第33章
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  Well,hereisanewmove。ItislikelyImaystartwithGrahamnextweekandgotoHonolulutomeettheothersteamerandreturn:Idobelieveafortnightatseawoulddomegood;

  yetIamnotyetcertain。ThecrowdedUP-steamersticksinmythroat。

  TUESDAY,12THSEPT。

  YesterdaywasperhapsthebrightestintheannalsofVailima。

  IgotleavefromCaptainBickfordtohavethebandoftheKATOOMBAcomeup,andtheycame,fourteenof’em,withdrum,fife,cymbalsandbugles,bluejackets,whitecaps,andsmilingfaces。Thehousewasalldecoratedwithscentedgreeneryaboveandbelow。Wehadnotonlyourownnineout-

  doorworkers,butacontractpartythatwetookonincharitytopaytheirwar-fine;thebandbesides,asitcameupthemountain,hadcollectedafollowingofchildrenbytheway,andwehadapickingofSamoanladiestoreceivethem。

  Chicken,ham,cake,andfruitswereservedoutwithcoffeeandlemonade,andalltheafternoonwehadroundsofclaretnegusflavouredwithrumandlimes。Theyplayedtous,theydanced,theysang,theytumbled。OurboyscameintheendoftheverandahandgaveTHEMadanceforawhile。Itwasanxiousworkgettingthisstoppedonceithadbegun,butI

  knewthebandwasgoingonaprogramme。FinallytheygavethreecheersforMr。andMrs。Stevens,shookhands,formedupandmarchedoffplaying-tillakickinghorseinthepaddockputtheirpipesoutsomethingofthesuddenest-wethoughtthebigdrumwasgone,butSimeleflewtotherescue。Andsotheywoundawaydownthehillwitheveranothercallofthebugle,leavingusextinctwithfatigue,butperhapsthemostcontentedhoststhateverwatchedthedepartureofsuccessfulguests。Simplyimpossibletotellhowwelltheseblue-

  jacketsbehaved;amostinterestinglotofmen;thiseducationofboysforthenavyismakingaclass,whollyapart-howshallIcallthem?-akindoflower-classpublicschoolboy,well-mannered,fairlyintelligent,sentimentalasasailor。Whatismoreshallbewritonboardshipifanywhere。

  PleasesendCATRIONAtoG。Meredith。

  S。S。MARIPOSA。

  To-morrowIreachHonolulu。Good-morningtoyourhonour。R。

  DEARCOLVIN,-Mywifecameuponthesteamerandwegohometogetherin2days。Iampracticallyallright,onlysleepyandtiredeasily,sleptyesterdayfrom11to11。45,from1to2。50,wenttobedat8P。M。,andwithanhour’sintervalslepttill6A。M。,closeupon14hoursoutofthe24。Wesailto-morrow。Iamanxioustogethome,thoughthishasbeenaninterestingvisit,andpoliticshavebeencuriousindeedtostudy。WegotoP。P。C。onthe’Queen’thismorning;poor,recluselady,ABREUVEED’INJURESQU’ELLEEST。

  HadaratherannoyinglunchonboardtheAmericanman-of-war,withamemberoftheP。G。provincialgovernment;andagooddealofanti-royalisttalk,whichIhadtositout-notonlyformyhost’ssake,butmyfellowguests。Atlast,Itooktheleadandchangedtheconversation。

  R。L。S。

  IambeingbustedherebypartynamedHutchinson。Seemsgood。

  [VAILIMA-NOVEMBER。]

  Homeagain,andfoundallwell,thankGod。Iamperfectlywellagainandruddierthanthecherry。Pleasenotethat8000isnotbadforavolumeofshortstories;theMERRYMEN

  didagooddealworse;theshortstoryneversells。IhopeCATRIONAwilldo;thatistheimportant。Thereviewsseemmixedandperplexed,andonehadthepeculiarvirtuetomakemeangry。Iaminafairwaytoexpiscatemyfamilyhistory。

  FannyandIhadalovelyvoyagedown,withournewC。J。andtheAmericanLandCommissioner,andonthewhole,andforthesedisgustingsteamers,apleasantship’scompany。I

  cannotunderstandwhyyoudon’ttaketotheHawaiischeme。

  Doyouunderstand?YoucrosstheAtlanticinsixdays,andgofrom’FriscotoHonoluluinseven。ThirteendaysatseaINALL-IhavenowishtopublishTHEEBBTIDEasabook,letitwait。Itwilllookwellintheportfolio。Iwouldlikeacopy,ofcourse,forthatend;andto’lookupon’tagain’-whichIscarcedare。

