With whoop and halloo, we ran down the hills, the villagers soonhurrying forth to see who were coming. As we drew near, they gatheredround, all curiosity to know what brought the "karhowrees" into theirquiet country. The doctor contriving to make them understand thepurely social object of our visit, they gave us a true Tahitianwelcome; pointing into their dwellings, and saying they were ours aslong as we chose to remain.
We were struck by the appearance of these people, both men and women;so much more healthful than the inhabitants of the bays. As for theyoung girls, they were more retiring and modest, more tidy in theirdress, and far fresher and more beautiful than the damsels of thecoast. A thousand pities, thought I, that they should bury theircharms in this nook of a valley.
That night we abode in the house of Rartoo, a hospitable old chief. Itwas right on the shore of the lake; and at supper we looked outthrough a rustling screen of foliage upon the surface of the starlitwater.
The next day we rambled about, and found a happy little community,comparatively free from many deplorable evils to which the rest oftheir countrymen are subject. Their time, too, was more occupied. Tomy surprise, the manufacture of tappa was going on in severalbuildings. European calicoes were seldom seen, and not many articlesof foreign origin of any description.
The people of Tamai were nominally Christians; but being so remotefrom ecclesiastical jurisdiction, their religion sat lightly uponthem. We had been told, even, that many heathenish games and dancesstill secretly lingered in their valley.
Now the prospect of seeing an old-fashioned "hevar," or Tahitian reel,was one of the inducements which brought us here; and so, findingRartoo rather liberal in his religious ideas, we disclosed ourdesire. At first he demurred; and shrugging his shoulders like aFrenchman, declared it could not be brought about--was a dangerousmatter to attempt, and might bring all concerned into trouble. But weovercame all this, convinced him that the thing could be done, and a"hevar," a genuine pagan fandango, was arranged for that very night.
CHAPTER LXIII.
A DANCE IN THE VALLEY
THERE were some ill-natured people--tell-tales--it seemed, in Tamai;and hence there was a deal of mystery about getting up the dance.
An hour or two before midnight, Rartoo entered the house, and,throwing robes of tappa over us, bade us follow at a distance behindhim; and, until out of the village, hood our faces. Keenly alive tothe adventure, we obeyed. At last, after taking a wide circuit, wecame out upon the farthest shore of the lake. It was a wide, dewy,space; lighted up by a full moon, and carpeted with a minute speciesof fern growing closely together. It swept right down to the water,showing the village opposite, glistening among the groves.
Near the trees, on one side of the clear space, was a ruinous pile ofstones many rods in extent; upon which had formerly stood a temple ofOro. At present, there was nothing but a rude hut, planted on thelowermost terrace. It seemed to have been used as a "tappa herree,"or house for making the native cloth.
Here we saw lights gleaming from between the bamboos, and castinglong, rod-like shadows upon the ground without. Voices also wereheard. We went up, and had a peep at the dancers who were gettingready for the ballet. They were some twenty in number;-waited upon byhideous old crones, who might have been duennas. Long Ghost proposedto send the latter packing; but Rartoo said it would never do, and sothey were permitted to remain.
We tried to effect an entrance at the door, which was fastened; but,after a noisy discussion with one of the old witches within, ourguide became fidgety, and, at last, told us to desist, or we wouldspoil all. He then led us off to a distance to await the performance;as the girls, he said, did not wish to be recognized. He,furthermore, made us promise to remain where we were until all wasover, and the dancers had retired.
We waited impatiently; and, at last, they came forth. They werearrayed in short tunics of white tappa; with garlands of flowers ontheir heads. Following them were the duennas, who remained clusteringabout the house, while the girls advanced a few paces; and, in aninstant, two of them, taller than their companions, were standing,side by side, in the middle of a ring formed by the clasped hands ofthe rest. This movement was made in perfect silence.
Presently the two girls join hands overhead; and, crying out, "Ahloo!ahloo!" wave them to and fro. Upon which the ring begins to circleslowly; the dancers moving sideways, with their arms a littledrooping. Soon they quicken their pace; and, at last, fly round andround: bosoms heaving, hair streaming, flowers dropping, and everysparkling eye circling in what seemed a line of light.
