330 
CRULSE OF HALS. CHALLENGER. 
My first evening on land I went, with others, 
for a stroll through some of the beautiful shady 
avenues, and followed the run of the crowd of pe- 
destrians (everybody seemed to be out in holiday 
attire, for, in addition to gangs of sailors, there 
were French soldiers, gendarmes, native girls and 
men), all strolling on, in the best of spirits, reck- 
less, happy, and good-tempered. At length, on 
reaching the Queen’s Square, in which the amateur 
band of the Challenger was advertised to play, the 
strange, motley scene that burst on us was altogether 
indescribable. 
All shades of beauty were here represented, from 
the swarthy Tahitian to the charming European; 
all, however, dressed much alike, in long, loose, 
cool-looking drapery, consisting of a sleeved gar- 
ment, falling in ample and unconfined folds from 
shoulder to feet, of all hues, shades, and colours; 
their luxuriant tresses set off by brilliant flowers and 
masses of snowy reva-reva, a gauzy white material, 
looking like strips of silver paper (made from the 
shoots of young cocoa-nut trees). French officers, 
naval and military, in gay uniforms, with white, 
brown, and pretty half-caste ladies ; several of the 
Challenger s officers, and numerous civilians from far 
and near, helped to fill in the large space. The 
music was enjoyable in the cool still night; and 
it was pleasant to wander about amongst the merry 
crowd, speaking freely and sociably to anybody we 
