SOME weeks afterwards, after a round of three thousand miles, I found myself in Tonga, better known as the Friendly Islands. The distance from the Cook Group was only one thousand or less, as the crow flies, but the steamers flew down to Auckland, and then back again, which naturally added to the journey. Pacific travel is a series of compromises. The British Resident of Niué, which is only three hundred miles from Tonga, wanted to get to the latter place about that time, and when I met him at Nukualofa, the Tongan capital, he had had to travel two thousand four hundred miles to reach it! But no one is ever in a hurry, under the shade of the cocoanut tree.
Who has heard of Tongatabu? who knows where the “Friendly Islands” are? You will not find them very readily in the map, but they are to be found nevertheless, about one thousand miles to the north-east of New Zealand. And if you take the steamer that runs every month from Auckland to Sydney, touching5 at the “Friendly” or Tongan Group, on the way, you will find yourself, in four days, set down on the wharf6 of Nukualofa, the capital of the island of Tongatabu, and the seat of the oddest, most comic-opera-like monarchy8 that the world ever knew.
Thirty years ago—even twenty—the Great South Seas were scattered9 over with independent island states, ruled by monarchs10 who displayed every degree of civilisation11, from the bloodthirsty monster, Thakomban of Fiji and Jibberik, the half-crazy tyrant12 of Majuro, up to such Elizabeths of the Pacific as Liluokalani of Hawaii, and Queen Pomaré of Tahiti. Now there is but one island kingdom left; but one native sovereign, who still sits on his throne unembarrassed by the presence of a British Resident, who is ruler in all but name. Hawaii has fallen to America; France has taken the Marquesas and Tahiti; England has annexed14 the Cook Islands and dethroned the famous Queen Makea; Germany and America have partitioned Samoa between them; the rich archipelago of Fiji has been added to the British Colonies. This accounts for almost all of the larger and richer island groups, distinguished15 by a certain amount of original civilisation, and leaves only one unseized—Tonga, or the Friendly Islands, over which England has maintained a protectorate since 1900.
The Tongan Archipelago was discovered by Captain Cook in 1777, and by him named the “Friendly Islands,” on account of the apparently16 friendly disposition17 of the natives. He sailed away from the group unaware18 that beneath their seemingly genial19 reception, the Tongans had been maturing a plot to murder him and seize his ship. Treachery, it is true, has never been an essential part of the Tongan character; but they are, and always have been, the most warlike of all Pacific races, and it is probable that they thought the character of the deed excused by the necessities of a military race who feared injury from a superior power.
After Cook’s visit the world heard very little of Tonga until 1816, when Mariner’s “Tonga Islands,” the history of a young sailor’s captivity20 among the natives of the group, fairly took the reading world by storm. It is still a classic among works of travel and adventure. Since the islands were converted to Christianity their history has been uneventful. One king—George Tubou I.—reigned22 for seventy years, and only died at last, aged23 ninety-seven, of a chill contracted from his invariable custom of bathing in the sea at dawn! His great-grandson, George Tubou II. succeeded, inheriting through his mother’s side, as the Tongan succession follows the matriarchal plan. It is this king—aged thirty-four, six feet four in height, and about twenty-seven stone weight—who now sits upon the last throne of the Island Kings, and rules over the only independent state left in the Pacific.
When Britain, assumed a Protectorate over Tonga in 1900, it was done simply to prevent any other nation annexing24 the rich and fertile group, with its splendid harbour of Vavau which lay so dangerously near Fiji. The Germans, who had maintained a kind of half-and-half Protectorate for some time, ceded25 their rights in exchange for those possessed26 by England in Samoa, and Tonga then became safe from the incursions of any foreign nation whose interests, trading and territorial27, might be hostile to those of Britain.
Perhaps as a consequence of all those negotiations28, the Tongans have a high opinion of their own importance. When the war between China and Japan broke out, Tonga politely sent word to Great Britain that she intended to remain neutral, and not take any part in the affair. Great Britain’s reply, I regret to say, is not recorded.
The Tongans are a Christianised and partially29 civilised, if a coloured, race, numbering about 20,000. They are of a warm brown in hue30, with dense31 black, wiry hair (usually dyed golden red with lime juice), tall, well-made frames, and immense muscular development. As a nation, they are handsome, with intelligent faces, and a dignity of pose and movement that is sometimes unkindly called the “Tongan swagger.” In education, many of them would compare favourably32 with the average white man, so far as mere34 attainments35 go; although a course of instruction at the local schools and colleges, amounting to very nearly the standard of an English “matriculations,” does not prevent its recipient36 from believing firmly in the holiness of the sacred Tongan bats, feeding himself with his fingers, and walking about his native village naked as Adam, save for a cotton kilt. There is not only a King in Tonga, but a real palace, guards of honour, a Parliament, a Prime Minister, a Chancellor of the Exchequer37, and a large number of public officials. All these are Tongan natives. The king’s guards are apt to make an especially vivid impression upon the newcomer, as he walks up the wharf, and sees the scarlet39-coated sentry40 pacing up and down opposite the guard-room, with his fellows, also smartly uniformed, lounging inside. If the stranger, however, could have witnessed the scene on the wharf as soon as the steamer was signalled—-the sudden running up of a dozen or two of guards who had been amusing themselves about the town in undress uniform (navy-blue kilt, red sash, buff singlet), the scrambling42 and dressing43 coram publico on the grass, getting into trousers, boots, shirt, tunic44, forage45 cap, and the hurried scuffle to get ready in time, and make a fine appearance to the steamer folk—he might think rather less of Tonga’s military discipline. Beyond the wharf lies the town, straggling over a good mile of space, and consisting of a few main streets and one or two side alleys46, bordered by pretty verandahed, flowery houses. The pavement is the same throughout—green grass, kept short by the constant passing of bare feet. There are a good many trading stores, filled with wares47 suited to native tastes—gaudy prints, strong perfumes, cutlery, crockery, Brummagem jewellery. The streets are busy to-day—busy for Nukualofa, that is. Every now and then a native passes, flying by on a galloping48, barebacked horse, or striding along the grass with the inimitable Tongan strut49; for it is steamer day, and the monthly union steamer boat is the theatre, the newspaper, the society entertainment; the luxury-provider of all the archipelago. On the other twenty-nine or thirty days of the month, you may stand in the middle of a main street for half an hour at a time, and not see a single passer-by, but steamer day galvanises the whole island into life.
The sand of the beach beside the wharf is as white as snow; it is pulverised coral from the reef, nothing else. Great fluted50 clam-shells, a foot long and more, lie about the strand51, among the trailing pink-flowered convolvulus vines that wreathe the shore of every South Sea island. Unkempt pandanus trees, mounted on quaint52 high wooden stilts53, overhang the green water; among the taller and more graceful54 cocoa-palms, Norfolk Island pines, odd, formal, and suggestive of hairbrushes, stand among feathery ironwoods and spreading-avavas about the palace of the king. Quite close to the wharf this latter is placed—a handsome two-storeyed building, with wide verandahs and a tower. Scarlet-coated sentries55 march up and down all day at its gates; it is surrounded by a wall, and carefully guarded from intruders. George Tubou II. is among the shyest of monarchs and hates nothing so much as being stared at; so on steamer days there is little sign of life to be seen about the palace.
