The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1897-02-10

M ~ ~ NJ 11c4 6h> ehsil mas1y
GaII1L 1. - HIM, conusnd NJ
~ paspIo b(Ssd bask, sxYsstipe b -
inw51iete ehs1is.eS, Bat befAilSa Only
MD, Issl, ] WIN ~ MARY Taiisu.
Gush imbudsncs had never bean heard
Or In iii Samoa. To disobey the command
Of father given In the presencs Of all
these people was sacriloga Then Aeli
spoke. "Hear 70, good people of Apolima
and Manono My daughter has been wild
and unruly and has deded me, her father,
her lawful guardian, inasmuch as she has
declined to marry Taliau, high chief Of
Apolima, q most worthy and yirtuous
prince. And I, Aeli do hereby declare
that my daughter Sefalina shall be Joined
to Taliau In marriage tomorrow as the
sun goes behind Upolu. And II this devil
departs not from her soul and she still de.
clines to marry him, hereby place great
taboo upon her, even though she be my
daughter No one shnll speak to her, no
ono shall shelter her, no ono shall give her
of the kaya or cocoanut to drink nor OF
the breadfruit nor the palusami to eat.
She shall be cast out from the tribe OF
Manono forever. l, Aeli, have spoken 1t"
Tho great taboo had been pronounced, and
no one would dare disobey. Besides, the
women all disliked Sefalina and whispered
with each other that 1t served her right,
the impudent thing with her proud ways
She must either marry Taliau or stnrye to
death.
Her mother came and wept with her
and begged hor not to disgrace the family,
but Sefalina only shook her head and re-
peated II cannot marry Taliau." At
night she lay down upon her mRts-coarse
ones, for she would not touch those of soft
texture which Taliau had sent her But
she coud not sleep. She crept out on the
beach and eat down under the waving
palms. All was still around her, save the
gBntlo tapping of the waves as they 0aressed
her bare feet Tho white line OF tho beach
separated tho feathery foliage Of the vino
clad trees, which shaded the peaceful huts
from the vast ocean. 1t divided the world
of Sefalina from the great world beyond.
Inside that limo shO know every shrub and
yeery insect, but beyond all was darkness.
Once she had seen tho missionaries who
had come over from Apin OH visit. They
had been kind to her and had given her
a delicious piece of food called lollie, which
did not grow In Samoa. II she could only
go to those missionaries how, perhaps
they would help her. They were so good,
and they would not DO obliged to mind tho
great taboo because they were of foreign
raGe.
She could not, she would not, marry
Taliau. Before she had simply dsliked
him, but now she hated him. What right
had he to cause her all this trouble when
she bad been so happy2 She laid her head
on tho sand and wcpt tho first bitter tears
sho had ever shed.
With each sob her hatred for Tnliau in
creased. Better anything than to marry
him. She would sooner plunge into the
sea. Perhaps some boat would pick her up
and carry her to Apia.
Sho heard rustic in the bushes. Some
one was coming. She must mt be found
here. And quicker than thought she
jumped into tho dark ocean.
Like all Of her race, sho could swim as
easily rs she could walk, and she was soon
far cut on thu reef, the deep water Eradu-
ally lengthcring the distance between hor
and her native isle BY and by she lay on
her back and rested. She did not much
caro- what happened to her now, 1t was
pleasant to lie there peacefully in this cool
cradle ard SEQ tho rising sun gradually
redtlening tho sky.
What would her father say when he
found che was gomez He would search for
her in tho mountains and would finally
conclude that she had drowned herself.
Bat suppose ho guessed whero she was 60
ing and should attempt to follow herr The
thought alarmed her. 1t would never do
for her to float in this peaceful fashion.
She must hasten,
So aguin she hogan to swim, But her
arms ached, and her bnck grew tired, and
the burning sun, which was now shining
with all its tropical force, made tho beat
Cpl ressive and bllstered her bare shoulders.
Her own island was almost out Of sight,
and she could 500 tho mountains of upolu
appearing in the distance. Sho must--sho
would-re nch them. But her weary arms
moved more and more slowly, and sho lie.
came faint for lack Of food.
She had gone ten miles already, and
there were four more ahead Of her. She
grew dizzy. She would rest just littlo
while--only little whilo. Where was she
anyway t.
Late that evening two plump little So
moan boys were wading ont on the reef to
pick up shells. H.. ..
"Papalagl taelip'-white man Sim.
mirg-said ono, laughing, as he pointed
to figure in the water painfully padding
and keeping anoat with rleat difficulty.
Up they swan to have little fun with
the unfortunate foreigner and to show
him their own skill. But they stopped
aghnSt rs they saw that it was a girl, and
Samoan, too, who was swimming in that
undignlded way.
49,, i-na Htn al ,..
around the PROSTATE figure of little Sofa
lima. Poor thing!" they murmurcd Ono
old dame he'd her blstored shoulders
with cocoanut oil, one rubbed warmth
into her cold body, while another went to
the Observation-Disclosures for some
thing with which to revive her.
Little b. little strength returned to Sefa-
lima and she told her story to the kind
faced missionary who bent over her.
"Leai, will not go back !" she cried. II
will stay here always will work, but
will not marry Taliau. Don't make me
gol Don't make mo gol''
For two years Sefalina staid in Apia and
lived In tho family of the Rev. Mr.. White, |
while her father thought that she was
dead. When he did find out that she was
living and that she had escaped his great |
taboo-when Taliau came over in his war
canoe to bring her back or fight for her
10 was too late, for she was already mar |
rled to Samoan named Manaifu, whom
she loved with all her heart.
This is her story as she told 1t to me
one Sunday afternoon at the mission In
Apia, and she added, with little touch of
pride, chat she was the only woman who
had ever been able to swim the IA milos |
from Manono to Upclu.-Adelaide NJ Ide
In Youths Companion.