74 Concerning South Sea Islands iv 



reaching from the neck to the ankles, without any 

 waist, and they arrange them in all sorts of coquettish 

 manners as they walk, or rather trip along. Very 

 pretty green and pink are the favourite colours, 

 though pure white is very popular. Their hair, 

 which is beautiful, glossy black, is carefully dressed 

 with coco -nut oil, and they have head-dresses of 

 bright yellow plantain or banana leaf, and some- 

 times a bunch of feathery stuff, which they get from 

 the coco-nut palm, which is really prettier than any 

 ostrich feathers I have ever seen. 



' We had more " hymenes " in the garden of the 

 Queen's palace, and saw Pomare herself, looking 

 rather sad, and no wonder, poor dear. We had a 

 charming picnic at Point Venus with the Consul, 

 Mr. Miller, and his wife. There was a large 

 encampment of natives on the shore. They were 

 returning from the fete, and, being unable to reach 

 their homes on account of contrary winds, they had 

 drawn up their boats and made tents out of the sails 

 and coco leaves ; and these tents were really richly 

 furnished inside with mats, and blankets, and pillows 

 stuffed with silk cotton, which they got from a 

 strange tree with bare green branches, like the yards 

 of a ship, from which oval pods depend. 



' One comes across strange contrasts here. The 

 other day I walked up a perfect paradise of a valley, 

 through groves of coco- nut trees, bananas, oranges, 

 and everything else, including sugar-cane, and was 

 scrambling along the bed of a mountain torrent over 



