never consorted with native women or half- castes ; the beautiful wife of a French colon oc- cupied his attention, as it did that of one of his own officers, which was the source of many unrepeatable quips. CHAPTER X. SAD FATE OF LAURITTA. ND I often went out for a moon- light row on the bay ; he steered and our servant Puhia plied the oars ; while I revelled in tt\zdolcefar niente- When sufficiently near the reefs we stopped and watched the natives catching fish, which they do in this wise. They grasp in one hand a lighted torch, and a long spear in the other. The instant the fish rises to the surface they strike unerringly ; women sit motionless in the stern of their pirogues, and keep it steady: by dipping the paddle first on one side, then on the other. The reefs are extremely sharp, and how the natives managed to stand on them, as they do by the hour together, with bare feet surprised me, until I came to understand that the soles of their feet, were tougher than any shoe-leather. Fish is plentiful at Tahiti, and also shell-fish, such as prawns, crabs, craw-fish equal to a good-sized lobster, which they replace and yet another sort called SAD FATE OF LAURITTA. 75 either Varo or Warralis ; in shape it resembles a centipede, whatever it may do in taste. The way to catch them is as peculiar as the fish itself; it is ac- complished by introducing, at low water, into the holes wherein they burrow on the sand, a piece of wood attached to a string, which is left over-night and hauled up in the early morning, generally with the fish dangling from it. They are caught in pairs male and female their claws being so firmly affixed to the wood that they cannot extricate them. The natives are so partial to the Varo that unless pressed for money they prefer to eat them, which did not astonish me in their place I would have done the same ; indeed our chef had a standing order to pur- chase the Varo when they were for sale. In the process of boiling, the shell which is 'trans- parent becomes pale pink, never red like other shell fish, and the flesh is more tender and succulerit than that of the lobster. The reefs abound with zoophytes. Star-fish, sea- urchins, and anemones cling to the coral, iridescent scales of tiny fish adding to, if not heightening the kaleidoscopic effect. It was, I believe, my admiration for these submarine productions that induced me to study conchology, which resulted in my acquiring a collection of rare shells. Unfortunately I had sub- sequently to dispose of them, and I am fain to admit that they did not realize a third of their cost. Ex- perience has taught me that buying and selling are extremes of an unsatisfactory nature. A London conchologist profited by my loss. Very soon after having removed to our house on ;6 TAHITI: THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. the beach we had the sorrow to lose our intelligent parrot. We found that she bestowed more of her attention on our new drawing-room furniture than we thought desirable, and to prevent her easy access into that apartment, we had the branches of the trees that touched the veranda cut away. Lauritta resented this act of despotism by screaming terrifically and bobbing her head in genuine rage. I endeavoured to propitiate her 'by offers of confection, which she snapped at, and threw away. I then held out my finger and she perched on it, for a purpose of her own, as I usually in that position asked her to kiss me. I did so on this occasion, when she bit my lip and made it bleed. A - said it was my own fault, that I aggravated the bird, and he undertook to calm down her ruffled feathers and temper, and got his nose sharply bitten for his pains. With a strong exclama- tion he dropped Lauritta on to the veranda, when with a chuckle of triumph, she marched boldly into the drawing-room ! Soldiers attend to the trimming of trees on the road-side. One morning they clipped ours as close as their own cropped heads, which left the bird so exposed to the sun that she dropped to the ground in a fit ; produced by sunstroke I maintained, though a post-mortem suggested fatty degeneration of the heart. The absence of birds at Tahiti was to me a great drawback to its other charms ; beautiful trees and flowers needed the adjuncts of their plumage and sweet warble as nature had intended, which makes all things perfect. Tropical birds had existed in vast quantities on the island, until ruthlessly shot as gibier SAD FATE OF LAURITTA. 77 by the French officials, who had no regard for the preservation of the breed ! Beyond the wild boar, pigs, and a superabundance of rats, there are no animals indigenous to Tahiti. CHAPTER XI. A TRIP TO MOREA. SMALL island, called Moutu-Utu, looked so picturesquely green and inviting from our veranda that I expressed a wish to visit this seeming oasis. A assured me that it wasn't worth the trouble, an opinion I declined to take on trust ; we therefore rowed over to it, and if I required another instance where distance lends enchantment, I got it on our nearer approach. This gem in the bay, that appeared so alluringly attractive from our house, proved a very different spot on our effecting a land- ing ; I discovered the truth of A 's assertion it didn't pay. The ground was riddled by land crabs which, by the way, infest the entire island and, cumbered by an accumulation of dead shells, broken bottles, and empty tins, precluded the possibility of an exploringexpedition. A enjoyed my discomfiture, but I was determined to do something to compensate for the pull there, and proposed a bathe, concluding A TRIP TO MO RE A. 79 that the water could be no delusion if everything else was. We walked through the scorching sand and entered, well, if it wasn't boiling water, it came so near it, that we walked out more rapidly than we walked in. I never revisited the Moutu- Utu. It was quite decided that we were to pay a visit to A 's farm at Morea as soon as the Margaret a small schooner had discharged her cargo of pearl- shell. The long-desired day dawned, and we started with a favourable breeze ; unfortunately, it veered round when we got outside the reefs, and detained us at sea throughout the night. Mr. Cape, an elderly gentleman, accompanied us in the expectation of a pleasure trip, and was as jovial as possible, till the vessel began to lurch, when down he dropped to the deck, like an inert mass, where he remained till the next morning. Our guest was dressed in a white linen suit, as he had expected to reach Morea in a couple of hours. So had we, and there was therefore no provision of either food, or warmer clothing. The captain, who was a good-natured little Frenchman, took off his pea jacket and threw it over the prostrate man. explaining that he was going to take his turn at the helm and didn't need it. After that exercise, however, he began to feel the want of his coat, and sent below for a red blanket which he fastened round his neck, but the wind kept it puffed out like a sail. I longed to tell him to put his coat on, and give Mr. Cape the blanket, but I was too far away : having crept for warmth under a heap of loose sails in a distant corner, from whence I amused myself peeping out, wishful to see and hear what was going on, and 8o TAHITI: THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. I soon had enough of the latter. Margaret was in possession of the stuffy little cabin of her namesake, and was frightfully sea-sick. I found myself very snug among the sails, and when A passed me in some refreshment I ate it with as much relish as if it had been a favourite re- fection instead of dry bread and cold meat, which, as a rule, I detest. Only when we were close into Emeo did Mr. Cape rise from his lowly position. He, no doubt, felt as seedy as he looked ; glancing round, he exclaimed in a doleful voice, " I wish I hadn't to go back ! " The scenery of Morea is on a far grander scale than that of Tahiti. The mountains appeared to me considerably higher and more densely foliated. We saw the sun rise like a red ball in a frame of dazzling light ; the flaming fork-like beams casting fitful rays of brilliant light and shade over the undulating hills and valleys. The approach to the island from the sea was indeed a lovely sight. We passed innumerable bays that would afford safe anchorage to ships of any tonnage. Cook's Bay forms a crescent of lofty irregular peaks, the base fringed with the cocoa-nut, orange, vi, and other trees. It seemed all but impossible to meet anywhere more majestic scenery; but when we entered the bay of Openohu I stood positively transfixed with ad- miration, not unmixed with awe, at what so far surpassed in sombre grandeur, anything I had previously beheld, or was likely to behold again. The fissures in the darkly-frowning mountains resembled cathedral aisles, and the facade-fluted A TRIP TO MO RE A. 81 columns, turrets, and gable ends where these im- posing creations were bare of vegetation ; elsewhere they were tapestried with flowering trees and shrubs ; the vi tree, then in full bloom, threw a rosy hue over the foliage, and assisted to tone down the otherwise stern character of these abrupt rocks massed one over the other ; declivities that rise straight up from the bed of the sea clothed with the wealth of tropical vegetation, were reflected in the pelucid water, reproducing in shadow the glorious pano- rama that faced us. We dropped anchor exactly fronting A 's property the farm about which I had thought so much and was so anxious to see. The butter sent over to Papeeti was somewhat rank by the time it reached there, and I rejoiced at the prospect of indulging in some freshly made. I also intended to impart to Hill the way to make cream cheese out of his surplus cream, as explained to me by the nuns. The farmer boarded our schooner in a boat, into which we stepped. No one did so with more alacrity than Mr. Cape, who nearly shook Hill's hand off, in his delight at getting out of the Margaret. After the usual exchange of civilities I overheard Mr. Cape whisper, " See here, Hill, I wish to God I hadn't to go back." Poor old fellow ! he would have to do so, or end his days at Morea ; probably at that moment he would have chosen the latter alternative. The moment we landed, my kid, from which I had been separated for several months, recognized my voice, and came bounding toward us, her frantic leaps of affectionate greeting nearly knocking me down. 6 82 TAHITI: THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. She had outgrown my recollection in the process of becoming a full-sized goat, but she had not forgotten me : another evidence of memory versus instinct. Openohu was most beautifully situated. The property had changed owners, but Hill, like a certain class of grimalkin, clung to the home rather than to the master, and transferred his services to A , who immediately stocked the place with the best breed of cattle from the English colonies. Where were they ? I saw none, no enclosed paddocks, no large-eyed docile cows, with bells round their throats, such as one sees in the pictures advertising Nestle's Swiss milk. I was told that A 's cattle roamed at large among the mountains, hills, and vales, where their calves were branded by the astute natives, who eventually claimed a larger stock than the real owner ; but I was partially comforted by the assur- ance that a few cows were kept in an enclosure at the back. We were lodged, in a small pic- turesquely situated pavilion on the lawn facing the ocean, and close under the brow of a hill thickly studded with trees. Everything looked fresh and dewy in the early morning of our visit. I heard that Hill was going to milk the cows, so I ac- companied him to the enclosure where there were tivo cows. At sight of us they began to swish their tails furiously, and held their horns in a position that indicated "come a step nearer, if you dare"; I didn't dare, in fact, I much preferred watching the process from the other side of the fence. A half-dozen natives assisted Hill to fasten the hind legs of each A TRIP TO MO RE A. 83 cow to strong posts and their horns to another ; even then their udders were approached in a gingerly manner. I wondered why their tails were not like- wise secured, so as to complete the effect. In the cow's place I wouldn't have condescended to give down a drop of milk, whereas the pail considerably the worse for wear was nearly full. Hill explained that they had only calved the previous night, which also accounted for the animal's generosity, as their poor little calves had been purposely withheld from them. In reality, there was little milk obtained and still less cream on the farm. The latter was im- mediately converted into butter for our benefit a poor one at the best as Hill was going to make some for our second breakfast, and clotted cream as well. I followed him into a bamboo kit- chen ; the ground was not covered with mats, but cooking utensils, earthenware dishes, and plates, sadly in need of a thorough cleansing. I looked about for the churn, and discovered a huge concern, capable of containing several gallons of cream,, but its outward appearance indicated that it was used for other purposes, as the lid was covered! with empty bottles ; goodness only knows what was inside, possibly Hill's clothing. He produced a break- fast cupful of cream which he poured into a bottle and handed it to a native boy. who set to work shaking it, and never ceased doing so, till the butter formed. Next came the turning of the milk into clotted cream. Hill poured a portion of what was in the pail into a flat copper pan and left it on the fire to simmer. Presently the cream rose to the surface, 84 TAHITI: THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. which he skimmed off in clots, and served to us with strawberry jam as an entremet at breakfast. Is it necessary to add, that we found it delicious ? My illusion concerning the farm and the pretty picture I had imagined was dispelled ; nevertheless the existence of the Openohu cows was blissful com- pared to those in Switzerland, which are always stabled and debarred browsing in the open fields. In a shady hollow of a rippling stream we had a delightful bathe, overhead the branches of the trees interlaced and formed a perfect arcade, through which we rowed later in the day to a shimmering pond, where there were a number of children catching shrimps for our dinner ; and very large sized they were, looked more like pawns, though not in flavour, as these were tender and delicate. A small oyster adheres to the rocks which bestrew the river such an ideal river, flowing under a canopy of foliage ; we went to the extreme end of it, where there is a mineral spring, reputed to cure dyspepsia. A urged me to drink a tumblerful of the water, not because I was afflicted with the malady, therefore it must have been intended as a preventative which is admitted to be better than a cure. Nevertheless, I most emphatically declined to even taste it ; the smell had rendered me obdurate. We visited the property which appeared to be completely enclosed in an amphitheatre of stupen- dous mountains. I was in ecstasies over its weird grandeur, from the moment we passed the gate, that divided the estate from the part Hill and his belongings occupied till we had made the A TRIP TO MO RE A. 85 tour and returned with sharpened appetites to our dinner, which we discussed al fresco under the extended branches of a gigantic tamarind tree. The second day terminated our visit to the farm, which had proved to be no farm at all, but an embryo cotton plantation, as I had not failed to see several patches of it growing finely, with others in the course of preparation. In one of the highest peaks at Morea there exists a perfectly round orifice, a freak of nature, of course ; but a legend is attached to it. A deity was chased by a rival, and to escape from him he jumped through the peak. I was told by a gentleman that he had undertaken to scale that mountain by means of ropes, and had been inside the opening which was much larger than one might imagine. He said it was capable of holding a dozen or more people. CHAPTER XII. A STATELY CEREMONY. HE arrival of the market canoes towards sunset at Papeeti was a novel and pretty sight. One after the other paddle up to the shore laden down with a variety of fruit and vegetables, each kind packed in dainty green baskets made for the occasion by plaiting the cocoa-nut leaves and forming them into different-sized receptacles. Large ones were required for oranges, lemons, vies, sweet potatoes, taro, feeiis, bread-fruit, yams, &c. ; small ones for mangoes, aligator pears, and custard apples, &c. ; bananas are brought in branches, and pine apples are tied up by the half dozen. How tempting they all looked ! Not so, however, the pigs and fowls, fastened so tightly by the legs as to be unable to move, but not unable to grunt, squeak, and cackle in every possible and im- possible tone. As soon as the canoes are stranded on the beach, the men, women, and children squat down and smoke A STATELY CEREMONY. . 87 before carrying their produce to the market-place, which they usually do after sunset ; previous to which the sky is aflame with glowing tints that gradually lessen till every fantastic 'peak of the surrounding mountains is steeped in a rosy haze, while the dazzling orb gradually disappears behind the island of Emeo, bearing in his refulgent train the rays that produce life, warmth, and beauty in nature. The gorgeous scene has ceased, an ashen grey sky replaces the brilliant hues, and a canopy of darkness soon en- shrouds the land, a signal for the natives to bestir themselves. Quickly are the baskets suspended from the ends of long poles, and the procession of weighted shoulders trudges to the square, where they pass the night on mats covered with a pare. By daybreak they are wide awake, and prepared to dispose of their stock-in-trade to as early risers as themselves. The natives pass their time chatting or singing himnes. So interminable are these that ninety-nine verses of a song would be a trifle compared to them. A few minor notes sung in chorus, followed by a little conversation I could appreciate, but their long-winded himnes nearly drove me wild. At night, when still- ness reigned, and the air was redolent from exotics, to hear the young folks as they passed down the beach homeward bound, singing a few bars at a time, their voices blending harmoniously, was to me delight- ful, and I listened till the last faint echo wafted to my strained ear. This I truly enjoyed, but nothing beyond it. Rue de Pologne was the favourite evening prome- nade, where everybody congregated, officers, soldiers, 88 TAHITI: THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. sailors, and natives all of whom patronized the cabarets, with which the street was amply provided. The return of M. le Viscomte de Bouzet to Papeeti was the keynote to a renewal of his weekly receptions at Government House. Every Thursday evening Queen Pomare and suite appeared among the rest of the guests. Her Majesty, however, never lingered long in the salle de danse ; the salle de jeu had much more attraction for her, and there she passed the entire soiree playing ecarte. Precisely at midnight the Governor sought the Queen, to whom he offered his arm, and escorted her to the refreshment room, where weak tea, wine, syrup and water, and a variety of confectionary were served. The Governor was partial to early hours, and intended this ceremony to indicate the termination of the evening's festivities. Nevertheless, dancing and cards were invariably resumed with the same en train, while the sleepy host sat in a corner ineffectually endeavour- ing to stifle his spasmodic fits of yawning. M. de Bouzet was indiscriminately courteous to his guests, making it a devoir to address a few words to each one. As regards his administrative policy, the least said about that the better. He was non-com- mittal. Loving his tranquility he preferred to keep petitioners in a perpetual state of expectancy rather than give a decided negative. And he pursued this system till he started for New Caledonia, and thence to France, where he soon after died. One of M. de Bouzet's last public acts at Papeeti must have been a trying ordeal to one of his retiring temperament. In consort with Queen Pomare he opened the native A STATELY CEREMONY. 89 assembly held at the Fart Opera (Parliament House), a ceremony he would have delegated to his successor had it been practicable. The road by which the cortege passed was lined by soldiers, a few trumpeters blowing lustily, if not musically, acted as an advance guard. The Queen came first ; walking beside her was Ariifaite, the royal princes and attendants following. Next came the Governor and his staff, en grand tenu. A pause was made at the entrance of the building to enable the Queen to take his Excellency's arm. At that moment there boomed forth a salute of twenty-one guns. Pomare was dressed in black velvet, lace shawl, and a bonnet. How can I ever hope to describe that bonnet, composed as it was of a pyramid of artificial flowers, from the top of which drooped a cluster of variegated feathers, a conception which was neither artistic nor becoming. If the truth must be told, the natives never do look well in any dress but the simple toilet of the country, composed of a loose tapa and round straw hat. As to Ariifaite, the Queen's husband, he presented such a comical appear- ance that it produced a general titter among the spectators. He wore a richly-embroidered light-blue velvet coat, which was so absurdly tight, that he had been unable to get it more than partially on, and considering that it had come into his possession during the reign of Louis Philippe, it was not surprising that he had outgrown the coat, though evidently not his predilection for the gew-gaw. Happily his trousers were a better fit, made of white 90 TAHITI: THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. cashmere with a wide gold band down the sides ; his cocked hat was ornamented with gold cord and tassels and scarlet feathers ; a long sword completed his costume and impeded his movements, as it tripped him up at every step, which helped to increase the titter. Nothing disconcerted Ariifaite.; he marched on perfectly self-satisfied and convinced that the spectators could not help being impressed by his appearance. When everybody was seated, a hymn, sung by a trained chorus of men and women, opened the ceremony. The Governor then rose and read a speech to the Senate, composed of chiefs, in which he enjoined them to continue faithful subjects to their Queen and loyal to his master the Emperor Louis Napoleon. He then bowed to the Queen and resumed his seat on the right of her Majesty. Ariifaite, who sat on her left, rose and delivered in a forcible fluent manner the RoyaJ Speech, to which a chief replied in an equally fluent manner. This facility of speech is possessed by most natives. The native missionary offered up a prayer, and another hymn terminated the ceremony. CHAPTER XIII. A WEDDING BREAKFAST. ARGARET and I were riding in the direction of Faaa one morning when we were amazed to see quite a pretty young girl seated on a mat outside a hut with her breasts ex- posed ; on each one there was a fearful gash, to all .appearance recently made ; there were a lot of women about her, and I drew up to ask the meaning of such a spectacle. The girl, I was told, came from a distant island where these ceremonies were observed on the death of a parent. I had heard of rending garments on these occasions, but never the flesh ; the sight of the girl's wounds made mine creep, and I gladly escaped from the gruesome sight. We accompanied some friends by boat to Point Venus, and an exciting time we had, as the man who steered kept on bringing us in contact with the reefs, which elicited all sorts of droll exclamations from our French friends. " Mais cet imbecile /a, il va 92 TAHITI: THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. done nous ecraser sur les recifs" they shouted ; it looked very much like it, and I couldn't swim. We were so close to the coral at times as to be able to discern the brilliantly-tinted fish floating in and out of their submarine chambers, and nibbling at the aquatic flowers and plants suspended or adhering to the branches of coral of prismatic tint, and to ex- crescences of fantastic form. We were late in reach- ing our destination, and to our dismay had to submit to be carried ashore by the natives, as the tide was receding and the whale-boat could not proceed further without stranding on the sands. The chef-lien had been placed at our disposal ; it was a long, low, wooden building, situated in the centre of a square piece of ground shaded by fine trees ; we ladies proposed eating our breakfast under them, but were overruled by the gentlemen, who preferred the orthodox table and chairs, pronouncing it to be far more rational and comfortable than squatting on mats, which impeded digestion and so forth materialistic creatures who were nicely sold. The table in question was so ridiculously Jiigh and the chairs so absurdly loiv, that when we sat down we found ourselves looking nnder the table instead of over it, which produced roars of laughter ; finally, we had to convert our laps into tables for the reception of the plates which were handed down to us. Even this contretemps, such as it was, added to our amuse- ment, and to those who were watching us from a respectful distance, envying the poor half-famished dogs which had ventured nearer and were being well fed, as I for one could not resist their pleading eyes A WEDDING BREAKFAST. 93 and watering muzzles. After the completion of our merry meal, we walked to the village, where we visited the church and school-house, built of white coral, thence to the celebrated tamarind tree, planted by Captain Cook. A new lighthouse was in course of erection, and the gentlemen proposed going to see that, which they did without the ladies, who had decided on taking a bathe in the river ; and a charming one it was. I loved the picturesque, and I certainly revelled in it at Tahiti. When the time arrived for us to return to Papeeti, the rowers were all the worse for too frequent libation of orange rum, and the only man who knew how to pilot us at all though he was incompetent enough, goodness knows was regularly tipsy. I called it stupidly risking our lives, and was jeered at for my opinion. Off we started, to get jammed in between narrow passages and jammed out again. If the keel of that boat was not damaged it was certainly not the steersman's fault. We attended a wedding breakfast, given by Priata, the Regent to celebrate the marriage of his grandson with the ugliest little girl on the island. The Resident lived in a large oval bamboo con- struction, partitioned into several compartments by the aid of calico or muslin not a very effectual screen in the latter case. Priata was the very fattest man, without exception, that I had ever seen ; a regular Daniel Lambert ; Reubens Silenus is slender in comparison. His paunch was so large that it forced him to waddle like an unwieldy drake, while his pendulous cheeks hung over a triple chin that reposed on his capacious chest ; and I was seated at 94 TAHITI : THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. table next to this lump of humanity. To my great disappointment the entertainment was in the ap- proved French style ; and it was laughable to see Priata's ineffectual attempts to get sufficiently near the dishes so as to be able to assist himself to his favourite mets. I could imagine him to be a great epicure, and as to his capacity, it was prodigious. Intercepting my amused glances at his unsuccessful efforts, Priata tapped his stomach and elevated his chins to indicate that there lay the obstacle to freedom of action. The menu was unexceptionable, but I noticed that the youthful bride and bridegroom respectively twelve and fourteen were ill at their ease. The European dress was probably as uncom- fortable to them as it was unbecoming, and they refused every dish in succession, confining themselves to shrimps, which happened to be on the table within their reach. Their real meal of raw fish, raw pork, and a variety of vegetables and fruits spread on the ground was, no doubt, in reserve. Etiquette has found its way even to Tahiti when one is placed according to rank or worldly position. Much confusion had arisen at Priata's dejeuner in consequence of the unexpected absence of Queen Pomare. She had suddenly left Papeeti so as to avoid meeting the Governor, who was annoyed with her Majesty, or her Majesty with him. Those com- plications were entirely beyond my comprehension. Totally different arrangements in the plans had therefore to be made, which accounted for my being seated at the left-hand of the host. I am afraid I did not appreciate the honour in the light it was intended. CHAPTER XIV. A TAHITIAN WELCOME. HE frigate Andromede conveyed M. de Bouzet's successor, M. Cessets, to Tahiti. Admiral Bonard being an old friend of A 's, came to see him on landing. He was a tall, fine-looking man, somewhat brusque in manner, but extremely kind-hearted. He had years before played his part, as Governor of Tahiti, and an excellent one he was said to have been. He had made it his duty to study the people, but in pleasing them, he had displeased the Home Government, and was in consequence recalled to France, be it said, to the deep regret of every soul on the island. The populace was now anticipating much pleasure from their favourite Governor's visit, nor were they disappointed. The Admiral was much pleased to return to a spot that was endeared to him in so many ways, where he knew himself to be especially liked, and his gratification must have been 96 TAHITI: THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. great at the reception given him by the population at large. As soon as it was known that Admiral Bonard was on board the frigate, canoe after canoe started from shore and surrounded it. His welcome was chanted in a succession of himnes, a style of greeting that the Tahitians knew he would appreciate. I was sub- sequently told by one of the officers on board the Andromede that the enthusiasm was mutual, for the Admiral was equally delighted and as enthusiastic about the natives as they were about him. During the period that the Andromede was in port, Papeeti presented a festive scene. M. Bonard's known partiality to the dark-eyed women caused them to appear in all their cherished finery and most fragrant flowers. Nor had the Admiral forgotten his many old friends to each one he presented a suitable gift, gifts he had brought all the way from France for them, which enhanced the value in their eyes. " He had borne them in mind from all that distance, tata mitt" (good man). The first entertainment on board the Admiral's ship was in honour of Queen Pomare. A salute was fired as her Majesty pushed from shore, and three hearty cheers were given her by the sailors who manned the yards as she stepped on board the Andromede. The dejeuner was an elaborate one, but lost on Pomare, who always ate sparingly, and as soon as she could with decency rise from the table did so, for a game of ecarte, which absorbed all her attention till near sun- set, when the Admiral notified her that after sunset he would be unable to salute her with twenty-one A TAHITIAN WELCOME. 97 guns. M. Bonard was aware of Pomare's weakness for such honours, which she would not forego on any account ; and as he was, as inveterate a player of loo, as her Majesty was of ecarte, he adopted this ruse to hurry her departure, as he had an engagement on shore that evening, which he was determined to keep, and did keep, as I only too well know. The card- party was at our house, and never broke up till morn- ing, when I was awakened by hearing a crash. The candles had burnt down to the sockets, and the glass shades had fallen on the floor and were smashed to pieces, which precipitated the departure of A 's guests, for I heard them scurrying off in all haste. The enervating influence of the climate began to affect my health, and A was advised to take me a sea-voyage. When Admiral Bonard heard this, and that we had decided on visiting the English Colonies as soon as one of A 's small vessel put in an appearance to enable us to do so, he said : " Ecoutez, fai justement votre affaire" and went on to explain that the steam corvette Milan was going to Sydney via New Caledonia ; and that M. de Paralo would be only too pleased, from what he had heard him say of Madame bowing in my direction to have us as passengers. I never doubted this, but I knew per- fectly well that it was against the rules to receive lady passengers on board men-of-war, and I doubted the Governor's consent to any such arrangement, which I represented to the Admiral, who replied : "Laissez moifaire cela s'armngera;" and he did manage with such good results that we actually sailed in the Milan. I knew every officer on board save the first 7 98 TAHITI: THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. lieutenant, who had it in his power to render my position agreeable or otherwise. M. de Poincelle had never visited at our house, and as he subsequently explained to me, that he had called on no one. What deterred him from participating in the hospitality offered to his brother officers was best known to himself; one thing was positive, he was charming to me throughout the voyage. The commander's apartment was shared by us ; it consisted of quite a good-sized saloon, handsomely furnished in dark crimson velvet ; lounges lined the walls, before which were draped curtains of the same material trimmed with heavy fringe. The commander was to occupy one of these, and A - the other, while the state-room containing a wide bed and Cash-stand was allotted to me. In all innocence I _itered it the first night, to find my enemies, the cockroaches, scampering about in every direction. I rushed out and called A . " I am not going to sleep there," I said. " It literally swarms with cockroaches." An animated dialogue then ensued. A - either would not, or could not, understand my intense repugnance to these hideous insects ; neither did he take into consideration that, if I had made a fuss about a solitary one on board the Emily, I would naturally feel a hundred times worse when there existed a hundred times as many on board the Milan. I therefore appealed to M. de Paralo, flatter- ing myself that he would settle the difficulty to my entire satisfaction. Of course I did not tell him that the state-room was a filthy hole infested with vermin. I suppressed all that, and explained that I could not A TAHITIAN WELCOME. 