the influence of excitement into an exhibition that
provokes sorrow and disgust. And yet, curiously enough, the dancers at
these times are not low class, common people, but young men and women
of high lineage, who, led by the _taupo_, or maid of the village, cast
aside all restraint and modesty. In many of the dances the costumes are
exceedingly pretty, the men wearing aprons made of the yellow and
scarlet leaves of the _ti_ or dracoena plant, with head-dresses formed
of pieces of iridescent pearl-shell, intermixed with silver coins and
scarlet and amber beads, and the hair of both sexes is profusely adorned
with the scarlet flowers of the hibiscus, while from their necks depend
large strings of _sea-sea, masa'oi,_ and other brightly-coloured and
sweet-smelling berries. Of late years the Tahitian fashion of wearing
thick wreaths of orange or lemon blossoms has come into vogue.

Before concluding these remarks upon Samoa, I must mention that the
climate is very healthy for the greater part of the year; but in the
rainy season, December to March, the heat is intense, and sickness is
often prevalent, especially in Apia. Still fever, such as is met with in
the New Hebrides and the Solomon Group, "the grave of the white man in
the South Seas," is unknown, and one may sleep in the open air with
impunity. Before setting out from Apia the services of a competent
interpreter should be secured--a man who thoroughly understands the
Samoan _customs_ as well as the language. Plenty of reliable half-castes
can always be found, any one of whom would be glad to engage for a very
moderate payment. Too often the pleasures of such a trip as I have
described have been marred by the interpreter's lack of tact and
knowledge of the idiosyncrasies of the inhabitants of the various
districts and villages. The mere fact of a man being able to speak the
language fairly well is not the all in all; for the Samoans are a highly
sensitive people, and the omission by the interpreter of a chief's
titles, &c., when the guests are responding through him to an address of
welcome, would be considered "shockingly bad form."

But the reader must not imagine that the Samoan Group is the only one in
the South Pacific where an enjoyable holiday may be spent. The French
possession of the Society Islands, of which the pretty town Papeite, in
the noble island of Tahiti, is the capital, rivals, if not exceeds,
Samoa in the magnificence of its scenery, and the nativ