Islands far away; Fijian pictures with pen and brush . e of green. All over the slopes asweeping velvet mantle covers every thing, only the undu-lating lights and shadows indicating the irregularity of theground underneath. This makes the scenery very indi\idualand exceedingly difficult to paint. It took me some time toget used to it and to feel it to be quite natural. Then we began to descend and plunged into the junglewhich hid everything. Suddenly it opened and we had apeep of the strange crags which surround Namosi, and in afew minutes we were there. Could it be real—or was I dreaming, and
Islands far away; Fijian pictures with pen and brush . e of green. All over the slopes asweeping velvet mantle covers every thing, only the undu-lating lights and shadows indicating the irregularity of theground underneath. This makes the scenery very indi\idualand exceedingly difficult to paint. It took me some time toget used to it and to feel it to be quite natural. Then we began to descend and plunged into the junglewhich hid everything. Suddenly it opened and we had apeep of the strange crags which surround Namosi, and in afew minutes we were there. Could it be real—or was I dreaming, and was this a stagewhere some great play was to be acted, with scenery paintedby a master hand ? It was so utterly different from anything I had seen before,that I stood looking with a dazed feeling and it was sometime before I could realise that it was tangible. Even now,when I look back, this first sight of Namosi and the time Ispent there, seem more like a dream or apiece of savage poetryof which I formed a part, than an actual event in my life. I. 90 Islands Far Away. had been taken so completely out of myself that it was almostpainful to be recalled by my companions questions, Well,what do you think of it ? Is it as nice as you expected ? Areyou disappointed ? I had to wake myself up to try to saysomething appropriate. There before us lay the broad green rara, which lookedas fiat and fair as an English la-v\Ti ; and round it, neatly andevenly set, the reed houses, at the far end that of the chief,larger than the rest, and with a palm tree at each side. Then,behind, surrounding it on all sides, battlements and bulwarksof rugged crags. No wonder Namosi was difficult to subdue,and that it was one of the last places where cannibalism andbarbarism hid themselves away. The sun was low and streams of golden light poured them-selves between the rocks, lighting up into glorious hues thecroton and dracsena leaves round the houses ; while on thegrass the people were moving about, the
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1920, bookidislandsfaraw, bookyear1921
