haggard and the husband elderly. They ended
by taking it, and I wager were not yet clear of the compound before they
were sure they had decided wrong. Another time they had been given each
a liberal cup of coffee, and Nan Tok' with difficulty and disaffection
made an end of his. Nei Takauti had taken some, she had no mind for
more, plainly conceived it would be a breach of manners to set down the
cup unfinished, and ordered her wedded retainer to dispose of what was
left. "I have swallowed all I can, I cannot swallow more, it is a
physical impossibility," he seemed to say; and his stern officer
reiterated her commands with secret imperative signals. Luckless dog!
but in mere humanity we came to the rescue and removed the cup.

I cannot but smile over this funny household; yet I remember the good
souls with affection and respect. Their attention to ourselves was
surprising. The garlands are much esteemed, the blossoms must be sought
far and wide; and though they had many retainers to call to their aid,
we often saw themselves passing afield after the blossoms, and the wife
engaged with her own hands in putting them together. It was no want of
heart, only that disregard so incident to husbands, that made Nei
Takauti despise the sufferings of Nan Tok'. When my wife was unwell she
proved a diligent and kindly nurse; and the pair, to the extreme
embarrassment of the sufferer, became fixtures in the sick-room. This
rugged, capable, imperious old dame, with the wild eyes, had deep and
tender qualities; her pride in her young husband it seemed that she
dissembled, fearing possibly to spoil him; and when she spoke of her
dead son there came something tragic in her face. But I seemed to trace
in the Gilbertines a virility of sense and sentiment which distinguishes
them (like their harsh and uncouth language) from their brother
islanders in the east.

PART V

THE GILBERTS--APEMAMA

CHAPTER I

THE KING OF APEMAMA: THE ROYAL TRADER

There is one great personage in the Gilberts: Tembinok' of Apemama:
solely conspicuous, the hero of song, the butt of gossip. Through the
rest of the group the kings are slain or fallen in tutelage: Tembinok'
alone remains, the last tyrant, the last erect vestige of a dead
society. The white man is everywhere else, building his houses, drinking
his gin, getting in and out of trouble with the weak native governments.
There is only one white on Apemama, and he on sufferance, living far