Page:Journal of American Folklore vol. 12.djvu/593

 Laieikawai. 245

night, eagerly listened to the tales he told them of the heroes and demigods of old. In the larger islands and groups of islands these audiences were very numerous, for until a comparatively recent period the population was dense. They were also critical, for the chiefs prided themselves on preserving the purity and expressiveness of their language.

The object of the bard is to give pleasure to those who listen to him. He must bestow his rewards and punishments in a measure and manner that may seem to his audience according to desert. In the tale of which I am about to make some abstracts, the actors are dealt with pretty much as they deserve.

I have one word to say before I begin. We are in the habit of speaking of the naked savages of the Pacific as if the form of their garments or want of garments of necessity placed them in the lowest ranks of humanity. This is a prejudice, and one of which I myself was only disabused shortly after arriving at the Hawaiian Islands. I will tell you how that came to pass. I had taken up my abode at a tavern in Honolulu, and dined at the public table ; he who for a day or two sat next to me was one whom, from his darkish complex- ion, I took to be a Portuguese, of whom there are many on the islands. He was of robust proportions, dressed in black broadcloth and black hat, after the general fashion of Englishmen, and spoke English passably well, so that we had some little conversation. I had the curiosity to ask the landlord who and what he was. He told me he was a native, a man of some property in houses and land in Honolulu, and that he had been in town for a day or two, collecting rents and the like. Meantime I had formed the acquaintance of a young American, who told me he lived a couple of miles out of town, and invited me to call on him. I went accordingly, and having fol- lowed his directions, I thought I must have arrived near his resi- dence, and was looking round for it. I felt myself overcome by the heat, the thermometer being nearly ninety degrees in the shade, and thought I would shorten my search by going to one of the clusters of native houses and seeing if I could get information. I went to the door of one, and knocked. I was answered by a voice from within, and as I was pursuing my inquiries by the aid of the few na- tive words I had picked up, I heard a second voice apparently giving directions. Tired of standing in the sun, I thought it better to abridge ceremony, and open the door. I found myself in a tolerably large chamber ; before me stood a boy of about twelve, with a feather fan in his hand. He handed me a chair, so I took a scat and began to look around. My attention was attracted by the figure of a man stretched out on a mat, with no clothing but the ntaro. I was struck by the massive and regular proportions, and fully developed muscles,

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