464 MYSTIC ISLES 



mill like cattle in a panic, are more easily ridden down 

 en masse, and become habitual buyers of unnecessary 

 things. 



The French, after their bold seizure of the island in 

 the name of liberty for the earnest friars, and sealing 

 their brave conquest in the blood of the obstinate Poly- 

 nesian who had hated to learn a new liturgy and to un- 

 learn his old Protestant songs, feared that the disper- 

 sion of the people upon their little plantations, to which 

 they were greatly attached, would make their Frenchi- 

 fying a long task. So, about sixty years ago, a gover- 

 nor, who, ten thousand miles from his superiors, with an 

 exchange of letters taking many months, was an auto- 

 crat, decided that all the people of the same region must 

 be huddled in a village. His name was Gaultier de la 

 Richerie. His office was snatched from him by another 

 politician before he could carry out his plan, and only 

 one village exemplified it. In all the districts I had 

 passed through from Papeete, while in each was the 

 knot of chejferie, churches, stores, and perhaps a house 

 or two, the other residences stretched along the entire 

 length of the political divisions, from six to eight miles. 



I was approaching the exception, Tautira, which, 

 though farthest of all from the palace of the governor, 

 had been chosen for the first experiment, and which had 

 adapted its life to the paternal will of M. de la Richerie, 

 now long since laid in the bosom of Pere Lachaise. 



The estimable troubadour, Brault, had advised me of 

 the history of Tautira. It was seldom visited by white 

 tourists, as even the post brought by the diligence ended 

 at Taravao, and letters for farther on were carried afoot 

 by the mutoi, or postman-policeman of the adjoining 



