and rankness of growth, mixed with a handsome fern, with a caudex a
foot high, the Sadleria cyathoides, and another of exquisite beauty,
the Micropia tenuifolia, which are said to be the commonest ferns on
Hawaii. It looks Elysian.

Hilo is a lively place for such a mere village; so many natives are
stirring about, and dashing along the narrow roads on horseback.
This is a large airy house, simple and tasteful, with pretty
engravings and water-colour drawings on the walls. There is a large
bath-house in the garden, into which a pure, cool stream has been
led, and the gurgle and music of many such streams fill the sweet,
soft air. There is a saying among sailors, "Follow a Pacific
shower, and it leads you to Hilo." Indeed I think they have a
rainfall of from thirteen to sixteen feet annually. These deep
verandahs are very pleasant, for they render window-blinds
unnecessary; so there is nothing of that dark stuffiness which makes
indoor life a trial in the closed, shadeless Australian houses.

Miss Karpe, my travelling companion, is a lady of great energy, and
apparently an adept in the art of travelling. Undismayed by three
days of sea-sickness, and the prospect of the tremendous journey to
the volcano to-morrow, she extemporised a ride to the Anuenue Falls
on the Wailuku this afternoon, and I weakly accompanied her, a burly
policeman being our guide. The track is only a scramble among rocks
and holes, concealed by grass and ferns, and we had to cross a
stream, full of great holes, several times. The Fall itself is very
pretty, 110 feet in one descent, with a cavernous shrine behind the
water, filled with ferns. There were large ferns all round the
Fall, and a jungle of luxuriant tropical shrubs of many kinds.