99 endure to deprive him of his own berth, and would therefore resign it in his favour and occupy the lounge in the saloon. I endeavoured to make it appear as nearly as possible a perfectly unselfish act on my 1 part, and he accepted it in that spirit. " Ma chere J dame" he replied, " Ne vons inquietez pas je ne me suis jamais servi de ce lit la, car je dors toujours dans le salon et j'ai bien conserve le meme cote pour moi, ainsi vous ne me derangez nullement" This reassurance amused A , if not me ! and the gentleman returned to the deck, leaving me to my deliberations. When too late for application I decided that honesty would have been the best policy. Had I been straightforward, and spoken to M. de Paralo frankly, he would have responded differently ; the fault was mine, and I accepted it as such, but not the consequences ; I never for a moment wavered about not sleeping in that inner room. Strict propriety might feel outraged at what I determined on doing, but I did not take it into consideration when I retired to the opposite lounge to the one occupied by our commander, defying any human eyes to penetrate two thick velvet curtains, though I would have gladly dispensed with even them in search of more air, had that not been a point beyond even my dare all ! When A - drew aside the curtain preparatory to turning in I was apparently asleep. His exclamation of annoyance was answered by M. de Paralo, who said, sotto voce, " Ne la derangez pas, elle est souffrante^ il faut le menager" I nearly exploded with laughter. My dogs accompanied us. Flody slept at the foot ioo TAHITI: THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. of my couch, or was supposed to do so, but I invari- ably found her at the head when I awoke. Leone coiled herself on a large armchair in the saloon, a liberty she took as my dog which she had never dared to do with her former master, as she had never been permitted to show even the tip of her nose in the saloon, where she now boldly followed me as guest on board. I have no doubt Leone, when she belonged to M. de Paralo, received many a sly kick on deck from the officers ; being the commander's dog was no safeguard against ill-usage, for whenever his back was turned his dogs were kicked without mercy. When I mildly remonstrated, they retorted, " Why does he always have a dog at his heels ? " What makes officers as a rule so ungrateful to their commanders ? I remarked it before, and the impres- sion was confirmed on board the Milan. M. de Paralo did not escape the ridicule of his staff*, even from those who were more than the recipients of his extreme kindness. He refrained from interfering with subordinates, and they taxed him with neg- lecting to do his duty. Had he done otherwise, they would most probably have accused him of meddling with what did not concern him. The fare on board the Milan was altogether perfect.' Michel, M. de Paralo's chef, was an excellent cook and confectioner. On Sundays and Thursdays a stated number of officers dined with us ; on these occasions shore etiquette was observed, full dress and light kids were de rigueur. After dinner we played Boston, and at ten precisely tea was served ; the commander never failed on its appearance to turn to me and say, A TAH2TIAN WELCOME. 101 "Madame, aime le the?" I did indeed, but I never got it on board the Milan. It really required a certain degree of courage to swallow such a homoeo- pathic decoction as a teaspoonful to a quart of tepid water! And this, notwithstanding my having ex- plained to Michel the process of infusing a certain quantity of tea in boiling water ; I might as well have talked to the masthead. I got A to admit that his state-room was as hot as the infernal regions, and that the cockroaches nightly nibbled at his finger and toe-nails ! for no sooner did he kick the beastly things off than they returned to the charge. I congratulated myself anew on my lucky escape. The Isles of Pine fully bore out the name bestowed on them, as they are long, low, densely -wooded islands. Sandal-wood at one time was found there in abundance, and purchased by American traders for the China markets, a commerce now extinct, as the Isles of Pine have been acquired by the Roman Catholic Mission. The coast of New Caledonia is bold and barren. Alas, we had left the tropical vegetation behind us. As we steamed past the Isles of Pine the aroma was deliciously pungent. The next day we took the pilot on board, and entered the bay of Noumea, which is completely land-locked by sombre mountains in dismal contrast with those of Tahiti. I had heard the Porte de France so eulogized by French officials, that I could barely credit the evidence of my eyes at its being the very opposite to what they had represented. A red clay soil, with not a particle of vegetation to 102 TAHITI: THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. soften the glare ; the few houses and shops were of the roughest description, both small and unsightly ; even the Government House looked more like an overgrown pigeon-house than what it actually was. In addition to other drawbacks was the dearth of fresh water. The wants of the residents had to be supplied from dirty, stagnant ditches. Why such an arid spot had ever been selected for the capital was a marvel, unless the inducement was the safety of the harbour and its picturesque position. The pilot assured us that there were several equally protected and more desirable harbours on the island, where water was to be found in abundance, which made the selection of the present site still more inexplicable ! I believe the interior of New Caledonia is very beautiful. I was told that it abounds in gigantic trees, birds of brilliant plumage doomed for gibier and the rarest sort of land-shells, both as to variety, colour, and size. But of what avail are these inland charms and treasures, which can only be seen at the risk of being scalped and eaten, as the natives are cannibals ? A party of soldiers, or colons, had been surprised by them in the vicinity of even Port de France only a few days before our arrival, and their bones were left to tell their fate ! The New Caledonians are a most repulsive look- ing people. Their hair is of a dingy red, a colour produced by the free use of lime water, and stands out in the form of a mop> not a clean one, yet there are Europeans who forget home and friends, I might add themselves, for the sake of these hideous women, who are without exception the most degraded A TAHITIAN WELCOME. 103 specimens of humanity ; the digger Indians are many degrees cleaner and more attractive. Le Jardin de la Marine was cultivated by the sailors, wherein we saw a few sickly vegetables and flowers ; they had aimed at an artesian well, but after digging to a great depth, the water was dis- covered to be brackish, and unfit for use. Poor fellows, I could appreciate their disappointment. The French Government had acquired New Cale- ' donia with the object of replacing Cayenne as a penal settlement, which was a hot-bed of pernicious fever, a pestilence that rarely proves otherwise than fatal to those whom it attacks. Had it confined itself to the convicts, curtailing existence in their case ought to have been regarded by them in the light of a blessing compared to a condemnation for life, which strikes me as being a far severer sentence to that of death. Murderers as a rule escape punish- ment when hanged or guillotined. They should live and suffer, not die and be at rest. Had I the power I would do away with capital punishment. As to New Caledonia, I do not believe that it can ever become of any importance, notwithstanding its reputed mineral resources. As I have previously stated, the French system of colonization is very faulty, and it is to be regretted that an island in such proximity to Australia and New Zealand did not become a British possession, instead of drifting into that of a foreign power. CHAPTER XV. ENTERTAINMENTS AT SYDNEY, NEW SOUTH WALES. E bade adieu to New Caledonia without regret The only pleasure I had derived there was in re- meeting M. de Bouzet, who was far more chatty and genial at Noumea than at Papeeti. Perhaps the prospect of returning to France cheered him, as it does most of his compatriots. The sloop of war La Bayonnaise commanded by Captain le Brice aine, preceded the Milan out of port, pointing her course towards Chili, whilst ours was directed towards Sydney. Before leaving the Milan, the commander and ourselves received a formal invitation to dinner from M. de Paincelle and the officers of the ward-room. It was a compliment, and the more appreciated as it bore the impress of my not having been considered de trop. And thus terminated one of the pleasantest voyages I had ever made, or had anticipated making. A had placed on board several cases of deli- ENTERTAINMENTS AT S YDNE Y. 105 cacies, which had never been opened, and were returned to him. When he remonstrated, the com- mander said, " You will probably find use for them on your return voyage ; for my own part I am glad they were not needed on the Milan" The harbour of Port Jackson is too well known by personal experience, or through the medium of books, to need any remark from me. As soon as we anchored, A went on shore to secure rooms, leaving me to endure the din and commotion of salut- ing the British flag with twenty-one guns, and, what I did not bargain for, the sight of a mutilated arm. An unfortunate sailor in ramming the powder into one of the guns had it shattered to splinters. Had it been my own arm, I could not have felt worse, or uttered more terrific screams ; in fact, I believe I was the only one who did scream, the real sufferer being at the time unconscious. We went to the Royal Hotel at Sydney, where A had procured two immense rooms there was no choice the charge for which, was equally immense. I cannot say that I was at all impressed with the appearance of Sydney, which might have been reason- ably termed a city of churches. The inhabitants in this respect were especially favoured, as they loomed in every direction. The gardens of the Domain are beautifully situated, facing the charming bay. Their rocky base is ornamented with aquatic plants and creepers. The grounds are not extensive, but plentifully supplied with palms, Australian pines, and eucalyptus trees, io6 TAHITI: THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. and brightened by brilliant flower plats. I used to make a daily pilgrimage to these public gardens,. and each time with renewed pleasure. We also drove to several pretty spots in the near neighbour- hood of Sydney, where there were forests of euca- lyptus, and a variety of pines and ferns, which I admired immensely, as they grow there to perfection. We visited one of the best theatres, where A slept throughout the performance. The popping of ginger-beer corks prevented me from following his example, as it tended to counteract the somniferous character of the play, being in constant demand by the occupants of the pit and gallery; nor would I have objected to a glass of it, as I am particularly partial to ginger-beer. Captain de Paralo and the officers of the Milan gave a delightful afternoon entertainment besides a ball on board the corvette. The commander's favourite officer, M. de Soie, undertook the decorations, and acquitted himself to the satisfaction of everybody. I never saw more effective arrangements of flowers and evergreens intermixed with flags and musketry. The chandeliers, composed of bayonets, produced a brilliant illumination on deck. But at the ball I fear Captain de Paralo gave great offence by taking me down to supper. I frankly warned him that there were others present who had more right to that attention than I. He smiled, shrugged his shoulders, and said, " Qu'est-ce que cela mefait^ je donne le bras a cehii que je pre- fM. There was an Austrian man-of-war in port at the same time as the Milan, the officers of which were ENTERTAINMENTS AT SYDNEY. 107 reputed to be splendid dancers: if rapidity constituted that, they certainly merited the compliment, as two slides carried them across the deck. A public ball was given by the residents of Sydney in honour of some distinguished visitor, which afforded me the opportunity of seeing the creme de la creme of Australian fashion and beauty, and there certainly was some remarkably lovely faces present ideal heads that reminded me of Greuse's charming concep- tions, many even surpassed them. We were delighted to find that a line of steamers plied between Sydney and New Zealand, and as we were intending to visit Wellington, A secured our passage on the Lord Ashley, commanded by Captain Stewart. Before we sailed my Newfoundland looked so very ill that we found it advisable to leave her with a veterinary during our visit to New Zealand. When A had made all the necessary arrangements, Leone was not forthcoming ; we searched our rooms in vain, so I concluded that she had strayed into some other apartment, and as the windows of several opened on to a long veranda, I walked down to reconnoitre, and to my dismay discovered the dog coiled up as snug as possible on a bed, which she was very reluctant to vacate ; neither did my poor Leone wish to leave me, for when they were leading her away she whined pitifully, and kept looking back with such a sad expression in her eyes that it made me feel miserable. Was it a presentiment ? as it proved a final parting. She died a few days after our departure of Australian distemper. CHAPTER XVI. OUR FELLOW PASSENGERS. HE Lord Ashley looked very small compared to the Milan^ but we had a large cabin with two berths allotted to us that looked clean, and, above all, free from cock- roaches. I hurriedly put our small parcels and bags in their proper places, and returned on deck to see the last, for the time being, of Sydney. A and I stood together watching the prepara- tions for our speedy departure, when we were accosted by an elderly lady and gentleman who introduced themselves, and explained that they had a young friend on board who was going to visit a brother at Nelson, whom, with our consent, they wished to place under our charge ; " only too pleased," and all the rest of it, was* of course said ; and the young lady came forward to be in her turn introduced, and a more perfect face and figure it would have been hard to find. She was above the medium height, had large, expressive, grey eyes, small mouth, exquisite OUR FELLO W PASSENGERS. 109 teeth, and a straight nose. I thought her bewitch- ingly lovely. Miss Hayes realized my conception of female beauty, of which I am an ardent admirer, and I fell in love with this Hebe, whatever A did. Had I been jealously inclined, it would have been expedient to keep my weather-eye open during that voyage. Our other passengers were far less attractive. These were two gentlemen, one of whom was pain- fully ugly. I never saw redder hair, eyebrows, and lashes than Mr. R - possessed ; his complexion was very much freckled, and he had his face framed in whiskers of the same vivid hue as his hair, a fringe of which surrounded a bald pate, and was carefully drawn up over it, though it did not always succeed in its object. His shirt-collars and stocks were the highest and loosest that could be procured, and invariably moved in the opposite direction to his head when the two starched ends of his collar took up a position anywhere but in the proper place. Altogether Mr. R was a comical figure to look at, in an ill-fitting check suit, and scarcely less so to listen to ; his broad dialect became broader as he warmed to his subjects usually the rich resources of his adopted country. He was a lawyer, and un- married, a staid bachelor he called himself and, thought I, likely to remain one. Mr. JMacL was the other passenger, a younger and decidedly better- looking man, and also unmarried ; but a cripple. How he came to be so may interest my readers. I will, therefore, repeat the sad history he favoured me with. i io TAHITI: THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. Mr. MacL owned a large sheep-run in the interior of Australia, where he was visiting an out- lying post, when his horse took fright and he was thrown heavily to the ground. As this had happened before, he thought little of it, until he attempted to stand, when he found that one leg was useless. The accident having occurred in an out-of-the-way part of his estate, some time necessarily elapsed before he received assistance. The local medical practitioner pronounced it a severe sprain, and prescribed outward applications ; but as several months passed without their producing any good result, Mr. MacL - made up his mind to go to Sydney for further advice, where he learnt, to his horror and sorrow, that his lameness was not occasioned by a sprain, but from dislocation of the hip, which ought to have been set at the time of the accident, since which the socket had filled, and it was impossible to remedy the evil by any surgical opera- tion. What must the poor man's feelings have been on hearing an opinion that doomed him to go through life on crutches ! through an ignorant mistake deprived of the exercise he most enjoyed. Mr. MacL - was making a voyage in the Lord AsJiley previous to returning home from his hopeless mission to Sydney. I did not envy the local medical man his first interview with his victim ; if he did not get fits I am much mistaken. Mr. MacL 's tongue was not disabled if his legs were. As I have described our passengers, I must not overlook our captain, who also realized my idea of manly beauty. He was tall, finely built, with dark O UR FELL OW PA SSENGERS. 1 1 1 hair and beard, and magnificent eyes. He looked what he was, a superb type of Scotchman, and a contrast in every way to the two other gentlemen. I knew nothing about the position of the steam screw until I retired for the night, when to my consternation I heard it working right under our state-room. The idea of sleeping to the accompani- ment of such discordant sounds was out of the question as far as I was concerned, and I resigned my share of the excruciating music to A , ex- pressing the hope that the vibration might act as a lullaby in his case, while I hastened to the ladies' cabin, where there were eight open berths, and Miss Hayes the only occupant ; she was enjoying the luxury of having her hair brushed by the stewardess. It was superb hair ; so long, thick, and glossy, that I stood looking admiringly at it, when the stewardess remarked, " I call this 'air ; no need of shinons on this 'ead, is there, ma'am ? " " I may have to resort to them yet, stewardess," replied the young girl, with an amused smile. " Not you. I never in all my days see such a 'ead of 'air, and I am sure the lady there can say no different." I agreed with the stewardess, who graciously told me to take any berth I liked. On examination I found every one more or less littered with odds and ends belonging to our interesting charge, and had to remove several articles of toilet before taking posses- sion of an under one ; where I nightly watched the same process and listened to the stewardess's Cockney expressions. She had come from England in the Lord Ashley > and gave us an amusing description of ii2 TAHITI: THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. the voyage, vid the Cape of Good 'Ope ! There was a piano in the saloon, and as Miss Hayes and the captain were good musicians it drew them together ; they sang duets and carried on whispered conversa- tions during the day, and the best part of the evening. I was quite satisfied that Captain Stewart admired Miss Hayes ; indeed, who could have helped doing so ? I never met a more attractive and highly accomplished girl ; she had a charmingly sympathetic voice, and sang divinely enough to bewitch even Mr. R . Close to the entrance of the saloon was a trap- door in the flooring that led to the provision store, which the careless waiters were constantly leaving open. One afternoon we saw my dog, Flody, dis- appear through it. I ran forward, followed by Mr. R and others, and discovered my pet sitting bolt upright on a sack of flour begging to be taken out. His position on his hind legs created a laugh ; but no one was so jocular over the tumble as Mr. R - ; " an unexpected somersault," he called it, " and that the wise little animal had actually alighted in the approved style, on his hind legs ; the next time he hoped to see him on his head," &c. The next time fell to his own lot, for the following morning my gentleman disappeared as Flody had done. His heavy thud shook the saloon, and we rushed to the open trap-door, where, unlike Flody, his position was not upright, neither could it be termed graceful, for he lay sprawling among the sacks of provisions, groaning frightfully ; either unable or unwilling to assist himself; he had to be literally hoisted up, as OUR FELLO W PASSENGERS. 113 there were no steps the stewards always sprang up and down and led to a seat, where he sat puffing and blowing like a porpoise and looked on the verge of apoplexy. He was furious, and pitched into the stewards : " Grinning, are you ? Wait till I get you back in Sydney, and you'll grin on the other side of your faces ! " he exclaimed angrily ; " and if I have sustained any internal injury, .which is more than likely, you'll pay for it, you careless scoundrels, negligent brutes." His harangue was cut short by hearing the notes of the piano, which stood in a distant recess ; near it the captain lounged, too much absorbed in his fair companion to pay any attention to the commotion at the other end of the saloon, an indifference that outraged Mr. R . He glared in the direction and muttered, " Captain Stewart had better end that sickening flummery, and attend to the duties of his ship." Just like an old bachelor, to call the most approved style of love-making flummery. I was indignant ; it afforded me my greatest amusement on board, watch- ing what I supposed to be the course of true love. Mr. R had calmed down sufficiently to remark Flody in my arms ; perhaps he remembered and re- gretted having expressed the desire to see him fall on his head the next time, and hoped to propitiate me by saying, " Your wee doggie, ma'am, must have felt that fall of his keenly, for it has given me a powerful shaking." Captain Stewart continued to devote more and 114 TAHITI: THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. more of his time to Miss Hayes, and my mind was exercised as to whether he was going to propose before we reached Nelson, a port we were fast approaching. His attentions had been so very marked, that I felt he meant them to be considered in a serious light ; and the girl herself did not dis- courage them. Miss Hayes never could have reached the age of twenty without having had other serious admirers. She had a history, no doubt, and at times I noted a sad expression in her eyes. She interested me exceedingly, and we resigned her to her brother with regret. We had reached Nelson, where we were told the steamer would probably be detained three or four days. To escape the hubbub incidental to dis- charging and taking in cargo, and the dirty work of coaling, A and I, decided to take up temporary quarters on shore. The only hotel was in reality a tavern, where we found two of the tiniest rooms imaginable ; they were clean, however, and the cooking good if plain, so we contrived to make our- selves very comfortable during our short sojourn at Nelson, which even at that date was a pretty place, especially so the rural lanes ; on each side of the road were fine villas and beautiful gardens shaded by the rata, eucalyptus, and pine trees all seemed to be tenantless. On inquiring, we were told that the owners were in Europe, and that we might walk through the grounds if we liked ; a privilege we did not neglect, and were well repaid for our pains. The climate I found delightful, and enjoyed our strolls O UR FELL OW PA SSENGERS. 1 1 5 over the rolling downs facing the ocean, overarched by a cloudless cerulean sky. Previous to leaving Nelson we called to bid Miss Hayes adieu. I thought her sister-in-law a very pretty young woman, but Mr. Hayes seemed unsettled in his mind ; he was evidently disappointed with Nelson, or in the object that had brought him there, and thought it probable that they would soon return to South America, from whence they had come. I subsequently learnt that he had carried out this intention, and that the vessel in which the family had sailed must have sunk in mid-ocean, as neither ship nor passengers were ever heard of after. Poor Miss Hayes, she merited a very different fate ! CHAPTER XVII. A SURPRISE. EARING that the Lord Ashley was getting up steam, we hurried on board to find the saloon, which was rather narrow, encumbered with trunks ; some of them were open, and articles of ladies' clothing were lying about in every direction. I was surprised, and, perceiving the stewardess, inquired who they belonged to. "The captain's wife," she replied! Could Mr. R have known that he was a married man ? I was undoubtedly curious to see Mrs. Stewart. The captain came into the saloon, and in a raised tone ordered the trunks to be removed and all the litter cleared away. He looked unlike himself, and acted accordingly. I never saw any one more changed ; the smiling expression with which we had hitherto been favoured had disappeared, and in its place was a set, stern look. His voice had brought his wife from her state-room. She was a A SURPRISE. 117 slight, delicate-looking girl, over-dressed in a black velvet costume with hat to match. " Do you hear ? " he continued in the same hard tone. "This is the saloon, and not the place for you to unpack your trunks." I disappeared, went on deck, where I soon after saw the wrathful captain promenading the bridge. Mrs. Stewart came up also with fishing- tackle, and leant over the side of the vessel. She had only joined the steamer that morning, having been detained at some point through illness. Her husband never noticed her, and I was debating within myself whether I should approach and enter into conversation, as I felt sorry for the pale young wife. She looked to me startlingly colourless and distressed when she came on deck, and I was not mistaken, for she suddenly straightened herself, and then fell heavily to the deck. In another moment the captain was by her side and had her in his arms, bearing her away to their room. I followed to see if I could be of any assistance. He laid her on the bed, and con- tritely asked the poor inanimate creature to forgive his harshness, when I prudently retired, and sent the stewardess to them, who said, " She gets them fits frequent." Towards the cool of the evening a bed was made on the deck, and Captain Stewart carried his wife up and placed her on it as gently and tenderly as if she were an infant. She assuredly had little more strength than one at that moment deadly pale, but happy, because her husband was no longer displeased with her. She had beautiful dark blue eyes, the one redeeming feature in her face. ii8 TAHITI: THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. Mrs. Stewart was rather a gentle, sensitive girl than a serious woman. She described herself as having always been delicate, and that her uncle, who was her guardian, had opposed her marriage with Captain Stewart on that account They had been in love with each other from childhood, and she took innocent delight in referring to the period when they had carried on a clandestine correspond- ence through the medium of her St. Bernard dog which conveyed their notes to and fro hidden in his shaggy coat. As I listened I compared this afflicted girl with Miss Hayes. Had Jthe husband done the same, and regretted when too late not having followed wiser counsel, as his present position with a delicate wife to be his constant care, one who required unceasing watchfulness, was a far from enviable prospect ? When we entered Cook's Straits it was blowing a gale, and continued to do so until we anchored in Wellington Harbour; indeed, I may say even after that, for the violent gusts of wind and boisterous sea were merely a modified degree of what we had expe- rienced in the straits. In the absence of wharf or jetty passengers had to be landed in boats. I was somewhat disappointed in the appearance of Wellington, as I had expected to find it a place of greater importance ; otherwise it was not unpic- turesque. We had come to visit A 's parents, who resided in a substantial brick house situated in a nice garden on Tiara Flat ; but it did not compare with his sister's, Mrs. Levin's place on Thornton Flat* where both fruit and flowers were abundant and of the A SURPRISE. 119 finest description. The house was quaint and non- descript from frequent additions of rooms, passages, and wings, but capable of a most successful ball, where I met some of the military men who had been stationed in Canada and knew a number of my friends, which proved a very agreeable rencontre for me. The Levins were most hospitable, and evidently great favourites in society. Our pleasantest evenings were those passed at their house. A drawback to the pleasure of locomotion at Wellington was the wind, which almost carried one off one's feet struggling against it, while traversing the space between the two flats, which were separated by a long straggling beach. Our friends secured the only conveyance to be had to drive us to the Hut, an unwieldly concern that came to grief long before we reached our destination. We had to alight while it was being patched up before we could pursue our route, which was through a pic- turesquely winding road, skirted with fine umbrageous trees which excited my admiration. The Hut at that period was composed of pretty gardens and orchards. The flowers in New .Zealand reminded me of those in California, so much larger than the growth in North America. Whether the perfume was as powerful I could not decide, though I thought not. I was very wishful to visit the interior of New Zealand, but it was not practicable, and we therefore availed ourselves of one of the monthly steamers plying to Melbourne. We had what I called a fair- weather passage, yet nearly every one on board was 120 TAHITI: THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. more or less sea-sick, and, as the state-rooms opened on to the dining-saloon, this did not tend to fortify one's appetite, or encourage one to linger at table a moment longer than was absolutely necessary. On one occasion I reached the deck in time to overhear a dialogue between two gentlemen. Said one, " Hang me if that girl of R 's doesn't make a point of being sick the moment we take our seats at table. I begin to think she does it on purpose." The recollection caused him to rush to the side of the vessel, whereupon the other addressed me, " I am not surprised ; the disgusting row they make down there, is quite enough to upset the strongest stomach," with a significant gesture in the direction of the sick man, who turned towards us a pallid face and swim- ming eyes, but recovered speech. " Gone, sir ; couldn't retain the mouthful I ate. Why, such a disgusting noise would revolt me on shore, let alone on board ship. It's not the sea, man ; it's the infernal racket they kick up that brings the whole scene before one's very eyes." It was perfectly true ; nevertheless I was convulsed with laughter at the comical tone in which this extremely graphic description was given. We passed the heads at Port Philip during the day, and entered Hobson's Bay at night-fall, when landing was out of the question. Many of the pas- sengers grumbled at being detained on board till the following morning. I resigned myself to the inevitable, and sat on deck enjoying the coup d'oeil of twinkling lights from mast-heads, vessels riding at anchor, brilliantly illuminated at least so they appeared to me and a succession of fine rockets sent A SURPRISE. 121 up from the Botanical Gardens, in honour, not of our arrival, but of some fete. Melbourne eclipsed Sydney in imposing buildings and width of streets ; granite replaced brick, and imparted an old-world appearance to the city, which I found very attractive. The public gardens were especially so, as they abound in superb trees and artistically conceived flower plats. The grounds are terraced down to the Yarra Yarra river, in wide shaded avenues, provided with rustic seats, where we sat and watched the very tiniest steamboats imaginable, ply to and fro from Melbourne, to some tea gardens beyond the Botanical. We made a trip to them, but they were not worth the trouble; the decorations could not bear the glare of daylight ! It struck me as being inconceivably tawdry, dusty, and hot ; nevertheless a favourite resort with the masses and classes, who congregate largely on the occasion of the weekly fetes, when the band plays between the display of fireworks, and the gardens are brilliantly illuminated, and, what was more to the purpose, refreshments to be had at reasonable rates. I had remarked how gentlemen wore long green and blue barage scarves twisted round their hats, and concluded it was to prevent the heat penetrating to their heads ! I subsequently saw them put to a different use. A and I went out walking when we were overtaken by one of the notorious Australian hot winds, accompanied by clouds of blinding sand ; in a moment these scarves were untwisted to cover the faces and protect the eyes ; everybody seemed to be running at the top of their speed towards 122 TAHITI: THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. shelter of some kind, and we followed their example. The waves of sand were increasing, and the atmo- sphere becoming so dense, that I was rejoiced to find myself back at our hotel, which I reached out of breath, and with a disagreeable stinging sensation in my eyes and ears. A complained of the same thing ; unfortunately we had been unprepared for the emergency, having no scarves to fall back upon. The environs of Melbourne are charming, and it was with a feeling of regret, that I found myself on the mail steamer en route to Sydney. Though merely a passage of three days, it was found neces- sary to paint the deck seats and railings, regardless of the inconvenience it caused to passengers, who were in consequence forced to remain below in the saloon, a situation they did not accept without protesting; and it did my heart good to hear their thorough abuse of both captain and officers for permitting the work to proceed notwithstanding their combined objection. To pass the time some of the passengers proposed sweepstakes on the hour of our arrival. A , who was of a speculative turn of mind, took several chances, and won the purse, but, like many of his other ventures, it did not prove a profitable investment. The captain blandly informed him that he made it a rule that such gains should be invested in cham- pagne, for the benefit of the passengers generally. I can vouch for it that, on that occasion, the captain and his particular friends obtained the lion's share, totally regardless of the claims of the duped winner. CHAPTER XVIII. REMINISCENCES OF THE PAST. HE first news we received on reach- ing Sydney was the death of my poor Leone of Australian distemper, and I came very near losing Flody of the same disease. We had ad- ministered all kind of remedies with- out benefit to the little animal, and I was in despair, when A came into my room followed by a strange lady, who professed to have a knowledge of dogs' complaints. She had remarked Flody in the street, attracted by his beauty and uncommon breed he was a Chilian spaniel and having missed him for several days, she stopped A to make inquiries as she concluded he was ill. On being told that such was the case, she humanely volunteered her services. After hearing that the various remedies administered had proved ineffectual, and that I was grief-stricken, she examined the dog and pronounced him to be suffering from Australian distemper, which was very prevalent at that season of the year midsummer. 