Telegram-herald., 1890-11-07

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taose ssza~sss hlzls hsra s2sss 4 tAe
taltlaa soe3a E-A<ks& O. ozr naps ~ the
L.acc&slvs aa4 M4l6ivs i.znas Ths
cnAnzai wAca passes between tks two
gr0Eps for1s kind - laaxizs Broad-
way. throaga waach Fes@els q al IA
tloas p4se b. handrsds and thousands
eyery yesg. he four chlsf Islands of
the Lsees4&se arsl.ipsloso (Ahe name q
waaca sisuAAes ''lCo.Sso hlanas''l viz
Auleni, K4-3nut. kiltcn and CAiti3c
have s1tG2liy belonged % England since
lls9, and It's cthers are claimed by the
Rz1ee or Berbee OK CsanaR7rs q Hlndoo
princess under British PsogeC sioal. Whi.s
tAs lnl44ss srosp bss = lArge trade with
He Ness coast OF India issek. Bat
have nevcr met. even saoAs travellers
oae raan WA0 hs1 svcr landed OF these
islsnltz. OF sseraed 10 know or care any
thfng sbcst them.
And yet both groups ars wei worth
seeing. more especially the Maldivea
wh1ch arc sOmewhsI the more civilized
Of She two. Tie nineteen ''stolls@ or
coral grours are al GA the same pattern.
Wa, q circular reef ef white coral. In
cLosang znectA, shallow lagoon stud
ded with tiny palm crested is,sts. Some
cf these rieo barely six feet aboys the
surface. while many others are actually
''awaSh, 80 that ship may run her
bow aground cn them with lOO fathoms
Of water beneath her stern. N fact, the
lal&sye atols are best described BY
imagining submerged group Of ex
unct volcanoes, pare white instead Of
black, with their crssers just above the
Sea, and q few islands floating ia then
Ike ia leaves Ia cup
When the novelists of the future have
exhausted tho whole world rs now exist
ing. they can stiil avail themselves Of
some new islet created BY the unseen
lsbors Of the coral insect. Month after
month, year Stter year, the tiny mason
builds Up his wall of stony flowers and
leaves from the unknown depths below
y.
Beyond this he cannot go, bat other in
fuences are at hand 10 complete his
work. Every wave. every storm casts
something upon tho new foundation.
Simple moses and hchens grow and die.
gradually spreading over the bare coral
an ever growing lsyer of vegetable soil.
Cocoa nuts stranded on II by tho sea and
seeds let fall by passing birds strike
root IN the soil thus prepared and the
once bare and nameless reef takes rank
among tho islands of the world.
Here, even more fully than ia the now
heokaeyed islands OF the Pacific, one
may realize Tennyson's visions Of the
summer isles of Eden" The inventive
African savage who provided himself at
one stroke with clothes, food and shelter
by clzpI-ng ON his head tho upper half
of giant watermelon, sitting In the
lower half and eating the inside, is sur
passed IN his own line by the average
Msldivian citizen. Yoa find ripe fruit
showering down upon you from tho trees,
edible roots starting up under your feet,
fish literally "sh0uldherin' aich other
out of the wzther, hike the Irish salmon,
and warm baths ready at all hours" in
the clear, bright, CLASSY wsters of the
lagoon
When tho coming of Sunday or some
great public festival reminds you TO put
on some clothes for once In q way, a
mat OF twisted palm fiber win equip you
IN the height of Esldivian fashion and
save you from the vulgar ostentation of
cotton or calico waistcloth. You will
find no difficulty IN securing q country
villa consisting Of four poles and mat,
admirably ventilated, and liable only TO
the inconvenience of being sometimes
absent without leave when you come
back 70 it after high wind.
Here you may be hnppy, for rnosqui-
toes there arc none, the only ones ever
known 0n the island having been due to
the vengeance Of an American skipper,
who left on an islet with whose people
he had quarrelcd cnsk of hall stagnant
water, which speedily produced mos
quitoes enough 70 snake il hot for the
whole Of the offending community Now
and then, indeed. you may find colony
OK lively ants havinr a picnic in your
hammock, or bag. spotted snake liter
ally dropping In upon yoa" from the
palm loaf tha4ch overhead. But in the
main you VIII be far s1uggsr there than
IN many hotels which / have seen in
Malacca or S1Inatra. where the floors
are only washed when the river rises.
and the sshsecloth Is changed once a
year-oD tho landlords birthday.
When you feel disposed to call on your
next door neishbor-i. G., the inhabisant
OF the nearest islot-you are pretty safe
to fnd him at home" unless ho should
happen 20 be oct ashing. sod even then
yen can generally descTy him somewhere
IN the ofi0g and sigual 70 him to come
back And then, II you have tPare
knife OF hatchet 90 barter for his fresh
Hsh. yoa may combine business with
pleasure By doing a little private trad
inS while irapr0viAg your Acquaintance
with The Nsldivian dialect. which u
most P,Fpiszsagiy different from the Ian
g1ages q Csybon and the Indian main
lana ssd in6cei frura every other lar
grags that yoa have ever learned.
When the storms G tte rainy season
eosne ca you can amuse yourself BY sit
tns indoors ead watching the ship
wreck asd wbea H. 6He caszes for the
yearly departure q Ao tradsaE fset %
tie AslshaT cosSt o. Tntia yon AT re-
gsl9d with spectacle even mere strik-
ing. AZ aleog The So lnse tlsere defles
before ~oTT eyes aseezninxl 81 endless pre-