St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1893-12-24
4 CHRISTMAS
!. In 9HE SOUTH SEAS.
The Glory and splendor of the Tropics
Caught and Preserved.
A Land Where the Mere Consciousness of Liv-
ing Gives Joy and Exaltation-A Dainty and
Out of the Way Etching by the Author of
South Sea Idyls"- Feast and Question
Without an Answer.

We had all been breathless waiting for sun
set-breathless, because there was not breath
of air to breath. We dozed-dozed audibly,,
some of US; woke, yawned, stole down into the
deep path in the wood at the rear of our thatch-
ed village; bathed, yawned and dozed again,
and so the afternoon was slowly disposed of.
Really there was nothing else to do. Before
us stretched the sea- one broad blue blaze that
burned into the horizon sky line; the shining
beach was blaze of white light that sparkled
where it was out of reach of the pulsing wave;
the water upon the reef broke with hollow
boom and laced itself with ribbons of chain
ightning-O, but it was splendid! glorious;-
quite too glorious for human eye to behold; the
naked eye, you know; we were mostly naked
on that bit of desert island. The village only
one hut deep, ran up and down the shore as if
1t were trying to get out of the but of course
it was not; had it really wanted to shelter
itself it might easily have done so by merely
backing up into the densely leaved grove that
came within forty rods of it and covered the
whole island with deep and fragrant shadows.
About a million cocoa palms, like to be exact
in my estimates-crowdedu upon the shore and
reared their plumes triumphantly far aloft in
the air; they were SO tall, some of them, that
their shadow-never very much of shadow
seemed to have been blown away in the breeze;
at any rate it never struck us to any consider
able extent. /.
Well, all at once the big, oval, red-hot, copper
colored sun went down into the sea as if it had
foundered; for little while the waves were
like blood, and the sky was purple canopy,
and the reef hushed itself and sobbed softly,
and all the palms stood still. Then, suddenly,
vail of shadow, pricked with few enormous
stars-and evening had come premptorily.
That is the way evening always comes in the
tropics; twilight and the afterglow are one,
and so fervid is their union they are soon con-
sumed away.
A great sigh went up from the village at SUM-
down; sigh of profoundest relief that was
speedily followed by EXPLANATIONS of pleasure
and this long row of huts gave forth its tenants
and each saluted the other with the lovegreet-
ing of the tribe-after which and with one i'm
pulse we ran to the shore and plunged into the
sea; it was like bathing in wine-no, it was like
bathing in milk-for the softest, milkiest, silk
lest ripples Tapped US all over our bodies, and
the palest, most silvery 1uster suffused the face
of the waters.
That evening was like the evening before.
and the evenings before that as far back as we
could remember; those that were to follow were
sure to be like it;-what else could we do there
save battle and fish and eat and sleep and let
the world go by.
Wewere to fish as usual this evening; moth
ing but a hurricane could have caused an alter
alton in the programme; of course we took as
little heed of the rain squalls that visited US at
frequent intervals as il we were SO many can
vass-back ducks; the sun dries one in amoment
Off yonder in the tropics, and the rain-iike the
noisy theatrical shower that plays SO effectivea
role in the spectacular drama-don't seem half
as wet as it should be. But, come, the night is
passing! With songs and ripping laughter the
canoes are dragged down the shelving sand and
launched upon the dark waters where they
float like long curled p1umes; indeed there were
as many stars in the sea as in the sky,-they
glowed like pearls, and the canoes seemed sus-
pended in mid air-so transparent was the
neither element.
Soon we were all embarked, feet of shadowy