124 TAHITI: THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. She then prescribed for my pet, and left us with the assurance that, if I carried out her instructions, he would get over the attack ; which he did, thanks to this good Samaritan, who had an extensive kennel of dogs of her own, on a station situated at a consider- able distance from Sydney, which she only visited for business purposes. She said that she loved country life, and avoided cities and towns as much as possible. How differently constituted people are; for my own part I very much prefer cities to the country, where my young days had been passed. We lived at an exceedingly pretty place, which I so little appre- ciated that I was desirous to leave it. An incident occurred one day which I never forgot. I was sitting in the veranda, inhaling the perfume of flowers with which the garden was so liberally stocked, that the summer air was impregnated with their fragrance. The placid, lovely scene, enlivened by the warble of birds, was most enjoyable, yet I repined ! A party of tourists paused at our gate and looked in through the railings, when one of them exclaimed, " What a charming spot. Is that young girl on the veranda not to be envied, privileged as she is, to admire that beautiful mountain to her heart's content ? How I should love to live here myself!" &c. These remarks set me thinking ; why did I feel differently ? I who delighted in the works of nature, in the song of birds, the sight of flowers, in that mountain, which had elicited such warm praise from the strangers' lips. In recalling this incident, my thoughts wander back to the home of my childhood in North America. No REMINISCENCES OF THE PAST. 125 place could have been more picturesquely situated than ours, at the foot of " The Mountain," as it was then called, better known now as Mount Royal. When a mere child, I had the habit of rising at daybreak on warm summer mornings to seat myself on the wide window-sill so as to assist at the awaken- ing of nature. I loved to watch the lighting up of the dense foliage heavy with dew, to hear the first flutter of the birds pruning their plumage, twittering and chirping before bursting forth in their matutinal song of praise. I was familiar with every glade and path in the mountain, and had often pictured to myself the charms of such a sylvan retreat, where I could do as I liked, stoop as much as I pleased, and turn in my toes without being constantly taken to task for so doing, and above all, should escape study- ing my lessons, which I detested a degree more than I did standing straight and in the first position. A widow woman, named Williams, owned a small property near ours, wherein she cultivated vegetables for the market, which were conveyed thither in a large covered cart by herself and her son. They started regularly at peep of day, and I was ever on the look-out for this canvas-covered vehicle that had an especial attraction for me ; it was an employment after my own fancy, as my ambition then was, to own as soon as I became old enough, a vegetable garden and similar conveyance to carry my produce to market. I quite envied Bill Wil- liams his seat next to his mother, and though he was an ill-favoured youth, I would have willingly sat between them and assisted in handing in and out the 126 TAHITI: THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. neatly-tied bundles of carrots, turnips, onions, &c., &c. Happy, uneventful days that flitted all too soon. Then came a change " o'er the spirit of my dream," when a beloved face was no longer with us, and Beaulieu, our country residence, lost its attraction for father and me, so we left it to wander elsewhere. We visited large cities, which produced partial forget- fulness, and the old home, with its cherished associ- ations, passed into the hands of strangers. Revisiting early scenes is not, as a rule, satisfactory. A accompanied me to have a look at mine with this result the rural lane had sprung into a street, lined with villas or rows of semi-detached houses, and our pretty garden had entirely disappeared. What a disappointment it was to me, as I wanted A - to see the majestic maple tree encircled by a rustic bench, and the sturdy branch from which had been suspended our swing ; what he saw was very different to what I had described. CHAPTER XIX. AN UNPLEASANT PASSENGER. E sailed from Sydney in the Stag Hound, a brigantine, commanded by Captain Sustenance. When A engaged our passage to Tahiti he agreed to pay an ad- ditional sum on the understanding that Captain Sustenance was to take no other passengers save ourselves apart from his wife, child, and nurse, who lived on board the vessel as the saloon was remarkably small, containing only two state-rooms and two open berths. What, then, was our amazement the day we set sail to see a pale, emaciated young man lying on the little lounge facing the companion steps. A lady was seated on a trunk beside him it was our trunk ; in fact, there were no other seats save trunks in the cabin, beyond the apology for a sofa then occupied, and continued to be so by the same invalid to nearly the end of our voyage. He was in the last stage of consumption, as his hollow cough and hectic flush indicated, and a I 128 TAHITI: THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. most undesirable passenger to have on a long mono- tonous voyage. Captain Sustenance had been at one time em- ployed navigating for A , who now reproached him for his want of faith, and said that if he could see his way out of it, he would leave the vessel at once, return on shore, do anything in fact, rather than submit to such an outrage, and subject me to such an ordeal as the constant presence of a dying man. The captain assured us that no one was more taken in than himself. The uncle of the young man, Mr. Isit, senior, was his banker, and had asked him as a personal favour, to give his nephew, who was not strong, the benefit of a sea voyage ; and it had been understood between them, that he was merely to occupy one of the berths and take his meals in the cabin ; the rest of the day was to be spent on deck in the open air. While we were discussing the painful affair Mr. Isit's aunt came on deck and requested the captain and A to go below to witness the signature of her nephew's will. They complied, when Mr. Isit 'suggested that perhaps they might wish to read the will, to which the lady objected, on the plea that there was no time to do so, as she had to hurry on shore, to procure some narcotic pills that her nephew was in the habit of taking, which had been forgotten at the last moment. After the desired signatures had been affixed the aunt bore away the document, returning only in time to hand up a small parcel, as we were getting under way. AN UNPLEASANT PASSENGER. 129 Mr. Isit grew worse and worse ; he never either entered his berth or sat on deck to inhale the fresh air. Night and day he lay on the sofa, and we were obliged to take all our meals before him, though he never ceased coughing and expectorating. How I contrived to eat anything whatever in such an atmo- sphere was a marvel. The weather was too delightful, as there was not breeze enough to fill a sail. With so much in the invalid's favour, we were at a loss to account for the rapid progress his disease was making from day to day. The captain, who professed to know something of pharmacy, questioned Mr. Isit about the nature of his symptoms. He told him that the narcotic pills affected him differently on board to what they had done on shore. Captain Sustenance took one away to analyse, when he discovered it to be composed of irritants not sedatives, aloes and rhubarb, in place of morphia or chloral. The change of drugs had un- fortunately been detected too late to counteract the mischief arising from nightly aperients, which had completely exhausted the sufferer's small modicum of strength, and it had now resolved itself into a mere matter of time. Naturally, the mistake in the pills was a revelation that distressed us all, but from the outset I had an impression that Mr. Isit was doomed to die on board the Stag Hound \ the whys and wherefores I could not explain to myself, but the belief was there and could not be discarded ; indeed it was rather confirmed by the succession of calms. What a contrast in every way was this wretched voyage to our delightful experience on board the 9 130 TAHITI: THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. French corvette. Mrs. Sustenance did all in her power for me, but she could not combat the force of circumstances, and they were more disheartening than I can depict. The nurse of the little Sustenance girl, a Rora- tongian, named Luppa, was devoted to her charge a sweet child of two for whose especial benefit a goat had been provided. She gave very little milk, nevertheless a few drops were always reserved for my cup of tea. I invariably protested against depriving the dear little girl of that small quantity. I acted on the principle that politeness costs nothing, and was glad to find that it was accepted in a like spirit. One night A very nearly set the vessel on fire. He slept in the under berth, and complained of being devoured by bugs. " I can't make out where they come from," he said, while lighting a candle to examine his bed. Perceiving a locker at the side of the bunk, he forced open the door, and held the light inside to reconnoitre, when he called out that the d d hole was alive with them. A sudden blaze appalled me, as I had the conviction that some- thing must have caught fire. A - held his tongue, but he had the presence of mind to thrust in his blankets, while I made a desperate spring from the upper berth to lend my assistance ; between us we managed to extinguish the flames, but I did not recover from the fright that night. The next day we got Luppa to cleanse the locker and rub into it a quantity of kerosene oil ; the smell was horrible, and so thought the bugs, for they scuddled away to the next AN UNPLEASANT PASSENGER. 131 cabin, where the Sustenances had a benefit of them, though they maintained silence on the fact of having undesirable visitors, that belonged by rights elsewhere. Though Mr. Isit caused me hourly discomfort, I pitied his sad plight, dying, as I felt certain he was, among strangers, separated for all time from kith and kin, among whom his last days should have been passed, instead of at sea, in a close cabin where he could scarcely breathe. A and I did all we could to ease his sufferings, which were painful to witness. Thanks to M. de Paralo, who had foreseen our needs in the return voyage, we had many delicacies on board, and these we shared with our fellow passenger, for whom nothing whatever had been provided by his relatives. The aunt, whom we could not help infer- ring was to inherit whatever property her nephew possessed, had wasted no thought on what might have conduced to his comfort, or tempt his appetite, which was very capricious, though he relished our fruit as long as it lasted. We lay becalmed off Tubui for five days, and what interminable days they were ; the heat was intense and Mr. Isit suffered in proportion. At such times the captain launched forth in bitter invectives against the widow with corkscrew curls, as he described the invalid's aunt. He maintained that it had been no mistake about the pills ; it had been done with inten- tion. She did not want her nephew back in Sydney, where he might be induced to make a will in some one else's favour ; she was a deep old hag, that's what she was, &c. The captain may have eased his own heart and 132 TAHITI: THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. brain by favouring us with his opinion, but it was a vain endeavour to shift the blame from his own shoulders, as he alone was answerable for the painful situation in which we were placed, though not for the absence of wind. I used to amuse myself watching his actions to create a breeze, which he courted in every possible way, but, as I felt, uselessly ; and used to aggravate him beyond measure when he was thus employed, by remarking that whistling for it could do no good ; he might as well spare his breath, as he ought to be aware by now, that no breeze was likely to spring up while Mr. Isit lived, who was doomed to die on board the Stag Hound. Captain Sustenance disliked me to say this, as his vessel was a recent purchase, and the voyage had lasted already much longer than was usual, and had been a most un- pleasant one throughout. Coming from my state-room, Mr. Isit asked me what day did I think we should probably reach Tahiti. " I long to arrive," he said ; " I feel as if I could devour every orange on the island." He looked so hot and exhausted, that I went back for the eau de Cologne, with which I sponged his face, neck, and hands, leaving the same to evaporate so as to refresh him the more a process I frequently resorted to on my own account. That same . night Mr. Isit ruptured a blood vessel while coughing ; delirium ensued, when we had to listen to the wildest freaks of fancy. He imagined himself at Glasgow, and ordered the captain to land him at once. Go on shore he would, and he strove ineffectually to rise and dress. When he found that AN UNPLEASANT PASSENGER. 133 no one lent him any assistance, he became violent, and ended by cursing every soul on board. Happily such scenes are of rare occurrence, for they are appalling to witness ; and strange to relate, though the dying man must have been raving, his curses were applicable to each individual. He hoped the Stag Hound might get wrecked, with Captain Sustenance on board. When addressing A , he hoped that his premises would be burnt, and no insurance recoverable ; the mate was never to rise in his pro- fession ; and he wished me every ill for washing his face and hands with Cologne water, and neglecting to wipe them. Mrs. Sustenance and I endeavoured to avoid hearing what the dying man said, but it was impossible to sit anywhere without doing so, or seeing all that was taking place in the cabin. A was rubbing the wretched man's feet, which in the midst of his ravings, he said were cold, and asked some one to apply friction to them. As the end approached, Captain Sustenance began to read the prayers for the dying, and to our surprise Mr. Isit made the proper responses. He then besought the captain to promise that he would erect a tombstone over his grave ; in other words, a piteous appeal against being consigned to the ocean. No sooner had Mr. Isit ceased to breathe than a favourable breeze did spring up, and my prophecy thus proved correct. This was my first experience of a death and burial service at sea, that is to say, on any vessel in which I was a passenger. 134 TAHITI: THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. The Stag Hound hove to, and the bell began to toll. Mrs. Sustenance directed my eyes to the shrouded figure on a sliding plank. Captain Sustenance read the prayers, and then I heard a splash ; the body had been consigned to the deep. As I looked over the bulwarks, it made two evolutions before sinking. The mournful ceremony ended, the vessel resumed r"her course. Mrs. Sustenance had wept all the time, | and must have thought me extremely callous, as I did / not shed a tear, or feel the least bit affected ; why U-should I for a man who had received all our kind acts in an ungracious spirit, and had expended his latest breath in heaping curses on us? Two days after we sighted the Tahitian coast. It was a lovely evening, and the beautiful island, after all I had experienced, looked more than ever like a Garden of Eden. Mrs. Sustenance and I sat on deck, inhaling the scented air wafted from shore. The wind was not favourable, and we anticipated spending another night on board ; with so charming a scene facing us, I did not mind the delay. The contrast with the horrible past made one almost doubt that it had been other than a hideous dream. The stillness of the night was broken by the distant splash of oars, nearer and nearer came the measured strokes ; it proved to be a boat coming from Taunoa, which was but a short distance from where we had dropped anchor. We availed ourselves of it, to return to Papeeti, and hurriedly bade adieu to those with whom we had passed forty-three of the most distress- ing days that had ever befallen us. CHAPTER XX. CANNIBALS. URING our five months' absence from Papeeti, innumerable changes had taken place. We learnt with regret that our good friends, Captain and Madame Perraud, had returned to France, and that the new Chef d'Artillerie was an unmarried man. Comte P had also been recalled to make room for M. de la Richerie, who was accompanied by his wife and their little son Henri. M. Cesset's governorship was as shortlived as it was stormy. He wanted to have everything his own way, and M. de la Richerie was of the same disposi- tion. They consequently disagreed to such an extent that M. Cesset lost patience, and started for New Caledonia, leaving his bete noir master of the situation. A curious instance of M. Cesset's excitability was related to us. Hearing that Queen Pomare had left Papeeti at a late hour for some distant district where she had gone to visit a friend he took it into 136 TAHITI: THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. his wise head that she was hatching some grave plot against his master, the Emperor. Acting on this absurd supposition, he headed a company of soldiers, and went in quest of her Majesty, who was roused out of her sleep in the dead of the night, and brought back to Papeeti under military escort. M. de la Richerie bore a striking likeness to the Bonaparte family, and must have enjoyed a certain degree of favour and interest in France, for in a short time he was nominated Commissaire Impe'riale Chef de r Administration. Yet he never became popular. It was truly ridiculous to see him extend one finger to shake hands ; he presented it to everybody, and nobody had the moral courage to imitate him, not even I, though I made frequent attempts to avoid accepting it, which honesty compels me to admit, I never succeeded in doing. No, our new governor was decidedly not agreeable, and he wore a stereotyped smile peculiar to himself, his face was never seen without it. Before coming to Tahiti M. de la Richerie had been Superintendent of Prisons at Cayenne. Some un- pleasant stories were in circulation respecting his severe treatment there of political offenders, and the Tahitians were not long in finding out by experience that his Cayenne reputation was in no way exagge- rated. His first administrative act was an arbitrary one. It was an edict compelling the natives to quit their houses, situated under umbrageous trees, and to build others in an exposed position. A wide, treeless avenue was selected for their future habitations, on which they were forced malgre eux to erect oval CANNIBALS. 137 bamboo houses raised a foot from the ground. A vacant space was allotted to each one to be converted into a flower garden. Surely Madame de la Richerie advised the latter, as the Commissaire Imperiale was the last man in the world to trouble his mind about such useless things as flowers. Sugar-cane or cotton was more in his line, for he had a policy which had never suggested itself to his predecessors to reap some advantage from the soil ; and he carried out this policy with a certain amount of success, whilst he reigned at Tahiti. A despot at heart, he ruled the natives in that character ; taxations and fines were the main objects he had in view. In this, if in nothing else, M. de la Richerie was consistent ; as he began, so he ended, by extracting from the Tahitians everything they possessed. Madame de la Richerie was a very pretty woman, with beautiful dark eyes, and hair the shade of ripe corn. She soon became popular, as she assumed no nonsensical airs, as many others would have done in her position, instead of which she was invariably smiling and pleasant. She married the Governor at Cayenne, where her father also held a position in the prisons. She had, therefore, mixed but little in society, and her taste in dress was deplorable, but her charm- ing eyes and hair compensated for defects in that respect. If Madame de la Richerie's toilet failed to be Parisian, she was totally innocent of the fact, as she was of repeating ill-natured on dits, for few could give utterance to wounding remarks with her aplomb. We heard with dismay that a vessel bound to Tahiti from the Gambia Islands had been wrecked 138 TAHITI: THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. on Bligh's Island, and that all on board had been eaten by the natives, who were cannibals. In addition to the captain and crew, there was the wife of the former, and two sons of a Mrs. Stevens, who kept a shop at Papeeti. They were being educated at the Roman Catholic College at the Gambias, and were then en route to spend their vacation with their mother at Papeeti. Appeals were made to the administration to despatch forthwith a vessel to punish the murderers, and recover the bones of the victims. The Government sent a schooner for such purpose, which, after being absent some weeks, returned without having accomplished its mission". The captain's excuse was that Bligh's Island did not exist as laid down on the chart. Mrs. Stevens then determined to take the matter in hand, and see what could be done to the wretches who had killed and devoured her little boys. With this praiseworthy object in view, she chartered a brigantine belonging to A , called the Julia. It was commanded by Captain Dunham, a man who was thoroughly conversant with the bearings of every island of the Pomuto Group. As Mrs. Stevens wished to satisfy herself that her agreement was properly carried out, she decided on taking passage by the vessel in question, in order to see with her own eyes that the proper search was made on landing for her boys' bones, and that the natives who had killed them were made prisoners, and brought to Tahiti for trial. Bligh's Island was reached without difficulty, and proved a wretched low lagoon, surrounded by a coral CANNIBALS. 139 reef. Captain Dunham, with the greater part of the crew, fully armed, landed and made the circuit of the island without meeting a human being, which induced the belief that it was uninhabited. When on the point of returning to their boats, the captain turned to take a last survey, he fancied he perceived a movement on the ground, not far from where he stood. Further examination discovered what he had seen to be a human finger. All hands were then set to work to remove the earth, and very soon they hauled out of the deep hole a native. Twenty or more were recovered in a similar manner, inclusive of women and children, and marched off to the brigan- tine. They were emaciated to a fearful degree, and made no attempt at resistance or escape. They sub- sequently explained that they were afraid when they saw the Julia's approach, and hoped to evade detection by hiding under ground, and so they would, but for that exposed finger ; and, I may aptly add, Captain Dunham's vigilant eye. As soon as the natives were got on board the Julia, Mrs. Stevens went on shore to seek for the remains of her children. She collected what she flattered herself were their bones, also a tress of long fair hair, probably that of the captain's young wife. There was great excitement at Papeeti when it became known that the Julia had returned with the entire population of Bligh's Island. A more sicken- ing, loathsome spectacle than the landing of those miserable beings could not be possible. If all cannibals looked like the Bligh Islanders, they might be pardoned their deeds, for starvation alone induced 140 TAHITI: THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. them, as beyond a few cocoa-nuts they had literally nothing to eat, and several died en route from over- feeding. Their sole punishment consisted in their removal to Tahiti, for which they should have been grateful ; but few of the men or women lived long enough to appreciate the blessing conferred on them. One or two young girls were taken by private families. When washed and dressed they were not very ugly, and they soon acquired the Tahitian language. In describing their wretched life of want on Bligh Island with barely enough to sustain life, they said that the men alone were privileged to eat human flesh, neither the women nor the children were allowed to touch it. Surely this must have been a prohibition from gluttony, not delicacy. My curiosity concerning cannibalism was gratified by Captain Dunham, who had visited many islands addicted to anthropophagy without having come to grief. He said that he was too thin to excite their greed, as cannibals prefer fat subjects. They told him that native flesh was more delicate than the white man's, and less salty. If Captain Dunham escaped being devoured by cannibals, he fell a prey to fish. During one of his voyages he indulged too freely in the bottle, and under the delusion that he had arrived at his destina- tion and was going on shore, he walked overboard and was drowned. One could not offer the Tahitians a greater insult than to accuse them of having been in days past cannibals. During the period of human sacrifices the eyes alone were eaten by the reigning sovereign, and were gouged out for this purpose, but the bodies were CANNIBALS. 141 untouched. These sacrifices were conducted in as merciful a manner as could be consistent with so barbarous a custom. The victims being kept in pro- found ignorance of their pending fate till the supreme moment, the priest having approached noiselessly from behind to deal the never-failing death blow. This was the mode of proceeding at Tahiti, whatever might have been the custom practised elsewhere " The death stone slipped into the hand of the in- tended sacrifice," related by travellers, never took place at the Society Group. Maraes high altars in groves of Ito, which replaces the cypress as an emblem of mourning may still be seen. The idols that were made from perishable material have long since disappeared, but the huge blocks of stone on which they reposed, defy the ravage of time. The society of Papeeti was augmented by the arrival of a M. Faucompre and a M. Lavigerie. M. Faucompre was appointed Chef du Bureau de fEnregistrement. He was of medium height, good- looking, and had a fine baritone voice, which rendered him a most agreeable acquisition and ever-welcome visitor. M. Lavigerie was Pharmacien de la Marine and brother of the then Archbishop, now Cardinal, Lavi- gerie. He was younger, handsomer, and taller than M. Faucompre, and an equally good musician. The two young men became intimate friends, and spent a portion of every evening at our house until native wiles lured away the bachelor. M. Lavigerie was a married man, whose wife, being an only child, was 142 TAHITI: THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. prevented by her parents from accompanying her husband of a few months to a country so distant from France. Had they been aware of the dangerous experiment they were making, their decision would have probably been reversed. Happily for them, the young husband adored his wife, and was not to be seduced from his allegiance; whereas his friend Fau- compre had no such incentive, to resist the smiles and seductive manners of the Tahitians sirens, and it was not long before he purchased a piece of ground on the road to Faaa, where he resided in a tiny house with his native wife, as so many had done before him, and will continue to do while Tahiti remains Tahiti. CHAPTER XXL A CRUEL DEED. HE C hint geon- en- Chef at Papeeti was a very peculiar man in appear- ances as well as in acts. With respect to the former, his body was too long, and his legs too short, his tout Ensemble was consequently not exactly symmetrical. En suite his inconsistencies were glaring, and in time such was the general opinion formed of him, so that no one was surprised at the barefaced manner in which he curried favour with the heads of the administration. I don't think that I ever met with a more con- temptible man than Dr. Guillasse, who was both narrow-minded and vindictive, as the sequel will prove. As to his medical capacity experience in- duced us to bestow on him the sobriquet of Dr. Jackass. I found housekeeping at Papeeti a sinecure, as our man-cook catered for us without troubling either his master or mistress, and I must admit that it is 144 TAHITI: THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. far more enjoyable to sit down to meals ordered by some one else, than to know beforehand of what the daily menu is to consist. Renvoyer, our chef, had accompanied the first French Governor to Tahiti in the same capacity, and when Admiral Lavaud left the island A engaged his services. He was an excellent pastrycook and confectioner, and as no such shops existed in the place, he supplied all the cakes and tarts eaten at Papeeti. I don't know whether this privilege was accorded him by his master it certainly was not by me nevertheless he did it, arid earned a good deal by so doing, in addition to his high rate of wages. I found that most of A 's employes made far more out of him than he did out of them. I was somewhat scandalized on my arrival at Papeeti to see our chef invariably accompanied by a native woman I had been told that he was unmarried who walked behind him, but as close to his elbow as it was possible to get. She always dressed in bright-coloured flowing tapas with a red Atite-ftower over one ear. When I questioned the relationship I was informed that it was the custom of the country. I was considerably staggered. A was an old resident. Mitua, Renvoyer's native zvife, had an agreeable looking face. One day I remarked that it was swollen and discoloured. I asked her how it had occurred. She promptly replied " By the Russians " it was during the Crimean War. Renvoyer was of course the culprit, and I reproached him for striking a woman ; I called it unmanly. He said that native A CRUEL DEED. 145 women liked to be thrashed by their lovers or husbands, which proved that they were jealous of them. If they were neglected in this respect they took it as the dawning of indifference on the man's part. " A woman, a whelp, and a walnut tree, The more you thrash 'em the better they be " was exemplified at Tahiti, for the next day Mitua was seatecf on a bench outside the kitchen which was situated at the side of a large courtyard as close to her tane husband as decency permitted, dressed in a new bright tapa, with the usual red Aute-flower over her ear, looking so pleased and happy, that but for some slight disfiguring traces on her cheeks, I might have doubted her recent cas- tigation. Renvoyer glanced at me with a knowing smile and twinkle in his eye, which said as plainly as possible, " Did I not tell you so ? " The sea view from our front veranda was delight- ful ; day after day, and evening after evening, I occupied the same seat a comfortable rocking-chair admiring its unvarying charm. Morea looming in the distance, the waves splashing up in soft cadence against the coral reefs ; the bay dotted with vessels, among which were always some men-of-war, either stationed in port, or merely birds of passage visiting Tahiti with the object of affording their sailors a run on shore : with less risk of desertion than on the the coast of South America. On such occasions we saw a good deal of the navy men, who found our veranda an agreeable lounge. 