BEACHCOMBING 55 



The Beachcomber of tradition parades his coral islet 

 barefooted, bullying guileless natives out of their copra, 

 coco-nut oil and pearl-shell ; his chief diet, turtle and turtle 

 eggs and fish ; his drink, rum and coco-nut milk — the latter 

 only when the former is impossible. When a wreck hap- 

 pens he becomes a potentate in pyjamas, and with his 

 dusky wives, dressed in bright vestiture, fares sumptuously. 

 And though the ships from the isles do not meet to " pour 

 the wealth of ocean in tribute at his feet," he can still " rush 

 out of his lodgings and eat oysters in regular desperation." 

 A whack on his hardened head from the club of a jealous 

 native is the time-honoured fate of the typical Beach- 

 comber. 



Flotsam and jetsam make another class of Beachcomber 

 by stimulating the gaming instincts. Is there a human 

 being, taking part in the rough and tumble of the world, 

 who can honestly make confession and say that he has 

 completely suffocated those inherent instincts of savage- 

 dom — ^joy and patience in the chase, the longing for 

 excitement and surprise, the crude selfishness, the delight 

 in getting something for nothing ? Society journals have 

 informed me that titled dames have been known to sit out 

 long and wearisome evenings that they may obtain some 

 paltry favour in a cotillon. And when the sea casts up its 

 gifts on these radiant shores, I boldly and with glee give 

 way to my beachcombing instincts and pick and choose. 

 Never up to the present have I found anything of real 

 value ; but am I not buoyed up by pious hopes and san- 

 guine expectations ? Is not the game as diverting and as 

 innocent as many others that are played to greater profit ? 

 It is a game, too, that cannot be forced, and therefore 

 cannot become demoralising ; and having no nice feelings 

 nor fine shades, I rejoice and am glad in it. 



And then what strange and varied things one sees ! 

 Once a "harness-cask," hostile to every sense, came 

 trundled by waves eager to expel it from the vicinity of 

 these oxless but srented isles. It overcame us as we sailed 

 by, 20 yards off, and the general necessity for temperate diet 