Meanwhile, the pair within are passing and repassing each otherincessantly. Inclining sideways, so that their long hair falls farover, they glide this way and that; one foot continually in the air,and their fingers thrown forth, and twirling in the moonbeams.
"Ahloo! ahloo!" again cry the dance queens; and coming together in themiddle of the ring, they once more lift up the arch, and standmotionless.
"Ahloo! ahloo!" Every link of the circle is broken; and the girls,deeply breathing, stand perfectly still. They pant hard and fast amoment or two; and then, just as the deep flush is dying away fromtheir faces, slowly recede, all round; thus enlarging the ring.
Again the two leaders wave their hands, when the rest pause; and now,far apart, stand in the still moonlight like a circle of fairies.Presently, raising a strange chant, they softly sway themselves,gradually quickening the movement, until, at length, for a fewpassionate moments, with throbbing bosoms and glowing cheeks, theyabandon themselves to all the spirit of the dance, apparently lost toeverything around. But soon subsiding again into the same languidmeasure as before, they become motionless; and then, reeling forwardon all sides, their eyes swimming in their heads, join in one wildchorus, and sink into each other's arms.
Such is the Lory-Lory, I think they call it; the dance of thebacksliding girls of Tamai.
While it was going on, we had as much as we could do to keep thedoctor from rushing forward and seizing a partner.
They would give us no more "hevars" that night; and Rartoo fairlydragged us away to a canoe, hauled up on the lake shore; when wereluctantly embarked, and paddling over to the village, arrived therein time for a good nap before sunrise.
The next day, the doctor went about trying to hunt up the overnightdancers. He thought to detect them by their late rising; but neverwas man more mistaken; for, on first sallying out, the whole villagewas asleep, waking up in concert about an hour after. But, in thecourse of the day, he came across several whom he at once chargedwith taking part in the "hevar." There were some prim-looking fellowsstanding by (visiting elders from Afrehitoo, perhaps), and the girlslooked embarrassed; but parried the charge most skilfully.
Though soft as doves, in general, the ladies of Tamai are,nevertheless, flavoured with a slight tincture of what we queerlyenough call the "devil"; and they showed it on the present occasion.For when the doctor pressed one rather hard, she all at once turnedround upon him, and, giving him a box on the ear, told him to "hanreeperrar!" (be off with himself.)
CHAPTER LXIV.
MYSTERIOUS
THERE was a little old man of a most hideous aspect living in Tamai,who, in a coarse mantle of tappa, went about the village, dancing,and singing, and making faces. He followed us about wherever we went;and, when unobserved by others, plucked at our garments, makingfrightful signs for us to go along with him somewhere, and seesomething.
It was in vain that we tried to get rid of him. Kicks and cuffs, even,were at last resorted to; but, though he howled like one possessed,he would not go away, but still haunted us. At last, we conjured thenatives to rid us of him; but they only laughed; so we were forced toendure the dispensation as well as we could.
On the fourth night of our visit, returning home late from paying afew calls through the village, we turned a dark corner of trees, andcame full upon our goblin friend: as usual, chattering, and motioningwith his hands. The doctor, venting a curse, hurried forward; but,from some impulse or other, I stood
my ground, resolved to find outwhat this unaccountable object wanted of us. Seeing me pause, he creptclose up to me, peered into my face, and then retreated, beckoning meto follow; which I did.
In a few moments the village was behind us; and with my guide inadvance, I found myself in the shadow of the heights overlooking thefarther side of the valley. Here my guide paused until I came up withhim; when, side by side, and without speaking, we ascended the hill.
Presently, we came to a wretched hut, barely distinguishable in theshade cast by the neighbouring trees. Pushing aside a rude slidingdoor, held together with thongs, the goblin signed me to enter.Within, it looked dark as pitch; so I gave him to understand that hemust strike a light, and go in before me. Without replying, hedisappeared in the darkness; and, after groping about, I heard twosticks rubbing together, and directly saw a spark. A native taper wasthen lighted, and I stooped, and entered.