I happened to arrive in Tonga at an interesting historical crisis, and was promised an audience with the retiring monarch7.
After a week or two, however, the promise was suddenly recalled, and the visitor informed that the king declined to see her, then or at any other time. A little investigation56 revealed the cause. The High Commissioner57 of the Western Pacific had recently come over from Fiji; to remonstrate58 with the Tongan monarchy concerning certain unconstitutional behaviour, and a British man-of-war had accompanied him. I, being the only other person on the island from “Home,” had naturally been seeing a good deal of the formidable stranger. This was enough for the king. There was a plot to deprive him of his throne, he was certain; and it was obvious that I was in it, whatever I might choose to say to the contrary. There was no knowing what crime I might not be capable of, once admitted to the Royal Palace. George Tubou II. is six feet four, and twenty-seven stone weight, but he is distinctly of a nervous temperament59; and his fears of Guy Fawkesism kept possession of his mind during the whole of my stay; so that the carefully averted60 face of a fat, copper-coloured sort of Joe Sedley, driving very fast in a buggy, was all I saw of Tonga’s king.
There is no one, surely, in the world who quite comes up to George of Tonga for a “guid conceit61 o’ himsel’.” When he wished to provide himself with a queen, some six or seven years ago, he first applied62 to the Emperor of Germany, to know if there was a German Princess of marriageable age whom he could have! The Kaiser politely replied in the negative. King George then sent proposals to a princess of Hawaii who was as well educated as any white lady, and used to diplomatic society in Washington. This also failing, he turned his attentions to his own country; and then began the most extraordinary love-story ever told under the Southern Cross—a story that could have happened nowhere on the globe, except in the comic-opera country of Tonga.
There were two eligible63 princesses of the royal line of Tonga—Princess Ofa and Princess Lavinia. The king appears to have proposed to them both, and then found himself unable to decide between the two. They were both of high rank, both good-looking after the portly Tongan fashion, and both very willing to be queen, reign13 over the fine palace, order lots of silk dresses from Auckland, wear the queen’s crown of Tonga (supposed to be gold, but rather inclined to suspicious outbreaks of verdigris64), and see the natives get off their horses and kneel on the ground, when the royal state carriage drove by.
But the king kept both princesses in the agonies of suspense65 ever present, and hope constantly deferred66 for months—until the wedding-day was fixed67, the wedding-cake (ordered three years before from a New Zealand confectioner, for the German Princess who was not to be had) patched up and fresh coloured, the wedding-dress provided, at the expense of the Government of Tonga (according to custom) and actually made! Not till the very night before the wedding did his dilatory68 Majesty at last declare his intentions, and fix upon the princess he had last proposed to, whom nobody expected him to take—Lavinia. It is a sober fact that the wedding invitation cards, sent out at the last minute, were printed with a blank for the bride’s name, which was added with a pen! Lavinia, overjoyed at her good luck, got into the Governmentally provided wedding dress next day, and (as the fairy tales say) “the wedding was celebrated69 with great pomp!” There is no sense of humour in Tonga. If there had been, the king could hardly have selected the means of consolation70 for Ofa’s disappointment that he actually did choose, in sending her the bottom half of his wedding cake, as soon as the ceremony was over. Princess Ofa was not proud; she had been beating her head on the floor-mats all morning and pulling out handfuls of her long black hair, but when the consolatory71 cake arrived, she accepted it promptly72 and ate it.
There are generally illuminations on the night of a royal wedding. Tonga was not behind-hand in this matter, but the illuminations were of rather an unusual kind, being nothing less than numbers of burning native houses, set on fire by the indignant friends of the jilted Princess Ofa. The friends of the new queen retaliated73 in kind; and for nearly a week, arson74 became the recognised sport of the island. This excess of party feeling soon died down, however, and the newly married couple were left to honeymoon75 in peace.
An infant princess was born in due time, and not very long after, Queen Lavinia died. Here was Princess Ofa’s chance, if Fate had permitted; but Ofa herself was dead, leaving no eligible princess to console the widowed king.
For more than five years the monarch (who is still only thirty-four) has lived alone, a mark for every husband-hunting princess in the Pacific. A princess related to an ancient island monarchy, invited herself to stay in the palace one recent Christmas. King George received her pleasantly, entertained her for some weeks, and then sent her home with a big packet of fine tobacco and a barrel of spirits, to console her for the non-success of her visit—which may be accounted for by the fact that she is rather older than the king himself, and by no means so lovely as she was. A favoured candidate is a certain princess of the royal family of Tahiti. She has been described to the king as handsome, and at least sixteen stone weight, both of which claims are quite correct. King George really wants a European princess, but as soon as he has been convinced for the second time that this is impossible, it is hoped that he will decide on the Tahitian princess, and elevate her to the Tongan throne, since he admires fat women exceedingly.
One of the most remarkable76 things in this remarkable country is the Parliament. It would take too long to record the history of this assembly’s birth and development; but the chapter has been a notable one in Tongan history. The Parliament usually consists of the King and Prime Minister, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Chief Justice, and a score or two of important chiefs, some of whom inherit by birth, while others are returned by their native villages. At the time of my visit, there were a couple of vacancies77 in this remarkable assembly, since the High Commissioner of the Western Pacific (Governor of Fiji) had just deported78 the Prime Minister and the Chancellor of the Exchequer to Fiji, on account of certain proceedings79 which resulted in emptying Tonga’s public treasury80 and leaving nothing to show for it.
Their absence did not greatly matter, however, as it is a rule of the Tongan Constitution, that Parliament shall not meet oftener than once in three years. An excellent and practical reason lies at the root of this seemingly peculiar81 law. Tongatabu is a small island, only twenty miles long; and when the Members of Parliament,—dressed in new cotton kilts, with smart large floor-mats tied round their waists with sinnet (cocoanut fibre plait), and violet, sea-green, or lemon silk shirts on their brown backs—arrive from the outer villages and islands in Nukualofa with all their relatives, for the beginning of the session, something very like a famine sets in. The whole Parliament, also its sisters, aunts, and grandpapas, has to be fed at public expense, while it stays in the capital arranging the affairs of the nation; and as the length of its sitting is always regulated by the amount of provisions available, and never ends until the last yam, the last skinny chicken, the last sack of pineapples, is eaten up, it is easy to understand why the capital does not care to undergo such a strain any oftener than it can help.
A new Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer were appointed before long, and it was made a condition of the latter office, that the Chancellor should understand a reasonable amount of arithmetic. There was also a rigid82 rule made about the keeping of the key of the Government safe in some suitable place. A good deal of trouble was caused by the last Chancellor’s losing it, one day when he was out fishing on the coral reef! There was a duplicate, but the Chancellor had carefully locked it up in the safe, to make sure it should not be lost! The poor old gentleman nearly get sunstroke hunting about the coral reef for the key until he found it. If it had been carried, away by the tides, the safe must have remained closed until an expert from Auckland could be brought up to open it. As the Chancellor of the Exchequer did not know how much he had in it, or how much he had spent in the last quarter, it can readily be understood that the public accounts acquired an entirely83 superfluous84 extra tangle85 or two during the absence of the lost key.
