op upon Mehevi three or four times when
he was romping--in a most undignified manner for a warrior king--with
one of the prettiest little witches in the valley. She lived with an
old woman and a young man, in a house near Marheyo's; and although in
appearance a mere child herself, had a noble boy about a year old, who
bore a marvellous resemblance to Mehevi, whom I should certainly have
believed to have been the father, were it not that the little fellow
had no triangle on his face--but on second thoughts, tattooing is not
hereditary. Mehevi, however, was not the only person upon whom the
damsel Moonoony smiled--the young fellow of fifteen, who permanently
resided in the home with her, was decidedly in her good graces. I
sometimes beheld both him and the chief making love at the same time. Is
it possible, thought I, that the valiant warrior can consent to give
up a corner in the thing he loves? This too was a mystery which, with
others of the same kind, was afterwards satisfactorily explained.

During the second day of the Feast of Calabashes, Kory-Kory--being
determined that I should have some understanding on these matters--had,
in the course of his explanations, directed my attention to
a peculiarity I had frequently remarked among many of the
females;--principally those of a mature age and rather matronly
appearance. This consisted in having the right hand and the left foot
most elaborately tattooed; whilst the rest of the body was wholly free
from the operation of the art, with the exception of the minutely dotted
lips and slight marks on the shoulders, to which I have previously
referred as comprising the sole tattooing exhibited by Fayaway, in
common with other young girls of her age. The hand and foot thus
embellished were, according to Kory-Kory, the distinguishing badge of
wedlock, so far as that social and highly commendable institution is
known among those people. It answers, indeed, the same purpose as the
plain gold ring worn by our fairer spouses.

After Kory-Kory's explanation of the subject, I was for some time
studiously respectful in the presence of all females thus distinguished,
and never ventured to indulge in the slightest approach to flirtation
with any of their number. Married women, to be sure!--I knew better than
to offend them.

A further insight, however, into the peculiar domestic customs of the
inmates of the valley did away in a measure with the severity of my
scruples, and convinced m