a moment. The dark grove, the great idolatrous looking marae, with its
heathen altar, and monstrous images; the pile of skulls; the hideous old
man and his strange words; all tended to suggest vague but startling
suspicions. But another glance at the open and friendly countenances of
our guides reassured me. In answer to a question in regard to the
building which we had just passed, Mowno said, with a natural and
indifferent air, that it was the house of Oro, where a great solemnity
was soon to be celebrated; and although I did not allude to the skulls,
he added that they were a part of the remains of the priests, who had
been buried within the inclosure, and which were now, in accordance with
an established custom, placed beneath the altar. The dark wood was
bounded by a charming valley, with a brook running through it, and I was
glad to escape from its gloomy shade, into the cheerful light. We
forded the shallow stream, which was so clear that every pebble in its
gravelly bed was visible, and found ourselves at the foot of a long,
green slope. Before us, lying partly in the valley, and straggling
half-way up the ascent, was a pretty village. The neat and light-built
native dwellings dotted the side of the slope, or peeped out from among
embowering trees along the banks of the brook, in the most picturesque
manner. The thatching of the cottages, bleached to an almost
snowy-whiteness, offered a pleasing contrast to the surrounding verdure.
Troops of children were pursuing their sports in every direction. Some
were wading in the stream, sailing tiny boats, or actively spattering
one another with water, a recreation which they could enjoy without any
fear of that damage to clothing, which would have rendered it
objectionable in more highly civilised communities. Others again, (many
of them scarcely old enough to walk, as one would suppose), were
swimming about in the deeper places, like amphibious creatures. Some
were swinging on ropes of sennit, suspended from the branches of the
trees, and a few were quietly sitting in the shade, making bouquets and
wreaths of wild-flowers. Among them all, there was not a single
deformed or sickly-looking child. I did not observe any grown persons,
most of them probably being at that hour asleep in their houses. In
passing through the village, our escort closed around us in such a
manner as to screen us from observation, and we reached the top of the
slope without seeming to have attracted notice. Here Mowno dismissed
all his attendants except two, and we then struck into a fine avenue of
well-grown trees, running along the crest of the hill, and leading to a
large native house, of oval form, prettily situated upon a green knoll,
and over-shadowed by wide-branching bread-fruit trees. This, Mowno
informed us, was his dwelling. At a short distance from the house,
beneath a fan-palm, was a group of young girls, so entirely absorbed in
the congenial task of arranging one another's abundant tresses, and
adorning themselves with flowers, that they did not observe our
approach. Mowno seemed intent upon some playful surprise, and laughing
softly to himself like a pleased child, he motioned us to hide ourselves
in a thicket of young casuarinas. From our ambush he pointed out to us
one of the group beneath the palm, having several white buds of the
fragrant gardenia in her hair, and a garland of the rosa cinensis about
her neck; when satisfied that he had drawn our attention to the right
person, he gave us to understand, with an air of great complacency, that
she was `Olla,' his wife. While thus engaged, we were suddenly
discovered, being betrayed by Mowno's gaudy tiputa, seen through the
foliage by the quick eye of his better half, who immediately sprang up
with a clear, ringing laugh, scattering a lapful of flowers upon the
ground, and came running like a fawn towards him; the rest of us still
keeping concealed. She was very pretty, graceful as a bird in every
movement, and had a singularly pleasing expression of countenance.
"On witnessing the greeting which she bestowed upon Mowno, Barton
whispered me that he ought to consider himself a happy savage, and to do
him justice, he seemed to be of the same opinion himself. She commenced
talking at once, with wonderful vivacity, pouring forth a continuous
torrent of words, with little gushes of laughter interspersed here and
there by way of punctuation, and making no longer or more frequent
pauses than were absolutely necessary for the purpose of taking breath.
