t the feet
of their sovereign, as was their wont, the products of the isle:
the taro, the yam, the hala, the cocoanut, ohelo, banana, and sweet
potato. They piled up a mound of food before the door of the King's
pakui, along with a clamorous multitude of fat poi-fed dogs, and of
fathom-long swine.

Besides this tribute of the men, the workers of the land, the women
filled the air with the sweet odors of their floral offerings. The
maidens were twined from head to waist with _leis_ or wreaths of
the _na-u_, which is Lanai's own lovely jessamine--a rare gardenia,
whose sweet aroma loads the breeze, and leads you to the bush when
seeking it afar off. These garlands were fastened to the plaited pili
thatch of the King's pakui; they were placed on the necks of the young
warriors, who stood around the chief; and around his royal brows they
twined an odorous crown of maile.

The brightest of the girlish throng who stood before the dread Lord
of the Isles was Kaala, or Sweet Scented, whose fifteen suns had just
burnished her sweet brown face with a soft golden gloss; and her large,
round, tender eyes knew yet no wilting fires. Her neck and arms, and
all of her young body not covered by the leafy pa-u, was tinted with
a soft sheen like unto a rising moon. Her skin glowed with the glory
of youth, and mingled its delicate odor of health with the blooms of
the groves, so that the perfume of her presence received fittingly
the name of Fragrance.

In those rude days the island race was sound and clean. The supple
round limbs were made bright and strong by the constant bath and the
temperate breeze. They were not cumbered with clothing; they wore no
long, sweating gowns, but their smooth, shining skins reflected back
their sun, which gave them such a rich and dusky charm.

Perhaps such a race cannot long wear all our gear and live. They are
best clothed with sea foam, or with the garlands of their groves. How
sweetly blend the brown and green; and when young, soft, amber-tinted
cheeks, glowing with the crimson tide beneath, are wreathed with
the odorous evergreens of the isles, you see the poesy of our kind,
and the sweet, wild grace that dwelt in the Eden Paradise.

The sweet Kaala stood mindless of harm, as the playful breeze rustled
the long blades of the la-i (_dracaena_) leaves, hanging like a bundle
of green swords from her waist; and as they twirled and fluttered in
the air, revealed the soft, rounded form, whose charm fi