Tonga enjoys one of the finest climates in the Pacific. The heat is never excessive, and the air is generally bright and invigorating. Fevers are unheard of, and the few white residents of the islands enjoy splendid health. As for the Tongans themselves, they dispute with the Fijians the palm of being physically86 the finest and strongest people in the whole Pacific; and no one has ever thought of challenging their claim to be the most intellectual of all the brown island races. Their carriage is superb, though only its extreme aplomb87 and ease save it from degenerating88 into an actual swagger. Their dress displays the most perfect taste in the South Seas. It consists, among the men, of a short tunic (“vala”) of fine cashmere or silk, occasionally of cotton, on working days—draped with all the grace of an antique statue, and worn with a wide sash, and a thin, close-fitting singlet or shirt. The Tongan woman generally wears a garment that is suggestive of the Greek chiton—a loose sleeveless dress reaching to a point midway between waist and knee. Underneath89 is seen a tunic similar to that of the men, but a little longer. The colours chosen by both sexes are exquisite90. No artist could design more beautiful combinations than those I have often seen flitting about the grassy91 streets of Nukualofa, Tonga’s capital. A finely made giant strides by, in a navy-blue vala, cream-coloured silk shirt, and vivid sea-green sash. Another wears a pale blue vala and shirt, and a sash of royal blue. A third is in white and lemon colour girdled with orange; another wears a white vala, a pale green shirt, and a sash of violet silk. A tall, self-possessed young woman, her hair dyed golden red with lime, and worn coiffed high above the forehead, with a fall of natural curls down her back, has a scarlet and yellow vala under her short brown silk gown, while her companion—smaller and merrier faced, with the melting black eyes of “The Islands”—wears and looks charming in, a pale-blue gown over a vala of daffodil yellow. These are the fashions of Tonga; and they offer a feast for artistic92 souls and pencils, that cannot be matched under the Southern Cross.
Tonga is very seldom visited by travellers, except for an hour or two during the steamer’s stay in port, and it is hardly ever seen by British tourists. I could not discover that any English lady had ever made a stay there, except myself, and the wife of a local Church dignitary. There are, of course, a few Colonial residents. But the English traveller leaves Tonga out altogether, which is really a pity—for his sake. As for the islands, they can do very well without tourists, and would not be the better for them.
There was no hotel save a plain and simple public-house, at the time of my stay, though I understand this defect has been remedied. I had therefore to set up housekeeping on my own account. The tiny bungalow I took for my stay of four weeks in the island, was a real South Sea home. It stood almost on the white coral sand of the beach, and close to the cool green waters of the lagoon93; it was shaded by palms and scarlet-blossomed “flamboyant” trees, and it was nearly all door and window and verandah. Its carpets were plaited pandanus-leaf mats; the ornaments94 in the sitting-room95 were foot-long fluted clam-shells off the beach, filled with wild red and yellow hibiscus flowers, poignantly96 perfumed frangipani stars, and the sweet pink blossoms of the South Sea oleander. The back kitchen had generally a bunch of bananas hanging from the roof, a pile of green cocoanuts for drinking, under the window, a mound97 of yellow papaws, or tree-melons, in a corner, some custard-apples and mangoes, and a big basket of pineapples, bought at the door for fourteen a shilling, or picked by myself during a drive through the bush.
There was not much else, besides bread and tea. I almost lived on fruit, and could not help wondering what the inhabitants of temperate99 latitudes100, who fear ill consequences from a dozen plums or a double handful of strawberries, would have thought of my uncounted mangoes, and bananas, and five or six pineapples a day. Only children, at home in England, really know how much fruit can safely be undertaken by the human digestive organs. Wise children! and foolish elders, who have forgotten so soon.
The transparent101 waters of the lagoon outside, lapping idly under the leaves of overhanging palm and pandanus, were not so cool as they looked, under the hot midday sun; and if one did not want a tepid102 sea-bath, it was best to wait till night. Then, what a luxury it was, after the heat of the day (for Tonga, though cool for the tropics, is nevertheless tropical), to float about in the dim lagoon, under a glow of stars that fit up the sky almost as brightly as an English moon, the dark shining water bearing one to and fro with the swell103 from the reef, the land growing farther and farther away, the palms on the thin pale shoreline standing104 out small and black, like Indian ink sketches105, against the lurid106 purple of the midnight sky! Willingly indeed one would have passed the whole night out there, swimming, and floating in a warm dark sea of stars—stars above and stars below—if nature had not given out after an hour or two, and demanded a return to the solid earth. Sharks? Well, they had “hardly ever” been seen inside the reef. Stingarees, with their immense ugly bodies buried in the sand at the bottom, and their cruel barbed tails ready to strike? Yes, they had been seen, but not often; and in tropic waters you learn to take the chances like every one else, and enjoy yourself without thinking of the “might-be’s.”
It was the hot season, but not too hot for riding or driving, and I spent many mornings exploring about the island. To the Wood of the Bats, about eleven miles from Nukualofa, one drives in a springy little colonial buggy, driving over mile after mile of rather uneven21 grass road, along avenues of blossoming orange trees, through groves107 of bananas and breadfruit and tall mango trees, past straggling native villages with neat little fancy-work houses made of woven reeds and thatch108, until, in the distance, one begins to hear a loud screaming, squeaking109, and chattering110 noise. This is the Wood of the Bats that we are coming to, and that is some of their usual conversation. Under the trees—there are over twenty of them, avavas, like great cedars111, ironwoods, mangoes; all big forest trees, and all covered with bats as thick as a currant bush with currants—the squeaking and squealing112 grows almost deafening113, Thousands of great flying-foxes, with dark furry114 bodies as big as cats, big spreading wings (now folded tightly up) and sharp, keen fox-like heads, hang upside down on every tree, waiting for the night to come, and whiling away the time by quarrelling and swearing. They are all bad, these bats; they axe115 ugly, dirty, vicious, destructive and greedy—yet they are strictly116 tabooed by the natives, and no one dares to kill a single one. It is believed that the prosperity of Tonga is inextricably associated with the bats, and that, if they ever deserted117 the wood, the country would fall. They are sacred, and must not be touched.
Every evening, punctually at five o’clock, the bats take wing, and rise from the trees like a screaming cloud of evil spirits. The sky is blackened with their bodies as they go, and scattered all over with the long streaming flights of separate bats that divide away from the main body. They are off to feed—to feed all night upon the bananas and pineapples and mangoes of the unhappy islanders, who lose thousands of pounds’ worth of fruit and trade every year, but dare not revenge themselves. Just at dawn, they will return, screaming and shoving rudely as they settle down in the trees once more, squabbling for upper berths118, and trying to push into a nice comfortable place amidships of a particular bough98, by biting the occupant’s toes until he lets go. They may have flown forty or fifty miles in the night, visited islands more than twenty miles away, and devastated119 the plantations120 of Tonga from end to end. They have worked hard for their suppers, and now they will doze41 and squabble all day, once more, until evening.
A few miles from the Wood of Bats, in the midst of exquisite scenery, stands a famous avava known as Captain Cook’s Tree. It was under this tree that the great explorer called together all the natives, on his discovery of the islands in 1777, and addressed them by means of an interpreter. The account of this will be found in “Cook’s Voyages.” The tree is still in splendid condition, in spite of its age, which must amount to many hundred years. Pigs were brought to Tonga by Cook in this same year, and a few of the original breed are still to be seen in the island—tall, gaunt, hump-backed creatures with immense heads and long noses, contrasting oddly with the smaller and fatter kinds introduced by later voyagers.