Notwithstanding her amazing volubility, I could understand enough of
what she said, to perceive that she was inquiring after `the pale-faced
youths,' and presently she appeared to be scolding her husband in a
pretty lively strain, for having failed to bring them with him according
to his promise. It was amusing to witness Mowno's ludicrous struggles
to look grave, while he made feigned excuses, and explanations of our
absence. His demeanour resembled more that of a boy, whose head has
been turned by becoming, for the first time, the actual and uncontrolled
owner of a watch, or a fowling-piece, than of a stern warrior, or savage
chief. He could not, with all his efforts, maintain sufficient gravity
and self-possession, to carry out the jest, poor as it was, which he had
undertaken; but kept glancing towards our hiding-place, and finally,
burst into a boisterous explosion of laughter; when Olla, peeping into
the thicket, caught sight of us, and instantly darted away with a pretty
half-scream, and rejoined her companions. Mowno now beckoned us forth,
and we approached the group, whereupon they made a show of scampering
off into the grove, but apparently thought better of it, and concluded
to stand their ground. At first, they seemed actually afraid of Barton
and myself, peeping cautiously at us over one another's shoulders from a
safe distance. Presently, one, more enterprising than the rest,
ventured so far as to reach out her hand, and touch Barton on the cheek,
when, finding that no disastrous consequences immediately followed this
act of temerity, they gradually laid aside their apprehensions, and
pressing around us, soon became sufficiently familiar to try a variety
of highly original and interesting experiments upon our complexion and
clothing. These, though somewhat annoying, were accompanied by
questions and observations so irresistibly ludicrous, that we soon found
it entirely out of the question to preserve any sort of gravity, and as
the whole troop always joined in our laughter without stopping to
understand its cause, or instantly led off of themselves, upon the
slightest provocation, the woods resounded with peals of merriment.
"One of these damsels, after examining Barton's fair skin, and flowing
yellow locks, gravely communicated to a companion, her conviction that
we had come from the moon. A second stoutly maintained our earthly
origin, and attributed our paleness to the influence of some strange
sickness; while a third, being of a sceptical and suspicious turn of
mind, suddenly seized Barton by the wrist and spitting upon the skirt of
her pareu, commenced scrubbing his hand with great vigour, to see
whether the colours were fast. Our tight-fitting garments; too, seemed
to puzzle them exceedingly, and we were listeners to an animated debate,
upon the question whether they were a natural or an artificial covering;
the young lady who upheld the theory of our lunar origin, inclining
strongly to the opinion, that like the feathery coat of birds, our
clothing was a part of ourselves. But the sagacity and penetration of
the one who had endeavoured to wash the paint from Barton's hand, soon
enabled her to discover the unsoundness of this doctrine, and, in order
the more triumphantly to refute it, she insisted upon pulling off my
jacket, and trying it on herself. Finding that nothing less would
satisfy her, I resigned the garment, when having succeeded, with some
assistance, in getting into it, and buttoning it up as far as was
practicable, she snatched Barton's cap to complete her costume, and
commenced parading up and down the avenue, the admiration and envy of
her companions. I fully expected that Barton's coat would next be put
in requisition, and he whispered me that he stood in momentary dread,
lest the now awakened spirit of investigation and experiment, should
prompt our new friends to still more embarrassing extremes.
"This, however, proved to be a groundless apprehension, for their
curiosity was presently diverted into a new channel by Olla, who
suddenly demanded to know my name. I accordingly repeated it, and she
endeavoured several times to pronounce it after me, but without success.
The `th' seemed to constitute an insuperable difficulty, which,
however, she finally evaded, by softening `Arthur' into `Artua,' and
this, singularly enough, was what Rokoa had always been in the habit of
calling me. He and Barton were now called upon for their names, and in
return, we were favoured with the liquid and vowelly appellatives, by
which our ingenuous and communicative acquaintances were respectively
designated. Barton assumed the alias of Tom, which was straightway
metamorphosed into `Tomma.'
"While this exchange of names was going on, an old woman came from the
house, and delivered some message to Olla, which from the repetition of
the words `poe, poe,' I conjectured to be a summons to dinner. Mowno
leading the way, we now proceeded towards the dwelling. It was
surrounded by a strong, but neat hedge of the ti-plant some three and a
half feet high, with an ingeniously contrived wicker gate opposite the
door. A path strewn with marine shells, and fragments of white coral,
led from the gate to the door. The space within the inclosure was
chiefly devoted to the cultivation of yams and other vegetables, but
Olla showed me a little plot of ground, near the house, which she said
was her own garden. It was tastefully arranged, and carefully kept, and
a considerable variety of flowers, all of which she had herself
transplanted from the woods, were there in full bloom. Most conspicuous
among them was the native jasmine, and a species of wood-pink, both of
which were fragrant. The building itself was a model of a native
dwelling, and since we are to-morrow to try our own skill in
house-building, I will endeavour to describe it. It was of an oval
shape; the sides were inclosed with handsome mats, with spaces left for
the admission of light and air. The roof was composed of a firm and
durable thatch of pandanus leaves, strung upon small reeds, laid closely
together, and overlapping one another from the eaves to the ridge-pole.
