1902] "The Road of Loving Heart" 



Loving Heart' 1 (translated also as 'The Road of 

 Loving Kindness") built by the natives out of affec- 

 tion for "Tusitala," whose joyous humor and con- 

 stant good will made him a very great favorite in 

 Samoa. On the tablet set up by the builders, the Prussian 

 German officials had posted notices of various things fi ciallsm 

 rigidly forbidden - - strengstens verboten - - in true 

 Prussian fashion. All these we tore down, exposing 

 the original touching inscription which officialism 

 had no right to cover, even though some of the pro- 

 hibitions were for the general good. Thus it was 

 made illegal to allow a lantana bush to go to seed, 

 certainly a wise precaution. For while that plant, 

 a South American member of the verbena family, 

 is safely cultivated as an ornamental shrub in Cali- 

 fornia, where it has never been known to spread 

 from a garden, in Hawaii it has run mad, covering the 

 fields and often rendering cultivation impossible. 

 More recently, however, a little fly from South 

 America, a natural enemy of the lantana, has been 

 introduced into the islands. Feeding on the flowers, 

 it prevents them from seeding, so that with time the 

 plant can be eradicated. 



The first time we went to the villa, Mrs. Jordan "Miss 

 walked on a little ahead of the rest of the party, and J"" e ", 

 sat down to wait on a bench under a small tree. In gr iffi, n 

 the leaves she heard a rustling and, looking up, saw 

 a really demonish creature descending toward her. 

 This was a foot or more in length, fur-covered, with a 

 long, doggish nose, and broad skin-wings like those 

 of the (hitherto) fabulous griffin. Finally it came to 

 rest, and hanging by one hind claw, gazed at her 

 curiously. It was, in fact, a flying fox - - Pteropus - 

 one of the huge bats of the tropics, which look very 



C 105 1 