The burial-place of the Tui Tongans made an object for another drive. Before the introduction of Christianity, in early Victorian days, the Tongans had two kings, an ordinary earthly king, who did all the hard work of governing, and a heavenly king, the Tui Tonga, who was supposed to be of divine descent, and was worshipped as a god. For many centuries, the Tui Tongas were buried in great oblong raised enclosures, three-terraced, and built of rough-hewn, closely fitted slabs122 from the coral reef. Two of these great tombs still remain, hidden in tangled123 thickets124 of low bush, and considerably125 worn by age. I had no means of measurement, but judged the larger one to be about fifty yards by thirty, the smaller somewhat less. The state of the coral slabs, and the great trees that have grown up rooted among them, suggest that the tombs are extremely old. Tradition among the natives takes them back beyond the recollection of any of their ancestors; they cannot say when or why they were built. The construction—a double terrace, each step about five feet high—and the carefully arranged oblong shape, seem to point to some special significance long since forgotten. There is also a “trilithon” erection of three large blocks of stone, some miles away, concerning which island traditions are silent. It could not have been constructed by hand labour alone; some mechanical device must have been employed to raise the centre stone to its present position. The ancient Tongans, however, knew nothing of mechanics, and an interesting problem is therefore set for antiquarians to solve. The height of the side supports is about twenty feet, and the centre cross-piece, which rests in a socket127 on each side, is a little less in length.
The beautiful and interesting sea-caves—some swarming128 with birds, others celebrated for their lovely colouring and formation—which are found in the windward side of the island, I was unable to see, owing to the bad weather of the rainy season, during which my visit was made.
A “Chief” kava-party, however, got up for my benefit, consoled me for the loss of the caves. Kava is the great national drink of Tonga, as of many other South Sea islands. It is made from the hard woody root of the Piper methysticum and is exhilarating and cooling, but not actually intoxicating129. In taste, it is extremely unpleasant till one gets used to it, being peppery, soapy, and dish-watery as to flavour. I had drunk kava before, however, and learned to recognise its pleasanter properties; also, the old custom of chewing the kava-root, before infusing it, which still obtains in some parts of Samoa, has been quite given up in Tonga, and the pounding is done with stones.
The scene was weird130 and strange in the last degree. I was the only white person present. We all squatted131 on the mats in the chief’s house, the natives in their valas and loose short gowns, with white scented132 flowers in their hair; I in a smart demi-toilette evening dress, because I was the special guest, and the chief’s family would expect me to honour them by “dressing the part.” The only light was a ship’s hurricane lantern, placed on the floor, where it threw the most Rembrandtesque of shadows upon the silent circle of brown, glittering-eyed faces, and upon the rapt ecstatic countenances133 of the kava-makers, as they went through all the details of what was evidently an ancient religious ceremony, very savage134, very native, and not at all “missionary135,” despite the church membership of all the performers. There were loud sonorous136 chants and responses, elaborate gymnastics, with the great twist of hibiscus fibre that was used to strain the kava after it was pounded, and water poured on; something very like incantations, and finally, a wild religious ecstasy137 on the part of the kava-maker, who worked himself almost into a fit, and at last sank back utterly138 exhausted139, with the bowl of prepared kava before him. This bowl was a standing vessel140 as big as a round sponge bath, carved, legs and all, from one block of a huge forest tree-trunk, and exquisitely141 polished and enamelled, by many years of kava-holding. Its value was beyond price.
The calling of names now began—first the chief’s, then mine, then the other guests. There is great ceremony observed at kava-drinkings, and an order of precedence as strict as that of a German Court. As my name was called, I clapped my hands once, took the cocoanut bowl from the girl who was serving it, and swallowed the contents at a draught142. The next name was then called, and the next drinker drank as I did. It is very bad manners to act otherwise. The girl who served the kava walked round our squatting143 circle in a doubled-up posture144 that must surely have made her back ache; but custom forbade her to stand erect126 while serving.
After the long ceremony was ended, the dignified145 white-haired chief held a conversation with me, by means of an interpreter; and told me that there were four ways of kava-drinking, each with its appropriate etiquette146.
That which I had seen was the most important and elaborate of the four, very seldom used, and only permitted to chiefs. We exchanged a good many stately compliments through the interpreter, and I then took my departure.
It is near the end of my visit, and in a few more days, the steamer takes me on to Haapai and Vavau and beautiful, steamy-hot Samoa. But this is Christmas morning, and one can think of nothing else.
Nothing? Well, those who know what it is to spend that day of days under a burning tropic sky, with palms and poinsettia for Christmas garlandry, instead of holly147 and mistletoe, know just what thoughts fly homewards across twelve thousand miles of sea, and how far they are concerned with the sunny, lonely Christmas of the present—how far with the dark and stormy Christmases of the past, when snow and winter reigned outside, but summer, more brilliant than all the splendours of southern world, was within, and in the heart. But it is of the Tongan Christmas day that I have to tell.
I was awakened148 very early by—the waits! Whatever one expects under the Southern Cross, one certainly does not expect that, and yet there they were, a score of boys and youths playing merry tunes149 under my window, and pausing now and then to see if I was not awake to come out and give them their Christmas “tip.”
I dressed hastily, and came on to the verandah. The music of the band, which had puzzled me a good deal, now turned out to be produced solely150 by mouth-organs, blown by a number of youths dressed exactly alike in black valas, white linen151 jackets, and white uniform caps. The soul of the Tongan loves a uniform above everything, and all the bands in the islands—of whom there are an astonishing number—wear specially38 made costumes of a rather military type.
It was frightfully hot, for Christmas is midsummer here, and the day was exceptionally warm in any case.
But the “waits,” standing out in the burning sun, did not seem to feel the heat at all. They blew lustily away at their mouth-organs, playing English dance music, Tongan songs, missionary hymns152, in wonderful time and harmony, and with the inimitable Tongan verve and swing, poor though the instruments were. The performance was quite worth the gift they expected, I listened as long as they cared to play. Then they collected their dues, and went off to serenade a white trader, who, I strongly suspected, had been celebrating Christmas Eve after a fashion that would not tend to make him grateful for an early call.
For me, Christmas had begun on the previous evening when I went to the midnight Mass at the church upon the shore, among the palms and the feathery ironwood trees. In the crystal-clear moonlight, what a brilliant scene it was! Even outside the church, the decorations could be seen for miles, since they consisted of thousands and thousands of half-cocoanut-shells, filled with cocoanut oil, and provided with a wick of twisted fibre, which when lit, burnt with a clear ray like a star, illuminating153 the walls of the churchyard, the outlines of the doors and the ridges154 of the roof—even the winding155 walks about the building, too, and the low-growing trees—with a perfect Milky156 Way of dancing light.
Within, all the colours of a coral reef (which includes every hue of a rainbow, and many more) were in full blaze about the tremendous, unbroken floor, where the natives stood or sat cross-legged, dressed in all their gayest finery. There was a heavy scent121 of perfumed cocoanut oil, orange-blossom, and frangipani flowers and a rich glow of lights; and the waves of gorgeous melody that burst forth157 now and again with the progress of the service were like the billows of Time breaking upon the shores of Eternity158. Of all the choral singing that I heard in the Pacific, that of Tonga was incomparably the fullest, the most splendid, and most majestic159. The singers of Manahiki are sweeter and stranger, those of the Cook Islands more varied160 and soft, but the Tongan music is, for sheer magnificence and volume, unsurpassable.
