OF THE SOUTH SEAS 313 



now the executive offices, and the pavilion of the Re- 

 vues. 



I went early when the lights were being turned on. 

 Only the sellers of wreaths had arrived, and they seated 

 themselves along the square, their ferns and flowers on 

 the ground beside them. Then came the venders of 

 sweets, ice-cream, and peanuts, and soon the band and 

 the throng. 



An allegro broke upon the air, and stilled for a mo- 

 ment the chatter. Most of the people stood or strolled 

 in twos or dozens. They bought wreaths and placed 

 them on their bare heads, while the few who wore hats 

 encircled them with the brilliant greens and blossoms. 

 Bevies of handsome girls and women in their prettiest 

 tunics, many wearing Chinese silk shawls of blue or 

 pink, their hair tied with bright ribbons, sat on the 

 benches or grouped about the confectionery-stands. 

 Many carriages and automobiles were parked in the 

 shadows, holding the more reserved citizens — the gov- 

 ernor, the royal family, the bishop, the clergy, and dig- 

 nified matrons of girth. 



The bachelors and male coquets of the Tahitians and 

 French, with a sprinkling of all the foreigners in Pa- 

 peete, the officers and crews of the war-ship Zelee and 

 sailing vessels, smoked and endeavored to segregate va- 

 hines who appealed to them. The dark procureur gen- 

 eral from Martinique had an eye for beauty, and the 

 private secretary of the governor was in his most gallant 

 mood, a rakish cloth hat with a feather, a silver-headed 

 stick, a suit of tight-fitting black, and a tiare Tahiti over 

 his ear, marking him among the other Lotharios. 



The band was led by a tall, impressive native who both 



