Mystic Isles of the South Seas. by Frederick O'Brien
page 215 of 521 (41%)
page 215 of 521 (41%)
![]() | ![]() |
|
Loti's visit to Fautaua with Rarahu, she said in French:
"Why do you not go there yourself with a Rarahu! Loti is old and an admiral, and writes now of Egypt and Turkey and places soiled by crowds of people, but Rarahu is still here and young. Shall I find you her?" I looked at her and boldly said: "I am a stranger in your island, as was Loti when he met Rarahu. Will you not yourself show me Fautaua?" She gave a shrill cry of delight, and in the frank, sweet way of the Tahitian girl replied: "We will run away to-morrow morning. Wear little, for it will be warm, and bring no food!" "I will obey you literally," I said, "and you must find manna or charm ravens to bring us sustenance." I had coffee opposite the market place in the shop of Wing Luey, and chatted a few moments with Prince Hinoe, the son of the Princesse de Joinville, who would have been king had the French not ended the Kingdom of Tahiti. No matter what time Hinoe lay down at night, he was up at dawn for the market, for his early roll and coffee and his converse with the sellers and the buyers. There once a day for an hour the native in Papeete touched the country folk and renewed the ancient custom of gossip in the cool of the morning. The princess--in English her familiar Tahitian name, Noanoa Tiare, |
|