OF THE SOUTH SEAS 195 



She sen' man to bring on foot on boat. You go visit 

 her, she give champagne jus' Hke Papenoo River. She 

 beautiful? My God! I tell you she like angel. She 

 speak French, English, Russian, German, Italian, any- 

 thing the same. She good, but she don't care a dam' 

 what people say. When she go 'way Europe she give 

 frien's all her thing'. Now she back in her palace with 

 her baby. She write once say she come back T'ytee 

 some day by'n'by. She love T'ytee somethin' crazee." 



At the Cercle Bougainville Captain William Pincher 

 told me more of the baroness. 



"Is the bloody meat-safe still on the back porch? 

 The baroness made a voyage with me to the Paumotus 

 just for the air. She sat on deck all the time, rain or 

 shine. I 'd put a' awnin' over 'er in fair weather or 

 when it rained and there was n't much wind. She was 

 a bloody good sailor, too, and ate like us, only she never 

 went below except at night. I give her my cabin. 

 She 'd spen' hours lookin' over the side in a calm — we 

 had no engine — an' she 'd listen to all the yarns." 



Lying Bill burst out with one of his choicest oaths. 



"She was n't like some of those ladees I 've 'ad 

 aboard. She was a proper salt-water lass. She loved 

 to 'ear my yarns of the sea. When she was big with 

 child an' I ashore, I 'ad the 'abit o' droppin' in o' after- 

 noons and 'avin' a slice of 'am or chicken out o' the 

 safe. Afa ran 'er bloody show for 'er, an' it cost 'er 

 a bloody fortune. I used to lie for 'er to 'ear 'er 

 laugh. You know I 'm called Lyin' Bill, but Mc- 

 Henry tells more real lies in a day than I do in a bloody 

 year. She was the finest-looking girl of the delicate 

 kind I ever saw, all pink and white an' with fringy 