It was a mere kennel. Foul old mats, and broken cocoa-nut shells, andcalabashes were strewn about the floor of earth; and overhead Icaught glimpses of the stars through chinks in the roof. Here andthere the thatch had fallen through, and hung down in wisps.
I now told him to set about what he was going to do, or producewhatever he had to show without delay. Looking round fearfully, as ifdreading a surprise, he commenced turning over and over the rubbishin one corner. At last, he clutched a calabash, stained black, andwith the neck broken off; on one side of it was a large hole.Something seemed to be stuffed away in the vessel; and after a deal ofpoking at the aperture, a musty old pair of sailor trousers was drawnforth; and, holding them up eagerly, he inquired how many pieces oftobacco I would give for them.
Without replying, I hurried away; the old man chasing me, and shoutingas I ran, until I gained the village. Here I dodged him, and made myway home, resolved never to disclose so inglorious an adventure.
To no purpose, the next morning, my comrade besought me to enlightenhim; I preserved a mysterious silence.
The occurrence served me a good turn, however, so long as we abode inTamai; for the old clothesman never afterwards troubled me; butforever haunted the doctor, who, in vain, supplicated Heaven to bedelivered from him.
CHAPTER LXV.
THE HEGIRA, OR FLIGHT
"I SAY, doctor," cried I, a few days after my adventure with thegoblin, as, in the absence of our host, we were one morning loungingupon the matting in his dwelling, smoking our reed pipes, "Tamai's athriving place; why not settle down?"
"Faith!" said he, "not a bad idea, Paul. But do you fancy they'll letus stay, though?"
"Why, certainly; they would be overjoyed to have a couple ofKarhowrees for townsmen."
"Gad! you're right, my pleasant fellow. Ha! ha! I'll put up abanana-leaf as a physician from London--deliver lectures onPolynesian antiquities--teach English in five lessons, of one houreach--establish power-looms for the manufacture of tappa--lay out apublic park in the middle of the village, and found a festival inhonour of Captain Cook!"
"But, surely, not without stopping to take breath," observed I.
The doctor's projects, to be sure, were of a rather visionary cast;but we seriously thought, nevertheless, of prolonging our stay in thevalley for an indefinite period; and, with this understanding, wewere turning over various plans for spending our time pleasantly,when several women came running into the house, and hurriedlybesought us to heree! heree! (make our escape), crying out somethingabout the Mickonarees.
Thinking that we were about to be taken up under the act for thesuppression of vagrancy, we flew out of the house, sprang into acanoe before the door, and paddled with might and main over to theopposite side of the lake.
Approaching Rartoo's dwelling was a great crowd, among which weperceived several natives, who, from their partly European dress, wewere certain did not reside in Tamai.
Plunging into the groves, we thanked our stars that we had thusnarrowly escaped being apprehended as runaway seamen, and marched offto the beach. This, at least, was what we thought we had escaped.
Having fled the village, we could not think of prowling about itsvicinity, and then returning; in doing so we might be risking ourliberty again. We therefore determined upon journeying back toMartair; and setting our faces thitherward, we reached the planters'house about nightfall. They gave us a cordial reception, and a heartysupper; and we sat up talking until a late hour.
We now prepared to go round to Taloo, a place from which we were notfar off when at Tamai; but wishing to see as much of the island as wecould, we preferred returning to Martair, and then going round by wayof the beach.
Taloo, the only frequented harbour of Imeeo, lies on the western sideof the island, almost directly over against Martair. Upon one shoreof the bay stands the village of Partoowye, a missionary station. Inits vicinity is an extensive sugar plantation--the best in the SouthSeas, perhaps--worked by a person from Sydney.
The patrimonial property of the husband of Pomaree, and every way adelightful retreat, Partoowye was one of the occasional residences ofthe court. But at the time I write of it was permanently fixed there,the queen having fled thither from Tahiti.