The women, in their graceful tunics161, with their elaborately dressed hair, and their fine, dignified presence, were all unlike the soft, sensuous162, languorous163 syrens of Tahiti and Raratonga, They do not encourage familiarity, even from white women, and their moral character is much higher than that of their sisters in the far Eastern Pacific. Women are treated with more respect in Tonga than in any part of the Pacific. They have little to do in the way of household work, and almost no field work. The men save them most of the hard labour, on the undeniable ground that hard work makes a woman ugly, and they do not care for ugly wives!
Nearly every one wore a mat tied round the waist, partly concealing164 the gay dress—in spite of the extreme heat of the night. Some of the mats were new and clean, but most were old, ragged165, and dirty. This curious custom is a relic166 of ancient heathen days in Tonga, when a handsome dress of any kind, worn by a commoner, was apt to arouse the dangerous envy of a chief, and in consequence, a native who was wearing his “best” generally tied the dirtiest old mat that he could get over all, so that he might not look too rich! The reason has long since vanished, but the custom remains167 in a modified form. A mat, tied round the waist with strong sinnet cord, is considered a correct finish to the gayest of festival costume in Tonga of to-day, and, as far as I was able to ascertain168, its absence, on occasions of ceremony, is considered rather vulgar.
The service was enlivened by the presence of a very large and extremely loud brass169 band. Brass is a passion with the Tongan musician, and he certainly makes the most of it. The effects produced are a little monotonous170 to a European ear, but, none the less, impressive and fine.
After the midnight mass, I went home in the bright moonlight, the gentle stir of the trade-wind, the soft rustle171 of the ironwood trees, falling with a pleasantly soothing172 effect upon ears a little strained and tired by the strenuous173 character of the Tongan music. Next morning came the waits, and in the afternoon there were games and sports of a rather too familiar Sunday-school pattern, at the various mission stations. I did not trouble to attend any of them, as the Pacific native is certainly least interesting when most intent on copying the ways and fashions of the white man. The cricket matches which came off at various intervals174 during the few weeks of my stay, were well worth seeing, however, for the Tongan is a magnificent cricketer, and has often inflicted175 bitter defeat on the best teams that visiting men-of-war could put in the field against him.
The politically disturbed state of the island was interesting in one way, but a serious disadvantage in another, since it prevented my obtaining much information about many interesting native customs that I should have been glad to investigate. I am afraid that I deserved the worst that scientifically minded travellers could say of me, in Tonga, for I merely spent the time enjoying myself after the pleasant island fashion, and not in research or geographical176 note-taking, even so far as was possible. Yet, after all, what are the islands, if not a Garden of Indolence, a lotus-land, a place where one dreams, and wanders, and listens to the murmuring reef-song, and sleeps under the shade of a palm, and wakes but to dream again? Does one degenerate177, in such a life? Why, yes, of course—constantly, surely, and most delightfully178.
“Be good, and you will be happy, but you won’t have a good time,” says “Pudd’nhead Wilson,” one of the wisest of modern philosophers. In the islands, one is not good, in the ordinary Dr. Wattian sense of the term, and perhaps one is not happy—though if so, one never finds it out. But the good time one does have, and it is very good indeed. And if you do not believe me, dear sensible reader, never be tempted179 to go and try, for it is very likely that the good time and your own goodness would mutually cancel one another, and you would be unvirtuous and bored all in one. The islands are not for all, and the gateway180 to the “Tir-na’n-Oge” is now, as ever, hard to find.
The big union steamer, with her ice, and her “cuisine” (cooking is never cooking, on board a passenger vessel), and her dainty little blue and white cabins, and her large cool saloon glittering with crystal and gilding182, came in in due time, and I went away with her to Samoa. The three days’ run was broken by two calls in the Tongan group—one at Haapai, and one at Vavau.
Of Haapai, a long, low, wooded island, with a few hundred native inhabitants, and one or two whites, we saw nothing but the king’s palace—a great, square, two-storeyed, verandahed building, which is never lived in—and the Wesleyan chapel183, which has some of the finest sinnet work in the Pacific to show. This sinnet work is quite distinctive184 of the islands, and is very beautiful and artistic. It is not one of the “curios” known to the markets and collections of civilisation, because it is always done in situ, and cannot be removed. At first sight, it looks like remarkably185, good chip carving186, done on the capitals of pillars, and about the centres of supports and beams, in various shades of red, black, brown, and yellow. Looking closer, one sees that it is much more remarkable than carving, being a solid mass of interwoven sinnet plait, as fine as very thin twine187, wound and twisted into raised patterns by the clever fingers of the natives. In the church at Haapai, the sinnet plaiting is very fine and elaborate, and certainly well worth seeing. The captain of the steamer, who acted as our guide, made sure we had all seen it, and then took us a wild, hot, hurried walk across the island, to the coral beach at the other side, and past the palace, and along an endless cocoanut avenue, which was very pretty, but——
We wanted our afternoon tea, and we mutinied at that point, and insisted on going back to the ship. This grieved our commander, who conceived that his duties to the Company required he should ensure every passenger saw everything that was to be seen on the whole voyage, and shirked nothing—but we threatened to overpower and maroon188 him, if he did not take us back, so he returned, lecturing learnedly about the cutting off of the “Port-au-Prince,” in Haapai, by the natives, in seventeen hundred and I-forget-when. We ought to have been listening—but we wanted our tea, and we weren’t.
We reached Vavau just before dark, barely in time to admire the wonderful windings189 and fiords, the long blue arms and bright green islets, of this Helen among island harbours. Vavau is celebrated for its beauty through all the South Sea world, and its loveliness has not been one whit33 exaggerated.
In the early morning—at half-past five, to be precise—the energetic captain routed all the passengers out of their bunks190, and compelled them, by sheer force of character, to follow him, groaning191 and puffing192, up a hill five hundred feet high, and exceedingly precipitous—a mere crag, in fact—that overlooked the harbour. We did not want to go, but none of us were sorry we had been compelled, when we did get to the top and saw that matchless harbour lying extended at our feet, mile after mile of land-locked fiord and palmy headland and exquisite green island, all set in a stainless193 mirror of flaming blue, and jewelled, where the shallows lightened to the shore, with flashes of marvellous colour shot up from the coral reef lying underneath. Rose and amethyst194 and violet, and malachite green and tawny195 yellow—they were all there, painting the splendid sweep of the harbour waters with hues196 that no mortal brush could reproduce, or pen describe. We stayed there long, and even the thought of breakfast, generally a moving call, did not hurry us away.
In the afternoon, the captain had business to attend to, so he turned out one of the officers to act as guide, and sent us all off to see the Cave of the Swallows, and Mariner’s Cave, on the other side of the harbour.