10 146 TAHITI: THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. I was very stupid about acquiring the language of the island and during my long residence I blush to say that I never got beyond a few ordinary words which I mingled with French and English in a ridicu^ lous fashion, and at times made the most absurd mis- takes with the limited number I did know, or thought I knew. The boy in charge of my mare Dolly told me she was suffering with tampers and could not be mounted. I was in this way deprived of my daily ride, though it was just as likely that he had made this an excuse for some object of his own. Several days passed when Dolly's familiar neigh hurried me to the back veranda overlooking the courtyard to see her. I then fed her with bananas which she ate so re- markably well, that I' concluded the tampers if she had ever had them, which I more than ever doubted had disappeared, so I ordered the boy to saddle my piifaarii I meant to say pnafemia horse where- as I said cat, which I only found out on returning to the front veranda where A , who was, as usual, stretched on a lounge smoking, asked what cat I was going to ride. I joined in the laugh at my expense, though the native to whom I had said it never changed countenance, did not even smile at that, which might have elicited a hearty burst of laughter from any one. Our sense of fun and humour must vary from that of the natives. If they possess any it is bottled up for private use and only uncorked when by themselves, as no indication of it ever reached my ears. Mr. Manning was the acting American Consul at Tahiti in the absence of the real representative, A CRUEL DEED. 147 Captain Kelly, who with his wife was on a visit to the United States, a visit that proved a ruinous one to them. Captain Kelly was a Bostonian, and during the entire term of his official duties no income had been affixed to the position ; consequently he had been left for several years in undisturbed possession of the office. A change, however, in the Cabinet at Washington produced different arrangements in all the consular departments, and as soon as it became known that the one at Tahiti commanded $1,000 per annum, there appeared any number of competitors, and Captain Kelly ceased to represent his Government, though this was unknown to him until he landed at Tahiti, his voyage from Boston round Cape Horn having occupied some months. Nor was this the only piece of ill news that greeted him on his arrival. His absence from the island had been seized upon by a neighbour and commercial rival as a favourable moment to injure his interests abroad. This he effected through the assistance of Mr. Manning, the gentleman who represented, or rather misrepresented, Captain Kelly, whose Boston correspondents took the alarm and sent out an agent to protect their interests. Fortunately for Captain Kelly he proved to be a gentleman. Mr. Bowman's sympathies were imme- diately enlisted in the American Consul's favour, and he lent him invaluable assistance in closing up his business relations with the United States. Mr. Bowman mentioned to us that Mr. B , who had compassed Captahi Kelly's ruin, had offered to purchase from him the Consul's Boston liabilities, which he of course rejected. As maybe imagined the 148 TAHITI: THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. Kellys were greatly embittered against the Mannings who were detained at Tahiti in consequence of Mrs. M 's delicate condition. When Mrs. Kelly was told that the lady had given birth to twin sons, she exclaimed, with a grimace of disgust, " Breeding like that, the shameless hussy ! " Mrs. Kelly had many peculiarities. In the absence of a family, she devoted herself to animals and poultry ; she collected her own eggs, and marked each one with the date and parentage ; for example, " Laid on Monday the 8th, by Sky-high ! " This is no exaggeration. I have seen basketsful marked in a similar manner, and wondered what on earth became of them, as her hens were especially good layers ! Mrs. Kelly had two dogs and two cats ; the former were called Juliette and Jacky, the latter Chouchou and Tabby. Juliette was a white fluffy poodle, which would keep time by shaking her two front paws to a little song her mistress hummed to display her pet's sagacious performance. The tune was worthy the words, "Juliette and Jacky, Chouchou and Tabby." Trifles such as these, helped to brighten the last years of the good lady's life, and as such we must respect them. The new American Consul and his wife were perfect contrasts in every way to their predecessors. Colonel Vandor was a German- American, and, like all naturalized people, he paraded his patriotism to a laughable extent. When the welcome news reached Tahiti of the great victory won by the Federals, he evinced his loyalty to the cause by becoming ex- tremely friendly with the two or three negroes at A CRUEL DEED. H9 Papeeti. The American corvette Kirsage came into port at this period ; she was commanded by a staunch Southerner, who was not the best pleased at hearing through the pilot of the Consul's behaviour with respect to the negroes. Captain Scott was told that Colonel Vandor had been seen walking arm-in-arm down the beach with one, in consequence of which he refrained from calling at the Consulate, a breach of etiquette which in no way offended the Colonel. Too much of a republican to stand on ceremony, the first time he came face to face with Captain Scott he ostentatiously introduced him to the negro friend with whom he was walking. The fastidious Vir- ginian's indignation may be imagined. He came to us with his grievance. " Insolent and presuming scoundrel ! " he exclaimed, wrathfully. " It is a dis- grace to our Government nominating such an ill-bred, vulgar representative." So enraged was Captain Scott with Colonel Vandor that his visit to Tahiti was brought to a sudden termination, much to the regret of his officers, who did not share their captain's animosity or objection to come in contact with that man Consul he declined to call him. For reasons best known at Washington Colonel Vandor was soon after replaced. When the news reached him of his successor being en route for Tahiti, he decided that he had been shabbily treated, and would leave by the first vessel that sailed for San Francisco, and thus avoid meeting him. Colonel Vandor was heard to complain very bitterly that no one had ever presented his " vife mit golden chains and silken dresses," in a place 150 TAHITI; THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. where bribery and corruption was practised so extensively, to the extent indeed of making it worth his while to hasten his departure, and transfer his duties to Mr. B 's father-in-law, Mr. S , who was an Englishman. There were several Americans at Papeeti whom Colonel Vandor overlooked for good reasons of his own ! The Consul pro tem. was anti-American in feelings, and about the last man likely to protect the interests of American subjects. The Golden State, a brig commanded by her owner, Captain Miller, arrived at Papeeti, and was reported to have two passengers on board these insignificant incidents helped to make up the sum total of life at Tahiti. Who were they ? where did they belong? were questions soon asked. They proved to be the wife and child of a Captain Dunn, who had hitherto passed himself off as an unmarried man. No one had ever heard him mention the existence of such responsibilities, and for a time people doubted Mrs. Dunn's statement. Her hus- band, she found, was then absent from the island in a vessel belonging to Mr. B ; but she was requested to come on shore and stay with some of his friends till his return. She gladly accepted the invitation for herself and Ada, whose resemblance to her father could not be denied; and it was this resemblance that had induced his wife to make the long regrettable journey, was the explanation she gave Captain Miller, and he repeated it to me. He was a tall, gentle- manly-looking man, between forty and fifty, who, in consequence of his vessel being chartered by A , dined with us several times. A CRUEL DEED. 151 Ada Dunn was three years old, and as yet her father had never seen her. He was an Irishman of a jealous, violent temper, who had accused his wife after each absence of infidelity. Their other children had been born, and died during his voyages, and he had accordingly denied their paternity, though as the poor bereaved mother asserted they had been the portrait of himself. Mrs. Dunn bore a spotless reputation in her native town, St. Catherine's, North America, and it was in opposition to the advice of her friends that she made up her mind to join her husband at Tahiti, so as to show him his child, who bore the same striking resemblance to him as his other children had done. Mrs. Dunn's small means had been exhausted in making her way to San Francisco, where she took passage on the Golden State; having pre- viously notified Captain Miller of her penniless posi- tion, who consented to receive his payment at Tahiti. When Mrs. Dunn accepted the invitation extended to her by Captain Dunn's friends, she did so in good faith, little aware that she was entering a hornets' nest, where her ears were to be stung by revolting stories of her husband's depraved conduct among the islands : to be informed that his real wife a native woman was then with him on board the vessel he commanded, that he had been properly married to her at Riatea, and much more to the same effect. The law at Tahiti takes no note of bigamy, but in Mrs. Dunn's eyes it was a criminal offence, and she immediately made up her mind to return to America ; for this purpose she sought an interview with Captain Miller, in the hopes that he would assist her to get away from Papeeti. 152 TAHITI: THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. After listening to her pitiful tale he promised to give her a free passage when his vessel sailed. Captain Dunn must have been astounded to hear that his American wife and child were actually await- ing him at Papeeti. Their meeting was, I believe, a very stormy one, though he made no opposition to his wife and child's return to the United States. He showed only too plainly what a relief it was to his mind to hear of Mrs. Dunn's intention, as he confessed to being deeply in debt, and totally unable to support her and Ada. As a mere spark can be fanned into a flame, so may a trifling circumstance produce grave results. Mr. B had some shell on hand, and was wait- ing for the arrival of a vessel of his own, to ship it to Valparaiso. He was, therefore, annoyed to hear that A had chartered the brig Golden State to proceed to the Gambia Islands, to take in a similar cargo of produce for the same destination. Mr. B - was so anxious for his pearl shell to reach the English market before his neighbour's that he encouraged rather than discouraged Dunn's friends, to urge him to oppose his wife and child sailing with Captain Miller, in the hope that by such means the Golden State might be detained a few days longer at Tahiti. Mrs. Dunn had been removed by her husband from his friends' ill-natured tongues, to lodgings on the outskirts of Papeeti, where he consented to her receiving Captain Miller for the purpose of arranging for her departure by his vessel, as at that period it was almost as easy to return to the States via Chili, as vid California. Everything went on satisfactorily A CRUEL DEED. 153 till the day prior to sailing. Mrs. Dunn and her child had gone on board the Golden State, as had the other passengers who were bound to Valparaiso, some of whom had called at Mr. B 's office to bid him adieu, when he remarked that they were not going to get away from Tahiti as soon as they imagined, as there was not the slightest probability of the Golden State sailing the next morning. Amazed at what they heard, they came to A for further information. He said that he knew of nothing to prevent the brig leaving port at the specified hour, as the ship's papers were in readiness for the captain, who was to call for them in the afternoon. He was not aware at the time that the same individuals who had poisoned Mrs. Dunn's ears with evil reports of her husband, were now pursuing the same course by traducing his wife's reputation. Captain Dunn thereupon determined at the eleventh hour to oppose his wife's departure in the Golden State. He ordered her to come on shore which she refused to do ; she said that she had gone on board with his free consent, and she would remain there. Worked up to a pitch of frenzy by his slanderous friends, he made up his mind to murder Captain Miller rather than allow his wife to sail with him. For this purpose he stationed himself in a corner where he was favoured by the weather, as it was a dark, rainy night, aware that his victim would have to pass the spot in returning to his vessel. When he came in sight, Dunn was prepared to receive him, and as he approached near enough, shot him ; not dead however : the unfortunate captain fell to the ground, where Dunn despatched him with blows on 154 TAHITI: THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. the head from the butt end of his revolver, while stamping on the prostrate body of the dying man. Whilst this fearful tragedy was being enacted, we were seated on our veranda. A gentleman joined us, and exclaimed excitedly that Captain Miller was dead, had just been brutally murdered by Dunn. We were astounded, could scarcely believe it, as only a few hours previously Captain Miller had shaken hands with us in farewell, and apologized to me for appearing in his " sea rig." His watch, chain, studs, and signet ring he said were always laid aside before going to sea. Captain Miller was the son of a half-pay English navy officer residing at St. Edwards. A , on hearing the harrowing news, hastened down to the beach, where his steps were arrested by the sad cortege' which was then passing our house, en route to the American consulate. The murderer,, between too gendarmes, brought up the rear ; he was talking and glorying over his deed, lifting his feet to show his heavy boots besmeared with blood. A 's indignation found vent in such severe denunciations that the inhuman monster was silenced. As soon as Captain Miller's body was deposited at the American Consulate, the gendarmes went on board the Golden State, and ordered Mrs. Dunn and her child to leave the. vessel, which they did at once. The moment they were on shore, a crowd of the most unsympathetic people surrounded them, as exagge- rated stories concerning Mrs. Dunn and Captain. Miller were already in circulation. It was pouring with rain while she and her little girl Ada stood there, not knowing where to turn for shelter, when, A CRUEL DEED. 155 the man, at whose house she had been previously lodging, took pity on their forlorn plight, and motioned to Mrs. Dunn to follow him home. He was a German named Binks, and by trade a carpenter, a man who never neglected his own interests ; he there- fore sought A the next morning, to get him to guarantee a certain weekly sum to defray the board and lodging of the mother and child, which A agreed to do. Binks appeared quite unnerved at what had taken place. In his opinion, Dunn was a thoroughly bad man ; he and Mrs. Binks had over- heard him dictate a letter from his wife to Captain Miller, offering to resign all rights over her and the child on payment of 2,000 dollars. Though he failed to get the compensation he demanded, he gladly con- sented to their leaving Tahiti in the Golden State^ as, according to Binks, he was anxious to get rid of their expense statements which I regret to say Binks refrained from repeating in the witness box during the murderer's trial. Dunn's employer raised a subscription to defray the cost of his defence. The list was headed by Mr. S , Acting American Consul, to obtain the acquittal of an Irishman who had in cold blood killed an American subject ! The culprit was a Freemason, and it was rumoured that through the influence of that society a verdict of not guilty was returned. Dunn must have been as much astonished as many others at his escape from punishment, after having consummated the heinous crime with which he was charged. One evening after dark we were startled at hearing some one crying out, 156 TAHITI: THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. " They have stolen my child." Hurried feet ascended our steps, and a woman stood before us who repeated in a sobbing voice, " They have stolen my child." I made a shrewd guess that it was no less a redoubt- able person than Mrs. Dunn who faced us, it was the first time I had seen her, and in answer to my question she replied, " Yes, lady, I am that wretched woman, and now they have taken my child, my Ada. For God's sake tell me what to do, for if I don't get her back, I shall go mad." I felt deep sympathy for the unhappy mother who had endured such severe trials of late. She described how her child had disappeared. The little girl had fallen asleep on her mother's lap while she sat talking to Mrs. Binks on the veranda, so she took the child inside and laid her on the bed. No sooner had she rejoined Mrs. Binks than she thought she heard a movement of some kind at the back part of the house where her room was situated, and feeling uneasy about it she stepped round to have another look at Ada, when she found the bed empty, the child was gone ! Without a moment's loss of time she rushed down the street, screaming as we had heard her, in the hopes of overtaking the marauder, which she un- happily failed to do. Mrs. Dunn was a decidedly handsome woman, a fact one could not lose sight of even in her distress ; perhaps it enhanced the charm of her appearance, as her hair had become unfastened and hung in wavy masses below her knees ; it was the colour of gold, and corresponded with her pure, fair complexion, and deep blue eyes. Her features were all good, and as I looked and admired her I A CRUEL DEED. 157 felt that poor Captain Miller must have done the same, how any husband could have preferred a native woman ! well, it was no time for such speculations. Her sobs and moans were distressing to hear ; she had lost her slippers, and her stockings were tinged with blood where her feet had come in contact with the sharp stones. We had great difficulty in making Mrs. Dunn believe as we did, that her wretched hus- band, and he alone, had taken the child. She rejected the supposition in consequence of having had an interview with him since his acquittal, when he wept and expressed the deepest contrition for his dark deed, at the same time advised her to leave the island with Ada as soon as she could. The mystery of Ada Dunn's disappearance was the next morning explained ; her father had taken her off the bed and conveyed her to one of Mr. B 's vessels lying at anchor some distance from shore, and out of her mother's reach. Why he had done this no one could say, unless some native wanted to adopt Ada, who was a lovely child, probably the very woman he kept, whom he wished to gratify at the expense of the mother's sufferings. He must have been a cruelly disposed man whichever way one regarded him. Every one shunned Mrs. Dunn, which I thought unjustifiable, as I considered her an innocent woman who had been cruelly persecuted from the hour she had landed at Papeeti. At her husband's trial she had been subpoenaed, and every effort had been made to browbeat her into incriminating herself, so as to prove that her unborn babe was not her husband's. 158 TAHITI: THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. Her indignant denial was disbelieved by those who were incapable of leading moral lives themselves. They ridiculed the idea of a man and woman making a long voyage together without committing an indis- cretion. It so happened that this infant of doubtful paternity was born fully ten months after Mrs. Dunn's arrival at Tahiti. But I must not anticipate. Mrs. Dunn appealed to her husband, who promised to restore her child if she left Tahiti, but not other- wise. When this decision was repeated to us, A headed a subscription and raised 200 dollars in readi- ness to pay her passage by the first vessel leaving for San Francisco. A still better opportunity presented itself in an American whaler homeward bound, which had put into port for fresh provisions. The captain consigned the vessel to A , who at once repre- sented to him his countrywoman's sad position and desire to leave Papeeti. It however needed consider- able persuasion to induce him to accept 150 dollars for the passage of mother and child to the United States, as it was necessary to keep in reserve 50 dollars to defray their expenses to St. Catherine's after reaching the seaport frequented by whalers. When the arrangements were finally completed, it was impossible to say what Dunn would, or would not do, as he had changed his mind at least a dozen times since first agreeing to give the child up on certain conditions, and now, when they were about to be carried out, his indecision and shuffling were truly exasperating. The ship was quite ready to sail, but Mrs. Dunn naturally declined to go on board until she saw her husband start in a boat with her child. A CRUEL DEED. 159 It was quite an exciting scene, and I was worked up to fever pitch. So I imagine was the whaling captain beside me, whom I had undertaken to amuse until events took the desired form. He had partaken of an ample lunch, as I had urged him to eat of every- thing on the table so as to lengthen it out as much as possible. When he finally and gruffly refused to taste another dainty, I persuaded him to return to the veranda to await his ship's papers, which were being purposely withheld to the very last moment. I scanned the bay with the deepest anxiety, fully aware that such a bad man as Dunn was capable of playing his wife some underhanded trick at the very last moment. When the wretch found that Mrs. Dunn would not start from shore until Ada did, he shoved off with the child beside him, Mrs. Dunn's boat following at a respectful distance, as the native rowers were thoroughly alive to the situation, and held back till the child was actually on board the whaler, where she was speedily joined by her mother. I could picture to myself their fond meeting, and rejoiced to think that they had gone from the island. It was a perfect relief to feel that we had seen and heard the last of mother and child, a flattering unction which we had applied prematurely. Some few months elapsed when we received a voluminous document from St. Catherine's, signed and sealed in true legal form, wherein the clergyman and residents testified to Mrs. Dunn's being a highly respectable industrious woman, against whom no one had ever breathed a disparaging word save her husband, who was repre- sented by them to be, a cruel, disreputable man, and 160 TAHITI: THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. that his wife had joined him contrary to the advice of her friends. We at the same time received a letter from Mrs. Dunn's old father, thanking us for our kindness to his unfortunate daughter at a time when she was being utterly forsaken and outraged by mem- bers of her own faith. He also announced the birth of Mrs. Dunn's second little girl, who had been named after me, an honour I would have gladly dispensed with. I made it my business to transmit both letter and documents to the resident English clergyman who I was told disapproved of Mrs. Dunn, and had lent a more willing ear to Dunn's mis-statements than to the wife's version of her husband's treatment and general behaviour. The missives I regretted to find were returned to me without comment, though I knew them to be undeniable refutations of the slanders circulated. I had never been numbered among Mrs. Dunn's traducers, as I had always considered her in the light of a scapegoat. She told me that when she was ordered to stand up to be gazed at and ques- tioned by men who were eager for her disgrace, she felt as if she had descended into Hell, and was being tortured by a parcel of demons ! CHAPTER XXII. OVERTAKEN BY A STORM. FRENCH Protestant Pasteur, accom- panied by a young daughter, came from France to Tahiti, for the pur- pose of establishing French Mission Schools. Mdlle. Helene was a charming girl, both lovely, graceful, and innocent. She used to entertain me with enthu- siastic descriptions of Swiss scenery. Before coming to Tahiti, they had resided in Switzerland, where she hoped to return at a future date. Nowhere else were such abendgluens and nachtgluens to be witnessed : nowhere else was honey produced to equal Swiss honey. She quite laughed at the idea of my preferring the Tahitian production : to her taste there could be no com- parison between the two ; yet one was a manufactured article, and the other a pure extract from flowers. The A.'s were returning to Europe, and Mdlle. Helene was rejoicing at the prospect. I had taken a great fancy to the girl, and though I should miss her sweet society, I was pleased at the idea of her n 162 TAHITI: THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. leaving Tahiti, which was totally unsuitable to young folks of either sex. M. A - succeeded in his mis- sion, for after his return to France, two other Pasteurs replaced him. I subsequently made a voyage with one, and found him not only very agreeable, but holding most liberal religious views. I frequently saw Taina, the beautiful native woman who bore such a striking resemblance to the picture of Rebekah ; she called on me each time she crossed from Morea, and introduced her feti. Forna was a very plain person in my estimation, though she had proved most attractive to a young Englishman, and on the principle that the unattainable increases in value, he became dangerously ill in consequence of her disdaining his overtures. When Forna heard that her admirer was suffering with brain fever, his perilous condition caused her to relent, and she went to see him. Her presence effected a timely recovery, and she eventually became his native wife, persuading herself that a man who loved her so intensely as to fall ill on her account, could not fail to prove more faithful than the usual run of white men. Forna presented her adorer with several children, all of whom were fondly loved by their father. The mother's cup of happiness was overflowing; the posses- sion of a devoted husband, lovely children, and an un- usually comfortable house, made her more than ever recognize the wisdom of her friends in advising her to act as she had done towards F . Too soon did the day approach when this paragon of a husband and father left Tahiti and never re-appeared in the bosom .of his native family, for whom he had made no pro- OVERTAKEN BY A STORM. 163 vision whatever. Unknown to Forna, he had fallen in love with an English girl, whom he eventually married. She consoled herself with another husband, and this time selected one of her own colour. Ex- amples like Etia are rare at Tahiti, few of the betrayed native wives wear the willow for long. And is it to be wondered at ? I never heard but of one instance of a legal marriage taking place between a Frenchman and a native, and that was done to legitimize the children with the intention of taking them to France. M. Lea made the voyage with his family, but finding that the climate was injurious to his wife, he returned to Tahiti. The French West Indian islands supplied Tahiti with ordonnateurs. M. de Rougement was a Creole, and so were his successors, but M. Nestie proved to be a much more agreeable man than his predecessor. Madame Nestie accompanied her husband with their children and nurse ; she was not at all pretty, and expended what little intelligence she possessed on the art of dressing well, she was devoted to toilette, and in its cause underwent the weariness of having her ball dresses seiued on to her by the black maid, who assisted in making up wonderful combinations of tulle, ribbon, and flowers ! When I asked if standing during the sewing process did not tire her to death? -she frankly replied " That the absence of creases compen- sated for the trouble and fatigue." M. Nestie was most anxious to acquire the English language, and frequently gave me instances of the progress he was making under an excellent master. 1 64 TAHITI: THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. " I study most strongly, and can speak a leetle leetle but I not understand much, wone word," was the information he constantly imparted to me. A and I indulged in many a hearty laugh during M. Nestie's vain attempts to express himself in English, and I really can't resist the inclination to give an example of his proficiency. He told us that an American captain had called at his bureau, whom he had addressed in English as follows : "Haar doo saar, one fair travel have you." As a translation may be necessary, he intended to say, " How do you do, sir? I trust you have had a pleasant voyage." M. Nestie felt that he had acquitted him- self most satisfactorily, and was amazed to hear his visitor reply, " I am sorry to say, sir, that I neither understand, nor speak a word of French !" A and I laughed outright, and I nearly expired when M. Nestie continued to explain that he had been so particular in the choice of his words, which he had pronounced most distinctly, and as for the man not comprehending his simple salutation, it was ridiculous! "Risible de la part de ce Monsieur!" M. Nestie and his execrable English, served to vary the monotony of Tahitian evenings, when darkness shrouded the tropical beauty that never failed to gratify the eye. During the day I was always very well entertained, therefore less sensible of my isolation from the civilized world ; but when night closed in, and I sat on our veranda facing the Southern Cross, my thoughts wandered off to distant lands, and I longed for the moon. Doctor Guillasse had become a landed proprietor. OVERTAKEN BY A STORM. 165 He had purchased a property at Paea, on which he had built himself a house : when completed he invited his friends to a cttje&ner. A and I were included in his invitation. We drove out in a char-a-banc, but many went on horse- back, which I would have preferred had A not decided otherwise. Instead of the entertainment being al fresco ', we were regaled in a small room, which rendered the whole thing tedious and uncomfortable, and its ter- mination was hailed by the recipients with pleasure. We then strolled in the direction of the river, whereon floated a shaky old canoe. M. Lavigerie jumped into it, and invited me to take a row. I hesitated, as the bark looked far more dirty and leaky than gay, but when my cavalier held out his hand encouragingly, with the assurance that supposing we did upset, nothing more serious than a bath could result, as the water was quite shallow, I allowed myself to be persuaded, though I sat in momentary dread of a disagreeable capsize, while we paddled up and down in the broiling sun until I proposed allowing others to enjoy a similar treat. A charming shady nook was discovered in the river, where we decided to bathe while the gentlemen undertook to walk to the next district, in the course of which they were overtaken by a violent storm, peals of terrific thunder and flashes of vivid lightning followed in rapid succession, and sent the pedestrians running back as fast as their legs could carry them, yet drenched to the skin, which necessitated an immediate change of apparel. 166 TAHITI: THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. Dr. Guillasse placed his limited wardrobe at his guests' disposal, but as with the exception of A they were as tall as their host was short, his unmen- tionables were found to be out of the question. Fortunately there were plenty of pareus to be had, and it struck me that the gentlemen felt uncommonly at home in them. We remained housed as long as we dared, hoping that the storm would abate, but were finally obliged to brave its fury, so as to get over the worst part of the road before it became pitch dark. The soil was red clay, and so slippery in wet weather that on this occasion the horses had a difficulty to maintain their footing. In descending a steep hill they became so restive that a lady was terrified into jumping from the high char-a-banc. Fortunately she escaped without injury, but she frightened us half to death ; it was, indeed, a dreary drive home. The rain never ceased, and as it was impossible to hold up our umbrellas, we reached Papeeti like so many drowned rats. Margaret had captivated a Frenchman by the name of Redet, who had been for some years confidential clerk to Mr. B , to whom he had rendered in- valuable services, as it was through his agency that his employer had obtained a large proportion of the Government business, on the understanding that they were to share the profits, but as no agreement to this effect had been signed, Mr. B evaded his obligation by dismissing M. Redet. Sad to relate, Margaret had married him just prior to this event, with the view of bettering herself, though she must have known that her admirer was a deep imbiber of O VER TA KEN BY A S TORM. \ 67 absinthe ; the blow to Redet's amour propre called for such increased libations of the poison to which the French are so partial that it shortened his life. Mar- garet was left a widow almost before she could have thoroughly realized being a wife ; she was, therefore, the less inconsolable. When Margaret left me to become Madame Redet I replaced her by Luppa, the native nurse of the little girl on board the Stag Hound, who had resigned her charge to remain at Papeeti. If she was not quite up to the position of lady's maid she suited me in other respects, and Margaret continued to perform a certain number of duties even after her marriage, as she disliked to withdraw entirely from our house perhaps from me. I made a trip to San Francisco with my little dcg Flody and Luppa, who created quite a sensation at my sister's. Though it was midsummer Luppa suffered from the cold, and piled on her back nearly all the clothes she possessed, which did not improve her ungainly figure. She had adopted for the first time in her life shoes and stockings, which kept tumbling down about her heels. My sister and nieces used to be greatly scandalized to see Luppa deli- berately stop in the streets and, regardless of appear- ances, haul up her stockings considerably above her knees, a position they could not maintain, as she objected to wear garters. While we were in San Francisco a sweet, gentle little girl became very fond of Flody, which led to an amusing incident. After we had taken our departure she came to spend the day at my sister's, when, among other 1 68 TAHITI; THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. amusements, she entertained herself by examining an album of photographs. Coming to a vignette of mine she exclaimed, " Why, this is Mrs. Flody and her little dog." I had been obliged to advance our return to Tahiti, in consequence of Luppa's grotesque style of dress and stocking trick, which annoyed others. I suppose I must have become hardened to such sights ; nevertheless, I decided to dispense with Luppa's services when next I visited San Francisco. CHAPTER XXIII. A GREAT ROBBERY OF JEWELS. OON after our return to Papeeti a vessel belonging to A arrived from Valparaiso. Among the passen- gers on board was a family named Shaw. They had in years past re- sided on the island, which they left in consequence of Sefiora Shaw's dislike of the French, who, after her husband's death, had made unpleasant overtures to her. She was from Guyaquil, and had married the captain of an American whaler, who left her a widow with several children, and in poor circum- stances. When A first came to Tahiti he occupied a part of Sefiora Shaw's house at Papeeti, where he became seriously ill, and was nursed by his landlady, who thereby earned his deep gratitude, since when he had never ceased to take an interest in her and hers, or to befriend them when the opportunity offered. Sefiora Shaw had two daughters, named Dolores and Lucrecia, and A suggested that I should take one to reside with us, so as to bear me company in his i;o TAHITI: THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. absence, as Margaret no longer formed one of the family. I would have preferred the younger sister, as she was prettier and looked more amiable, but her mother raised objections to such an arrangement. She said that Dolores, being the eldest, ought to enjoy the advantage of an improved position, &c., and, malheureusement) A thought the same ; in this way I had a very undesirable companion palmed on me. Happily she could not ride, and I was thus spared the infliction of her society at such times ; otherwise, she accompanied me everywhere. The rest of her family had gone to Huaine, where they settled in preference to remaining at Papeeti ; for what reason I knew not, unless it were to get as far away as possible from Dolores : I often wished that I could have done the same. A had a German bookkeeper, whom Dolores pretended to dislike ; she knew that he had come to us in a poverty-stricken condition, and was beholden to A for the very clothes he wore, as he had not the means to procure them before entering on his duties. She chose to account for this by unflatter- ing insinuations of his past career. I thought it unjust and cruel at the time ; since then I have had reason to think it more than probable. She frequently assured us that W would take care to make hay while the sun shone, and feather his nest at A 's expense. When Dolores convinced herself that he was in reality doing this she treated him more graciously, and eventually be- came Madame W . She then set up a house of her own a very pretty one it was and urged her husband to aim at a higher position in his employer's firm, which he did, unsuccessfully. He represented that he A GREA T ROBBER Y OF JE WELS. 1 7 r had received much more advantageous offers from Chili. A advised him by all means to accept them ; but as no such overtures had been made, W remained at Papeeti, where he went into business on his own account, and flourished, notwithstanding his deception and ingratitude. I was obliged to look out for another maid, as Luppa had left me to live with a man young enough to be her son. I engaged a woman named Papuorii, who bore the reputation of being thoroughly good, and an excellent sick nurse. I never made a greater mistake than when I took her into my service. She used to come early in the morning to her work ; after that was accomplished she disposed of the afternoon to suit her own convenience, as native women never sleep at their employers'. I possessed some valuable jewellery in a large jewel case, which occupied the centre of a table that was placed between the windows of my bedroom. The insecurity of its position though under lock and key never occurred to me, as A - had represented the natives to be so far honest that they were incapable of stealing anything of in- trinsic value, though they might be tempted to pilfer trifles. One evening we had some intimate friends taking dinner with us ; while at table my little dog began to bark furiously, which we all remarked, as he was not in the habit of treating us to such discordant sounds. It was made the subject of a joke, as it was supposed to be the rays of the moon which excited him in this way. The sagacious little animal's warning was conse- quently disregarded. At the conclusion of dinner I 172 TAHITI: THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. went to my bedroom to fetch something, when I was immediately struck by the empty appearance of the table between the windows ; the jewel case was gone. I hurriedly communicated the fact to A and our guests, who were lost in vain speculations. The servants were called and questioned, but they all denied having seen any one either enter or leave the house while we were in the dining-room. The premises were thoroughly searched, but in vain ; the inlaid box had been undoubtedly stolen, but by whom long remained a mystery. My servant Papuorii came the next morning bewailing my loss with a string of ewais lamentations. The robbery was a considerable one, consisting of ornaments in brilliants and other valuable gems, besides a magnificent parnre of choice pearls,, with pear-shaped pendants, a couple of watches and chains, encrusted with brilliants, a variety of rings,, and several boxes of large and valuable pearls, the property of A , which he had placed in my charge for safe keeping. In addition to what I have enumerated, there were many other articles that I prized, such as old family heirlooms which I could never hope to replace, and these I described to Papuorii as having belonged to relatives who were dead, especially a ring composed of a cluster of brilliants, which I deplored more than aught else, as it had been removed from my beloved mother's finger after death and given to me. Being very friendly with Madame de la Richerie, I went immediately to see her about this personal matter, and she took me to the Governor's private office to make my report. He promised me that A GREAT ROBBERY OF JEWELS. 