[Illustration: Tropic Feathers]

All the members of the royal family at present in Tahiti had been
invited to meet us, and arrived in due course, including the
heir-apparent and his brother and sister. All the guests were dressed
in the native costume, with wreaths on their heads and necks, and even
the servants--including our own, whom I hardly recognised--were
similarly decorated. Wreaths had also been prepared for us, three of
fragrant yellow flowers for Mabelle, Muriel, and myself, and others of
a different kind for the gentlemen.

When the feast was ready the Prince offered me his arm, and we all
walked in a procession to a grove of bananas in the garden through two
lines of native servants, who, at a given signal, saluted us with
three hearty English cheers. We then continued our walk till we
arrived at a house, built in the native style, by the side of a rocky
stream, like a Scotch burn. The uprights of the house were banana
trees, transplanted with their leaves on, so as to shade the roof,
which was formed of plaited cocoa-nut palm-leaves, each about fifteen
feet long, laid transversely across bamboo rafters. From these
light-green supports and the dark green roof depended the yellow and
brown leaves of the _theve_, woven into graceful garlands and elegant
festoons. The floor was covered with the finest mats, with black and
white borders, and the centre strewn with broad green plantain leaves,
to form the tablecloth, on which were laid baskets and dishes, made of
leaves sewed together, and containing all sorts of native delicacies.
There were oysters, lobsters, wurrali, and crawfish, stewed chicken,
boiled sucking-pig, plantains, bread-fruit, melons, bananas, oranges,
and strawberries. Before each guest was placed a half cocoa-nut full