Partoowye, they told us, was by no means the place Papeetee was. Shipsseldom touched, and very few foreigners were living ashore. Asolitary whaler, however, was reported to be lying in the harbour,wooding and watering, and to be in want of men.
All things considered, I could not help looking upon Taloo as offering"a splendid opening" for us adventurers. To say nothing of thefacilities presented for going to sea in the whaler, or hiringourselves out as day labourers in the sugar plantation, there werehopes to be entertained of being promoted to some office of hightrust and emolument about the person of her majesty, the queen.
Nor was this expectation altogether Quixotic. In the train of manyPolynesian princes roving whites are frequently found: gentlemanpensioners of state, basking in the tropical sunshine of the court,and leading the pleasantest lives in the world. Upon islands littlevisited by foreigners the first seaman that settles down is generallydomesticated in the family of the head chief or king; where hefrequently discharges the functions of various offices, elsewherefilled by as many different individuals. As historiographer, forinstance, he gives the natives some account of distant countries; ascommissioner of the arts and sciences, he instructs them in the use ofthe jack-knife, and the best way of shaping bits of iron hoop intospear-heads; and as interpreter to his majesty, he facilitatesintercourse with strangers; besides instructing the people generallyin the uses of the most common English phrases, civil and profane;but oftener the latter.
These men generally marry well; often--like Hardy of Hannamanoo--intothe Wood royal.
Sometimes they officiate as personal attendant, or First Lord inWaiting, to the king. At Amboi, one of the Tonga Islands, a vagabondWelshman bends his knee as cupbearer to his cannibal majesty. Hemixes his morning cup of "arva," and, with profound genuflections,presents it in a cocoa-nut bowl, richly carved. Upon another islandof the same group, where it is customary to bestow no small pains indressing the hair--frizzing it out by a curious process into anenormous Pope's head--an old man-of-war's-man fills the post ofbarber to the king. And as his majesty is not very neat, his mop isexceedingly populous; so that, when Jack is not engaged in dressingthe head intrusted to his charge, he busies himself in gentlytitillating it--a sort of skewer being actually worn about in thepatient's hair for that special purpose.
Even upon the Sandwich Islands a low rabble of foreigners is keptabout the person of Tammahammaha for the purpose of ministering tohis ease or enjoyment.
Billy Loon, a jolly little negro, tricked out in a soiled blue jacket,studded all over with rusty bell buttons, and garnished with shabbygold lace, is the royal drummer and pounder of the tambourine. Joe, awooden-legged Portuguese who lost his leg by a whale, is violinist;and Mordecai, as he is called, a villainous-looking scamp, goingabout with his cups and balls in a side pocket, diverts the court withhis jugglery. These idle rascals receive no fixed salar
y, beingaltogether dependent upon the casual bounty of their master. Now andthen they run up a score at the Dance Houses in Honolulu, where theillustrious Tammahammaha III afterwards calls and settles the bill.
A few years since an auctioneer to his majesty came near being addedto the retinue of state. It seems that he was the first man who hadpractised his vocation in the Sandwich Islands; and delighted withthe sport of bidding upon his wares, the king was one of his bestcustomers. At last he besought the man to leave all and follow him,and he should be handsomely provided for at court. But the auctioneerrefused; and so the ivory hammer lost the chance of being bornebefore him on a velvet cushion when the next king went to be crowned.
But it was not as strolling players, nor as footmen out of employ,that the doctor and myself looked forward to our approachingintroduction to the court of the Queen of Tahiti. On the contrary, asbefore hinted, we expected to swell the appropriations of bread-fruitand cocoa-nuts on the Civil List by filling some honourable office inher gift.
We were told that, to resist the usurpation of the French, the queenwas rallying about her person all the foreigners she could. Herpartiality for the English and Americans was well known; and this wasan additional ground for our anticipating a favourable reception.Zeke had informed us, moreover, that by the queen's counsellors atPartoowye, a war of aggression against the invaders of Papeetee hadbeen seriously thought of. Should this prove true, a surgeon'scommission for the doctor, and a lieutenancy for myself, werecertainly counted upon in our sanguine expectations.