The girls put on all the finery they can on Saturday afternoon—fine black silk robes; flowing red ones that nearly put your eyes out; others as white as snow; still others that discount the rainbow; and they wear their hair in nets, and trim their jaunty8 hats with fresh flowers, and encircle their dusky throats with home-made necklaces of the brilliant vermillion-tinted blossom of the ohia; and they fill the markets and the adjacent street with their bright presences, and smell like a rag factory on fire with their offensive cocoanut oil.
Occasionally you see a heathen from the sunny isles10 away down in the South Seas, with his face and neck tatooed till he looks like the customary mendicant11 from Washoe who has been blown up in a mine. Some are tattooed12 a dead blue color down to the upper lip—masked, as it were—leaving the natural light yellow skin of Micronesia unstained from thence down; some with broad marks drawn13 down from hair to neck, on both sides of the face, and a strip of the original yellow skin, two inches wide, down the center—a gridiron with a spoke14 broken out; and some with the entire face discolored with the popular mortification15 tint9, relieved only by one or two thin, wavy16 threads of natural yellow running across the face from ear to ear, and eyes twinkling out of this darkness, from under shadowing hat-brims, like stars in the dark of the moon.
Moving among the stirring crowds, you come to the poi merchants, squatting17 in the shade on their hams, in true native fashion, and surrounded by purchasers. (The Sandwich Islanders always squat18 on their hams, and who knows but they may be the old original “ham sandwiches?” The thought is pregnant with interest.) The poi looks like common flour paste, and is kept in large bowls formed of a species of gourd19, and capable of holding from one to three or four gallons. Poi is the chief article of food among the natives, and is prepared from the taro20 plant.
The taro root looks like a thick, or, if you please, a corpulent sweet potato, in shape, but is of a light purple color when boiled. When boiled it answers as a passable substitute for bread. The buck21 Kanakas bake it under ground, then mash22 it up well with a heavy lava23 pestle24, mix water with it until it becomes a paste, set it aside and let if ferment25, and then it is poi—and an unseductive mixture it is, almost tasteless before it ferments26 and too sour for a luxury afterward27. But nothing is more nutritious28. When solely29 used, however, it produces acrid30 humors, a fact which sufficiently31 accounts for the humorous character of the Kanakas. I think there must be as much of a knack32 in handling poi as there is in eating with chopsticks. The forefinger33 is thrust into the mess and stirred quickly round several times and drawn as quickly out, thickly coated, just as it it were poulticed; the head is thrown back, the finger inserted in the mouth and the delicacy34 stripped off and swallowed—the eye closing gently, meanwhile, in a languid sort of ecstasy35. Many a different finger goes into the same bowl and many a different kind of dirt and shade and quality of flavor is added to the virtues36 of its contents.
Around a small shanty37 was collected a crowd of natives buying the awa root. It is said that but for the use of this root the destruction of the people in former times by certain imported diseases would have been far greater than it was, and by others it is said that this is merely a fancy. All agree that poi will rejuvenate38 a man who is used up and his vitality39 almost annihilated40 by hard drinking, and that in some kinds of diseases it will restore health after all medicines have failed; but all are not willing to allow to the awa the virtues claimed for it. The natives manufacture an intoxicating41 drink from it which is fearful in its effects when persistently42 indulged in. It covers the body with dry, white scales, inflames43 the eyes, and causes premature44 decripitude. Although the man before whose establishment we stopped has to pay a Government license45 of eight hundred dollars a year for the exclusive right to sell awa root, it is said that he makes a small fortune every twelve-month; while saloon keepers, who pay a thousand dollars a year for the privilege of retailing46 whiskey, etc., only make a bare living.
We found the fish market crowded; for the native is very fond of fish, and eats the article raw and alive! Let us change the subject.
In old times here Saturday was a grand gala day indeed. All the native population of the town forsook47 their labors49, and those of the surrounding country journeyed to the city. Then the white folks had to stay indoors, for every street was so packed with charging cavaliers and cavalieresses that it was next to impossible to thread one’s way through the cavalcades50 without getting crippled.
At night they feasted and the girls danced the lascivious51 hula hula—a dance that is said to exhibit the very perfection of educated notion of limb and arm, hand, head and body, and the exactest uniformity of movement and accuracy of “time.” It was performed by a circle of girls with no raiment on them to speak of, who went through an infinite variety of motions and figures without prompting, and yet so true was their “time,” and in such perfect concert did they move that when they were placed in a straight line, hands, arms, bodies, limbs and heads waved, swayed, gesticulated, bowed, stooped, whirled, squirmed, twisted and undulated as if they were part and parcel of a single individual; and it was difficult to believe they were not moved in a body by some exquisite52 piece of mechanism53.