"From the inside, the appearance was the neatest and prettiest
imaginable, the whiteness of the straight and slender rafters of peeled
hibiscus, contrasting well with the ceiling of shining brown leaves
which they sustained. The furniture of the house consisted of a number
of large sleeping-mats, five or six carved wooden stools, and two narrow
tables, or rather shelves, of wicker-work, fastened against the wall at
opposite sides of the room. Upon one of these were arranged a number of
calabashes, carved wooden dishes, cocoa-nut drinking-cups, and other
domestic utensils. Upon the other was a native drum, several clubs and
spears, a long vivo or native flute, and a hideous-looking wooden image
with four arms and a bunch of red feathers fastened to what was
doubtless meant for its head. The rafters were ornamented with braided
and coloured cords wound round them, the ends of which hung down several
feet, and sustained a number of weapons and various other articles
suspended by them.
"At the farther end of the room, a woman was pounding taro, or
bread-fruit, in a wooden mortar; another, apparently very old and
infirm, was sitting upon a low stool near the wall, swaying her body
slowly from side to side, and making a low, monotonous noise. I
observed that Olla frequently looked towards the latter, with a mournful
expression of countenance. When we first entered the house, she went
and sat down by her side, and talked with her in a low tone, and when
she turned away, her eyes were full of tears. The old woman did not
evince any corresponding emotion, but muttered something feebly and
indistinctly, as if replying to what Olla had said, of which I could
distinguish the words, `It is best, child; Malola is very old; she is
sick and weak; she cannot work; it is time she should be buried out of
the way.' I instantly suspected that this unhappy creature was to be
destroyed by her own friends, on account of her age and infirmities,
according to a most horrible and unnatural, but too prevalent custom. I
had once been present at a scene of this kind, without the slightest
possibility of successful interference, when a native woman had been
strangled; her own son, pulling at one end of the tappa which encircled
his mother's neck. In that case, the victim, instead of submitting
quietly and willingly to her fate, (as is most usual), suddenly lost her
courage at the moment of reaching the grave, beside which she was to be
strangled, and opposed a frantic and desperate resistance to her
murderers. Her heart-rending cries; her fearful struggles; and, more
than all, the horrid indifference and cruelty of her executioners, have
left upon my mind an indelible impression. I now resolved that if my
suspicions proved just, I would make an earnest effort to prevent the
repetition of so inhuman a deed, and from what I had already seen of the
mild disposition of Mowno, I was inclined to believe that there was
great hope of success in such an endeavour.
"Rokoa, on hearing the conversation above mentioned, had given me a
significant glance, which sufficiently explained to me how he understood
it. A very few moments sufficed to confirm my worst suspicions: I
learned that the aged female who had spoken of herself as Malola, was
Mowno's aunt and that she was, with her own full consent and approval,
to be destroyed in a few days. From the manner in which Olla alluded to
it, while I inferred that such acts were by no means uncommon among
these people, I at the same time clearly perceived, that custom and
education had not stifled or perverted in her gentle nature, at least,
the ordinary feelings and impulses of humanity, and that she anticipated
the deed with terror and loathing. I determined to watch for an
opportunity to converse with Mowno, and discover, if possible, whether
the cruel insensibility, implied in countenancing such a practice, could
really be concealed beneath so smooth and pleasant an aspect.
"Meanwhile, the meal, to which we had been summoned, was spread under
the shade trees beside the house. It consisted of baked fish, served up
in banana leaves, roasted yams, poe-poe, a preparation of bread-fruit,
and an excellent kind of pudding, made of cocoa-nut-pulp and taro. It
was easy to perceive that Olla, with all her playfulness and girlish
vivacity, was a notable housekeeper."
"Let me interrupt you a moment, to ask a single question," said Max.
"Did you get the recipe for making that pudding from Mrs Mowno?--if so,
please impart the same for the general good, and I will try my hand at
it the first convenient opportunity."
"Heathen!" exclaimed Browne, "can you think of nothing but gormandising?
Pray, Arthur, proceed."
