OF THE SOUTH SEAS 193 



lected, but endearing. It had had a season of glory. 

 It was built for the first modern administration office 

 of the French Government, over sixty years before, and 

 was painted white with blue trimmings. In its bare 

 and dusty entrance-hall hung two steel engravings en- 

 titled, "The Beginning of the Civil War in the United 

 States" and "The End of the Civil War in the United 

 States." The former showed Freedom in the center; 

 Justice with a sword and balance; the Stars and Stripes 

 being torn from a liberty-tree, with a snake winding 

 about it; an aged man labeled Buchanan asleep on a big 

 book ; and a gentleman named Floyd counting a bag of 

 money; on the other side Abraham Lincoln exhorted a 

 white-haired general who commanded a file of soldiers, 

 and some rich-looking men were throwing money on the 

 floor. 



The other pictm'e was indeed florid. It represented 

 three ladies. Freedom, Justice, and Mercy, disputing 

 the center, slaves being unshackled, the army of victory 

 led by Grant claiming honors, Lee handing over a 

 sword, an ugly fellow toting off a bag of gold (graft?) 

 and a gang of conspirators egging on the madman 

 Booth to slay Lincoln. In both these engravings there 

 were scores of supposed likenesses, but I could not 

 identify them. They were published by Kimmel & 

 Forster in New York in 1865, and had probably decor- 

 ated Papeete walls for half a century. There were 

 large, ramshackle chambers on the first floor, and an ex- 

 quisite winding staircase, with a rosewood balustrade, 

 led to the second story, where I lived. 



In this building all the pomp and circumstance of the 

 Nations in Tahiti had been on parade, kings and queens 



