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he conclusion attributed to the nameless lady of the legend would be reached to-day, under the like circumstances, by ninety per cent. of Polynesians: and here I probably under-state by one-tenth. NOTES TO THE FEAST OF FAMINE In this ballad I have strung together some of the more striking particularities of the Marquesas. It rests upon no authority; it is in no sense, like "Rahero," a native story; but a patchwork of details of manners and the impressions of a traveller. It may seem strange, when the scene is laid upon these profligate islands, to make the story hinge on love. But love is not less known in the Marquesas than elsewhere; nor is there any cause of suicide more common in the islands. Note 1, page 169. "_Pit of popoi._" Where the bread-fruit was stored for preservation. Note 2, page 169. "_Ruby-red._" The priest's eyes were probably red from the abuse of kava. His beard (_ib._) is said to be worth an estate; for the beards of old men are the favourite head-adornment of the Marquesans, as the hair of women formed their most costly girdle. The former, among this generally beardless and short-lived people, fetch to-day considerable sums. Note 3, page 169. "_Tikis._" The tiki is an ugly image hewn out of wood or stone. Note 4, page 172. "_The one-stringed harp._" Usually employed for serenades. Note 5, page 173. "_The sacred cabin of palm._" Which, however, no woman could approach. I do not know where women were tattooed; probably in the common house, or in the bush, for a woman was a creature of small account. I must guard the reader against supposing Taheia was at all disfigured; the art of the Marquesan tattooer is extreme; and she would appear to be clothed in a web of lace, inimitably delicate, exquisite in pattern, and of a bluish hue that at once contrasts and harmonises with the warm pigment of the native skin. It would be hard to find a woman more becomingly adorned than "a well-tattooed" Marquesan. Note 6, page 175. "_The horror of night._" The Polynesian fear of ghosts and of the dark has been already referred to. Their life is beleaguered by the dead. Note 7, page 176. "_The quiet passage of souls._" So, I am told, the natives explain the sound of a little wind passing overhead unfelt. Note 8, page 178. "_The first of the victims fell._" Without doubt, this whole scene is untrue to fact. The victims were disposed of privately and some time before. And indeed I am far from cla
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