"And bring on those cannibals forthwith," added Morton, "for unless you
do so, Johnny will despair entirely of any fighting, and go to sleep."
CHAPTER TWENTY TWO.
AN EXPLOSION.
THE CANNIBALS APPRECIATE MUSIC AND ELOQUENCE, BUT TAKE OFFENCE AT THE
NEW THEOLOGY.
"Then tumult rose, fierce rage, and wild affright."
"In the afternoon," resumed Arthur, "we went with our host and hostess,
and our companions at dinner, to a grove on the banks of the stream--a
place of general resort for the villagers during the latter part of
every fine day. The younger people met there, to pursue a variety of
sports and athletic exercises, and the older to gossip and look on. We
had intended to return to the boat, as soon as the repast was over, and
it would have been well had we done so. But our new friends insisted so
strenuously upon our accompanying them to the grove, that we yielded at
last to their playful importunities, so far as to consent to make a
brief pause there on our way. We had gone but a short distance from the
house, when a bird of about the size of a robin, flew down from a tree
beneath which we were passing, and after circling several times around
Olla's head, alighted on her finger, which she held out for it to perch
upon. It was a young wood-pigeon, which she had found in the grove,
when a callow half-fledged thing, the old bird having been captured or
killed by some juvenile depredators. Taking pity on its orphan state,
Olla had adopted and made a pet of it: it was now perfectly tame, and
would come readily at her call of `Lai-evi', (little captive), the name
she had given it, attending her so closely as to be seldom during the
day beyond the sound of her voice.
"On reaching the grove, we found quite a number of the natives, of all
ages and of both sexes assembled, and though they soon began to gather
about us with inquisitive looks, we were subjected to much less
annoyance than might reasonably have been expected under the
circumstances. We were neither crowded, nor jostled, nor even
offensively stared at, the very children appearing to possess an innate
delicacy and sense of propriety, (though it may have been timidity),
which made them try to gratify their curiosity covertly, seizing those
opportunities to peep at us, when they thought they were themselves
unobserved.
"Barton, who possessed an enviable faculty of adapting himself to all
sorts of people and circumstances, was in a few moments as much at home
among the villagers as if he had lived for years in their midst. He
gossiped with the old people, romped with the children, and chatted and
frolicked with the prettiest and most lively of the dusky maidens, to
the manifest disapprobation of several grim-looking young savages, who
stalked about in sullen dignity watching these familiar proceedings of
the handsome stranger, with rising jealousy and indignation.
"At length a bevy of laughing girls, in punishment for some impertinence
with which they charged him, fell to pelting him with jasmine buds and
pandanus cones, the latter of which, in mischievous hands, are capable
of becoming rather formidable missiles. Foremost among the assailants
were our fair acquaintances of the morning, and even Olla, forgetting
her matronly station and dignity, joined zealously in the flowery
warfare; which was maintained with such spirit, that Barton was at
length obliged to beg for quarter, promising at the same time to `make
some music' for them, as a condition of the suspension of hostilities.
This proposition, as soon as it was understood, seemed to afford the
most extravagant delight; the shower of missiles ceased at once, and
Barton was immediately surrounded by as attentive and breathlessly
expectant an audience as artist could desire. Taking his stand upon a
moss-covered fragment of rock, he drew an enormous Jew's-harp from his
pocket, and handed it to me, gravely requesting me to `accompany' him
upon it, while he sang. Then, after clearing his throat, with quite a
professional air, he commenced `Hail Columbia,' and as he had a full,
clear voice, and sang with great spirit, the performance was listened to
with every mark of enjoyment, and was succeeded by rapturous applause.
"He next gave a solo on the Jew's-harp to the air of `Yankee Doodle,'
with brilliant and original variations, which likewise met with a
flattering reception. But by far the greatest sensation was produced by
`Auld Lang syne,' which we sang together as a grand finale. The natives
really seemed to feel the sentiment of the music, although Barton turned
it into a burlesque by such an exaggerated pathos of tone and
expression, and gesture, that I had much difficulty in getting through
my part of the performance without laughing; but my vexation at being
surprised into taking a part in such a piece of buffoonery, greatly
helped me in resisting my sense of the ludicrous. At the end of every
verse, Barton grasped my hand in the most demonstrative manner, and
commenced shaking it vigorously, looking me all the while solemnly in
the face, and shaking away through the entire chorus, thereby producing
a number of quavers, which, though not set down in the music, greatly
added to its pathetic character. After the last chorus, he spread open
his arms, rushed forward, and gave me a stage embrace. This
performance, including the pantomime, must have been of a very moving
character, for when we had finished, I actually saw tears in the eyes of
several of our audience. This evidence of the gentle and
unsophisticated character of these simple people, affected me almost as
much as our music had moved them, and I could not help thinking to how
much better account such amiable impressibility was capable of being
turned.
