294 MYSTIC ISLES 



roomy carryalls. The ideal mode of travel in Tahiti 

 in the cool of the day would be a donke}^ a slow, patient 

 beast, who might himself take an interest in the scenery, 

 or at least the shrubbery. But the white must ever go 

 at top Sliced, and we dashed through the streets of 

 Papeete, the accordions playing "Revive us again!" the 

 "Himene Tatou Arearea," and other tunes, and we sing- 

 ing, "Hallelujah! I 'm a bum!" and "Faararirari ta oe 

 Tamarii Tahiti! La, li!" One never makes merry pri- 

 vately in the South Seas. 



Through Papeete we went along the eastern Broom 

 Road, our train attracting much attention. We 

 stopped at the glacerie for ice, and Polonsky insisted 

 that we make a detour to his residence to drink a stirrup- 

 cup of champagne. He donned riding-breeches and 

 took a horse from his well-appointed stable. 



Against the road on each side were close hedges of 

 acaljipha, or false coffee, called in Tahitian tafeie, a 

 small tree which grows quickly, and the leaves of which 

 are red or bronze or green, handsome and adinirably 

 suited for fencing. Through these hedges and the 

 broad entrances I saw the houses and gardens, the resi- 

 dents and family life of the people. Everywhere was 

 a small prosperity, with gladness; pigs and sheep crop- 

 ping the grass and herbs, which were a mat of green, 

 rising so fast with the daily showers that only flocks 

 could keep it shorn. On the verandas and on the turf 

 idle men and women were gazing at the sky, talking, 

 humming the newest air, plaiting hats, or napping. 

 No one was reading. There was no book-store in 

 Tahiti. I had not read a line since I came. I had not 

 stepped up to the genial dentist's to see an American 