Of late years, however, Saturday has lost most of its quondam gala features. This weekly stampede of the natives interfered54 too much with labor48 and the interests of the white folks, and by sticking in a law here, and preaching a sermon there, and by various other means, they gradually broke it up. The demoralizing hula hula was forbidden to be performed, save at night, with closed doors, in presence of few spectators, and only by permission duly procured55 from the authorities and the payment of ten dollars for the same. There are few girls now-a-days able to dance this ancient national dance in the highest perfection of the art.
The missionaries56 have christianized and educated all the natives. They all belong to the Church, and there is not one of them, above the age of eight years, but can read and write with facility in the native tongue. It is the most universally educated race of people outside of China. They have any quantity of books, printed in the Kanaka language, and all the natives are fond of reading. They are inveterate57 church-goers—nothing can keep them away. All this ameliorating cultivation58 has at last built up in the native women a profound respect for chastity—in other people. Perhaps that is enough to say on that head. The national sin will die out when the race does, but perhaps not earlier.—But doubtless this purifying is not far off, when we reflect that contact with civilization and the whites has reduced the native population from four hundred thousand (Captain Cook’s estimate,) to fifty-five thousand in something over eighty years!
Society is a queer medley59 in this notable missionary60, whaling and governmental centre. If you get into conversation with a stranger and experience that natural desire to know what sort of ground you are treading on by finding out what manner of man your stranger is, strike out boldly and address him as “Captain.” Watch him narrowly, and if you see by his countenance61 that you are on the wrong tack62, ask him where he preaches. It is a safe bet that he is either a missionary or captain of a whaler. I am now personally acquainted with seventy-two captains and ninety-six missionaries. The captains and ministers form one-half of the population; the third fourth is composed of common Kanakas and mercantile foreigners and their families, and the final fourth is made up of high officers of the Hawaiian Government. And there are just about cats enough for three apiece all around.
A solemn stranger met me in the suburbs the other day, and said:
“No, I don’t. I’m not a preacher.”
“Really, I beg your pardon, Captain. I trust you had a good season. How much oil”—
“Oil? What do you take me for? I’m not a whaler.”
“Oh, I beg a thousand pardons, your Excellency.
“Major General in the household troops, no doubt? Minister of the Interior, likely? Secretary of war? First Gentleman of the Bed-chamber? Commissioner64 of the Royal”—
“Stuff! I’m no official. I’m not connected in any way with the Government.”
“Bless my life! Then, who the mischief65 are you? what the mischief are you? and how the mischief did you get here, and where in thunder did you come from?”
“I’m only a private personage—an unassuming stranger—lately arrived from America.”
“No? Not a missionary! Not a whaler! not a member of his Majesty’s Government! not even Secretary of the Navy! Ah, Heaven! it is too blissful to be true; alas66, I do but dream. And yet that noble, honest countenance—those oblique67, ingenuous68 eyes—that massive head, incapable69 of—of—anything; your hand; give me your hand, bright waif. Excuse these tears. For sixteen weary years I have yearned70 for a moment like this, and”—
Here his feelings were too much for him, and he swooned away. I pitied this poor creature from the bottom of my heart. I was deeply moved. I shed a few tears on him and kissed him for his mother. I then took what small change he had and “shoved”.
点击收听单词发音
1 festive | |
adj.欢宴的,节日的 | |
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2 homely | |
adj.家常的,简朴的;不漂亮的 | |
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3 gaudy | |
adj.华而不实的;俗丽的 | |
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4 graceful | |
adj.优美的,优雅的;得体的 | |
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5 tavern | |
n.小旅馆,客栈;小酒店 | |
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6 apparently | |
adv.显然地;表面上,似乎 | |
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7 sweeping | |
adj.范围广大的,一扫无遗的 | |
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8 jaunty | |
adj.愉快的,满足的;adv.心满意足地,洋洋得意地;n.心满意足;洋洋得意 | |
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9 tint | |
n.淡色,浅色;染发剂;vt.着以淡淡的颜色 | |
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10 isles | |
岛( isle的名词复数 ) | |
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11 mendicant | |
n.乞丐;adj.行乞的 | |
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12 tattooed | |
v.刺青,文身( tattoo的过去式和过去分词 );连续有节奏地敲击;作连续有节奏的敲击 | |
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13 drawn | |
v.拖,拉,拔出;adj.憔悴的,紧张的 | |
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14 spoke | |
n.(车轮的)辐条;轮辐;破坏某人的计划;阻挠某人的行动 v.讲,谈(speak的过去式);说;演说;从某种观点来说 | |
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15 mortification | |
n.耻辱,屈辱 | |