"Having thus performed his promise, Barton now insisted that we ought to
be entertained in our turn with some music, and after a little
persuasion, three young girls sang, or rather chaunted, several
plaintive, but somewhat monotonous airs. Their voices, though neither
strong nor clear, were soft and melodious, like the cooing of their
native wood-pigeons. In vain we asked for something livelier and more
spirited. Barton humming the tune of `Yankee Doodle,' to make them the
better understand what we wanted. All their melodies seemed to be of a
slow and measured character, and those specimens which we heard,
embraced a comparatively narrow range of notes.
"Just as the native girls finished singing, we were joined by a fresh
party of eight or ten men, who came across the brook, and mingled with
the others. I heard Barton say to Rokoa, `There is the old priest
again,' but on looking around I could not see him. The new-comers did
not appear to be in the same holiday humour as the throng around us;
they walked gravely about without joining in the general mirth and
gaiety, and manifesting none of the curiosity in regard to ourselves,
which the others had evinced. I, however, thought nothing of this at
the time, supposing that they had been of the number of those whom we
had seen in the morning by the sea-shore, although I did not recognise
any of them.
"Presently, Olla and her companions commenced begging us for more music.
One young lady in particular, (the same who had pronounced us to be
inhabitants of the moon), pressed Barton with unceasing importunities,
mingled with threats of a renewal of hostilities in case of
non-compliance. Finding all attempts at excuse or evasion utterly
unavailing, he suddenly snatched a wreath of yellow candle-nut-blossoms
from the head of his tormentress, crowned himself therewith, and
springing upon the top of the rock, assumed an oratorical attitude, and
waved his hand, as if about to harangue the people. Then, while I was
wondering what was to come next, he fixed his eye sternly upon a
sinister looking man of middle-age, with the head-dress of an inferior
chief, who was standing directly in front of him, and began to declaim
in Latin, with great vehemence--`Quo usque tandem abutere, Catilina,
patientia nostra,' etcetera, which the audience seemed at first, to
consider highly interesting and entertaining. As he proceeded,
delivering the sounding sentences, `ore rotundo,' and emphasising each
thundering polysyllable with a fierce gesture of his clenched fist, I
observed that the individual before mentioned, whom the orator seemed to
have chosen to represent Catiline, and who, without understanding Latin,
could very well perceive that there was something menacing and
vituperative in the language addressed to him, began to look at first
puzzled, and then incensed. He stole two or three hurried and uncertain
glances at those behind and immediately around him, as if to assure
himself whether this torrent of denunciation was not in fact directed
against some other person; but when all doubt on this point seemed to
have been resolved by the unequivocal demonstrations of the orator, his
rigid features assumed an expression of such anger and ferocity, that I
began to fear some violent outbreak of passion, and made several
attempts by signs and gestures, to indicate to Barton the danger of
pursuing so thoughtless and imprudent a pleasantry. But he either did
not perceive my meaning, or else, felt rather flattered than alarmed, by
the effect which his elocution seemed to produce upon Catiline, for he
continued to pour out upon him the torrent of his oratory for several
minutes longer, and it was not until his memory began evidently to fail
him, that he concluded with a last emphatic invective accompanied by a
sufficiently significant pantomime to convey some notion of its meaning,
and bowing to his audience, leaped from the rostrum.
"This performance, seemed to afford even greater pleasure to the male
part of the assembly, (with a few exceptions), than the previous musical
entertainment had done, and they testified their approbation, by
emphatic nods and shouts of applause.
"I now thought it time to terminate our visit, and return to the boat,
and was about to speak to Rokoa on the subject, when Barton seized me by
the arm, and pushed me towards the platform of rock.
"`Now, Arthur, it is your turn,' said he, `you perceive what an effect
my eloquence has produced on old Catiline, there: give him a lecture
upon the sinfulness of indulging the vindictive passions, and exhort him
to repentance.'