  [LATER。]

  Thisisdisgraceful。Ihavedonenothing;neitherworknorletters。OntheMeMayday,wehadagreattriumph;ourProtestantboys,insteadofgoingwiththeirownvillagesandfamilies,wentoftheirownaccordintheVailimauniform;

  Bellemadecoatsforthemonpurposetocompletetheuniform,theyhavingboughtthestuff;andtheywerehailedastheymarchedinastheTama-ona-therichman’schildren。Thisisreallyascore;itmeansthatVailimaispubliclytakenasafamily。Thenwehadmybirthdayfeastaweeklate,owingtodiarrhoeaontheproperoccasion。ThefeastwaslaidintheHall,andwasasingularmassoffood:15pigs,100lbs。

  beef,100lbs。pork,andthefruitandfiligreeinaproportion。Wehadsixtyhorse-postsdriveninthegatepaddock;howmanyguestsIcannotguess,perhaps150。Theycamebetweenthreeandfourandleftaboutseven。Seumanugavemeoneofhisnames;andwhenmynamewascalledattheavadrinking,behold,itwasAUMAITAUAMAMANU-VAO!Youwouldscarcerecogniseme,ifyouheardmethusreferredto!

  Twodaysafter,wehiredacarriageinApia,Fanny,Belle,LloydandI,anddroveingreatstyle,withanativeoutrider,totheprison;ahugegiftofavaandtobaccoundertheseats。TheprisonisnowunderthePULEofanAustrian,CaptainWurmbrand,asoldieroffortuneinServiaandTurkey,acharming,clever,kindlycreature,whoisadoredby’HIS

  chiefs’ashecallsthemmeaningOURpoliticalprisoners。

  Andwecameintotheyard,walledaboutwithtinnediron,anddrankavawiththeprisonersandthecaptain。Itmayamuseyoutohearhowitispropertodrinkava。Whenthecupishandedyou,youreachyourarmoutsomewhatbehindyou,andslowlypouralibation,sayingwithsomewhatthemannerofprayer,’IATAUMAFAELEATUA。UAMATAGOFIELEFESILAFAIGA

  NEI。’’Beithigh-chiefpartakenofbytheGod。Howhighchiefbeautifultoviewisthishighchiefgathering。’

  Thispaganpracticeisveryqueer。Ishouldsaythattheprisonavawasofthatnotverywelcomeformthatweelegantlycallspit-ava,butofcoursetherewasnoescape,andithadtobedrunk。FannyandIrodehome,andI

  moralisedbytheway。CouldweeverstandEuropeagain?didsheappreciatethatifwewereinLondon,weshouldbeACTUALLYJOSTLEDinthestreet?andtherewasnobodyinthewholeofBritainwhoknewhowtotakeavalikeagentleman?

  ’Tisfunnytobethusoftwocivilisations-or,ifyoulike,ofonecivilisationandonebarbarism。And,asusual,thebarbarismisthemoreengaging。

  Colvin,youhavetocomehereandseeusinour{native/

  mortal}spot。Ijustdon’tseemtobeabletomakeupmymindtoyournotcoming。Bythistime,youwillhaveseenGraham,Ihope,andhewillbeabletotellyousomethingaboutus,andsomethingreliable,IshallfeelforthefirsttimeasifyouknewalittleaboutSamoaafterthat。Fannyseemstobeintherightwaynow。Imustsaysheisvery,verywellforher,andcomplainsscarceatall。Yesterday,shewentdownSOLAatleastaccompaniedbyagroomtopayavisit;Belle,LloydandIwentawalkupthemountainroad-

  thegreatpublichighwayoftheisland,whereyouhavetogosinglefile。TheobjectwastoshowBellethatgaudyvalleyoftheVaisiganowhichtheroadfollows。Iftheroadistobemadeandopened,asournewChiefJusticepromises,itwillbeoneofthemostbeautifulroadsintheworld。Butthepointisthis:IforgotIhadbeenthreemonthsincivilisation,wearingshoesandstockings,andItellyouI

  sufferedonmysoftfeet;cominghome,downhill,onthatstairwayofloosestones,Icouldhavecried。Oyes,anotherstory,IknewIhad。Thehouseboyshadnotbeenbehavingwell,sotheothernightIannouncedaFONO,andLloydandI

  wentintotheboys’quarters,andItalkedtothemIsupposeforhalfanhour,andTalolotranslated;Lloydwasthereprincipallytokeepanotherearontheinterpreter;elsetheremaybedreadfulmisconceptions。Irubbedalltheirears,excepttwowhomIparticularlypraised;andoneman’swagesIannouncedIhadcutdownbyonehalf。Imaginehistakingthissmiling!Eversince,hehasbeenspeciallyattentiveandgreetsmewithafaceofreallyheavenlybrightness。Thisisanothergoodsignoftheirreallyandfairlyacceptingmeasachief。WhenIfirstcamehere,ifI

  hadfinedamanasixpence,hewouldhavequitworkthathour,andnowIremovehalfhisincome,andheisgladtostayon-nay,doesnotseemtoentertainthepossibilityofleaving。Andthisinthefaceofoneparticulardifficulty-