173 nothing should be left undone to recover the jewellery, which, he said, could not possibly leave the island without the knowledge of the police. I explained that in consequence of what had occurred it was decided that I was to accompany A in his contemplated voyage to Chili, and I left Government House with Madame de la Richerie's assurance that during our absence she would take care that the Governor did not neglect our interest. A large reward was also offered for the recovery of the stolen property. When the Kellys heard that A proposed sailing for Valparaiso in a brigantine of his own, called the Samoa, Captain Kelly applied to him for a passage for himself and wife, which he readily conceded. Owing to a succession of contrary winds and dead calms, we bade fair to make an unconscionably long passage, and considerably before its termination we ran short of provisions, through the reckless extrava- gance of the cook. Such a liberal supply had been put on board that Captain Kelly remarked its super- abundance, and questioned what we were going to do with it all. A goat and kid had been shipped for my benefit, so as to insure a little milk for the coffee and tea, if for nothing else. The fates were against me, so it seemed, as the cook took the earliest opportunity to kill the kid, and from that time forth Nanny's plaintive cry replaced the milk as an accompaniment to my tea. She refused to give down another drop after the slaughter of her little one. I owed an undying grudge for the deprivation of my milk to that abominable cook, who had been cruel enough to 174 TAHITI: THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. kill the kid before its mother's eyes. He was cer- tainly a most inhuman wretch, as I had reason to know. We were awakened one morning at daybreak by the most terrific squeaks on deck. I begged A to get up and see what wicked act the cook was perpetrating, as the unearthly yells came from the direction of the caboose ; when, to his horror and amazement, he found the brute holding a live pig in a huge cauldron of boiling water. In reply to A 's energetic remonstrance, he said it facili- tated the removal of bristles. He was, of course, made to remove the poor animal and kill it then and there. Neither the captain nor mate ever interfered to prevent such atrocious conduct. It was no unfrequent occurrence to see fowls and ducks staggering about the deck with their heads half off. The man seemed to take a devilish pleasure in killing by slow degrees ; the process of happy despatch was apparently unknown to him. Nanny, after her bereavement, attached herself to me ; she had become frightfully emaciated, and displayed a decidedly morbid appetite, preferring to nibble away the fringe of my shawl to eating- her natural food. Captain Kelly used to say that Nanny had saved her own life by becoming so thin,, as it would be now useless to kill her ; but that my Flody would make such a plump roast that I had better keep a sharp eye on him, lest he should be nabbed by the cook. I pretended to be awfully afraid. Our fellow-passenger was somewhat of a wag, and having been a seafaring man himself he soon A GREAT ROBBERY OF JEWELS. 175 discovered that our sailors were an ignorant set of men, who didn't know one rope from another. He, therefore, recommended the captain of the Samoa to adopt a plan he had tried most successfully under similar circumstances. He had labelled every belaying-pin with a court card, feeling pretty sure that if the men were unacquainted with nautical terms they were all alive to " high, low, Jack, and the game." And so it proved, for when he cried out, " Tighten knave of diamonds ! " or " Slacken Queen of clubs ! " they grasped the right rope. The coast of Chili is very uninteresting, I wanted to catch a glimpse of the fertile island of Juan Fernandez, but the view we obtained showed no indication of fertility, and I concluded that this was confined to the interior of the island, whereas Captain Kelly assured me that nothing but goats throve there. How about Robinson Crusoe ? After a voyage of fifty-three days, I naturally ex- pected to land the moment we dropped anchor at Val- paraiso, and my disappointment may be imagined, when I was told that such a thing was not practicable, that I would have to remain on board till the next day, as we were much further off from the mole than I supposed. Vessels anchor in an open roadstead, where at times the sea is so rough and the wind so violent, that two and three anchors are necessary to insure the safety of shipping, and notwithstanding these precautions, they frequently drag and come in con- tact with other vessels, causing considerable damage ; as all of them ride at anchor, there being no docks, merely a mole, where a fleet of strong boats are in 176 TAHITI: THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. constant demand, bearing passengers to and fro, in answer to a code of signals. Happily for me the Andromede was in port, and our old friend Admiral Bonard had recognized A 's house flag. Thinking it probable I was on board, he considerately despatched his private gig to convey us to terra finna ; dear man, his thoughtfulness was not wasted on me, and I blessed him in my heart of hearts, as the spray dashed fiercely over the boat without wetting us, as we were protected by his large india-rubber covering. We found the Hotel Nagli very comfortable, where we occupied a bedroom and sitting-room. There were three French windows in the latter ; the middle one opened on to a small veranda, where I was standing the next morning, not the best pleased to find our hotel on a narrow street devoted to warehouses, which gave it a most gloomy appearance. Facing our balcony was a stall of edibles, extensively patronized by peons ; it was kept by a gipsy-looking woman, in whose actions and table I became interested, as both reminded me of Virgin Bay. I distinguished the same tempting rolls and light cakes; in the place of chocolate she made coffee, and busied herself over a large earthenware dish of corn and rice, which she seemed unable to withstand ; for I remarked that each time she served it out to a customer, she would eat a spoonful herself, and then smooth over with the same spoon what remained in the dish. While watch- ing this amusing operation, I heard a familiar sound, and, to my surprise, saw our shipmate Nanny being led down the street. She had recognized me, and A GREAT ROBBERY OF JEWELS. 177 refused to budge from the spot as long as I was in sight, I therefore prudently retired from the veranda, but could see her continually pausing to look back at our hotel. They were taking her to the country, where she was to remain until we sailed,, when she returned with us to Tahiti, and was set at liberty on the Openohu property, where she in time became possessed of another kid. 12 CHAPTER XXIV. A CHARMING VISIT TO CHILI. ALPARAISO is a delightful city, divided as it were into two distinct localities, for the Chilians reside in the lower part, and foreigners on the higher portion, whence an ex- tensive view is obtained from a terrace provided with seats, where I found a rest absolutely necessary, after climbing such a pre- cipitous hill. We were told that at that elevation the air was more bracing ; if high wind could render it so there was no doubt of it, for it carried off my hat and a good deal of my breath as well, but the ocean studded with shipping was a glorious sight. It was at that elevation where all the merchant princes resided, in fine houses, midst beautifully laid- out grounds ; the flowers were superb. I was agreeably surprised to find that our hotel was a short distance from the principal streets where the shops were especially attractive to the Chilians, and a favourite promenade of theirs. One was A CHARMING VISIT TO CHILI. 179 always certain to meet a large proportion of ladies, not star-gazing, but shop-window gazing. When young, the South Americans are extremely pretty and graceful, they have small hands and feet, and magnificent hair, which they wear in two long plaits en neglige '; but in the afternoons it is dressed in the most elaborate fashion for the admiration of the public, as they walk out with their heads uncovered. There is a peculiar custom in Chili of giving what they term a Yappa on the occasion of any purchase. I used to frequent the fruit market, which was well stocked ; the fresh figs were the largest and sweetest that I had ever seen or tasted, and I made a point of daily bringing some home for breakfast. The first time I selected the number I wanted, the girl placed them between leaves in my basket, and then laid another half dozen on the top. I imagined that she wished me to buy an extra quantity, and I shook my head in the negative, when she smilingly explained that it was for a Yappa. As I had nothing more to pay, I was agreeably impressed by the custom. The Chilians exact this Yappa as their due. We were in a confectionary shop one day, when a small child came in and held up a centavo half- penny for some sweets ; the man handed them to her, when she held up her other hand and lisped out, " mi Yappa" and got it ! Mate, a native herb, is a national beverage, and substitute for our tea, and a very poor one in my opinion. Few houses among those inhabited by the Chilians are provided with fire-places, though their winters are raw and chilly. They heat the room they i8o TAHITI: THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. occupy by using a brasero, a round portable stove filled with burning charcoal. The sides and cover are perforated, so as to admit the hot air to circulate. The poisonous fumes having been left to escape before it is introduced into the apartment, the family sit on the floor as close as possible to the brasero, beguiling time by sipping mate boiling hot, and eating buttered toast. I did not find the churches at Valparaiso at all equal to my anticipation ; they contain neither pews nor seats of any description ; the congregation kneel and sit on small rugs or squares of carpet, which they bring with them for that purpose. As these ladies always dress in black, and wear a black mantilla, the general effect is somewhat sombre and funereal. Le Jar din Aberdee was a most agreeable resort. The grounds, though not extensive, were laid out attrac- tively, withabundanceof shade, flowers, and rusticseats; when the band played visitors were provided with chairs. Admiral Bonard came to our hotel regularly every evening after dinner, to accompany us to these gardens, which he pronounced to be the pleasantest spot about Valparaiso ; that it was a fashion- able rendezvous, was very evident, and the toilettes one met there were marvels of taste. The admiral owned a beautiful spotted spaniel, called Fox, which followed him everywhere. He and Flody were friendly enough until their owners petted the wrong dog ; then the snarling began, when Flody erected his tail and showed his teeth as viciously as Fox. I was having a most enjoyable visit to Valparaiso, which in a great measure was due to our French friends belonging to A CHARMING VISIT TO CHILI. 181 the several men-of-war in port. We met the French Consul and his lovely wife at a dejetlner given by Admiral Bonard. Madame Cazot was a Limanian lady, of great beauty, and an especial favourite with our host. The commander of they4;/ ma pauvre Diane ! a qni la cause ?" His aide-de-camp rushed like a distracted maniac to the assistance of the prostrate Diane, and, aided by others, contrived to lift her on to the billiard-table, on to which he himself scrambled, and began to chafe her hands. Dr. Guillasse was there, and ordered a liberal sprinkling of cold water. Madame overheard him, and reckless of her supposed faint, called out, " Non, non ; je ne veux pas ! " but the doctor was not going to be cheated out of his fun. Seizing a tumbler of water, he dashed its contents over her face. " A ssez, monsieur ! " she exclaimed, AN UNNATURAL MOTHER. 265 with an angry gesture. Her comedy had been more of one than she had intended, and she was forced to beat a hasty retreat. " Cest une vraie comedienne" said the Doctor, sotto voce. He had heard that the De la Roncieres ridiculed his medical capacity, asserting publically that they would not entrust their cat to his care unless they wanted it poisoned. Of course these injurious remarks made him furious, but he would have been still more so had he been aware that even we had nicknamed him Dr. Jackass. As an outlet to his spleen, he sent to France for the published trial of M. le Comte de la Ronciere, for culpable conduct towards the daughter of his general. The then young lieutenant was defended by the celebrated pleader Berrier, whose ability did not prevent his client from being found guilty and con- demned to ten years' imprisonment. Doctor Guillasse made a point of circulating the volume ; among others, he lent it to me. When I returned the book he asked, " Que pensez vous de cela ? et c'est ce vieux gale'rien quon a ose envoy er ici comme governeur. Mais c'est honteux, c'est ignoble.'" He never by any chance spoke of Madame de la Ronciere otherwise than as " Cette coquine la," or referred to the De la Roncieres menage in other than disparaging terms. " Ce sont de ^pitres canailles va " was his constant remark. Doctor Guillasse indulged in this stage of antagonism for over two years, and then veered round to the other extreme, and became their most staunch partisan ! An inconsistency that will not surprise any one with -a knowledge of such characters. Dr. Guillasse never disguised the fact that his greatest ambition in life 266 TAHITI: THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. was to be decorated, to obtain La Croix de la legion d'honneur, in the furtherance of which he was prepared to accept any dubious commission assigned to him, and he did undertake some very questionable acts. With regard to M. de la Ronciere's trial, I con- sidered his condemnation most unjust. It struck me as being far more like a false accusation conceived by a vindictive girl, to injure the man who had slighted her, than an offence any man in his position was likely to perpetrate. Had I not heard of a similar case which confirmed this view, I might not have adopted it ; but notwithstanding Doctor Guillasse's arguments, I firmly believed in the inno- cence of the young officer, though I was sorry to per- ceive that the injustice meted out to him, he meted out to others. The De la Roncieres had brought with them from France a pretty basket carriage, in which they drove a pair of bay ponies, and on moonlight nights passed by our house, and as a rule called to ask us to join them. I allowed myself to be overpersuaded on one occasion, but failed to find it enjoyable ; my com- panions were not sympathetic, and I never repeated the experiment. Madame de la Ronciere was a connaissense of old lace, and usually admired pieces I wore. At one of our receptions I had the misfortune to lose a valuable point lace handkerchief, and the same thing occurred on another occasion, when I lamented the loss to Madame de la Ronciere, she exclaimed, " Ce riesi pas uwi qui a le votre, car voila le mien." The Governor, who overheard her, replied, "Mais, Diane, tu m'a AN UNNATURAL MOTHER. . 267 e la tienne pour mettre dans ma pocke, le void" and he drew forth ;;// handkerchief. Madame de la Ronciere laughed heartily over the untoward incident. M. Faucompre was a great favourite of ours, and we regretted to hear that he was being inveigled into a marriage with the daughter of Madame de la Ronciere. Overtures had been made by both the Governor and his wife to bestow on him the hand of Ma Jemoiselle Nina. He knew absolutely nothing of the girl, and cared, if possible, less ; but the position of son-in-law to the Governor was not to be despised, what might it not do for him in the future"? How apt we are to desire a peep into the future ! if with the idea of deviating from a wrong path, would it be our future ? The bait looked so extremely tempting, that the young man was inclined to float towards it. He was assured that Nina was a sweet creature, for whom the Governor entertained such a paternal affec- tion, that he had bequeathed to her by will all he possessed, which amounted to zero. We could scarcely contain ourselves when M. Faucompre re- peated to us an endless number of brilliant promises, verbal ones, which we broadly hinted might never be fulfilled ; but the poor fellow was blind to everything save that alluring pinnacle he was fated never to reach. Finding that M. Faucompre was not as eager to meet her wishes as she had presupposed, Madame de la Ronciere assumed an illness with the object of bringing matters to a favourable issue. A messenger was sent to M. Faucompre requesting his immediate 268 TAHITI: THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. presence at Government House. When he reached it he was informed that the Countess had been taken suddenly and seriously ill, and desired to see him at once. He was ushered into a darkened room where Madame lay in bed, apparently suffering tortures. In a scarcely audible voice she asked him to approach nearer her as she was too feeble to speak above a whisper. She then told M. Faucompre in confidence that she was dying from an internal malady with which she had been afflicted for many years ; that her present symptoms were in such an aggravated form, that she felt that her life hung on a mere thread, and she could not die in peace, knowing her dear girl would be left without a natural protector. As Nina was not the Governor's child, she could not as a single girl reside with him, but were she married, it would be different ; she could then replace her mother at Government House, where she and her husband would be permanently settled, and De la Ronciere would then be able to retain his chere Nina near himself. Madame de la Ronciere assured M. Faucompre that under any circumstance she would be obliged to return to France, as the climate of Tahiti was injurious to her, though she never expected to recover from her present crise, &c. Suffice it to say, she was not too feeble to cajole M. Faucompre into accepting her daughter's hand, which she contrived to make him do in the presence of witnesses. Having accomplished thus much, Madame de la Ronciere's symptoms took a favourable turn; it seemed like a miraculous resuscitation to M. Faucompre when AN UNNATURAL MOTHER. 269 he returned in a few hours to find the Countess reclining on a couch in another apartment, dressed in a most becoming peignoir. She received him with the smiling assurance that the relief to her mind had worked wonders, though she still suffered acutely ; yet had had herself removed to another room so as to show him what she intended giving to her Nina for present use, as it would necessarily be some months before her actual trousseau could be sent out from Paris, for which purpose she had set aside ten thousand francs. En attendant she wished him to see for himself the handsome dress material and lace which she had brought from France, as it was her intention to have them made up into pretty costumes for Nina ; the girl was summoned, and her fiance received permission to kiss her hand. What he thought of that hand, disfigured as it must have been by hard work, he never divulged, though he spoke freely enough about all else, and described as well as he knew how the beautiful things Madame de la Ronciere produced for his inspection, all of which were to be bestowed on the future Madame Faucompre. The invalid had several slight relapses until the marriage contract was signed. This essential deed executed, she stood up and walked downstairs. In M. Faucompre's own words, " Elle s'est comportee counne si elle rfavait jamais ete malade, qiCen pensez vous ? " What did I think ? Why, the same as Dr. Guillasse, that she was a comedienne of the first water : a comedy it might be for her, but what a tragedy it proved for her dupe. When the wedding day was named, Madame de 270 TAHITI : THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. la Ronciere inquired what arrangements her future son-in-law had made for his hme de miel, and was scandalized to hear that he had made none. She explained how absolutely incumbent it was for a newly married couple to disappear from all eyes for at least a month. They would have to leave Papeeti, then why not retire with his bride to his own joli campagne ? Madame de la Ronciere proposed this, though she was perfectly an conrant as to what sort of place it was a rough wooden cottage occupied by her future son-in-law's native wife, on whom he had intended to bestow it, when he removed to Govern- ment House. In forming these plans he had failed to take into consideration his mother-in-law elect. Madame de la Ronciere insisted that his cot at Faaa was the place of all places to suit the emergency, which compelled M. Faucomipre to state facts, so as to convince her of the impropriety of taking his bride to such a place, which he said would be as degrading to her daughter as it would be to himself. Madame ridiculed such absurd sentiments, she termed it false delicacy, and retorted that his woman would have to go elsewhere and make room for her successor. As to furniture, she would send out what was necessary from Government House, and also provide for their table while they remained at Faaa. Madame de la Ronciere visited the cot in question, which contained two rooms, that had never seen paint nor paper. She saw no necessity to replace the bedstead or bedding, remarking that they answered every purpose ; an old hair-cloth sofa, four chairs, and an unwieldly table were all that she deemed requisite for her daughter's AN UNNATURAL MOTHER. 271 future home, and, as Dr. Guillasse phrased it, Fau- compre s'est laisser faire. The marriage of the Faucompres took place at midnight. A company of Zouaves, bearing torches, escorted the bridal cortege to the Roman Catholic Church, which was crowded with spectators. The bride wore an old flimsy muslin dress and soiled satin sash. To the surprise of every one she wept throughout the ceremony. I imagined them to be tears of joy at her release from thraldom, but sub- sequent events tended to the belief that they were produced through fear ; as she was only too well aware of the deceit and trickery practised by her mother on the man by her side, so as to entrap him into marrying her. When fair means had failed, she had resorted to a feigned illness, so as to rid herself of a child for whom she had never entertained the least affection. As the bridal pair drove off, Madame de la Ronciere exclaimed, in a loud tone, " Enfinje me snis debarrasse de cette laideron la ! " I think my readers are sufficiently interested in the fate of this young couple to feel some curiosity re- specting the sequel. About a week after his marriage, M. Faucompre came to me in great distress of mind. The reason was soon apparent : not one of the many promises made to him by the Governor and Madame de la Ronciere was being fulfilled. Yet I refrained from exclaiming, " Didn't I tell you so." The poor fellow looked so supremely wretched that I had not the heart to add to his misery and 27 2 TAHITI: THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. regrets. He assured me that not only had his wife received no trousseau, but that she had not even been provided with common necessaries, as he had been already obliged to purchase undergarments for her, and that Madame de la Ronciere had kept all the fine things she had so ostentatiously displayed to him, for her own use. Neither had they received any provision whatever from Government House. All too late Madame de la Ronciere's perfidy was begin- ning to be discovered by M. Faucompre. Yes ; she had not only fastened on him a wife without dot or the most ordinary clothes, but was even, at that early date, intriguing to get both him and his wife away from Tahiti. She had no idea of returning to France herself, neither had she the remotest idea of again receiving either of them at Government House. In that miserable cottage at Faaa, the Faucompres remained during their stay on the island ; but even there they were not to be left unmolested. Madame de la Ronciere indited letters to her son-in-law, in which she traduced the character of his wife her own child who, in emptying her husband's coat- pockets before sending it to the laundress, became possessed of one of these cruelly unnatural communi- cations ; a sad scene ensued, and their rare visits to Government House ceased ; but not the persecution. M. Faucompre was deprived of one emolument after the other, which so reduced his income that he was driven to do what had been anticipated, viz., borrow a small amount from the caisse under his control. Surrounded by spies, the fact was at once reported to M. de la Ronciere, and the Governor ordered a veri- AN UNNATURAL MOTHER. 273 fication of accounts, which consummated the unfor- tunate man's ruin. M. Faucompre was threatened with prosecution unless he consented to leave the country, and until his escape could be effected he was cautioned to remain in hiding; for as soon as his culpability became known he would, undoubtedly, be arrested. Madame Faucompre was so impressed with the fear of her husband's perilous position, that she had his favourite dog killed lest he should discover his master's retreat while the gendarmes were on the watch. The natives cruelly strangled the faithful animal, and of all the sad incidents in this sad history I thought that the saddest. Acting under Madame de la Ronceire's directions, Mr. Stewart had M. Faucompre smuggled in an empty cask on board a vessel of his that was bound to San Francisco. To complete the farce, his wife was not permitted to accompany her husband, a precaution they said to allay suspicion though every one on the island knew what was transpiring. Without a servant, or other- wise protected, Madame Faucompre, with her baby, made the long sea voyage. On arrival at San Fran- cisco she was met by her husband, who immediately remarked the absence of his dog. When he heard the reason in all its hideousness, the poor man wept bit- terly, not only for the cruel fate of his old companion, but for the accumulation of ignominy that had been heaped on him in the past few months. I heard these details from the Faucompres them- selves when I visited San Francisco at a later date, where I found them miserably situated. M. Fau- 18 274 TAHITI: THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. compre held a subordinate position in a wine merchant's establishment. Madame Faucompre kept no servant, and, in addition to her domestic duties, she earned a trifle at clear starching. I strove to interest some French friends of mine residing in San Francisco on their behalf, but I am unable to say whether they ever displayed any sympathy. Ambition's path, in poor M. Faucompre's case, had been more disastrous than any of us could have believed possible ; but then none of us had ever before come in contact with human beings of the De la Ronciere type a mother who was devoid of even a sense of decency towards her own daughter. Madame Faucompre lost a child shortly after its birth, and the day of the funeral Madame de la Ronciere drove past the mournful little procession, and asked, " A qui cet enfant ? " When told, she merely said " vmiment" and continued her drive. In fiction a story of this description would be denounced as an exaggeration, an improbability ; yet it is no romance, no fiction, but a real life's drama. CHAPTER XXXIV. A PLEASANT TRIP. N consequence of M. de la Richeire having favoured the planting of cotton, M. de la Ronciere deter- mined to encourage the cultivation of sugar-cane, respecting which he had frequent conversations with A , urging him to plant it on an extensive scale. Induced by the Governor's generous promises, not only to protect his interests as much as M. de la Richiere had done Mr. Stewart's, but likewise to assist him in importing labourers from China, A went heart and soul into the speculation, and got Queen Pomare to sell him a large tract of land adjoining his Openohu property. M. de la Ron- ciere also introduced a gentleman to A 's notice, who had arrived from the Mauritius, and represented himself as competent to undertake the management of a sugar plantation. His valuable services were secured on the understanding that the Government was to import from China labourers 276 TAHITI: THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. to work the plantation, as it was next to impos- sible to collect a sufficiency of natives among the islands, Mr. Stewart having already had the pick of them. For my own part I looked with disfavour on the entire thing. After the Faucompre episode I dis- believed in the De la Roncieres ; they had forfeited their word then, and what was to deter them from doing so again and again ? They were cruel, unprin- cipled people, and how A could place such implicit confidence in the Governor's promises was beyond my comprehension. I had not visited Openohu since our trip in the Margaret, when an agreeable opportunity offered for me to do so. There were two men-of-war in port, the Calypso, commanded by Captain Turner, and the Tuscarora, by Captain Stanley respectively English and American. We made up a large party to go in the Tuscarora to Morea, and steamed across in a couple of hours to Openohu, which I found changed almost beyond recognition not the scenery, that was as transcendently magnificent as it was unalter- able ; but A J s property was completely metamor- phosed. The old pavilion had made room for an extensive bungalow, surrounded by a veranda. The former was removed to the side of the lawn that was sheltered by the mountains ; it looked uncommonly attractive, shaded by trees, and I would have preferred taking up my quarters there. Unfortunately for my whim it was already occupied by M. F , the Mauritius manager, who was not found equal to the Governor's representations ; in fact, he was lavish in expenditure and incompetent as a planter. The A PLEASANT TRIP. 277 cane ridges were so far apart that it left the plants unsupported and too much exposed to the elements. He had erected quite a village of houses for future use, that was to say, when the machinery was acquired and the mechanics engaged, which might not be for months to come, and in the meanwhile the buildings would be certain to deteriorate. If the manager had no regard for his employer's pockets, neither had he any for appearances, as the veranda of his pavilion was occupied night and day by native girls, which I considered in very bad taste. Taking it altogether, however, we had a very en- joyable visit to Opanohu. Some amusing flirtations took place between the navy officers and young half- castes. Captain Stanley was very much smitten with a pretty girl, and so was a young English middy from the Calypso, who got himself into dis- grace by speaking disrespectfully to his elderly rival and superior officer, of whom he was furiously jealous. He was a mere boy, and I made excuses for his want of tact ; in this manner I contrived to get the punish- ment curtailed to merely a temporary separation from his charmer. CHAPTER XXXV. A FEARFUL NIGHT AT SEA. Tahitian life. EMPLOYED Twine, the fetii of the unhappy Etia, to do my needle- work ; she was not at all pretty, but a nice-looking, well-behaved young woman, who entertained me with graphic descriptions of She was married to a Roratongian named Taboo, a good-looking man, who aped the dress and manners of a European. He disdained thzpareu unless in the privacy of his own tent after dark. What he did not disdain was orange rum, which I fear rather marred Twine's conjugal bliss, for when under the influence of that cordial he was apt to wander forth and not reappear till morning. According to a native girl's ideas, unfaithfulness is considered several degrees worse than drunkenness, and Twine was no exception to this distinction. She was taking her husband's conduct in this respect very much to heart ; she was not a robust girl, she had A FEARFUL NIGHT A T SEA. 279 always been slight and pale lipped, and was now more so than ever. One morning Taboo came instead of his wife for her work. I asked if she were ill ? " Oh, yes, very bad ; she no come, so I come." I said I was sorry to hear that he was causing Twine so much unhappiness, and if he were not more careful he would lose a good industrious wife. He looked very contrite, with bowed head. "You speak very true; Twine work always, she no bad girl Twine ; but oh my, very jealous, you see. Then I beat her not too much, you know only a little," he said, looking up with an idiotic leer and blood-shot eyes. He had not got over his previous night's debauch, and I was glad to get rid of the wretch who ill-used his poor sick wife. Later in the day I walked round to see how Twine was, and found her seated on a mat inside the hut sewing, and not looking any worse ; but she must have been far more seriously ill than I had imagined, as the next time I called after an interval of a few days I was shocked at the alteration in her appear- ance ; she was on the bed, and Taboo was outside boiling water in a gipsy kettle. I beckoned him to me, and asked if his wife was really in a dangerous condition. "She die very sure," he said. "I very sorry for my Twine," and he brushed away some tears with the back of his hand. I hope they arose from the effect of grief, not orange rum. Twine had told me that Etia's sad fate had pre- vented her from forming a similar connection, to avoid which she had married a native, yet of the two, hers seemed to me to be the harder. Etia had 280 TAHITI: THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. at least escaped cruel blows from the heavy hand of a lazy drunkard. Queen Pomare expressed a great desire to see the improvements made on the piece of land which A had purchased from her. He therefore pro- posed a visit to the plantation, and we accompanied Her Majesty, Ariifaite and their son Tomatoa to Morea. We started in separate whale-boats at day- break, when the sea was calm, almost too calm, indeed, for after sunrise the heat became intense, and as there was no awning to protect our heads and faces, which umbrellas failed to do, by the time we reached Tiahuru we were nearly baked, as it had taken us four hours to cross, and I for one was glad of the chance to stretch my limbs, which were fear- fully cramped. In consequence of our not having been expected, the Tiahuru larder was empty, and we were half famished. Fortunately it did not take long to be replenished. Natives were sent off, and soon re- turned laden with