. Reminiscences of the South seas . — spots of blue. Nothingbroke this space to the furthest dim horizon, except where onthe edge of the cliffs stood one hut through which shone thecolour of the sea and the foUage of the tree overshadowing our party came up and sat about us on the slope of thegrass about the house, and from the groves about us came thesounds of the drum-beat and the call of war music. Frombehind the house, in a great circle, ran out in a sort of dance,our hostess in full gala costume: naked to the waist, kiltedwith costly mats held on by flower girdles — on her head th
. Reminiscences of the South seas . — spots of blue. Nothingbroke this space to the furthest dim horizon, except where onthe edge of the cliffs stood one hut through which shone thecolour of the sea and the foUage of the tree overshadowing our party came up and sat about us on the slope of thegrass about the house, and from the groves about us came thesounds of the drum-beat and the call of war music. Frombehind the house, in a great circle, ran out in a sort of dance,our hostess in full gala costume: naked to the waist, kiltedwith costly mats held on by flower girdles — on her head thegreat military cap. She held a little toy club in her hand; oneither side, with heavier strides, two of the giants, her attend-ant chiefs, dressed and undressed in the same way, repeatedher movements Some thirty paces behind her, two of hermaidens followed these leaders, turning round in a great circleof dance, spreading out their arms, and the wide folds of theirwaist-cloths, and the lines of their garlands were flung out by. REMINISCENCES OF THE SOUTH SEAS 197 their motion. In and out of the httle grove danced back andforth a crowd of armed men, who threw up their clubs andcaught them again. Right in the middle of the green before us, threading theirpath between the princess and her girls, crouching to theground, crawled or ran, bending low, three men, all blackened,with green cinctures of leaves wound round their heads, andshort tails of white bark hanging down out of their were the kings murderers, relics of a bygone timewhen savage chiefs, like European sovereigns, used hcensedcrime to rid themselves of enemies — or friends — againstwhom they could not wage open war. These whom we saw were only on parade. All this servedbut to recall a former power and its historical descent. Butthe ancestors of these official murderers of hereditary ancestryhad been actively employed. At the whispered word of thechief they tracked the destined victim, risking their
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, bookidreminiscence, bookyear1912
