, 1890-12-25
X
IN THE
X 6Roplcs
Written for the Christmas REVIEW by
Albe RI HaykingI

ands of the Western Pacific. There was
one charm at least that the situation
possessed. 1t was that Of novelty. The
day was Christmas, several years ago.
The people who gathered within the
church of the tropics knew little of tue
delightful myth of Christs birthday,
Santa Claus, or Jesus Himself they
knew almost as little. Yct there was q
spirit of willingness to be taught that
was prevalent in the company, and an
evident eagerness to learn more OF the
Christ that had just come to them,
although 1t was l, 900 years after His
birth, that made the affair almost n
solemn one, The preacher was native
Samoan. His hearers were of the same
nativity. The ages of the latter ranged
from 8 to so years, but in knowledge OF
the true conception of Christianity all
alike were children.
1t was Christmas day in Apia, Samoa.
! / LETT behind me, on board of one OF
the merchantmen In the harbor, a de-.
lightful picture of busy sailors, scrub =
bing painted work, holy stoniug decks,
and endeavoring to put vessel to
rights during the forenoon. so that an
afternoon of leisure and consequent de-
bauGhery might follow. Men worked
with u cheerful spirit. There was u
task to perform. Its completion meant
half holiday, and there was rum and
gin on shore in plenty If they could find
time to 90 after it. They sang checrily as
they laid the lines in smooth coils upon
the Delaying pins and ran to and fro
with buckets of water and handfuls OF
| IL,
and their hearts were filled with glad
ness. Sometimes 1t is best not to delve
too deeply for the motive that leads
people 10 do acts of virtue, thought, as
| watched them. aud picture, with the
inscr ption, six Hours Later" passed
before me.
On shore / found the struggling ma
tive village that is below the white set
lement of Apia. Barebacked little
native children who could not distin-
guish that day from any other in the
year were playing lczily oil the beach
and around the thatch houses in the
cocoanut groves. The morning, even at
10 O'clock was oppressively warm.
There were no sleds to remind one of
Christmas in the North, nor frecrack-
ers to suggest holiday celebration in
the Northern states. The children
stared at me as passed among them, be-
cause | was n white man, but their Gu
riosity did not overcome the influence
OF the tropical climate, and when | had
passed on they rolled into the dirt and
went on with their games. Christina,
did not bring toys to them, and so tho
old sticks and cocoanut husks aud
al Of
,I,a,,, 49,, h,, ,to,r .a,,,. ,,oara
"'e'" US .".y nav ''en p' ,, !es,s
uo.o'e' ',', I"'u'e pro.'Ueu NmN'.y Ioi nui
little children, anu IN her own WORKSHOP
found objects to amuse them. A
wooden behaving pin that hoated /.
,ron, ono Of tho outlvi,c shins brou,bt
W. ~ Gt;
"S ih"S" JOY w N"'"''' "V"'' 90
tram OF TN cnrs coulu nave In more
civilized community.
A short dis stince farther was the mis-
sion. or church. Native teachers edu-
c,,,l hv ,ho ,nissiop,r,es from f,reign
w ~ -. ,o..' !
'u"us, ""u 'uhe" "p ''e "o'N '' Sp,e..
ing the Gospel' When entered the
door one of them was telling them
story. lie paused at my coming and a
dozen little fellows in c,euu white sur
plices tiocked about mo and made me
welcome. Then the preacher went on,
His words we've foreign to my car, but
his gestures, the expression of his face,
the listening attitude of the audience
were familiar enough.
L listened dreumily, There is some
thing in the climate of the islands that
ia conIuciyo TO dny-drcaming. The
sing-song monotony of the discourse
added to the effect. thought of home,
Forty-iour hundred miles OF deep water
interviewed between tne plnces. hut in n
flash thought crossed the blue cxpanse.
The burning sun fuded slowly and 1t
was night. The air grew cold and blus-
terinp. The cocoanut groves gave
placo to alternating views of
paved streets aud brightly illumined d
houses, and dark country roads enliy-
ened by the occasional warm glow of
linht from farmhouse windows. IL was
Christmas night in the United States
Christmas morning in the South Pacific
In the cityis streets | saw ragged ur-
chlns gazing wisttrilly into sh Oh windows
and somehow us the picture fixed itself
before me there was an unaccou ntablo Wis
in breech cloths, by their sides. Within
tho houses happy families sat by pleas
ant firesides. Dusky faces seemed 10 peep
over their shoulders, and necklaces of
seashells and long strings OF popcorn and
cranberries we're hopelessiy mixed. Co
coanut husks anu tin soldiers strewed
the hoor in confusion: ana the ground
was tirst beautiful brussels carpet ana
then oeu oi trop'c grass. ana tne
tioWered aesighs oi the carpet grew INTO
WIZ hoWcls upu VIZ IonS b'nas we
toned down tlli ~ was pu. the veiVet nap
oi carpet AGAIN Eirst .me w.. un @ n@otseo
men were ,ieIc n,iu uSa" Wv h"sN1
toys on',urs" ,i,t,o IN "n,e ns urgsse .I,,, hta h