As a small part of this ambitious program, we decided to visit the fol- 

 lowing "bird resorts: - Tahiti, in French Oceania; flaratonga, in the Cook Is- 

 lands; the North and South Islands of New Zealand; a few localities on the 

 Australian continent; the Fiji group; certain islands of the Tongan and Samoan 

 groups, and finally, Hawaii. For particulers see the accompanying map. Of 

 course, the time we could give to them would be all too short, but *e came 

 within an ace of not seeing them at all 1 . *- as I shall now explain. 



Doubtless you, as a consistent follower of Kaud Adams, still believe in 

 Fairies, but what do you think of the Parcae? If I were a true pagan I 

 would quite likely describe what happened to E., in explanation of the post- 

 ponement of our excursion across the Pacific, in some such fashion as this: 

 Out of a bright heaven of hygienic blue came Clotho, and said to E», "A 

 Right Merry Xmas, to You." 



She, the youngest and best-looking of the Fates, appeared to have a di- 

 vine sense of humor and a soupcon of jest in tone and look, as if she had, 

 any time these million years, enjoyed the Perennial Jokes of the Universe, 

 and especially those practiced on or perpetrated at the expense of poor 

 Humanity, 



It was quite otherwise with Lachesis. The Dispenser of Gifts appeared 

 so impassive, so unconcerned, even majestic — and, I am convinced, was not 

 intrinsically unkind. She never looked directly at E. at all, but gazed in 

 the far distance — across the lovely, glittering sands of the crescent 

 Coronado beach, past the Mexican table- mountain, past Corpus Christi, lying 

 low in the Calif ornian sunlight, over the many-sounding, illimitable ocean 

 as if searching for the dark entrance to Avernus, beyond which roll Acheron, 

 and Phlegethon with its fiery flood and scorched banks, and the murky waters 

 of Styx, The searching gaze of the Second Sister did not rest there but 

 found, at last, a place where 



"Awegna che la subitana fuga 

 Dispergesse color per la campagna, 

 Rivolti al monte ove ragion ne fruga" 



"Here, child, is * New Year*s remembrance", and she touched E. ever so 

 gently on the left eyebrow. ************** When my wife, after ten weeks 

 struggle with the powers of darkness in the shape of an attack of herpes 

 zoster ophthalmicus, a visitation as venomous as its name is long, recovered 

 sufficiently to contemplate travel, we held a family council and decided 

 that we would not abandon, but merely postpone our trip; we would even re- 

 gard the hegira as a celebration of victory. 



Because, as E. pointed out, it might have been worse. Oh, yes, of 

 course. There is a Third Sister who, as Atropos the Inflexible, has through 

 the ages done a thriving and, it must be noted, often beneficent business 

 in the scissors line; her ministrations we have for the moment escaped. 

 And so here we are. 



-2- 