  Imeanourhouseinthebush,andnosociety,andnowomensocietywithindecentreach。

  IthinkImustgiveyouourstaffinatabularform。

  HOUSE。

  oSOSIMO,provostandbutler,andmyvalet。

  oMISIFOLO,whoisFannyandBelle’schamberlain。

  KITCHEN

  oTALOLO,provostandchiefcook。

  oIOPU,secondcook。

  TALI,hiswife,nowages。

  TI’A,Samoancook。

  FEILOA’I,hischild,nowages,likewisenowork-Belle’spet。

  oLEUELU,Fanny’sboy,gardener,oddjobs。

  INAPIA。

  ELIGA,washmananddailyerrandman。

  OUTSIDE。

  oHENRYSIMELE,provostandoverseasofoutsideboys。

  LU。

  TASISELE。

  MAIELE。

  PULU,whoisalsoourtalkingmanandcriestheava。

  Thecrossesmarkoutthereallyexcellentboys。Ti’aisthemanwhohasjustbeenfinedhalfhiswages;heisabeautifuloldman,thelivingimageof’FightingGladiator,’myfavouritestatue-butadreadfulhumbug。Ithinkwekeephimonalittleonaccountofhislooks。Thissignomarksthosewhohavebeentwoyearsorupwardsinthefamily。I

  noteallmyoldboyshavethecrossofhonour,exceptMisifolo;well,poordog,hedoeshisbest,Isuppose。Youshouldseehimscour。Itisaremarkthathasoftenbeenmadebyvisitors:youneverseeaSamoanrun,exceptatVailima。Doyounotsupposethatmakesmeproud?

  IampleasedtoseewhatasuccessTHEWRECKERwas,havingalreadyinlittlemorethanayearoutstrippedTHEMASTEROF

  BALLANTRAE。

  AboutDAVIDBALFOURintwovolumes,doseethattheymakeitadecent-lookingbook,andtellme,doyouthinkalittlehistoricalappendixwouldbeofservice?Langbleatsforone,andIthoughtImightaddressittohimasakindofopenletter。

  MYDEARCOLVIN,-OnepageoutofmypicturebookImustgiveyou。Fineburningday;halfpasttwoP。M。Wefourbegintorouseupfromreparatoryslumbers,yawn,andgroan,getacupoftea,andmiserablydress:wehavehadapartythedaybefore,X’masDay,withalltheboysabsentbutone,andlatterlytwo;wehadcookedalldaylong,acolddinner,andlo!attwoourguestsbegantoarrive,thoughdinnerwasnottillsix;theyweresixteen,andfifteensleptthenightandbreakfasted。Conceive,then,howunwillinglyweclimbonourhorsesandstartoffinthehottestpartoftheafternoontoride4andahalfmiles,attendanativefeastinthegaol,andridefourandahalfmilesback。Butthereisnohelpforit。Iamasortoffatherofthepoliticalprisoners,andhaveCHARGED’AMESinthatriotouslyabsurdestablishment,ApiaGaol。Thetwenty-threeIthinkitis

  chiefsactasundergaolers。TheotherdaytheytoldtheCaptainofanattempttoescape。Oneofthelesserpoliticalprisonerstheotherdayeffectedaswiftcapture,whiletheCaptainwastrailingaboutwiththewarrant;themancametoseewhatwaswanted;came,too,flankedbytheformergaoler;

  myprisonerofferstoshowhimthedarkcell,shoveshimin,andlocksthedoor。’Whydoyoudothat?’criestheformergaoler。’Awarrant,’sayshe。Finally,thechiefsactuallyfeedthesoldierywhowatchthem!

  Thegaolisawretchedlittlebuilding,containingalittleroom,andthreecells,oneachsideofacentralpassage;itissurroundedbyafenceofcorrugatediron,andshows,overthetopofthat,onlyagableendwiththeinscriptionOLE

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