a variety of fruit and young cocoa-nuts, with which we regaled ourselves until a more substantial repast could be provided. Pre- sently men came in with fowls, fish, shrimps, bread fruit, taro, and feeiis, and a delicious meal they made, as they were cooked to perfection in the usual native oven. Lake Tenae at certain seasons abounds with a salt-water fish called Ava ; in flavour it resembles the salmon, but the flesh is white, not red or pink. In stormy weather immense shoals seek shelter in the lake, where they are caught and brought to A FEARFUL NIGHT AT SEA. 281 Tahiti for sale. The revenue is a profitable one to the Queen and Tairappa, who are joint owners of the lake, and share in the sale of its produce. We resumed our journey, and reached Openohu just in time to escape a violent thunderstorm. We had parted from Pomare at Cook's Bay, where she stopped to collect her tax on the cocoa-nut groves, and consequently came in for the full benefit of the downpour, which never ceased throughout the night, and was likely to cause great disappointment to the natives on the plantation, who had been promised a feast in honour of Queen Pomare's visit to Openohu. The weather continued unfavourable during the morning, but in the afternoon the clouds dispersed, and the sun condescended to shine and absorb much of the unusual moisture which permitted the fete to come off with great eclat, as a novelty was intro- duced which pleased the Queen and her party. This was a national dance performed by the natives of Atiu, and a very effective dance it was. I thought it far more decent than the Tahitian Upa-Upa ; at any rate, there was a unanimous demand for it to be repeated ; after which we all retired to our quarters feeling that we had given and received pleasure. Queen Pomare was always accompanied by a bevy of young native attendants, who invariably catered for themselves. There was no difficulty about doing this at Openohu, where the trees produced all de- scriptions of fruit and bread-fruit, while the river was equally liberal in fish, oysters, and shrimps. The royal family took their meals with us, but 282 TAHITI: THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. Pomare never touched any animal food, save pork, and that she ate nearly raw, neither did she partake of butter, milk, cheese, or eggs. The simple native food was preferred, and, apart from the pig, I shared her Majesty's taste. Pomare, like myself, considered the term Protec- torate a misnomer in every sense of the word. She described many native customs hitherto unknown to me, among others the ceremony of bestowing volun- tary contributions on the sovereign, which was only done on special occasions : for example, when visiting a district after a lengthened absence. The popula- tion collected together and, headed by their chief, went to receive the Queen at the point where she was expected to arrive, when a mat was spread on the shore for her Majesty to step on. The chief then expressed a few words of welcome, at the termination of which the natives one by one placed at her feet their gifts, which Pomare explained varied according to their station and means, but were usually pro- visions and cloth, rarely money, as they possessed very little, and that little they needed for themselves. The state of the weather at Openohu precluded any attempt at excursions, whereas I had been anxiously looking forward to a row under the verdant arcade before leaving the plantation, for I considered it the greatest charm about the property. If I could not venture on the river I made up my mind to walk on its border, as I heard that M. F had had a road made up to the mineral spring for his own convenience. The natives said that he patronized the water very freely he looked A FEARFUL NIGHT AT SEA. 283 a bilious subject. The footpath was extremely picturesque, skirting the river, but winding through groves of trees, which prevented me from extending my inspection, as the heavy drops from the leaves warned me to hasten back to the bungalow, where I found Pomare and A playing ecarte on the veranda ; two of her maidens were squatted on the ground making cigarettes from the native tobacco and pandanus leaf. A whiff or two sufficed the Queen ; she then passed it on to her neighbour, who did the same or smoked it out. We availed ourselves of the first glimpse of blue midst the low-lying clouds to make the best of our way back to Tiahuru, which we had hoped to reach between the heavy showers, but no such luck awaited us. A short time after we started the sky darkened suddenly and it began to thunder ominously, between each startling clap were terrific flashes of lightning that nearly blinded one. The rain soon overtook us, and such rain ! the literal bucketsful were truly ex- emplified. In the South Pacific when nature under- takes to favour the parched ground, it deals in no half measures. Our umbrellas were useless in such a deluge, and we arrived at Tairappas Point in a state of complete saturation. The weight of my wet clothes would not admit of my taking a step without assistance. I had actually to be supported out of the boat and led to the chief's house where we caparisoned ourselves in native garments borrowed for the occasion. A young half-caste protegee accompanied us to Morea, and with her help I was metamorphosed into 284 TAHITI: THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. a perfect native, and A looked the same in a pareu and shirt. The prospect was gloomy enough at our forced detention at Tiahuru. The bay resembled a stormy ocean, while the breakers dashing fiercely over the reefs produced such a roaring sound that it made one shudder, and the violent gusts of wind were scarcely less terrific. There was comfort in the knowledge that no lives were exposed to the fury of the storm, beyond those of the poor Ava that were pointing their course to the lake, there to meet with something more fearful than the raging elements they fled from ; escaping a supposed danger to fall into a real one covetousness ; each fish represented from three to six francs. No boat could plough through such a sea, so none ventured forth, and we were temporary fixtures at Tiarappas Point, where we were as comfortable as it was possible to be under such circumstances. The chef-lieu was a wooden building and free of reptiles such as frequent bamboo structures the beds were also supportable, though stuffed with an herb that smelt most unpleasantly to me. The royal party were in their element and did not in the least share our anxiety to get over to Papeeti. As a matter of choice, Pomare resided in a large bamboo house, and I am inclined to think the chiefs family did the same; the natives always prefer the airy open bamboo to close wooden planks, precisely as they do mats on the earthy ground to a wooden flooring. Pomare wanted me to be Tauriimi shampooed. A FEARFUL NIGHT AT SEA. 285 Customs like history repeat themselves. Here in the Polynesian Islands the art of massage was as skilfully practised as at Aix les Bains in Savoy. Every native understands how to do it ; and the Queen had her limbs frictioned in the approved style every night, which she said induced sleep. I managed to obtain a good deal of that blessing without the manipulation. A clear blue firmament graced the Sunday, which is observed with great reverence among all the islands. The natives as a rule are regular attendants at church, where the women carry huge bibles and psalm-books. We followed some of them down the avenue lined with splendid specimens of the tormano tree. The church, constructed out of reef coral, stood at the extremity of the avenue ; we remained outside listening to the chanting and watching the congregation busy taking notes from the sermon that was being preached by a native missionary in a language I scarcely understood, yet judged that it was in a fluent style and extemporized, a gift possessed by most native men. We strolled to the lake and were surprised to find that, notwithstanding it being Sunday, there were a number of natives employed by Tairappa while he was at church to look after his fish interest " The better the day the better the deed," occurred to me as I looked at the men up to their waists in water forming an enclosure with bamboo piles, by which means the Ava were imprisoned, never more to disport in their native element the wide ocean. The Ava is a beautiful looking fish, with large scintillating eyes and brilliant armour which flashed 286 TAHITI: THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. with a variety of dazzling tints under the surface of the transparent water. It cut me to the heart to think of their pending fate, all of them, not one spared. It might have been fancy, but I thought there was a pleading expression in their lustrous eyes as they gazed at the men engaged in crowding them into so small a space. I went away determined to witness nothing more ; but curiosity, that human instinct I deny its being a woman's instinct impelled me to return the next morning to see what followed, though a cruel massacre was not what I had anticipated ; yet such was the fate of those beautiful fish. The men walked into the lake and cut throat after throat, which converted the limpid basin of water into a revolting pool of blood. I turned away disgusted at the sickening sight. A small fleet of fish-laden boats proposed to start for Papeeti at midnight, and A - decided on accompanying them, though he strove to dissuade me from crossing over till the sea moderated, as it was still very turbulent. If he was tired of waiting so was I, and I made up my mind to risk it ; arguing that if it were safe for others why should it be less so for me ? Ah, I did not then know what it was to be on a rough sea in an open boat. Tairappa's son was considered a first-rate pilot, and he was to take the lead. We bade adieu to our native friends, and took our seats in the whale boat. Our young protegee, Caroline, and I were wrapped in red flannel blankets to exclude the damp air, and Tairappa's last exclamation was to keep close to his son's boat easier said than done. It was a pitch A FEARFUL NIGHT AT SEA. 287 dark night, and we only succeeded in keeping within sight of any of the boats until we reached the reefs, over which the waves dashed and covered us with spray! It was an appalling sound, and how we ever got through the pass without being swamped was a marvel ; but by the time we had done this the other boats had disappeared, separated from us by gigantic waves that were more like stupendous pinnacles. I began to wish myself back at Tiakuru, as my young companion no doubt did, for I never saw a more terri- fied expression on any one's face. Hers was an ex- tremely pretty one, quite gipsy-like, peeping out of the red blanket ; her small mouth so firmly closed that I could not elicit a responsive word. Should these lines reach her eyes in that distant home where she is now a happy wife and mother, it will recall to mind the events of that never-to-be-forgotten night at sea in a whale boat, an experience neither of us were likely to repeat if we knew it. Our crew was composed of a wild-looking set of men, which did not tend to lessen my trepidation. They wore no clothes, merely a piece of cloth twisted round their loins, and a wreath of leaves on their heads ; what with their naked limbs and bodies, their ges- ticulations and squabblings, it was a scene on which I should have preferred to close my eyes and not re-open them till we were safe at Papeeti. The man who steered went by the name of " Man- o'-war," in consequence of his having been a sailor on board a man-of-war when a lad. He was now middle- aged, and had little of the sailor about him, for he was seemingly uncertain what course to take. To our con- 288 TAHITI: THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. sternation he kept continually changing his tactics, which resulted intheoarsmen at length exclaiming that we were going to be dashed against the reefs, and they refused to pull another stroke. They insisted that " Man-o'-war " did not know his bearings, as there was no passage whatever in the direction he steered, nothing but an impassable barrier of reefs before us. It was impossible to say what might be before us on such a dark night ; the reefs certainly were, as there was no occasion to strain our ears to hear the terrific roar of the ocean breakers as they boomed over them. And I begged A not to insist on our venturing farther. He also recognized it to be the safer plan, and told the crew to rest on their oars till daylight, an order they hailed with delight, as they concluded that they were to be regaled with rum, which A repeated at certain intervals, much to my horror, as I knew how dangerous such a crew might become if they got drunk, and I tried to convey my disapproval and fears to A by sundry energetic kicks, which he never noticed, or if he did, attributed them to other causes. The darkest hour precedes daylight. When it dawned our dangerous nearness to the reefs was realized. Ah ! the boat's crew knew what they were about when they laid up their oars. We had gone entirely out of our proper course, which should have been through the Papeeti Passage, whereas we had to enter by the one at Punavia. Though a regular detour the row down was charming. Our eyes were then gladdened by the sight of land, and people moving about. We had survived the vicissitudes of A FEARFUL NIGHT AT SEA. 289 the previous night, which verified " All's well that ends well." Our returning to Papeeti on such a boisterous night was unexpected, and the servant had not made up the bed, but we were so tired, that unmindful of the absence of sheets or pillow cases we threw our- selves on the bare mattress, where I felt like remaining during a whole month, so intensely weary did I feel worn out expressed it exactly but some- thing occurred which brought me to my feet with wonderful energy. We had a pet cat that was in the habit of mewing at our bedroom door every morning. The moment we opened it she purred and rubbed herself against us in the most touching manner ; pussy would then retire to the veranda, where she remained coiled up on a rocking chair till I came out, when she removed herself to my lap. I had never been partial to cats, but this one was irresistibly attractive and affection- ate, but equally destructive. I would not like to name the number of valuable ornaments that privi- leged animal smashed in her endeavour to catch those large moths that have such brilliant eyes and long trumpets. She was equally successful in nab- bing rats and mice, of which we had a super- abundance, and she consequently escaped punishment for her disastrous springs after insects, as I feared to interfere with her natural instincts lest she might decline to oblige me in other matters. Pussy rarely put in an appearance until about seven a.m., I was therefore rather surprised the morning of our return from Morea to find her in my room as early as five, 19 290 TAHITI: THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. when she gave us the most affectionate welcome, purring and rubbing her head on our faces to her heart's content, she then sprang off the bed, and pre- sently we heard a peculiar noise such as is made by very young kittens in my room too, which astonished and alarmed me. I got up at once and began to search under the various articles of furniture. The servant had carelessly left a bonnet box outside instead of inside the wardrobe, the cover of which I found off, and in the crown of my Parisian chef .d'ceuvre reposed a small heap of newly born kittens. Pussy had taken a mean advantage of our un- occupied room. CHAPTER XXXVI. A BRITISH SAILOR. VESSEL from China bound to Peru put into port short of provisions. I fancy there must have been great distress on board, as the day she ar- rived a couple of Chinamen jumped overboard and were drowned. The supercargo consigned to A , and in this way I made his acquaintance. He had gone from Peru to China in search of labour hands for the Chincha Islands. Dr. M was an Italian by birth, and was possessed of peculiar ideas. He related to me cir- cumstances attending his recent voyage which made me shudder. He said that he had had no difficulty in obtaining the number of Chinamen he wanted, but the speculation had proved disastrous in consequence of contrary winds and calms, which had so prolonged the voyage that their supply of provisions had fallen short. When he recognized the impossibility to satisfy so many mouths, he decided to decrease the number by administering what he facetiously termed 292 TAHITI: THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. un boisson rafraichissant. This proved so efficacious,, that after a certain interval he prescribed a repetition of the poisoned cup. In answer to my exclamation of horror, he asked whether I did not think it more humane to do that, than allow them to die of starva- tion ? I declined to discuss the problem then, but I now question whether it was not more humane to cause a speedy death by a boisson rafraichissant than a lingering one of agony for want of proper nourish- ment. I judged by Dr. M 's conversation that political motives had induced him to leave his own sunny artistic country for the equally sunny one of South America. He used to speak in the most disrespectful terms of the late Pope, and delighted in naming the meanest of his possessions Pio none. For reasons best known to himself, Dr. M did not return in the vessel to Peru. He left the Captain to tell the ugly tale of bad management, and grievous loss to his employers. Most of the living freight that had not been tampered with, either died natural deaths, or committed suicide. Out of the hundreds that had been shipped at Hong-Kong, half-a-dozen or so were left, and these the doctor claimed as his special property. He retired with them to Morea, where he settled, and eventually ac- quired a good deal of property, as well as popularity. In the absence of hotels, one was frequently called upon to receive at one's house people who came to visit the island. In this way an English gentleman was the recipient of our hospitality for a far longer period than we had at first anticipated. Mr. B was a pleasant, A BRITISH SAILOR. 293 and accomplished man, but had a peculiarly effeminate voice in speaking, though it became an agreeable fal- setto when he sang. He was an excellent musician ; and his music was such a treat to us that we did not object to his prolonged visit, though others resented it. Our French friends were particularly outspoken on the subject of Mr. B 's imposing on our kindness, though it was no concern of theirs. A and I used to be highly entertained at the opinions we heard expressed of our visitor, who remained nearly two years at Tahiti. When Mr. B did make up his mind to tear himself away from the island, he consulted me about securing a passage on a French transport, which was to sail with troops for France. I advised him not to attempt such a thing, as his application was almost certain to be rejected ; but if even accorded, his life on board would be rendered unbearable by those officers who had treated him discourteously on shore. He accord- ingly abandoned the intention, and eventually sailed for Australia. There were no dentists established at Papeeti, which was a great deprivation for those who suffered from toothache. It fell to my lot to have an excruciating one; for two days and nights, I was incessantly cram- ming into the cavity every remedy I could think of salt, lemon, cloves, eau de Cologne, creosote, &c., &c. A said that I gave none of them fair play, that I was too impatient. All very fine for him to preach, when he had no nerve in his head afflicted with Saint Vitus's dance, on which to practice. Finally I had to send for Dr. Guillasse to extract my wretched 294 TAHITI: THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. tooth, and if ever he merited the cognomen of " Jackass," it was on that occasion. Had I not been in such intense pain, I could not have resisted from laughing outright at his gestures and absurd antics, before he could make up his mind as to the most favourable position in which to operate. I sat on a chair facing the light waiting in agony and fright, whilst the doctor took a leisurely survey of my head, from the front, then at the back, still unsatisfied, he came to my side, and ultimately con- cluded to place himself astride of me. I could well imagine the ridiculous figure he presented sitting as it were on my lap, which he was forced to do, in consequence of his legs being so short. His appear- ance and gestures struck me in a ludicrous light, until he began to shake the tooth much as a cat would a mouse and broke it when I uttered the most terrific scream, which so startled the bungler, that he nearly capsized. Quickly recovering his footing, he exclaimed, " Mon Dieu, pour si peu de chose''' Whatever might have been his opinion, his awkward- ness had caused the tooth to ache worse than ever, yet I had to submit to his resuming operations in the same absurd position. And to think that I had another defective tooth in my head ; but I was deter- mined to make no further calls on Dr. Guillasse in that line of surgery. Fortunately in my hour of need, Captain Blackett arrived at Papeeti, and I sent for him as he sometimes acted for others in the capacity of dentist ; besides which, I knew him to be powerful enough to draw an elephant's tusk, and he consented to do his best for me. A BRITISH SAILOR. 295 I sat on the veranda with my feet on a low rail, while Captain Blackett balanced himself on the upper one, waiting for me to summon up the required courage. A was also on hand to support my head, looking as if he didn't like it. I insisted on examining the instrument of torture which Captain Blackett was endeavouring to hide from me, and no wonder, such a formidable concern as it was. The old-fashioned key was soiled too. I asked if it had been washed, since he had used it last? At which he roared with laughter, assuring me that he was very particular about the cleanliness of his instru- ments. I thought he must have overlooked the one in question, and commenced a vigorous polishing any- thing to gain time, as the tooth had suddenly ceased to ache. When I had almost made up my mind not to have it out, it began to throb worse than ever. Shutting my eyes, I heroically opened my mouth. Oh, what a wrench ! I felt as if the top of my head was also being screwed off. When I opened my eyes and glanced round, the servant woman stood by me, but A and Captain Blackett had vanished. I though it very unfeeling on both their parts to go and leave me alone, at such a time, especially so in A . I sat there nursing my wrath while the native woman swathed my cheek in cotton wool to prevent it from swelling she said. When I looked in the glass and saw my reflection, I came to the conclusion, that, if that didn't make A thoroughly regret his conduct, nothing ever would. He came home late, and said, "Your ridiculous dilly-dallying gave Blackett and me such an infernal toothache, that 296 TAHITI: THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. we had to get Robertson, the chemist, to draw them." I hadn't a word to say, for such an exhibition of sym- pathy was, I thought, out of the common. When I next saw Captain Blackett, he shook his finger, exclaiming, " Don't you ask me to extract another tooth for you." Thank heaven, I had no occasion, though I had much more confidence in Captain Blackett's surgical and medical knowledge than I had in Dr. Guillasse's, who had earned for the cemetery the sobriquet of Le Jardeu du Pere Guillasse^ in consequence of its containing so many of his patients. He overdosed everybody with laudanum ; it was his favourite remedy for all ailments, both outwardly and inwardly. My eyes became in- flamed, and he prescribed it internally, and as a lotion ; instead of getting better they got worse. A was absent, and Captain Blackett called, when I made him examine my eyes, and told him what I was applying. " Pitch it away," he said ; " it is doing you more harm than good." I thought the same ; it had increased rather than allayed the inflammation. He made me another cooling lotion, composed of sulphate of zinc and water, which effected a perfect cure in the course of a few hours. A most ridiculous incident occurred one evening while I was walking with my former maid, Margaret. We were strolling on the beach in the direction of Fairiuti, unaware that a lot of sailors from an English man-of-war were on shore ; as we passed by a cabaret one made a rush at me, exclaiming, " Eliza, my darling, give us a kiss, and then come and have a drink." Frightened to death, I made a bolt, in my terror I scarcely knew where I was going, when I A BRITISH SAILOR. 297 felt myself in some one's encircling arms ! Heaven be praised, not in Eliza's lover's, but in Madame Pivert's, the wife of the man who kept the cabaret. M. Pivert had collared the offending tar, and was abusing him in a manner he did not understand ; but he took his treatment very good-naturedly, perhaps he was puzzled at the change in his Eliza, who most pro- bably had not always been so coy, and wondered what the devil the Frenchman was talking about. In effecting my escape from the outstretched arms of my would-be lover, I had lost my hat. Margaret had picked it up, and stood there splitting her sides with laughter, in which I joined when M. Pivert said to me, " Ne vous effrayez pas Madame, ce riest qu'un sot de matelot Anglais" We were frequently invited to entertainments on board men-of-war lying in port, where there were invariably other ladies beside myself; but, when the corvette Bayonaise, commanded by A 's old friend, Captain le Brice, called at Papeeti en route to New Caledonia, and we dined with him, I found that I was the only lady among a lot of gentlemen. I was much pleased with Captain le Brice ; he had charming manners, and acted the attentive host to perfection. Nothing remarkable occurred during dinner till the finger bowls were placed on the table, in which were small tumblers filled with tepid water, flavoured with peppermint. I had never before seen this addition, and wondered what it meant. It was not long before I saw to what use they were put, for the gentlemen save A helped themselves to the tumbler, and after rinsing their mouths with the perfumed con- 298 TAHITI: THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. tents, ejected it into the finger bowls. M. le Brice went into fits of laughter at my look of astonished disgust, " Cest sans doute la premiere fois que Madame a vu cette operation ?" he asked. " Et vous le trouvez shocking ? " " Oui> vraiment shocking" I replied > amused at his English expression, which the French apply as the most emphatic and expressive in the language. The morning on which the Bayonaise sailed I re- ceived a large case with M. le Brice's compliments ; it contained the set of finger bowls and tumblers. He had evidently not forgotten the amusing part they had played at his little dinner, and intended them as a souvenir. I made use of the bowls, but suppressed the tumblers. The Mauritius gentleman, so highly recommended to A by M. de la Ronciere, abandoned his post as manager of our embryo sugar plantation, and left Openohu at a moment's notice. No doubt dearth of funds landed him at Tahiti, en route to his native island, where he had accepted a position which he was incompetent to fulfil, so as to enable him to obtain the means to proceed on his journey. . M. F 's work had all to be done over again by Dr. M -, who consented to take charge of the plan- tation until a more experienced person could be found, which was a difficult matter at Tahiti ; neither was there any reliance to be placed on foreign importations, as exemplified by M. F and M, W . Dr. M knew enough to keep the canes free of weeds, and to replenish them when necessary, which was all that could be reasonably expected of A BRITISH SAILOR. 299 him. A at length began to doubt the Governor's sincerity or good intentions, as he had failed to redeem a single promise, either with respect to pro- viding labour hands for the plantation, or affording him assistance of any description ; every vessel at his command was employed for the benefit of " Terre Eugenie'' Mr. Stewart exercised so much influence over the De la Roncieres that they acceded to his every demand. A endured such an accumulation of unfore- seen annoyances with regard to his plantation, that it was deemed advisable for him to leave Tahiti for the benefit of a sea voyage. It so happened that just then the Peruvian brig rechristened the Papeeti was lying idle, and A decided to combine busi- ness with his contemplated trip to California, and freight her with a cargo of oranges. I rather enjoyed the prospect of that journey. I always, did rejoice over the prospect of change, though I was equally rejoiced to get back to the island. How true is it that there is no place like home, be it a hovel or a palace, and I never appreciated the charms of mine more thoroughly than after a temporary absence, when Tahiti looked more lovely, the mountains grander, the foliage greener, and the flowers brighter than ever. There is a pleasant sound about oranges and lemons that savours of the tropics ; they bring to- mind the trees on which they grow, with the small deep green leaves and the fragrant blossoms. The district of Papeuriri abounded in such fruit, and it was there that we were to take in our cargo. The captain of the Papeeti was a morose-looking German,. 300 TAHITI: THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. and the mates were of the same nationality, but the crew were Roratongians. Our servants, Luis and Puhia, accompanied us in the capacity of cook and steward. We had decided to do this as a precaution against being made uncomfortable during the voyage, and a wise precaution it proved. The Papeeti was a vessel of 500 tons burden, with flush deck ; the saloon and cabins were below, and sombre enough to depress the most exuberantly inclined. As to odours, bilge water predominated over every other ill smell. My survey tempted me to decline going in the delectable brig, but when I thought of A left to the companionship of such a sullen captain, I determined to risk even asphyxia- tion. We spent a few delightful days at Papeuriri. There, as elsewhere, verdant bowers were formed by trailing vines, sylvan retreats decorated by nature's hand, flowers peeped out from satiny leaves, and emitted a perfume that no Atkins's extract could equal. I delighted in those fragrant nooks near some flowing stream, lolling on the ground, covered with mats, and refreshments of fruit within reach. If that was not luxuriating in idleness, I have still to learn what was. Then the bathe in a limpid brook, sur- rounded by scented exotics. What trees of mimosa, rhododendrons, and bushes of gardenias were there. And I seated on a smooth moss-covered stone under the water, which reached to my neck. If that was not the height of enjoyment, I wonder what is ? While I remained stationery others leaped into the middle of the river, and performed all manner of odd feats. Happy girls, who were to remain amidst such A BRITISH SAILOR. 301 Arcadian scenes, revelling in its attractive features, whilst I fortunately I did not foresee the events to follow. The fruit crates were all on board, and we were merely waiting for Captain Binden's return from Papeeti with the ship's papers to sail away from the dolce far niente of Papeuriri. CHAPTER XXXVII. A COWARDLY CAPTAIN. E left a sunny, calm harbour, to meet an extremely fresh breeze outside the reefs. The more the vessel rolled and pitched the more in- tolerable became the smell of the bilge water. I was already suffer- ing from a headache, which was aggravated by A remarking that he had never before travelled with such a surly brute of a captain ; careless, too, for in chasing the live stock forward the finest went overboard through an open gangway, which should have been previously closed. This did not tend to improve A 's frame of mind, but when the cap- tain a few days afterwards told him that he had no intention of going to San Francisco in an unsea- worthy vessel like the Papeeti, it nearly drove him beside himself, and I felt very much in the same condition. An unseaworthy vessel, good heaven ! that was the very last thing I had dreamed of. A would not admit that it was so ; he said the Papeeti A COWARDLY CAPTAIN. 303 was capable of going to any port, no stauncher vessel sailed from Tahiti that was not saying much. I scarcely knew what to think ; the beams creaked as if a screw were loose somewhere, and I suggested that we should return to Tahiti, but when A proposed it to the captain he declined to go back. He said he had a perishable cargo to consider, and that there were other places where fruit would fetch as good a price as in California. We concluded he had his own reasons for not going there, but the mischief was that the man could not make up his mind where to go ; and A \vas in a fever of anxiety, knowing us to be sailing first in one direction and then in another, without any fixed destination in view. Could any position have been more lamentable, more uncom- fortable ? The incertitude and delay in a broiling latitude did not coincide with the captain's concern for his perishable cargo as it was fast deterio- rating ; far more rapidly, indeed, than if we had re- turned to the island in the first instance, and shipped another captain. To cap the history of misadventure, A be- came seriously ill, which impelled me to reason with Captain Binden on the ill-advised course he had pursued. I said that he ought to have expressed his doubts about the vessel before leaving Tahiti, not wait to do so till we had actually sailed ; and that his present indecision had a most injurious effect, not only on A , but the cargo which he professed to study. I flatter myself that I talked to the point and in the proper spirit, for my interference was not resented, as I had half expected it would be. The 304 TAHITI: THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. captain's vacillating mind was finally made up to sail for New Zealand. We had then been ten days at sea floundering about in smooth water, a very difr ferent state of affairs to when we tacked ship to steer for Auckland, and experienced a contrary wind and heavy swell, which set the beams creaking to such an extent that I was driven half distracted. Unlike ripe oranges and lemons, over-ripe ones exhale effluvia of a detestable nature, that, with other noxious odours, formed a compound extract impossible to be sur- passed. I had never realized such a condition, being thick enough to cut with a knife, until I experienced it on board the Papeeti. A was confined to his berth with fever, and when he heard of the captain's in- tention he absolutely groaned, and said, if the fellow knew anything about the coast of New Zealand he must be aware that it was far more dangerous than that of California. As it proved, he really knew nothing about it, for he had to call at the island of Roratonga, to procure if possible a chart, though he made as an excuse the necessity for a further supply of fresh provisions. The short visit we made to Rora- tonga, was the one pleasant break in our wearisome voyage. It is a remarkably high island, and the mountains, which slope straight down to the sea, are clothed from summit to base with tropical growth. We landed in a boat and the vessel laid off and on while we were on shore, where we were soon sur- rounded by natives anxious to traffic for the provi- sions we required ; but when they learnt that we were Luppa's former master and mistress, they de- clined to accept payment for two boatloads of fruit, A CO WARDL Y CAPTAIN. 