first to arrive. Then came
Malietoa Tanu, who was a prominent figure in the war in which the
United States and England joined to fight against Samoa. Following
them came a long concourse of the old friends of Mr. and Mrs.
Stevenson--natives, half-castes, and whites, and last of all, in a
little carriage, three sweet sisters from the Sacred Heart Convent.
The sisters could not stay for the ceremony on the hill, but begged to
be allowed to say a little prayer, and the three knelt before the
table and said an _ave_ for one who had always been their friend.

At nine o'clock they started on the steep climb up the mountain, the
path having been cleared the day before by men sent up through the
thoughtful kindness of the Administrator. Mr. Field led the way with
the casket wrapped in a fine mat, then came Mrs. Field and Laulii,
each carrying one of the mats used in Samoan funeral ceremonies, these
being the same that had been carried at Mr. Stevenson's burial.

[Illustration: The funeral procession as it wound up the hill.]

After them came Colonel Logan and the two high chiefs, Tamasese and
Malietoa, followed by all the other guests, including forty chiefs of
the Tuamasaga. The procession, very picturesque in white clothing and
wreaths of flowers, wound slowly up the mountainside in a zigzag path
under the forest trees. Overhead the branches met in a leafy roof, and
on each side of the narrow path the jungle closed in, thick, lush, and
green. The lianas looped across from bough to bough, huge birds'
nest ferns lay tucked in the branches, on all sides big-leaved plants,
fronds of ferns, and tangled creepers crowded each other for space,
and through all the mass of wild tropic growth the hot sunlight
filtered in splashes of bright green.

When, after many breathless pauses, the top was at last reached, the
case was laid on the base of the tomb and covered with fine mats, with
flowers all about it. Among them were the Japanese imitation
cherry-blossoms sent by Yonida and Fuzisaki, the gardeners at
Stonehedge. The company then gathered around the tomb in a
semi-circle, and Colonel Logan read the Church of England service. It
was an impressive ceremony, and the hearts of all were deeply moved by
it. Filemoni, the Samoan pastor, followed with an eloquent speech in
the native language.

The mats were then removed from the small space that had been cut into
the base of the tomb, and the little case was fitted in and cemented
ov