te hastily and then donned proper garments, Exploding Eggs
rejoicing in a stiff collar and a worn sailor-hat once mine. They
sat oddly upon him, being several sizes too large, but he bore
himself with pride as we set out toward the church.

In the avenue of bananas leading to the mission I lingered to
observe the beauty of the flakes upon the ground. They are the
outside layers of the pendulum of that graceful plant, the purple
flower-cone that hangs at the end of the fruit cluster with its
volute and royal-hued stem. The banana-plants, which we call trees,
lined the road and stood twenty feet high, their long slender leaves
blowing in the light wind like banners from a castle wall.

The flakes that had dropped upon the ground were lovely. Large as a
lady's veil, ribbed satin, rose and purple, pink and scarlet, the
filmy edges curled delicately, they hinted the elegance and luxury
of a pretty woman's boudoir. And, like all such dainty trifles, the
charming flower that hangs like a colored lamp in the green chapel
of the banana-grove it is useless after it has served its brief
purpose. The fruit grows better when it is cut off.

Opposite the spacious mission grounds the worshippers were gathering
beneath two gnarled banian-trees, giant-like in height and spread.
Behind them a long hedge of bananas bordered the cocoanut plantation
of the church, and across the narrow road rose the chapel, the
priests' residence and the nuns' house, with several school
buildings now empty because of the French anti-clerical law.

Exploding Eggs in his new finery and the visiting chief from
Vait-hua found welcome among the waiting natives, while Titihuti of
the tattooed legs took her seat beside me. She had combed her Titian
tresses and anointed them with oil till they shone like the kelp beds
of Monterey. Her tunic was of scarlet calico, and she carried in her
hand a straw hat with a red ribbon, to put on when she entered the
church. "_Kaoha!_" I said to her, and she smiled, displaying her even,
white teeth.

Suddenly, looking past her at the church, my eye caught a sight that
transfixed me. In the misty light I saw the Christ upon the cross as
on Calvary. The sublime figure was in the agony of expiration, and at
the foot of the cross stood the ever faithful mother and the loving
John in attitudes of amazement and grief. The reality was startling;
for the moment I forgot all about me.

But Titihuti coughed, and I saw her tattooed le