305 vegetables, fowls, and little pigs sent on board as gifts from Luppa's friends, in return for which they received a suitable present from A . I had heard that Luppa was of Jiigh birtli, but I never realized the fact till we visited her native island. Captain Binden succeeded in raking up an old torn chart from a white settler, who made him pay well for it, and the nature of the information he obtained about the coast of New Zealand could not have been satisfactory, as from that time forth he ceased to take his meals with me in the saloon. He excused himself on the plea of a severe rheumatic attack, but Puhia, who served him in his state-room, reported that he was not ill. When I questioned him he said, " Captain no sick, read the Bible plenty, very much fraid ; funk, you know," and I never doubted Puhia's assertion. He was a courageous fellow, and such a comfort to me, indeed I can scarcely imagine what I should have done without his reassuring presence on board that detestable vessel ; with her cowardly captain, wretched mates, and dismal saloon. No greater misfortune could have befallen us than having sailed with such a set of contemptible men. A timid captain is many degrees worse than an over-venturesome one, and I foresaw an accumula- tion of misery in store for us during that untoward voyage. How it was going to terminate exercised most of our minds, for the captain rarely left his state-room, and when he did, he hobbled on crutches that had been made for him by the ship's carpenter. His seeming infirmity only produced a smile from Puhia, who reiterated, " He no sick ; he only very 20 306 TAHITI: THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. much funk." I was feeling wretchedly down-hearted, and had the greatest difficulty to assume a confidence in the vessel, which I was very far from experiencing. No change could have been more prejudicial to A than the one we had embarked on. He was so depressed and prostrated by fever, that I was alarmed and helpless in rousing him, as I felt un- commonly low-spirited myself could not have felt lower if I had tried especially after venturing on deck one day to inhale the fresh air and get a little exercise, as the weather was mild and balmy, when my attention was immediately drawn to a large boat, on which the carpenter and mates were at work. Luis stood near at hand watching them with an interest that surprised me. I asked what they were doing, though I had made up my mind that they were re- pairing it in readiness for us to go on shore. My astonishment may be imagined when I received for answer that they were getting it in trim before the vessel sunk, so that we might have a chance to save our lives. " But why should you suppose, that she is likely to sink ? " I asked. " Because she leaks like a sieve, and hasn't a sound timber in her," replied the first mate. "I guess we know a thing or two more nor you about this here craft." He staggered me, and I turned to little Luis for confirmation, "Eso es la ver- dad" (It is quite true) ; "Somos enteramente perdido " (We are going to be lost). I went below and repeated the conversation to A , who ridiculed their fears, and insisted that we were safe enough if the captain kept clear of the coast. He had already cautioned him against approaching too near until after rounding the rocks known as the " Three Kings." A COWARDLY CAPTAIN. 307 Captain Binden no doubt anticipated some dread- ful catastrophe, and A feared that that might induce him to get as close as possible to land before it did occur, and this accounted for the timely pre- paration of the boat. I examined the horizon, morn, noon, and night, watching for the undesirable appear- ance of dark clouds rising in a certain direction, and whatever I saw or did not see, I faithfully reported to A who was unable to leave his berth, anxious as he was to reconnoitre for himself. Puhia's was the only pleasant looking face on board, and the one whose opinion I most relied on. When he brought me my coffee early in the morning, I greeted him with, "Well, Puhia?" "No too much water in the ship," he assured me ; " natives no afraid, only captain and mates, and Luis ; he cry plenty now, no sing no more." This Puhia said with a grin of absolute pleasure. A brave man himself, he held a poltroon in contempt, and felt no sympathy for poor little trembling Luis. I did, for I was such an inveterate coward myself. About daybreak one morning I started up, fancying that the wind must have increased during the night. I hurried up the companion way to study the state of the weather, and discovered an ominous darkening in the direction of the "Three Kings," a piece of unwelcome information for A , who told me to send the captain to him. I crossed the saloon and knocked at his door. He must have been asleep, as he did not answer my call ; so I shook the handle and cried out that the wind was rising, and A wished to speak to him at once. He then whined forth that he was in great pain, and 308 TAHITI: THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. unable to move. I insisted that he would have to do so sooner or later, as we were evidently in for a terrible storm. My earnest tone brought him to his senses and feet at the same time. A had also scrambled out of bed, and when the captain appeared hobbling on his crutches, he accused him of having done the very thing he had cautioned him not to do ; that his ignorance of the coast was clearly proved, otherwise we should never have been in our present position. To all of which Captain Binden listened in silence. The sails were being reefed, and the wind began to whistle in terrific gusts ; torrents of rain drove A below. He said it might only be a passing squall, but he feared that we were in for a gale, and a gale it was ; one that compelled us to be hove-to, under close-reefed (jib and) topsail. " The storm raged for several days and nights, during which time, either captain or mate were continually coming into the saloon with the sounding rod to show me y with what rapidity the water was increasing in the hold, and that the vessel could not stand out much longer, but that fortunately the lifeboat was in readiness. I told them both, that I had no in- tention of availing myself of it ; if the vessel sunk, I would sink with her. I spoke bravely, but I did not feel brave ; I shuddered at the idea of coming to grief in such a manner. The pitiless ocean was abhorrent to me, and I made A swear solemnly that if the worse came to the worse, he would give me a good dose of laudanum beforehand. The poor fellow was again confined to his berth, and I was left alone to indulge in appalling reflections. Captain- A CO WARDL Y CAPTAIN. 309 Binden, at the commencement of the storm, told me, " That all in the power of man had been done for the vessel, and her fate was as God willed." Ill as A was he never lost his belief in the soundness of the Papeeti^ neither did the natives. Puhia was as sanguine as ever, and at this juncture did double duty as cook and steward ; for Luis was altogether too unnerved and miserable to think of anything but his own imminent danger. He wan- dered about muttering, "Ah le maldito buque" (Oh, the accursed ship). He was the most pitiable object imaginable, with his head confined in a red hand- kerchief, and wearing all the clothes he could pile on, so as to protect himself as far as possible from exposure in the lifeboat, for Luis shared all the fears of the captain and mates, and was prepared to quit the sinking Papeeti as soon as the others did, what he could not wear, he carried in a bundle. Luis was very neat and methodical, and forgot nothing that might be of use in the approaching disaster. He had never been in such a painful position before, and had to make his experience of an open boat in a stormy ocean. I had made mine already. The crossing from Tiahuru to Tahiti was too fresh in my memory to incline me to repeat the experiment, unless we had been in sight of land, whereas we were then fully three hundred miles distant. I can return thanks as glibly as any one, but am completely tongue-tied when it comes to asking favours. In the appreciation of blessings bestowed on me, prayers rush spontaneously to my lips, but when in trouble I brood ; strive as I may, I can 3io TAHITI: THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. frame no petition, and such was the case during the terrible days and wakeful nights that the gale lasted. Captain Binden did all the praying, but I can never believe that our preservation was due to the lip service of such a mean, selfish, unmanly being. Shall I ever forget the revulsion of feeling I expe- rienced, when Puhia came to me with the cheerful greeting of " Matai miti" (fair wind)? The storm was over, and we had not been wrecked. I had been in perilous situations before at sea, but in passenger vessels, when there is a certain sort of solace in having company in distress. Puhia had undertaken to make a thorough investi- gation of the leaks in the hold, and he found that the whole thing had been an exaggeration; the bottom of the vessel was peculiarly constructed, it sank in the middle, where the water collected, leaving the sides dry. He concluded by saying, " Pretty soon go on shore : Luis very glad. Me show him sides all right" "Caramba, todaeran mentiras" (Plague on them, it was all lies), said. Luis, looking radiant, and as brave as a lion, when once satisfied that the vessel wasn't as rotten as he had been led to believe. He imme- diately resumed his work, killed fowls, and gave us a first-rate dinner ; and during the evening he enter- tained the crew with Canciones paisanos (national songs) to the accompaniment of his long-neglected guitar. No one can enter into the merits of the foregoing pages unless they have been similarly circumstanced, to feel as it were on the very brink of a watery grave and then to be unexpectedly rescued, saved ; never A COWARDLY CAPTAIN. 311 does life appear so sweet as then, when heart and brain overflow with gladness, and thrill with paeans of thanksgiving. The next day we sighted innumerable low islands, and sailed under a fair breeze past the big and little barriers ; suddenly turning a point we entered a land- locked bay, in view of Auckland. Our astonishment may be conceived when Captain Binden appeared dressed to go on shore, and walking without crutches. Either he had never been afflicted with rheumatism, or the sight of terra firma had effected a miraculous cure. Newspaper reporters came on board the moment we dropped anchor to interview us with regard to the recent gale. They announced that a number of large ships had come into port either dismasted and leak- ing, or with their sails blown to pieces, whereas we arrived in much the same condition as when we left Tahiti ; nevertheless nothing would have induced me to return to the islands in the Papeeti ; the creaking beams had disenchanted even A , who subse- quently sold her at auction for a very fair price. CHAPTER XXXVIII. SENT ADRIFT. Y first experience of Auckland was rather amusing. A went on shore to secure rooms at the Wynward House and found that there were none vacant for the moment. He then called on the French Consul with the object of discharging his hypocritical captain, the Papeeti sailed under the French Protectorate flag. While at the Consulate he alluded to our dreadfully long voyage and ex- pressed regret at not having been able to find rooms on shore so as to get me off the vessel as soon as possible. " Bring Madame here," said the Consul ; " my wife will be charmed to have her company." A was no less so at the invitation, which he accepted in my name, and hastened back to the vessel to fetch me. Dinner was nearly ready, but he would not wait for it ; the sooner we were off the better, he said ; besides which the Consul and his SENT ADRIFT. 3*3 wife would of course expect us to dine with them. Putting a few things into a hand-bag, and with Finessa tucked under my arm, I was bundled into the boat and we rowed to shore. The roads were fearfully muddy, and we had to walk to the Consulate. How A in his wretched state of health could have undertaken to do it twice over astonished me ; surely there must have been some wonderful healing property in the atmosphere of Auckland ? The Consulate was perched on a high hill sky- high it appeared to me in the waning light and by the time I reached it I was so tired that I could scarcely stand. The Consul received us and expressed the utmost gratification at making my acquaintance. I was equally grateful for the chair he handed me, into which I sank with a sigh of relief at being settled for that evening, whatever we might propose to do the next day, for there was a stiff, unhomelike air about the drawing-room that struck me un- pleasantly. The Consul apologized for the absence of his wife, but assured me that she would be home very shortly. We must have been there quite an hour before the lady did return. A tall, severe- looking woman, who certainly was very much less overpowered at making my acquaintance than her husband had been. After a little conversation very little on my part, as I was weary and hungry she rang the bell and ordered refresh- ments to be brought in, which consisted of a diminutive plate of diminutive biscuits, and some orgeat and water. If anything could have convinced A that we were neither expected to dine nor 314 TAHITI: THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. spend the night there, the introduction of that tray did it. No doubt their own dinner was being- delayed through our prolonged visit, and it was intended as a polite hint to curtail it ; at any rate I accepted it as such. Poor A looked wofully crestfallen ; it was hard to say whether he had deceived himself or been deceived, though I was inclined to believe that Madam disapproved of her husband's invitation and chose to ignore it. The night was pitch dark and rainy, and we had the greatest difficulty to keep our footing through the slimy slippery mud. A informed me that he had no intention of returning to the vessel, that he would try the Wynward House again, and persuade them to do the best they could for us. We had, however, some difficulty in finding the Wynward House, not for the want of asking, as we inquired the way of every one we met : when A neglected to do so I exercised my tongue, but each individual sent us off in a different direction, until I began to fear that we were doomed to wander about the streets all night. A lad finally agreed to show us the way for a consideration. What a country and what a people, thought I. A made no mistake in deciding to try the Wynward House again, as a room was just then being vacated, in fact, the gentleman's valise was still in the room when we entered, and it was well that I had made up my mind to make the best of a bad business, otherwise I might have objected to becoming the next occupant. I am a good judge of tobacco, and can vouch that a very inferior SENT ADRIFT. 315, quality had been smoked by the departing visitor in that ill-furnished den, which contained a wooden bedstead, ditto table, washstand, and two rickety chairs, no carpets ; but even for such as these, I was truly thankful. Almost before the stranger's trunk had been removed I had slipped out of my wet muddy garments, leaving them in a little heap on the floor, and rushed into the bed ; its narrowness was suggestive of one or the other of us having a spill during the night, so I concluded to resign all risk to the one better able to bear it, and un- selfishly took the wall side. A borrowed a pair of slippers from the pro- prietor. It would have been impossible for his trousers to be in the same condition as my clothes, unless he had sat down in the mud, as he had taken the precaution to turn them up away above the knee perhaps it will be safer to say as high as he could get them and a droll figure he presented as we stood in the hall of the hotel. Fortunately, A had been seen in the daytime under different circumstances, otherwise I do believe we would have been refused admittance, for a seedier looking pair would have been hard to find. We were half famished, but had to content our- selves at that late hour with tea and bread and butter ; they brought us a huge loaf, and we ate it all. After we had finished our frugal yet acceptable meal, A produced his meerschaum, and I ex- ploded with laughter at the recollection of our consulate fiasco. I decided that we had made a lucky escape, and took a mental note that if 3i6 TAHITI: THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. Madame called on me I would not return her visit. She did call, and I kept to my resolution. Our first contretemps did not prevent my liking Auckland, where we were the recipients of un- expected hospitality through the kindness of a lady who had known A in former years. Mrs. Shep- pard was elderly, and her first visit to me did not encourage her to repeat it. The dining and sitting-room were combined in the Wynward House, and on the occasion of Mrs. Sheppard's visit it was undergoing a thorough cleansing, which it stood sadly in need of, though it necessitated my visitor being ushered into our ill-furnished, carpetless bedroom. In the case of self-preservation which I rarely neglect I made it a rule to sit on the bed, but feeling that I could not treat, a stranger with such scant ceremony as to invite her to take a seat beside me, I drew forth one of the two rickety chairs, which gave way from under her and she descended to a more undignified position than the bed. I had great difficulty in raising the amazed lady from the floor, but none in expressing my consternation and regret for what had happened, which I did as humbly as if I had been the proprietress of the hotel and personally responsible for the dilapidated condition of the furniture. After this unpleasant accident I was more than ever anxious to get possession of a sitting and bedroom on the ground floor, then occupied by a newly- married couple from Melbourne, whose honeymoon seemed to me an interminable affair, for the simple SENT ADRIFT. 317 reason that I had a deep interest in the matter of duration, as the apartment was promised to us when vacant, which kept me in a state of ferment, as the occupants appeared in no hurry to vacate it. I hailed with delight the day on which the interesting pair took their departure, when I forthwith moved downstairs. A had sent up some sailors from the Papeeti to carry down the trunks, and after they had left, I missed Finessa. She had been washed and combed, and sported a new ribbon, in honour of our change of apartment. Thinking she might have returned to the old room, I ran upstairs to see ; but she was not there, and the conviction forced itself on me that my darling little pet had been stolen. Seizing my hat, I went out to hunt up A , who had gone down to the docks. I stopped everybody I met en route to inquire whether they had noticed a stray dog, as I had lost mine, not forgetting to add a string of panegyrics in describing my beautiful Finny, but no one had remarked such a dog. A butcher boy came along swinging an empty basket to a tune he was whistling, and I did not omit to accost and ques- tion him. It so happened that he had seen what he termed a white pup, with shaved paws, following at the heels of some foreign men. He was a bright,, intelligent-looking lad, and I promised him a sove- reign if he could recover the dog and bring him to our hotel. He nodded in assent, and resumed his whistling. I found A on board the Papeeti, and he refused to believe that the sailors had enticed the dog away. Captain Binden was present, and he also ridiculed my fixed idea, and had the impertinence to .3 1 8 TAHITI: THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. say, "What would the natives want with such a useless animal ? " On our return to the hotel I asked A to write a paragraph to be inserted in the next morning's paper, offering a suitable reward for my Finessa, over the composition of which we had an argument as I objected to his applying the term "slut" to my pet, and he ridiculed my suggestion of female dog. All satisfaction in our pretty apart- ment was entirely marred by the loss of Finessa, which I unceasingly deplored. During the whole afternoon I sat hoping against hope, and when A ventured to inquire whether I was not going in to dinner, I nearly snapped his head off for alluding to anything so prosaic as eating when I was so miserable, with my face disfigured by tears, for I had shed oceans of them over the uncertain fate of my affectionate little companion. Some women contrive to weep becomingly, which I never could accomplish, as hideous grimaces and swollen features are the inevitable accompaniments to my lachrymation. My woebegone plight continued till about nine o'clock p.m., when my door was suddenly opened, and a half- dozen eager voices exclaimed, " Your dog is all right, come and see her." I did not wait for a second in- vitation, but hurried after them to the kitchen, where the butcher boy stood. " Here is your pup," he cried, opening his jacket to show me Finessa under his arm trembling with fright, and smelling overpoweringly of gin. The boy explained that after working hours he had gone to the tavern which sailors generally frequented, and found the proprietress's daughter standing outside, SENT ADRIFT. 319 who told him there was such a pretty pup in there for sale, and she hoped her mother would buy it ; he coaxed the child to push the door a wee bit open, so that he might see the pup. She complied, and he saw poor Finny slinking away from the rough men ; one more tipsy than the others, gave her a kick, which sent her rolling to the door, where the boy stood ready to catch her, and succeeded in doing so. He then took to his heels and ran as fast as his legs would carry him to the hotel. Besides his reward he went off rejoicing with a huge package of sweets. " That boy has done a good day's work," was the general observation, in which I agreed. There were some remarkably pleasant people at the Wynward House, and I thoroughly appreciated the sympathy they had shown me, even in the form of tea and muffins, which some of the gentlemen had thoughtfully provided, and had had served in the dining-room for my especial benefit. " Bring the dog with you," they said, and so I did, for I couldn't bear her out of my sight. " But I can't partake of these things alone, you must join me." I protested unavailingly. It was really delightful to see such kind beaming faces seated round the table watching me appease my hunger, as they were, of course, well aware that I had missed every meal since breakfast, and I did justice to the pile of hot, buttered muffins ; if I left one in the dish, it was by mistake. A placed himself under the treatment of a very clever homoeopathic doctor, who effected a complete cure, and converted me 'into such a firm believer in homceopathy that I invested in a medicine 320 TAHITI: THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. case, and on our return to the islands prescribed for ourselves, with a certain amount of success. The fashionable promenade at Auckland was on the Wynward Pier, facing our hotel, and presented a gay scene every fine afternoon. I occasionally ac- companied a lady from the Wynward House to the rendezvous ; she was the wife of a military man stationed in the interior, and a charming person. Her devotion to her young husband was very touch- ing; she had come to Auckland for her accouchement, but expressed herself as utterly miserable without him he was such a dear. I had always considered myself an infallible judge of character, yet I had been mistaken in this instance, as my charming lady proved to be one of the vilest of her sex, an un- principled woman, who had abandoned her husband and children for the sake of another man. I can make excuses for an unhappy wife, who is anxious to escape from a domestic tyrant, but none for a mother who forsakes her babies. And this light-hearted inhuman creature had eloped with an officer in her husband's regiment, leaving three children behind her in India. Some one at the Wynward House for- warded to me to Tahiti the full particulars of the court-martial, which, as might be expected, resulted in the offender being cashiered ; what became of the wretched woman I am unable to say. We returned to Tahiti in the Riatea, a brigantine of A 's ; the captain was a German, and a very timid navigator ; it was truly ridiculous to see how hurriedly every sail was furled in anticipation of squalls which never reached us, but put us to the inconvenience of SENT ADRIFT. 321 a prolonged voyage. Every fleeting cloud alarmed Captain Goltz, otherwise he was not objectionable like Captain Binden. Nevertheless, I was delighted when we parted company, and could again revel in the charms of my Tahitian home, which struck me as especially bewitching after my tedious journeyings. Our property at Peri looked lovely beyond descrip- tion. Delpiere was an industrious man, and kept the grounds in splendid order. Such a profusion of flowers greeted my eyes, while the miniature island resembled more than ever a huge bunch of exotics that had settled on the water ; even the bathing- house had improved during our absence, as the in- crease of foliage now completely hid the bamboos inside as well as outside, and the perfume from the mass of jessamines and scented passion flowers, was simply heavenly. We drove to Peri regularly every morning, and resumed our Sunday dejeuners in the fragrant bower. We found Captain Blackett established in business at Papeeti. He had removed his family from Bora- Bora, and had settled them at Taunai.m the house we had occupied on a previous occasion, where I felt quite at home, and frequently visited them when I was out riding or driving. I liked the Blacketts, which sentiment did not extend to Mrs. Blackett's sister Dolores, nor her husband, for both of whom I entertained a thorough contempt. Unhappily it is not always the most worthy who are the most suc- cessful, for Captain Blackett was very much less so than his brother-in-law. His island trade had dwindled away, and he looked very down-hearted, 21 322 TAHITI: THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. having contracted debts that were causing him anxiety, and being in pecuniary difficulties, he was induced to accept a contract, which under other circumstances I am sure he would have declined, as it was to collect native labourers at so much per head to work at " Terre Eugenie'' I disapproved of the undertaking, and tried to dissuade him from it. I pointed out that entering into such a trade was not the way to retrieve his fallen fortunes, that it was more likely to bring him bad, instead of good luck. I little thought at the time, that my prophecy would be verified. Captain Blackett was incapable of cruelty, unless entrapping unsuspecting natives be deemed such. When once the natives were on board they were sure to be treated kindly ; but he needed money, and he told me frankly that he was not going to be too scrupulous about the mode of enticing the people on board. Food and clothing do not always compensate for the loss of liberty, as Captain Blackett found to his cost He obtained the number of men, women, and children he had set his heart on capturing, who re- sented the deception practised on them with such ferociousness, that in mid-ocean they revolted, and murdered the captain ; they perpetrated the deed in the most barbarous manner, and then flung his poor mutilated body overboard. Ah, if one only studied consequences before attempting a rash act, how much sorrow and unavailing regret might be avoided ; seek- ing self-interest at the expense of conscience can never have a truly happy result, and more often than not has a disastrous issue, as in the foregoing case. CHAPTER XXXIX. THE DE LA RONCIERES VISIT OPENOHU. R. W- was another of A- unsatisfactory foreign importations. Soon after entering on his duties as bookkeeper, he became enamoured with Mrs. B , a sentiment which increased to such an extent that more of his time was devoted to her than to his em- ployer. A , to put a stop to his wandering in a forbidden direction, sent him to Morea, having de- cided that he would be more serviceable on the plantation than at Papeeti, where his mind was un- balanced by the witchery of the lady. Mr. W therefore replaced Dr. M in the position of manager at Openohu. He professed to know far more of the principles of cane planting than either of his predecessors ; but as his word was unreliable A thought it advisable to take a run over and judge for himself of his capabilities, where he was unfortunately taken suddenly and seriously ill. The news reached me by boat, in which I was urged to 324 TAHITI: THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. return, I would have done so under any circum- stances. Margaret, with her usual good nature came to my assistance, and we started together for Openohu. Not knowing whether Dr. M was equal to the occasion, I took advantage of the Topaz, an English frigate lying in port, to ask Captain Percival, with whom I was acquainted, to spare me one of the surgeons, as I thought his services might be re- quired at Openohu. He readily consented, and in a few minutes the young doctor joined us. From his appearance he was not averse to making the trip, but as it happened he was not necessary. Mr. W stood on the shore, and from a distance shouted that A was better. He was in bed however in the pavilion, which had been given up to him by Mr. W where I introduced the young surgeon out of compliment, as A was quite satisfied with Dr. M 's medical ability. While we were at Openohu the frigate crossed over to pay a flying visit to Morea, en route to Chili. The Commodore and Captain Percival expressed such un- bounded admiration of the scenery at Openohu, that Mr. W was authorized by A to give an enter- tainment of some kind to the officers, and he certainly managed to do this in approved style. It was evidently in his line where expense was no object ; however, he acquitted himself to the satisfaction of the guests who were profuse in their acknowledg- ments, and that was the main object. The Commodore proposed to convey us in the Topaz to Tahiti at least to the reefs, and thence in his gig to Papeeti, an offer we thankfully accepted^ THE DE LA RONCIERES VISIT OPENOHU. 325 as A was not sufficiently convalescent to venture back by whale-boat. A few evenings after our return from Morea, I was as usual seated on the veranda, when I heard the splash of oars, and looking in the direction from whence it came, I saw a boat shoot up to our wharf. To my surprise Mr. W landed, and crossed to our house. Coming into the room, he flung himself on to a chair, threw off his hat, and clutched his hair like one half demented. I joined him, and asked what had brought him over so unexpectedly. " I had to come," he cried, wildly ; " I would have gone out of my mind had I remained at Morea another day." I immediately concluded that he had lost either his wife or a child. " Have you received bad news ? " I inquired. " Horrible ; my mother is dead," he sobbed out ; " I shall never see her dear face again, never receive her blessing ; my God ! it is appalling ; the blow has crushed me completely crushed me." His grief seemed so genuine that I felt deep sym- pathy for his distress, and so I told him ; though I had never before given Mr. W credit for such depth of feeling, as I had considered his conduct for a married man disgraceful in the extreme, and had sincerely pitied his absent wife. I was rather startled when, in the midst of my consolatory remarks, Mr. W suddenly asked if it were true that Mrs. B was dangerously ill ? Something in his manner made me question whether his grief and distress of mind was not more on 326 TAHITI: THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. account of that lady's precarious condition than for his departed mother. And as the sequel proved, my surmises were not far wrong, for he went out to make personal inquiries, and returned with his mind, or heart, or both so relieved, that he looked quite cheerful. Several months subsequently I met a brother of Mr. W 's in New York, who spoke of his mother as being not only alive y but in excellent health. The history of her death had been fabricated to meet an exigency : the old lady's affectionate son wanted to come to Papeeti, so as to be near his sick inamorata, and killed his mother to effect his object, neither a filial nor a praiseworthy one. Live and learn, though such knowledge can profit no body. I had never liked Mr. W , but after this painful tdaircisstment I entertained a still more unfavourable opinion of him. Hitherto the De la Roncieres had not been to Morea, and as Madame contemplated returning to France, she expressed a wish to visit our plantation at Openohu before leaving the islands. A sloop-of- war was lying in the bay at her disposal, and we were invited to accompany the Governor and herself on the trip. The day was propitious, and we made a rapid passage from island to island ; at sight of Openohu they were astonished at the magnificence of the scenery, evidently neither of them had expected to see anything so majestic, and they were as enthu- siastic over its unrivalled beauty as one could have desired. The extent of the Openohu valley is at first sight deceptive, as the mountains form an amphitheatre and THE DE LA RONCIERES VISIT OPENOHU. 327 cause it to appear like a mere strip of land at their base, until a nearer survey brought to view a winding, course of extensive cane-fields, each one divided by borders of bananas, which formed a proportion of food for the natives. Many acres were under cultivation, which was a pretty sight, the leaves and graceful crests surmounting each cane swayed by the light breeze had a rhythmic sound, that fell pleasantly on the ear. I remarked that the De la Roncieres examined everything with critical eyes. A called the Commissaire Imperiale's attention to a considerable vacant space waiting to be planted, when he redeemed his promise respecting the im- portion of Chinese labour. The Governor was well aware that the plantation had been undertaken at his persuasion, and that the amount of work accom- plished without any assistance from the Government was marvellous, though A had been left to col- lect his own labour at a great expense and incon- venience, as his small fleet which was required else- where, had to be sent among the neighbouring islands to hire native hands, and a large number were needed, not only to plant, but to keep the cane when planted free from weeds ; these actually sprout in a night, and if left choke up the cane and make it sickly. M. de la Ronciere had all this explained to him, and listened perfectly unconcerned and unabashed at having broken his word to A , nor did he renew his promises. Wishing our visitors to see all the attractive fea- tures about our property, we gave them a row down the river, canopied with foliage, to the mineral spring, 328 TAHITI: THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. which elicited the remark, "Mais c'est un vrai paradis ce terrain ci" one they soon converted into a pur- gatory. Mr. Stewart had undertaken to cultivate sugar-cane in addition to cotton at Atimano, and the De la Ron- cieres were wedded to his interests from personal motives so that whatever or whoever interfered in the remotest degree with these, was doomed to ruin or disgrace. An English company supplied the funds to work the plantation at Atimano, where the expenditure had been great without returns, nor from the appearance of things were there likely to be any in the future. Qn the other hand, though the sugar plantation at Openohu had received no outside assistance, it was doing well, and if nothing unforeseen occurred its prosperity was assured ; facts that were not pleasing to Mr. Stewart when reported by the De la Roncieres. Together they devised the obstacles that were to be employed to check the rapid planting at Openohu, and I am inclined to the belief that the De la Ron- cieres' visit had been made at Mr. Stewart's insti- gation. How could we think otherwise when their whole behaviour helped to confirm this impression when the Governor, on his return to Papeeti, ordered the Commissaire de Police, with two gendarmes, to proceed forthwith to Openohu and remove every native over whom he had control from the plantation, with instructions that henceforth they were to work for the Government, not for A ? And this arbitrary measure was executed at a moment when not only the sugar-cane required increased THE DE LA RONCIERES VISIT OPENOHU. 