letter n.] A HONOLULU NLGHT. 



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purple night, I remembered that I had seen such islands in 

 dreams in the cold, gray North. " How sweet," I thought 

 it would be, thus to hear far off, the low, sweet murmur of 

 the " sparkling brine," to rest, and 



1 ' Ever to seem 

 Falling asleep in a half-dream." 



A half-dream only, for one would not wish to be quite asleep 

 and lose the consciousness of this delicious outer world. So I 

 thought one moment. The next I heard a droning, humming 

 sound, which certainly was not the surf upon the reef. It 

 came nearer — there could be no mistake. I felt a stab, and 

 found myself the centre of a swarm of droning, stabbing, 

 malignant mosquitos. No, even this is not paradise ! I am 

 ashamed to say that on my first night in Honolulu I sought an 

 early refuge from this intolerable infliction, in profound and 

 prosaic sleep behind mosquito curtains. 



I. L. B. 