If the Cave of the Swallows were situated197 on any European coast, it would be as tourist-ridden a spot as the Blue Grotto198 of Capri, or any other of the thousand famous caves through which holiday-making travellers are dragged each summer season—and would consequently be despoiled199 of half its loveliness. But it is very far away, in the South Sea Islands, and though a passenger steamer does visit Vavau once a month there are usually no tourists—only a missionary and a trader or two. So the lovely place lies undisturbed almost all the time, and you shall not find, when you row across the harbour to see it, that you have to wait your turn in a crowd of other boats, full of romping200 and larking201 trippers, with the guide of every party keeping a sharp look-out to see that no one takes longer than he ought going over the “sight”—so long as his charges remain outside.
Instead of this, we glide202 silently under a noble archway some fifty feet high, and enter a great, still, ocean sanctuary203, that looks as if no wandering oar181 had ever profaned204 its peace, since first the white man came to these far-off isles205. Outside, the water is Prussian blue in colour, and over a thousand feet deep, but within the arch of the cave the bottom shoots up till it is within a hundred feet of the glass-clear surface on which we float, hanging above the silver-coloured coral reefs of the deep sea-bed, like birds hanging in air. The roof and walls of the cave are brilliant verdigris green, the water-floor, that curves so. closely in and out of the numerous arches and recesses206, where mysterious shadows creep, is sapphire207 shot with fire. At one side of the cave there is a dark winding corridor leading to depths unknown. We glide down this a little way, and there before us opens out—surely, a temple and a shrine208! The water-floor spreads and broadens here into the carpet of a high, still, secret inner cave, in the centre of which springs up a splintered pedestal—shattered, one fancies, by the blow that broke the image that must surely once have stood in this strange sea-shrine. From an unseen rift209 in the roof, far above, a white ray of sun strikes down into the cave, and falls like a blast from an offended heaven upon the broken pedestal.
There is a geological explanation, no doubt, but we shall not look for it, for this is a wonder that would have delighted Victor Hugo himself, who drew the scenery of the “Toilers of the Sea.” And Victor Hugo’s pen would be needed by any one who would adequately describe the spot.
There is a rock in the outer cave, that sounds like a church bell when struck with an oar, and this delights the boatmen greatly, though they have heard it every time the steamer came up to Vavau. It is, indeed, a solemn and beautiful sound, and well suited to the place.
Going back to the ship, we are shown the spot where the famous Mariner’s Cave opens out, under water. There is nothing whatever to be seen, since the entrance is six feet under water at low tide. The story was first told to the world in Mariner’s “Tonga,” published 1802, and was utilised by Byron in his poem of “The Island.” A young chief, it was said, was chasing a turtle one day, and saw the creature dive. He followed it, and was surprised to find that, on rising after his dive, he had reached an under-water cave of considerable size, to which there was no outlet210 save the one by which he had come in. Giving up the turtle, he dived again, returned to the surface, and did not trouble himself about the cave until, some months later, it occurred to him as an excellent place for an elopement—the parents of the girl he loved having refused to give her to him. So it came about that the young chief’s sweetheart disappeared, and no one knew what had become of her until one day a boating party, to their intense amazement211, saw what appeared to be the ghost of the girl rising from the heart of the waves. The apparition212 stared round, saw the intruders, and immediately disappeared. She was seen no more, but the story caused so much talk, that in the end the true secret came out, and it was discovered that the chief had hidden his lady-love in the cave, diving down with food to her day by day, and even bringing torches, safely wrapped in leaves. The stem parents, touched by so much devotion, relented, and the chief triumphantly213 brought home his bride at last in full day.
Mariner, who was interested in the ancient tale, succeeded in reaching the cave himself, and found it as represented. He surmised214 that there was an air supply, passing through invisible cracks in the rock above, for the air seemed to keep fresh. There was something like a rough couch of stone at one end, where the imprisoned215 girl had made her bed. No light whatever penetrated216 the cavern217.
Since Mariner’s time, very few Europeans have succeeded in entering the cave, which is extremely difficult to get into, owing to the length of the passage under water, and the currents of the tides. About thirty years ago, Captain Luce, of H.M.S. Esk, succeeded in entering the cave, but rose too soon on going out, and lacerated his back so badly against the coral spears under water, that he died in a few days. Since then, I heard that one white man had gone safely in and returned, but no one seemed to know who, or when. None of our party, at all events, felt tempted to make the trial.
The steamer was ready to start when we got back, so we hurried on board, and started away for Samoa. There was much more to see in Vavau, but the only way of seeing it was to stop over for a month and remain in the village. For this no one had time. I was giving a month to each group of islands, which is little enough in the Pacific—but I knew very well that, unless I had had a vessel of my own, or a year or two extra to spend, it was impossible to see all that could be seen.
Tofoa, for instance, one of the Tongan Group, which is an active volcano, and, naturally, not inhabited—what could be more interesting than a call there? But uninhabited volcanoes do not furnish cargo218 for steamship219 companies, so all we could see was a smear220 of smoke in the far distance, as we steamed on our way to Apia, the capital of the “Navigators” Group, better known, since the days of Stevenson, as Samoa.
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1
majesty
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| n.雄伟，壮丽，庄严，威严；最高权威，王权 | |
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chancellor
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| n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长 | |
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bungalow
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| n.平房，周围有阳台的木造小平房 | |
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mariner
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| n.水手号不载人航天探测器，海员，航海者 | |
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touching
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| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
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wharf
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| n.码头，停泊处 | |
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monarch
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| n.帝王，君主，最高统治者 | |
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monarchy
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| n.君主，最高统治者；君主政体，君主国 | |
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scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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monarchs
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| 君主，帝王( monarch的名词复数 ) | |
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civilisation
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| n.文明，文化，开化，教化 | |
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tyrant
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| n.暴君，专制的君主，残暴的人 | |
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reign
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| n.统治时期，统治，支配，盛行；v.占优势 | |
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14
annexed
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| [法] 附加的，附属的 | |
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distinguished
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| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
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16
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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17
disposition
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| n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署 | |
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18
unaware
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| a.不知道的，未意识到的 | |
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genial
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| adj.亲切的，和蔼的，愉快的，脾气好的 | |
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captivity
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| n.囚禁；被俘；束缚 | |
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uneven
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| adj.不平坦的，不规则的，不均匀的 | |
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reigned
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| vi.当政，统治（reign的过去式形式） | |
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aged
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| adj.年老的，陈年的 | |
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annexing
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| 并吞( annex的现在分词 )； 兼并； 强占； 并吞（国家、地区等） | |
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ceded
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| v.让给，割让，放弃( cede的过去式 ) | |
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possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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territorial
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| adj.领土的，领地的 | |
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negotiations
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| 协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过 | |
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partially
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| adv.部分地，从某些方面讲 | |
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hue
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| n.色度；色调；样子 | |
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dense
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| a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的 | |
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32
favourably
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| adv. 善意地，赞成地 =favorably | |
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whit
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| n.一点，丝毫 | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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attainments
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| 成就，造诣； 获得( attainment的名词复数 )； 达到； 造诣； 成就 | |
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36
recipient
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| a.接受的,感受性强的 n.接受者,感受者,容器 | |
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exchequer
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| n.财政部；国库 | |
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38
specially
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| adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地 | |
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scarlet
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| n.深红色，绯红色，红衣；adj.绯红色的 | |
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sentry
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| n.哨兵，警卫 | |
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41
doze
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| v.打瞌睡；n.打盹，假寐 | |
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42
scrambling
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| v.快速爬行( scramble的现在分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞 | |
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43
dressing
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| n.(食物)调料；包扎伤口的用品，敷料 | |
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tunic
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| n.束腰外衣 | |
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45
forage
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| n.(牛马的)饲料，粮草；v.搜寻，翻寻 | |
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46
alleys
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| 胡同，小巷( alley的名词复数 )； 小径 | |
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47
wares
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| n. 货物, 商品 | |