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16 wavy | |
adj.有波浪的,多浪的,波浪状的,波动的,不稳定的 | |
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17 squatting | |
v.像动物一样蹲下( squat的现在分词 );非法擅自占用(土地或房屋);为获得其所有权;而占用某片公共用地。 | |
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18 squat | |
v.蹲坐,蹲下;n.蹲下;adj.矮胖的,粗矮的 | |
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19 gourd | |
n.葫芦 | |
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20 taro | |
n.芋,芋头 | |
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21 buck | |
n.雄鹿,雄兔;v.马离地跳跃 | |
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22 mash | |
n.麦芽浆,糊状物,土豆泥;v.把…捣成糊状,挑逗,调情 | |
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23 lava | |
n.熔岩,火山岩 | |
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24 pestle | |
n.杵 | |
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25 ferment | |
vt.使发酵;n./vt.(使)激动,(使)动乱 | |
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26 ferments | |
n.酵素( ferment的名词复数 );激动;骚动;动荡v.(使)发酵( ferment的第三人称单数 );(使)激动;骚动;骚扰 | |
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27 afterward | |
adv.后来;以后 | |
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28 nutritious | |
adj.有营养的,营养价值高的 | |
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29 solely | |
adv.仅仅,唯一地 | |
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30 acrid | |
adj.辛辣的,尖刻的,刻薄的 | |
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31 sufficiently | |
adv.足够地,充分地 | |
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32 knack | |
n.诀窍,做事情的灵巧的,便利的方法 | |
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33 forefinger | |
n.食指 | |
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34 delicacy | |
n.精致,细微,微妙,精良;美味,佳肴 | |
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35 ecstasy | |
n.狂喜,心醉神怡,入迷 | |
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36 virtues | |
美德( virtue的名词复数 ); 德行; 优点; 长处 | |
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37 shanty | |
n.小屋,棚屋;船工号子 | |
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38 rejuvenate | |
v.(使)返老还童;(使)恢复活力 | |
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39 vitality | |
n.活力,生命力,效力 | |
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40 annihilated | |
v.(彻底)消灭( annihilate的过去式和过去分词 );使无效;废止;彻底击溃 | |
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41 intoxicating | |
a. 醉人的,使人兴奋的 | |
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42 persistently | |
ad.坚持地;固执地 | |
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43 inflames | |
v.(使)变红,发怒,过热( inflame的第三人称单数 ) | |
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44 premature | |
adj.比预期时间早的;不成熟的,仓促的 | |
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45 license | |
n.执照,许可证,特许;v.许可,特许 | |
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46 retailing | |
n.零售业v.零售(retail的现在分词) | |
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47 forsook | |
forsake的过去式 | |
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48 labor | |
n.劳动,努力,工作,劳工;分娩;vi.劳动,努力,苦干;vt.详细分析;麻烦 | |
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49 labors | |
v.努力争取(for)( labor的第三人称单数 );苦干;详细分析;(指引擎)缓慢而困难地运转 | |
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50 cavalcades | |
n.骑马队伍,车队( cavalcade的名词复数 ) | |
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51 lascivious | |
adj.淫荡的,好色的 | |
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52 exquisite | |
adj.精美的;敏锐的;剧烈的,感觉强烈的 | |
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53 mechanism | |
n.机械装置;机构,结构 | |
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54 interfered | |
v.干预( interfere的过去式和过去分词 );调停;妨碍;干涉 | |
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55 procured | |
v.(努力)取得, (设法)获得( procure的过去式和过去分词 );拉皮条 | |
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56 missionaries | |
n.传教士( missionary的名词复数 ) | |
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57 inveterate | |
adj.积习已深的,根深蒂固的 | |
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58 cultivation | |
n.耕作,培养,栽培(法),养成 | |
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59 medley | |
n.混合 | |
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60 missionary | |
adj.教会的,传教(士)的;n.传教士 | |
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61 countenance | |
n.脸色,面容;面部表情;vt.支持,赞同 | |
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62 tack | |
n.大头钉;假缝,粗缝 | |
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63 reverence | |
n.敬畏,尊敬,尊严;Reverence:对某些基督教神职人员的尊称;v.尊敬,敬畏,崇敬 | |
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64 commissioner | |
n.(政府厅、局、处等部门)专员,长官,委员 | |
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65 mischief | |
n.损害,伤害,危害;恶作剧,捣蛋,胡闹 | |
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66 alas | |
int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) | |
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67 oblique | |
adj.斜的,倾斜的,无诚意的,不坦率的 | |
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68 ingenuous | |
adj.纯朴的,单纯的;天真的;坦率的 | |
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69 incapable | |
adj.无能力的,不能做某事的 | |
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70 yearned | |
渴望,切盼,向往( yearn的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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