daughter, insisted; pooh-poohing my hesitation. At this distance from
the scene and after years of meditation I am convinced that their efforts
to induce me to go were merely an unnatural craving for sensation.

I went--we three went. Even a bare-legged King has in his own house an
advantage over the European stranger. I was heated, partly from self-
repression, partly from Scotch tweed. King George was quite, quite cool,
and unencumbered, save for a trifling calico jacket, a pink lava-lava,
and the august fly-flapper. But what heated me most, I think, was the
presence of the Crown Prince, who, on my presentation, looked at me as
though he had never seen me before. He was courteous, however, directing
a tappa cloth to be spread for me. The things I intended to say to King
George for the good of himself and his kingdom, which I had thought out
on the steamer Lubeck and rehearsed to my guide a few hours before, would
not be tempted forth. There was silence; for the consul did not seem "to
be on in the scene," and presently the King of Holy Tonga nodded and fell
asleep. Then the Crown Prince came forward, and beckoned me to go with
him. He led me to a room which was composed of mats and bamboo pillars
chiefly. At first I thought there were about ten pillars to support the
roof, but my impression before I left was that there were about ten
thousand. For which multiplication there were good reasons.

Again a beautiful tappa cloth was spread for me, and then ten maidens
entered, and, sitting in a semi-circle, began to chew a root called kava,
which, when sufficiently masticated, they returned into a calabash, water
being poured on the result. Meanwhile, the Prince, dreamily and ever so
gently, was rolling some kind of weed between his fingers. About the
time the maidens had finished, the Crown Prince's cigarette was ready.
A small calabash of the Result was handed to me, and the cigarette
accompanied it. The Crown Prince sat directly opposite me, lit his own