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48
galloping
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| adj. 飞驰的, 急性的 动词gallop的现在分词形式 | |
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49
strut
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| v.肿胀，鼓起；大摇大摆地走；炫耀；支撑；撑开；n.高视阔步；支柱，撑杆 | |
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50
fluted
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| a.有凹槽的 | |
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51
strand
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| vt.使（船）搁浅，使（某人）困于（某地） | |
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52
quaint
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| adj.古雅的，离奇有趣的，奇怪的 | |
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53
stilts
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| n.（支撑建筑物高出地面或水面的）桩子，支柱( stilt的名词复数 )；高跷 | |
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54
graceful
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| adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的 | |
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55
sentries
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| 哨兵，步兵( sentry的名词复数 ) | |
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56
investigation
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| n.调查，调查研究 | |
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57
commissioner
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| n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员 | |
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58
remonstrate
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| v.抗议，规劝 | |
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59
temperament
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| n.气质，性格，性情 | |
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60
averted
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| 防止，避免( avert的过去式和过去分词 )； 转移 | |
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61
conceit
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| n.自负，自高自大 | |
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62
applied
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| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
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63
eligible
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| adj.有条件被选中的；(尤指婚姻等)合适(意)的 | |
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64
verdigris
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| n.铜锈；铜绿 | |
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65
suspense
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| n.（对可能发生的事）紧张感，担心，挂虑 | |
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66
deferred
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| adj.延期的，缓召的v.拖延，延缓，推迟( defer的过去式和过去分词 )；服从某人的意愿，遵从 | |
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67
fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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68
dilatory
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| adj.迟缓的，不慌不忙的 | |
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69
celebrated
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| adj.有名的，声誉卓著的 | |
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70
consolation
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| n.安慰，慰问 | |
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71
consolatory
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| adj.慰问的，可藉慰的 | |
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72
promptly
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| adv.及时地，敏捷地 | |
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73
retaliated
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| v.报复，反击( retaliate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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74
arson
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| n.纵火，放火 | |
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75
honeymoon
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| n.蜜月（假期）；vi.度蜜月 | |
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76
remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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77
vacancies
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| n.空房间( vacancy的名词复数 )；空虚；空白；空缺 | |
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78
deported
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| v.将…驱逐出境( deport的过去式和过去分词 )；举止 | |
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79
proceedings
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| n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报 | |
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80
treasury
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| n.宝库；国库，金库；文库 | |
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81
peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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82
rigid
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| adj.严格的，死板的；刚硬的，僵硬的 | |
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83
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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84
superfluous
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| adj.过多的，过剩的，多余的 | |
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85
tangle
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| n.纠缠；缠结；混乱；v.(使)缠绕；变乱 | |
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86
physically
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| adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律 | |
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87
aplomb
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| n.沉着，镇静 | |
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88
degenerating
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| 衰退，堕落，退化( degenerate的现在分词 ) | |
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89
underneath
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| adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面 | |
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90
exquisite
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| adj.精美的；敏锐的；剧烈的，感觉强烈的 | |
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91
grassy
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| adj.盖满草的；长满草的 | |
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92
artistic
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| adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的 | |
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93
lagoon
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| n.泻湖，咸水湖 | |
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94
ornaments
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| n.装饰( ornament的名词复数 )；点缀；装饰品；首饰v.装饰，点缀，美化( ornament的第三人称单数 ) | |
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95
sitting-room
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| n.（BrE）客厅，起居室 | |
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96
poignantly
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97
mound
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| n.土墩，堤，小山；v.筑堤，用土堆防卫 | |
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98
bough
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| n.大树枝，主枝 | |
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99
temperate
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| adj.温和的，温带的，自我克制的，不过分的 | |
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100
latitudes
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| 纬度 | |
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101
transparent
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| adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的 | |
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102
tepid
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| adj.微温的，温热的，不太热心的 | |
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103
swell
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| vi.膨胀，肿胀；增长，增强 | |
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104
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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105
sketches
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| n.草图( sketch的名词复数 )；素描；速写；梗概 | |
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106
lurid
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| adj.可怕的；血红的；苍白的 | |
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107
groves
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| 树丛，小树林( grove的名词复数 ) | |
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108
thatch
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| vt.用茅草覆盖…的顶部；n.茅草(屋) | |
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109
squeaking
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| v.短促地尖叫( squeak的现在分词 )；吱吱叫；告密；充当告密者 | |
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110
chattering
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| n. （机器振动发出的）咔嗒声，(鸟等)鸣，啁啾 adj. 喋喋不休的，啾啾声的 动词chatter的现在分词形式 | |
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111
cedars
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| 雪松，西洋杉( cedar的名词复数 ) | |
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112
squealing
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| v.长声尖叫，用长而尖锐的声音说( squeal的现在分词 ) | |
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113
deafening
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| adj. 振耳欲聋的, 极喧闹的 动词deafen的现在分词形式 | |
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114
furry
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| adj.毛皮的；似毛皮的；毛皮制的 | |
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115
axe
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|
| n.斧子；v.用斧头砍，削减 | |
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116
strictly
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| adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地 | |
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117
deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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118
berths
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| n.（船、列车等的）卧铺( berth的名词复数 )；（船舶的）停泊位或锚位；差事；船台vt.v.停泊( berth的第三人称单数 )；占铺位 | |
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119
devastated
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|
| v.彻底破坏( devastate的过去式和过去分词)；摧毁；毁灭；在感情上（精神上、财务上等）压垮adj.毁坏的；极为震惊的 | |
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120
plantations
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| n.种植园，大农场( plantation的名词复数 ) | |
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121
scent
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| n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉 | |
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122
slabs
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| n.厚板，平板，厚片( slab的名词复数 )；厚胶片 | |
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123
tangled
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| adj. 纠缠的，紊乱的 动词tangle的过去式和过去分词 | |
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124
thickets
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| n.灌木丛( thicket的名词复数 )；丛状物 | |
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125
considerably
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| adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上 | |
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126
erect
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| n./v.树立，建立，使竖立；adj.直立的，垂直的 | |
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127
socket
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| n.窝，穴，孔，插座，插口 | |
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128
swarming
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|
| 密集( swarm的现在分词 )； 云集； 成群地移动； 蜜蜂或其他飞行昆虫成群地飞来飞去 | |
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129
intoxicating
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| a. 醉人的,使人兴奋的 | |
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130
weird
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| adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的 | |
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131
squatted
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| v.像动物一样蹲下( squat的过去式和过去分词 )；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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132
scented
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| adj.有香味的；洒香水的；有气味的v.嗅到(scent的过去分词) | |
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133
countenances
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| n.面容( countenance的名词复数 )；表情；镇静；道义支持 | |
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134
savage
