ssible and
exquisite tint, from the palest aqua marina to the brightest emerald;
from the pure light blue of the turquoise to the "deeply, darkly,
beautifully blue" of the sapphire; while here and there the glassy wave
was broken up by patches of red, brown, and green coral rising from the
mass below. A rich growth of tropical vegetation encumbered the shore,
stretching down to the very border of the ribbed sands; palms and
cocoa-nuts lifted high their slender, shapely trunks; while in and out
flitted the picturesque figures of native women in red, blue, and green
garments, and of men in motley costumes, loaded with fish, fowls, and
bunches of cocoa-nuts.

* * * * *

On the 2nd of December the _Sunbeam_ arrived at the "Queen of the
Pacific," the lovely island of Tahiti, or, as it was first called,
Otaheite. Here Lady Brassey found herself in the midst of a fairy-like
drama, to describe which is almost impossible, so bewildering was it in
the brightness and variety of its colouring. "The magnolias and yellow
and scarlet hibiscus, overshadowing the water, the velvety turf, on to
which one steps from the boat, the white road running between rows of
wooden houses, whose little gardens are a mass of flowers, the men and
women clad in the gayest robes and decked with flowers, the piles of
unfamiliar fruit lying on the grass, waiting to be transported to the
coasting vessels in the harbour, the wide-spreading background of hills
clad in verdure to their summits--these are but a few of the objects
which greet the new comer on his first contact with the shore."

The impression produced by the first view was deepened by all that Lady
Brassey saw afterwards. On sea and shore, or in the heart of the island
groves, all was new, beautiful, striking. There was a strange light in
the firmament above, a glow in the wave beneath, such as she had not
seen elsewhere; for it was with open hands that Nature poured out her
dower upon Tahiti.

She went for a ride; the path carried her through a thick growth of
palm, orange, guava, and other tropical trees, some of which were
thickly draped with luxuriant creepers. Conspicuous among the latter
shone a gorgeous passion flower, with orange-coloured fruit as big as
pumpkins, that overspread everything with its vigour. The path was
everywhere narrow and sometimes steep; and frequently the horseman had
almost to creep under the close thick crop of interlacing bough