bilities
that diminutiveness was life-saving, and natural selection had made him
inferior in size to his cannibal mate. He had a very shrinking attitude
in her presence, as Socrates must have affected about Xantippe.

At eleven o'clock of the forenoon I, with Matatini and Raiere, a youth
of twenty, strolled down the grassy street to the garden of Alfred,
where Choti might be painting under the trees, and if a halloo did
not bring him bounding to us, we went on to T'yonni's, where he would
surely be, either under the mango trees or in the salon. Choti had
many canvases completed, some six feet long, and he also did excellent
silver-point heads of the villagers. Tahitians were indifferent models,
as they were not much interested in pictures, not seeing objects, as
we do, and found posing irksome. Only Choti's friendship for them,
his bonhomie, and many merry jokes in their tongue could keep them
still for his purposes.

T'yonni's house was half a mile from my own. A quarter of a mile
farther, and the same distance from the junction of lagoon and river,
we had our swimming-place. On an acre or two of grass and moss,
removed from any habitation, grew a score of lofty cocoas, and under
these we threw off our pareus or trousers and shirts. The bank of the
stream was a fathom from the water which was brackish at high tide and
sweet at low. With a short run and a curving leap we plunged into the
flowing water. It was refreshing at the hottest hour. The Tahitians
seldom dived head first, as we did, but jumped feet foremost, and the
women in a sitting posture, which made a great splash, but prevented
their gowns from rising. As I remarked before, we three Americans
bathed stark when with men, but the modest Tahitian men never for a
moment uncovered themselves, but wore their pareus. Captain Cook said
that in their houses he had not seen a single instance of immodesty,
though families slept in one room. Choti avowed that he had to make
love to his girl models to induce them to pose in the altogether,
for money would not make them adopt the garb of Venus.

The Tahitians did not enter the sea for pleasure. The rivers and brooks
were their bathing- and resting-places. They attributed sicknesses
to the too frequent touch of salt water. They had not the habitude
of swimming within the lagoons, as at Hawaii; it was not with them
an exercise or luxury, but a part of their every-day activities in
fishing and canoeing. A farmer after hi