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| adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人 | |
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135
missionary
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| adj.教会的，传教(士)的；n.传教士 | |
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136
sonorous
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| adj.响亮的，回响的；adv.圆润低沉地；感人地；n.感人，堂皇 | |
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137
ecstasy
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| n.狂喜，心醉神怡，入迷 | |
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138
utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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139
exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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140
vessel
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| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
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141
exquisitely
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| adv.精致地；强烈地；剧烈地；异常地 | |
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142
draught
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| n.拉，牵引，拖；一网（饮，吸，阵)；顿服药量，通风；v.起草，设计 | |
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143
squatting
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| 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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144
posture
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| n.姿势，姿态，心态，态度；v.作出某种姿势 | |
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145
dignified
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| a.可敬的，高贵的 | |
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146
etiquette
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| n.礼仪，礼节；规矩 | |
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147
holly
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| n.[植]冬青属灌木 | |
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148
awakened
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| v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到 | |
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149
tunes
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| n.曲调，曲子( tune的名词复数 )v.调音( tune的第三人称单数 )；调整；（给收音机、电视等）调谐；使协调 | |
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150
solely
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|
| adv.仅仅，唯一地 | |
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151
linen
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| n.亚麻布，亚麻线，亚麻制品；adj.亚麻布制的，亚麻的 | |
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152
hymns
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| n.赞美诗，圣歌，颂歌( hymn的名词复数 ) | |
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153
illuminating
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| a.富于启发性的，有助阐明的 | |
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154
ridges
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| n.脊( ridge的名词复数 )；山脊；脊状突起；大气层的)高压脊 | |
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155
winding
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| n.绕，缠，绕组，线圈 | |
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156
milky
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| adj.牛奶的，多奶的；乳白色的 | |
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157
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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158
eternity
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| n.不朽，来世；永恒，无穷 | |
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159
majestic
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| adj.雄伟的，壮丽的，庄严的，威严的，崇高的 | |
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160
varied
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| adj.多样的，多变化的 | |
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161
tunics
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| n.（动植物的）膜皮( tunic的名词复数 )；束腰宽松外衣；一套制服的短上衣；（天主教主教等穿的）短祭袍 | |
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162
sensuous
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| adj.激发美感的；感官的，感觉上的 | |
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163
languorous
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| adj.怠惰的，没精打采的 | |
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164
concealing
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，遮住( conceal的现在分词 ) | |
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165
ragged
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| adj.衣衫褴褛的，粗糙的，刺耳的 | |
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166
relic
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| n.神圣的遗物，遗迹，纪念物 | |
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167
remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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168
ascertain
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| vt.发现，确定，查明，弄清 | |
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169
brass
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| n.黄铜；黄铜器，铜管乐器 | |
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170
monotonous
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| adj.单调的，一成不变的，使人厌倦的 | |
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171
rustle
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| v.沙沙作响；偷盗(牛、马等)；n.沙沙声声 | |
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172
soothing
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| adj.慰藉的；使人宽心的；镇静的 | |
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173
strenuous
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| adj.奋发的，使劲的；紧张的；热烈的，狂热的 | |
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174
intervals
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| n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息 | |
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175
inflicted
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| 把…强加给，使承受，遭受( inflict的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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176
geographical
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| adj.地理的；地区(性)的 | |
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177
degenerate
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| v.退步，堕落；adj.退步的，堕落的；n.堕落者 | |
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178
delightfully
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| 大喜，欣然 | |
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179
tempted
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| v.怂恿（某人）干不正当的事；冒…的险（tempt的过去分词） | |
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180
gateway
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| n.大门口，出入口，途径，方法 | |
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181
oar
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| n.桨，橹，划手；v.划行 | |
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182
gilding
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| n.贴金箔，镀金 | |
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183
chapel
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| n.小教堂，殡仪馆 | |
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184
distinctive
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| adj.特别的，有特色的，与众不同的 | |
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185
remarkably
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| ad.不同寻常地，相当地 | |
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186
carving
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| n.雕刻品，雕花 | |
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187
twine
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| v.搓，织，编饰；（使）缠绕 | |
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188
maroon
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| v.困住，使（人）处于孤独无助之境；n.逃亡黑奴；孤立的人；酱紫色，褐红色；adj.酱紫色的，褐红色的 | |
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189
windings
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| （道路、河流等）蜿蜒的，弯曲的( winding的名词复数 )； 缠绕( wind的现在分词 )； 卷绕； 转动（把手） | |
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190
bunks
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| n.（车、船等倚壁而设的）铺位( bunk的名词复数 )；空话，废话v.（车、船等倚壁而设的）铺位( bunk的第三人称单数 )；空话，废话 | |
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191
groaning
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| adj. 呜咽的, 呻吟的 动词groan的现在分词形式 | |
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192
puffing
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| v.使喷出( puff的现在分词 )；喷着汽（或烟）移动；吹嘘；吹捧 | |
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193
stainless
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| adj.无瑕疵的，不锈的 | |
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194
amethyst
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| n.紫水晶 | |
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195
tawny
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| adj.茶色的，黄褐色的；n.黄褐色 | |
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196
hues
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| 色彩( hue的名词复数 )； 色调； 信仰； 观点 | |
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197
situated
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| adj.坐落在...的，处于某种境地的 | |
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198
grotto
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| n.洞穴 | |
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199
despoiled
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| v.掠夺，抢劫( despoil的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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200
romping
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| adj.嬉戏喧闹的，乱蹦乱闹的v.嬉笑玩闹( romp的现在分词 )；（尤指在赛跑或竞选等中）轻易获胜 | |
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201
larking
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| v.百灵科鸟（尤指云雀）( lark的现在分词 )；一大早就起床；鸡鸣即起；（因太费力而不想干时说）算了 | |
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202
glide
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| n./v.溜，滑行；(时间)消逝 | |
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203
sanctuary
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| n.圣所，圣堂，寺庙；禁猎区，保护区 | |
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204
profaned
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| v.不敬( profane的过去式和过去分词 )；亵渎，玷污 | |
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205
isles
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| 岛( isle的名词复数 ) | |
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206
recesses
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| n.壁凹( recess的名词复数 )；（工作或业务活动的）中止或暂停期间；学校的课间休息；某物内部的凹形空间v.把某物放在墙壁的凹处( recess的第三人称单数 )；将（墙）做成凹形，在（墙）上做壁龛；休息，休会，休庭 | |
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207
sapphire
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| n.青玉，蓝宝石；adj.天蓝色的 | |
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208
shrine
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| n.圣地，神龛，庙；v.将...置于神龛内，把...奉为神圣 | |
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209
rift
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| n.裂口，隙缝，切口；v.裂开，割开，渗入 | |
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210
outlet
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| n.出口/路；销路；批发商店；通风口；发泄 | |
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211
amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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212
apparition
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| n.幽灵，神奇的现象 | |
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213
triumphantly
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| ad.得意洋洋地；得胜地；成功地 | |
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214
surmised
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| v.臆测，推断( surmise的过去式和过去分词 )；揣测；猜想 | |
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215
imprisoned
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| 下狱，监禁( imprison的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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216
penetrated
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| adj. 击穿的，鞭辟入里的 动词penetrate的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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217
cavern
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| n.洞穴，大山洞 | |
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218
cargo
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| n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物 | |
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219
steamship
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| n.汽船，轮船 | |
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220
smear
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| v.涂抹；诽谤，玷污；n.污点；诽谤，污蔑 | |
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