329 attention, but when a cargo of cuttings had arrived from the Leeward Islands, which needed imme- diate planting, and under existing unprecedented cir- cumstances became a dead loss. A was incredulous ; he could not believe that any such order had been transmitted to Openohu, and hurried up to Government House to elicit an explanation as to the presence of gendarmes on his plantation. He saw the Governor, who coolly told him that the administration was short of hands, and that he would have to dispense in the future with Tahitian labourers, as an order had been issued to withdraw them from Openohu. A few days after Le Messager de Tahiti produced an article on the ambitious undertaking at Openohu, which was not likely to prove a success. A felt outraged, and he assuredly had every reason to be, for it was quite evident that when the head of a colony had the power to act so outrageously, private enter- prise could not do otherwise than end disastrously. A 's French friends advised him by all means to carry his grievances to Europe, as nothing was now left for him but to make a formal complaint to the Ministre des Colonies in Paris. To do this he was obliged to ask Dr. M to resume the charge of the plantation, so as to enable Mr. W to return to Papeeti, which was a very risky thing to do, for we had no confidence in Mr. W , yet had no alternative, and time pressed. As soon as A reached Paris he obtained the desired interview at the Ministry, where he was received most courteously ; politeness costs nothing. 330 TAHITI: THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. The Ministre des Colonies gave him a patient hear- ing, and promised that the whole affair should be thoroughly investigated. With this assurance A had to be satisfied, though he placed little reliance on it. When we got back to San Francisco the small-pox was an epidemic, and vaccination deemed a neces- sary precaution in our case ; it certainly proved so in mine. My arm took beautifully according to medical parlance ; according to mine, frightfully. I was in a pitiable condition when we were notified that the brig Timandra on which we had taken passage for Tahiti,, was about to sail. The captain was so anxious to get away from the infected city, that he had advanced the date of his departure. He kindly resigned his state-room to us, which we found roomy and comfort- able considering the size of the vessel. A vessel with- out a deck may seem an anomaly, but I gained this experience on that voyage. We carried a cargo of lumber, and every available space was filled with it ; the planks were piled above the bulwarks fore and aft, and when my head appeared at the cabin door the captain and A hastened towards me with outstretched hands, to assist me to scramble over the stacks of timber to where they were seated : on some- thing very little better than a rail. The one redeeming point in that wearisome voyage were the rainbows, "those gracious things made up of tears and light," and the sunsets, which were gorgeous ; after-glows, that illumined the heavens with brilliant rays. Night after night A , the captain, and I, sat and revelled in those sublime THE DE LA RONC1ERES VISIT OPENOHU. 331 luminous beams, arching as it were a sea of flame. Gradually the radiant lights grew fainter, and the lovely scene became veiled, when darkness enveloped the face of the deep. The pageant over, we vacated our narrow seat for the more comfortable sofa in the cabin, where A and I played cribbage to an endless scale of invectives against bad cards and worse luck. The other end of the table to where . we sat con- tained a capacious drawer, wherein the steward placed the captain's lunch (supper), who called it having a snack before turning in,- at the termination of his watch on deck. This snack usually consisted of a pumpkin or apple pie, which the captain cut into four pieces. As A never indulged at that hour, I did duty for him ; and strange to say was never troubled with nightmare, but it had somewhat of that effect on the captain, for he nearly frightened me to death on one occasion ; I thought somebody was being murdered, till A re-assured me, and roused the disturbed sleeper, who attributed the row he made to lying on his back ; more likely to the heavy pastry he had eaten, though he would never admit it. CHAPTER XL. PRINCE ALFRED'S VISIT. S the time approached for our arrival at Tahiti, we were naturally much exercised as to how we should find things in general, and M. le Com- missaire Imperiale in particular, who had no doubt heard of the object of A 's trip to France, which we might be sure he would not fail to resent. The pilot imparted startling news. Madame de la Ronciere, after so many years of vacillation, had ac- tually returned with her maid Louise to France. The Nesties had also left the island, but their successors did not please M. le Gouverneur^ who had banished the Ordonnateur with his family to Morea. This informa- tion was indeed astounding, as it bespoke an increase of despotism on the part of the head of the adminis- tration that was really alarming, if true. We were devoured with curiosity, and more than ever anxious to get on shore, which looked transcendently lovely as we sailed through the pass and anchored in the bay. PRINCE ALFRED'S VISIT. 333 We saw Mr. W and Dr. Guillasse enter a boat and push off" from our wharf; instead of boarding us, they shouted from a distance, that in consequence of the small-pox raging in San Francisco we were to be placed in quarantine for twenty-four hours. A most useless precaution as far as our vessel was concerned, as a month had elapsed since leaving that city, and there had been no ailment of any description on board during the voyage down. I had left Finessa with my young protegee, and the dog was permitted to come on board, for which I was very grateful. She was in splendid condition, looked like a ball of floss silk, and recognized me at once. I thought she would have wriggled out of the native's arms into the sea when she caught sight of my face ; and when on deck she frisked about yelping with joy. Such an affectionate greeting in a measure reconciled one to the cool reception, with which we had been favoured earlier in the day. I suppose we ought to have anticipated some such absurd re- gulation ; still, I could not divest myself of the idea that a point might have been, and would have been stretched in our favour, but for a purpose. What that purpose was, we had yet to learn. My mare Dolly had been consigned to the care of our gardener Delpiere, with positive instructions that she was to be ridden by no one in my absence. She was difficult to manage, though she looked so meek and gentle ; I happened to mention this to a gentleman, whom I thought doubted my assertion. He looked so incredulous, that I gave him the opportunity to test it, which resulted in his 334 TAHITI: THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. getting an ugly fall. Dolly never by any chance attempted to unseat me, which I construed into a mark of affection, an affection I fully reciprocated ; and my feelings may be more readily imagined than described, when on landing at Papeeti I heard of her death ; but not the way it was compassed, I learnt that afterwards from Delpiere. Mr. W had over- ruled his opposition, and contrary to my orders had ridden the poor animal. She was brought back to Peri trembling violently, and Delpiere said, presented the appearance of having been harshly used ; in what way, he was either unable or unwilling to say. It was not necessary, I knew better than he could tell rrie : she had been over-ridden, urged to her topmost speed by spur, and whip, and being unaccus- tomed to such treatment, it killed her, broke her heart, for she died that same night. She may have striven to throw her rider, or succeeded in her object, who could say ? One fact was undeniable, Dolly had died from other causes than hard riding, and I grieved, as I grieved for every earthly thing that I had owned, caressed, and lost. Madame de la Ronciere had made no friends during her residence at Tahiti. Everybody condemned her treatment of her only child, and from that time forth she had been looked upon as an unnatural, intriguing woman. Her departure for France therefore occa- sioned little regret, nor was any one surprised when she announced her intention to dispose of her entire wardrobe to the highest bidder. If report could be credited, Mr. Stewart undertook to remonstrate with Madame. He came up from Atimano for the pur- PRINCE ALFRED'S VISIT. 335 pose of preventing such a scandal. He represented that a transaction of the kind was beneath the dignity of the wife of M. le Commissaire Imperiale, and would lead to unpleasant comments, that were better avoided. His remonstrance was repaid by raillery. What did Countess de la Ronciere care for people's remarks? Five francs in her purse was of more importance than the opinion, good or bad, of any one on the island, not even excepting ce beau Monsieur dAtimano. "Je me fiche joliment de ce monde Id" was all the satisfaction Mr. Stewart obtained for presuming, according to Madame's ideas, to interfere in what did not concern him. Report also gave Madame de la Ronciere credit for having received from" Mr. Stewart a considerable number of shares in the Atimano Cotton Company, which were to represent a neat little fortune in the future ; but I fancy she realized more on the sale of her old clothes, than she did on her shares. I had always enjoyed my visits to our place at Peri, where I found a small pavilion had been erected on the property during our absence, to afford Mr. W a pleasant change from Papeeti, heightened by Mrs. B 's vicinity, as it faced her country residence which was situated on the opposite side of the river, the gentleman had been carrying on high jinks while the power rested in his hands. I would have willingly dispensed with my neighbour, but accepted the inevitable and decided to reside at Peri, where we removed as soon as some necessary additions had been made to the house. Luis resumed his duties, but Puhia the servant I 336 TAHITI: THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. had had so many years, was a prisoner. He had done that, against which I had warned him, taken his master's brandy, who did not treat his offence so leniently as we had done. He was accused of theft, and condemned to three years' hard labour. How sincerely I regretted having consented to that gentle- man's overtures to engage poor Puhia during the period of our absence. I did it to oblige him, and this was the painful result. In so short a time how many were my illusions. When I accidentally met Puhia among a gang of prisoners working on the high road, it shocked me. He was ashamed poor fellow of his degraded position, and turned his face away, the face that had cheered me as no other face had been able to do on that horrible voyage to Auck- land ; that was always smiling, always pleasant until now, when I could imagine a knitted brow and a dejected mien. I felt as I glanced at the poor fellow's bowed head that we might have been par- tially responsible for his downfall. Had we taken him more severely to task when he had tampered with our property, the predisposition might have been effectually checked. At the same time I considered his punishment greatly in excess of his offence ; why had he been condemned to three years' hard labour for stealing some brandy, while the woman who had stolen many thousand dollars' worth of my jewellery had been left unpunished ? I longed to say an encouraging word to Puhia, to make him understand that even in his degradation I remembered how faithfully he had served us for a number of years, and felt it no disgrace to recognize PRINCE ALFRED'S VISIT. 337 even a prisoner working on the high-road. Wishing to attract his attention I called his name, to which he made no response ; but when I had passed I looked round and found him doing the same, with tears in his eyes ; mine were also misty, for I liked my unfortunate Puhia, and as to merits, there were greater rascals with whom I came in daily con- tact, than the simple-minded native who scarcely comprehended the extent of his delinquency ; in con- sequence of our having forgiven him so many times for doing the same thing. Whilst we were in Europe Mrs. Kelly had passed away, we had been intimate friends, and I missed her* familiar face ; when Captain Kelly came to see me he brought her pet Juliette ; the little dog was endeared to him by a pathetic scene which had occurred the day of her mistress' funeral. She had been sent to a neigh- bour's to be out of the way during the religious ceremony that was to take place at the house, but Juliette contrived to make her escape, and in the midst of the prayers ran into the room, and with a pitiful whine, tried to jump on the coffin. It is to be hoped that the faithful little animal died before her master, who now reposes by the side of his wife in the Protestant cemetery at Papeeti. Born in Boston, buried at Tahiti such is life. Tahiti was honoured by a visit from H.R.H. Prince Alfred, who arrived in his flagship the Galatea; it took no one by surprise as the event had been long anticipated, and festivities in honour of the occasion had been already organized. Balls, picnics, and native feasts, followed in quick succession, but we partici- 22 338 TAHITI: THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. pated in none of them, as we were at that period residing in the country. The most absurd stories were in circulation con- cerning the English prince's partiality for jewellery in consequence of his wearing bracelets. A pretty young girl ventured to ask him why he wore them, when H.R.H. explained that they were a parting gift from his mother the Queen, who on bidding him good-bye had fastened them on to his wrists, with the injunction that whenever he was inclined to go astray he was to look at her last present, which would pre- vent him from being a naughty boy. I was highly amused at these nai've recitals, which lost nothing by repetition. The Prince, and his companion Lord Charles Beresford, I can well believe had a very good time during their brief visit to Tahiti. If H.R.H. failed in devoirs of etiquette which exist even in such remote parts of the world as Tahiti towards his own consul and the Roman Catholic bishop, he was to be excused on the plea that there were no seductive natives or half-castes at either the Bishop's Palace, or the Consulate, and naturally he preferred to frequent those houses where he could amuse himself with the sirens of the Pacific. A friend of mine happening to call on one of her neighbours, found the Prince there, entertaining young Nancie a half-caste, who was suffering from tooth- ache and swollen cheek, which rather detracted from an otherwise pretty face. H.R.H. was singing her a song about a faithless fellow who loved and rode away nothing new at Tahiti and the deserted fair one pined and died of a broken heart. Nancie PRINCE ALFRED'S VISIT. 339 gravely asked, " Did she really die ? " Previous to his departure Prince Alfred bestowed on each of his favourites a pretty souvenir. A photo group had been taken composed of the Governor, Prince Alfred, Lord Charles Beresford, and several half-castes and native women. It was not by any means a work of art, but in the light of a curious melange it was eagerly sought after as a momento of H.R.H.'s visit to Tahiti. CHAPTER XLI. A SHAM TRIAL. HE Commissaire Imperiale had been so accustomed to the various mem- bers of his administration blindly submitting to his dictation, that he was completely taken by surprise, mingled with resentment, when M. Nestie's successor, M. Boyer, ventured to differ from him, and positively refused to be biassed in his opinions, which led to unpleasantness in this way. Mr. James Stewart arrived from Sydney to demand payment of a thousand pounds for goods supplied to his brother the manager of the Atimano estate. The demand was unexpected, and his claim disputed, whereupon he went to law and gained his suit in the first instance. Dissatisfied with the verdict, Mr. William Stewart instituted an appeal, which was postponed until the arrival of some new judges who were expected from France. M. Boyer the new Ordonnateur presided in the appeal case, in consort with the recently arrived A SHAM TRIAL. 341 Procureur Imperiale and Juge d'Instruction, who con- firmed the previous judgment The Commissaire Imperiale was so enraged at the decision, that he immediately suspended M. Boyer from his official duties, and on his refusing to leave Tahiti unless recalled by the Home Government by whom he had been nominated, M. de la Ronciere ordered him and his family to Morea, there to remain pending the decision from France. One of M. Boyer's children became seriously ill owing to want of proper nourishment, which resulted in the cessation of the Ordonnateur's temporary banishment from Papeeti, and home comforts so essential to his numerous family. It had been an arbitrary act on the part of the Governor ; none knew better than ourselves how capable M. de la Ronciere was of such despotic deeds. As we had surmised when the irascible Governor heard of A 's motive for visiting Europe he was furious, and vowed vengeance while he retained the power to inflict it. An official was appointed Resi- dent of the Pomotu Group, and despatched in all haste to the islands, where A had cocoa-nut oil stations. His instructions were to ruin that branch of A 's trade as much as possible. The custom among these islands was to collect the oil and leave it in the canoes until near the time for shipment, when it was put in casks, which were liable to shrink if filled too long beforehand. Several of such canoes were freighted with A 's oil at the time the Resident pro tern arrived, posted up as to what he was to say and do on the occasion. He informed the natives 342 TAHITI: THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. that for the future they were not to dispose of their produce for merchandize, that it was to be paid for in money. " Why do you keep your oil in those canoes ? " he asked a needless question, as he knew perfectly well to whom it belonged. Their explana- tion was received with an outburst of virtuous in- dignation. "What an infamous imposition," he exclaimed, " such a state of things can no longer be tolerated. Empty your canoes at once, now, before my eyes," and notwithstanding the expostulations and disinclination of the natives to carry out his orders, they were compelled to obey the residents commands under pain of punishment. The contents of the canoes were thrown into the sea, and by this means several tons of oil were ruthlessly sacrificed. The Ordonnateur had brought letters of introduc- tion to A , which he presented in person. Like M. Nestie and his predecessors in that department, M. Boyer was a Creole of Martinique. He was evidently a man of high principles, too elevated by far to suit M. de la Ronciere, whose policy throughout had been of a most reprehensible description. M. Boyer described himself as a hard-working, self-made man, who had been more or less unfortu- nate since his birth, when, through the maladroitness of the sagefemme he had been deprived of one eye a fact I should never have known had he not en- lightened me, as he wore blue spectacles which dis- guised the defect. M. Boyer was nice-looking, and certainly a most agreeable companion. When a mere lad he had lost his parents, who left their children very badly off. He being the eldest, A SHAM TRIAL. 343 assisted in educating his brother and sister, the former held a good appointment in France, and the latter accompanied her brother's family to Tahiti. Mademoiselle Boyer was not at all pretty, but Madame Boyer's young sister was a perfect beauty ; their party numbered eleven, and M. Boyer remarked that M. de la Ronciere should have taken that cir- cumstance into consideration before sending them to a district in Morea, where it was impossible to obtain any kind of European food, or a suitable house for so large a family. The expense incurred in bringing them to Tahiti had been no small item, and he ex- plained to us that he never would have brought the entire family, had he not thought that he was likely to retain his position for several years. Poor man, he had been so elated at his nomination, a nomination that was to prove the culminating misfortune of his life. Of what account is integrity when false charges can be concocted to asperse it ? In a moment of pique, the Commissaire Imperiale applied to France for a certain number of judges to be sent to Tahiti, as heretofore justice had been dispensed by a tribunal composed of officers and civilians, who had exasperated him by their decision in favour of Mr. Stewart's brother. In accordance with the Governor's request, the legal gentlemen arrived from France, and adopted the Ordonnateur's views, which did not suit the Commissaire Imperiale either ; so he promptly decided to get rid of them. M. de la Ronciere accordingly drew up a protest, which was to be supposed emanated from Queen 344 TAHITI: THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. Pomare, declining to recognize the new judges, as she desired no change in the judicial legislation at Tahiti. This document was copied into the native language for the Queen's signature. M. Boyer heard about this intrigue, and expressed a wish to see the brochure which was duly brought to him by his informant, who had rescued it from the waste- paper basket. The Ordonnateur was astounded, as, until in his possession he had disbelieved the state- ment, and now that he had obtained undeniable proof of its existence and the system of the tripotage carried on at Tahiti, he considered that the proper course to pursue, was to transmit the drafts to the Ministry ! so as to convince them in black and white that it was his Excellency the Governor who objected to the judges, not as implied the Queen who had no opinion on the subject. M. Boyer imparted the state of the case to his friends MM. Holozer and Jacolliot, who expressed equal indignation. The Juge d'Instruction, M. Jacolliot, asked permission to copy the brochure for the purpose of enclosing it to the Ministre de Justice at Paris. His request was readily granted, as he was supposed to be one of themselves, and opposed in every way to the Commissaire Imperiale, whereas it was said he had been won over by promises of rapid advancement, and the copy he took was not for France, but for the Governor's inspection. In fact, M. Jacolliot turned out to be neither more or less than a spy on the actions of his compatriots and former friends, whose every remark was reported to M. de la Ronciere. When this became publicly A SHAM TRIAL. 345 known, the sobriquet of " Judas Iscariot " was be- stowed on the traitor. The next move in this disgraceful drama was the arrest of the Ordonnateur, who was accused of stealing a government document of importance, and of M. Holozer, Procureur Imperiale, for complicity. In the latter case it was a mere ruse adopted to keep him out of the way during the trial and condemnation of his friend M. Boyer. Poor Madame Boyer was beside herself with grief and consternation at her husband's position ; a more sorrowful household than theirs could not be pictured. They seemed to feel as if they had been cast among devils incarnate, and it really looked like it. Through his wife, M. Boyer requested all those who were interested in him to be present at his trial, and judge for themselves of the relentless enmity with which he was being pursued. The Court House was con- sequently crammed by the residents, among whom were the English Consul and Mrs. Miller. The most pitiful sight I ever beheld was when the Ordonnateur was brought into the police court by two gendarmes, and placed on a wooden bench between them. He was dressed in full uniform, and wore the decoration of the Legion of Honour, besides several others. As I glanced at his pale sad face, the remark he had made only a short time previously recurred to me, " I have been more or less unfortunate since my birth, when I was deprived of an eye." I had the greatest difficulty to restrain my tears and an outburst of indignation against that miserable turncoat, Dr. Guillasse, who, to ingratiate himself with 346 TAHITI: THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. the head of the colony, had accepted the contemptible role of Judge, in an iniquitous false charge, which he knew it to be. He looked what he was, diabolically wicked, and we feared the worst for the unhappy prisoner ; nor were our suspicions incorrect, his con- viction had been pre-arranged, otherwise the noble manner in which the Ordonnateur defended himself would have precluded the rendering of any adverse verdict, whereas he was found guilty and condemned to two years' imprisonment, to be deprived of all public functions for five years, and to pay a fine of two hundred francs. M. Boyer appealed to a higher court, and now occurred one of the most audacious acts ever per- petrated in a civilized community. As the Com- missaire Imperiale failed to find any one subservient enough, to agree that the sentence as dictated by himself in the first instance should be confirmed in the second trial, he fell back on one worthy of himself,, his abject slave Dr. Guillasse, who again presided as judge in the appeal. The man had not the delicacy to appreciate the false position in which the Governor had placed him, nor the overt hostility it expressed to the Ordonnateur, whose objections to Dr. Guillasse presiding in the appeal against his former verdict were over-ruled ; even the witnesses called by the persecuted man were denied him, and he was curtly cautioned to indulge in no personalities a privilege freely accorded to the accusing parties, who hurled a succession of the most injurious invectives at the prisoner, whom they could not, however, browbeat ; for though as on the former trial he sat between two A SHAM TRIAL. 347 gendarmes, he defended his honour in the same spirited manner as he had done on the previous occasion, and retorted in kind ; nor was he to be silenced when the Judge with a scowl ordered him to curtail his remarks. As might have been expected, his eloquence was of no avail, the former verdict was confirmed with a slight alteration in the term of imprisonment, which was curtailed to one year, instead of two. The Ordonnateur walked with firm tread and erect head out of court ; as he approached Mr. Miller, the English Consul with his never failing instinct of justice and manly independence, stepped forward, and grasped M. Boyer's hand with a warmth that was thoroughly appreciated, though the unfortunate man could only look his thanks; he was too overpowered to speak, for his lips quivered painfully, and his staunch friend the high-toned English Consul felt scarcely less moved. It was remarkable that at this crisis in his life M. Boyer should have been abandoned by every member of the administration ; it went to prove how sub- servient they all were to the Governor, and did not dare to express an opinion that might give offence to their ruler ; and M. de la Ronciere was that, if nothing better. M. Gardarin, commander of the transport Chevert, was the only navy officer who took his seat in court among the Ordonnateur's friends. He, however, very soon withdrew, disgusted as he told me, at the treatment to which M. Boyer was being subjected by those who were not only his inferiors in grade, but 348 TAHITI: THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. in probity. M. de la Ronciere, instead of being ashamed to show his hypocritical face, went about exulting over the satisfactory conclusion of the Ordonnateur's trial, whose humiliation and downfall he flattered himself he had finally accomplished. To guard against the disapproval of the Ministry and possible order to release M. Boyer from durance vile, the Commissaire Imperiale decided to ship his victim off to France. Many believed that he was even then in possession of despatches, approving of the Ordonnateur's actions, which he suppressed to gratify his animosity towards one who was merely wishful to perform his official duties conscientiously. The families of the Ordonnateur and the Procureur Impe"riale had received an official order to prepare for their immediate departure on board the French transport C/ievert, which was to sail for Chili on the termination of M. Boyer's appeal. On hearing this, their friends met and escorted the ladies and children to the boats awaiting them at the wharf, where they took a final leave and stood watching their arrival at what must have seemed a friendly haven after all they had undergone on shore ; fair enough were those shores, but for the spirit of evil that reigned at Government House. We lingered about the beach till near midnight, hoping to see the Ordonnateur embark ; but in anticipation of an ovation it was postponed until his sympathizing friends and admirers had dispersed, when he in turn was taken on board the Chevert at some unearthly hour before daylight. A gendarme was to have accompanied M. de la A SHAM TRIAL. 349 Ronciere's prisoner to France. He had strict in- junctions to travel third class with M. Boyer on the passenger steamers. The gendarme had returned on shore to receive the Governor's private instructions respecting the treatment of the prisoner on board the Chevert. It had reached M. Gardarin's ears that M. Boyer was to hold no communication with his family, neither was he to be permitted to frequent the saloon, that his meals were to be taken apart, and much more to the same effect. M. Gardarin consequently undertook to act on his own responsibility, and availed himself of the early morning breeze to sail through the pass and wait at large for his official despatches. As soon as they were on board he set sail without his private in- structions, and had the gratification of seeing the unfortunate gendarme employing vain efforts to overtake the transport. A derisive cheer from the sailors was all he got for his pains. The Governor was so enraged when he heard of the gendarme's misadventure that he threatened to send him after his prisoner in another Government vessel, but he thought better of it. Le Messager de Tahiti produced the following paragraph on the termination of the Ordonnateur's trial and departure : " The law has had the last word, and put an end to a contest which for the past year has disturbed the tranquility of a country which previously enjoyed perfect harmony." High-flown nonsense ; such a period of bliss had never been experienced at Tahiti, much less so since 350 TAHITI: THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. the advent of the De la Roncieres, unless tyranny and persecution could be called " harmonious." Had I been privileged to insert an article in the local paper it would have been very differently worded, something to this effect : Paradise itself could scarcely boast of more transcendent charms than exist on the island of Tahiti ; charms which are dimmed by the acts of a corrupt administration, an administration that fails to study the prosperity of the country, preferring to pursue an illegal course to its detriment. Every description of baneful influence at present exists on the island, and will continue to exist so long as Governors of the De la Ronciere stamp are sent to Tahiti. I fail to comprehend what object the French Home Government have in increasing their colonies when they so culpably neglect those already in their possession. The French Protectorate of Tahiti dates from the same period that the British flag was hoisted at New Zealand, yet up to the present moment neither a bank nor even an exchange office exists in the colony, and Le Messager de Tahiti in its original form, continues to be the only newspaper in circulation. That no one has been enterprising enough to introduce a more improved order of things is explained by the fact, that at Tahiti foreign innova- tions do not meet with the proper kind of encourage- ment M. de Juslard succeeded M. de la Ronciere, but he was scarcely the man to cope with the situation, neither did he feel disposed to interfere in the past policy of the Government, or to weed the administra- A SHAM TRIAL. 351 tion of its unworthy members, as he had merely accepted the position pro tern. That onerous duty was to devolve on his successor. The frigate Astree, commanded by Admiral Cloue, arrived at Tahiti for the purpose of investigating the conduct of the late Governor, which he entirely condemned ; but what sort of redress was that to those who had sustained immense pecuniary losses, or had been subjected to harsh treatment and cruel injustice, as in the case of the Ordonnateur ? When we bade a final adieu to the Garden of the Pacific, there seemed a prospect of its resuming the normal state of comparative freedom from that detri- mental tracasserie which is the acme of French colonial policy. The following impromptu lines from the inspired pen of an English lad of 14 were sent to me from Tahiti, which I trust will not be deemed an in- appropriate conclusion to my recollections : " A willing exile from my native land, On a far-distant island shore I stand ; Before me such a lovely vision lies, It seems a dream I scarce believe my eyes ! A grove of palms and bread-fruit trees enshrouds The base of mountains that are capp'd with clouds, Robed to their highest peaks with verdure green ; Never before such grandeur have I seen ! On this blest shore perpetual summer reigns, And numerous fruits abound on hills and plains ; This little island is the brightest gem That glistens in Old Neptune's diadem. 352 TAHITI: THE GARDEN OF THE PACIFIC. The seas around with fish are well supplied, And in their depths both pearls and coral hide, And shells of every hue may here be found, Upon the reef which does the isle surround. This island, which with every good does teem, A very paradise on earth would seem ; But no ! a man unhappy here may dwell, He carries in himself his heaven or hell. " THE END. UNWIN BROTHERS, THE GRESHAM PRESS, CKILWORTH AND LONDON. MAR2.B.-3P. NOV 2G 185 4Jun'62QFfc U.C. BERKELEY LIBRARIES 496217 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY