cup along the floor. It was now presented to my mother,
who took a sip only, and afterwards to me. I poured a libation and
said in Samoan 'Blessed be our high chief meeting.' Then came our
English friends and Laulii,[66] who came with us to officiate as
'talking man' for our party. She made a charming little speech that
made everybody laugh, and then, the ceremonies being over, we all
gathered together for a real talk. We brought news from Apia--we asked
news of Vaiee. When I got into deep water with my Samoan, Laulii would
help me out, and we would both translate what was said to my mother
and the others. The _manaia_ and his young men, who had taken a back
seat while their elders received us, came over to join in the talk and
tell us of the preparations for our visit.

[Footnote 63: The fly flapper is a carved stick with a
horse-hair tassel on the end.]

[Footnote 64: The _taupo_ is the maid of the village.
She is chosen for her beauty and is the official hostess
to receive all guests.]

[Footnote 65: Nowadays the Samoans, having learned
European ways, present the cup first to the ladies, but
then it was _faa-Samoa_, that is, in Samoan fashion.]

[Footnote 66: Laulii, the Samoan wife of Mr. Willis, was
a close friend of Mrs. Stevenson while she lived in the
islands, and after she left there came to California to
make her a visit at the ranch near Gilroy.]

"Immediately after the ceremonies of our reception we presented our
gifts to the chief. Laulii was the spokesman for us, and the village
talking man stood in the door of the guest house and announced in a
loud voice the list of our presents, while from the inside of the
surrounding houses came the sound of clapping hands. This ceremony of
presenting gifts was done humorously, Laulii making many jokes and
local hits which were received with polite laughter.

"We were three days in Vaiee, during which we were entertained by
dances of the village girls, war and knife dances by the _manaia_ and
his young men, and, besides being furnished with good food all the
time, we were honored with one grand feast, which was attended by the
whole village. On the morning of the second day we were sitting in the
guest house, which, by the simple expedient of hanging up a sheet of
tapa, had been turned into two b