acute
embarrassment. We were then offered a little refreshment before
dinner. The king, who was a Catholic, crossed himself and said grace.
A folded leaf containing a quantity of arrowroot cooked in cocoanut
milk by dropping in hot stones was placed before each of us, and each
had the milk of a fresh young nut to drink. The arrowroot was grateful
but difficult to manage, on account of the stickiness, and a little
gritty with sand from the stones. We were then invited to take a
siesta behind an immense curtain of _tapa_ that had been hung across
one end of the room. There mats and pillows were laid for Teuila and
me, and in a few seconds we were fast asleep. In an hour and a half we
waked simultaneously and found dinner waiting for us. Louis then
offered his present--a hundred-pound keg of beef--and the talking man
went outside and informed the populace, in stentorian tones, of the
nature and amount of the present received. We ate of pig, fowl, and
_taro_, in civilized fashion, sitting on chairs and using plates,
tumblers, spoons, knives, and forks. After a walk about the village we
all sat on mats under the eaves and conversed. A distant sound of
singing was heard, and soon a procession of young men in wreaths,
walking two by two, came up to us and each deposited a root of _taro_,
to which the king added a couple of young fowls, and an immense root
of fresh _kava_. Speeches were made, after which mats were spread out
for the dancers, who had been called by the sound of a bugle. There
were two long rows of them, with two comic men and a hunchback,
apparently the king's jester. They first sang a song of welcome to us,
and then sang, danced, and acted several pieces--all well done and
some very droll indeed. The hunchback excelled particularly in an
imitation of a circus that was here not long since. Louis could not
speak successfully through Talolo, as he had more to say than 'much
surprised,' so we then took our departure. We returned by moonlight,
all ardent admirers of Mataafa. About a week later Louis went again,
this time with an interpreter named Charley Taylor, and had a more
satisfactory interview. In the early morning, at about four, he was
awakened by the sound of some sort of pipe playing a curious air. When
he inquired about this Mataafa told him that he always had this
performance at the time of the singing of the early birds, as it
conduced to pleasant dreams. His father, he added, would never allow a
bird