ii4 THE CORAL LANDS OF THE PACIFIC. 



falling according to the beating of the lali in a meke-meke, is one 

 of its most marked characteristics. 



Some of the natives are rather fond of practical jokes, often 

 of a very advanced order, and they evidently relish making a 

 lia lia, or fool of a neighbour, by sending him on a bootless 

 errand. We are a very superior people, no doubt ; but I have 

 heard of very foolish journeys accomplished in England on the 

 1st of April. Sometimes, if on particularly good terms with a 

 papalagi, a Fijian will actually try a bit of fun with him 

 sometimes more than fun, as the following anecdote of the ex- 

 perience of a friend will show : 



As he was sitting, somewhat late one night, on an old lali 

 which had witnessed, and drummed the accompaniment to, many 

 a terrible scene, he suddenly saw advancing towards him from 

 the old Sofatabua house a glowing human head. A moment's stare 

 of amazement and then all the horrors of the thing, the locality, 

 and the previous conversation overwhelmed him with a terror 

 indescribable. His scalp became, he said, an ill-fitting cap, his 

 skin was goose-fleshed into little hillocks, his heart gave one 

 great bound into his throat, whence it sank lead-like into his 

 shoes, and then (just when the awful fear was becoming an 

 active madness which said that it or he must be annihilated) a 

 boy's voice within the head asked : ' Sa vinaka ?' (' Is it good ?') 

 What a relief it was ! And how thankful he felt that the ap- 

 parition had spoken in time to save itself from harm ! The 

 mischievous young monkey had collected a quantity of luminous 

 fungus leaves, which he had stuck thickly over his face so as to 

 illuminate it. 



One of the prettiest Fijian spectacles I ever saw was a grand 

 meke-meh or ceremonial dance. Early in the morning it was 

 very amusing to see the country people streaming into the 

 native village, their countenances glowing with anticipated 



