The San Francisco call., 1898-02-20

bearing reference to the relations De- tween Tamasese, the pretender,' and Malietoa, the reigning monarch. It Is heard in dignified silence but an ex- presslon of profound annoyance rests on most faces, for the occupants of the hut are all loyal and the festival Is in honor of their King. At the end Of the reading there is a low, general murmur, an expression of loyalty of which the reader is made the mouth piece. Then, after divers whispered preliminaries, the public orator arises in his full dignity of we'll nigh six feet and steps out from the house, prepared to arrest, with stentorian tones, the at- tention of that openair assembly.
 The orator chief is never-to-be for gotten sight, as he stands his bust thrown forward, leaning on his long, black staff of office. His lava-lava, of brown cracking ciapo, to which his wife gave dainty artistic touches as he emerged, from the shadow of the hut, falls stitfly, scarcely displaying his tattooed knees; above, a fine mat, edged with red and white parrakeet feathers, stands out like a ballerinas frill and is bound round his waist with soft white siapo; a scarlet pandanus necklace hangs from his throat and native cigarette is thrust behind his ear. As he utters his short, crisp sen- tences with long intervening pause, he occasionally, by way of emphasis, brings down his fiyflapper on his siapo with a startling bang. Save for this his periods flow in a wearisome mono tone, the wards "Tamasese. Malietoa, Laupepa," repeatedly enlightening us as to the nature of his discourse.
 And the people listen in silence, and the dogs and the hens peck and play and tussle around. As for the pigs, they have all disappeared into the green baskets.
 At length it is over; to us it seems to have lasted an hour The orator re-en- ters the hut for a well-earned rest and the kava bowl appears upon the scenes with much clapping of hands. Then the jester returns, announcing, in what can only be described as a stupendous bawl, that the kava is ready, and his jeSts on the subject are fast and furi- ous, recurring with the name of each chief to which the drinkingcup is pre- Sented. Scarce has the festive bowl been solemnly discussed-kava drink ing always seems a solemn function, despite jests and jesters-when the sound of bugle, drum and cracked fife is heard, a general rush follows, and the two burly native policemen grow excitedly busy, .cuffing their neighbors right and left to clear the way. We share the excitement. and, being privi-
  down the road.
 Ye godsl As I gaze at the advancing whirl I am lifted away from the palms and ferns of the Pacific to the frs and heather of bonnie Scotland. The High land blood flowing in my veins runs riot, as the shades of my wild ances- try arise; kits are tossing, dirks fash ing, limbs flying in weird maze before my eyes, the whoop of the reel and hn lrn,, nf In ,1;y ;e, ;,. Then, as the human mass whrls nearer. I rub my eyes, take cognizance of the non-Highland strain In my veins and devoutly hope my ancestry were not as these. For the approaching fig ures are grotesque, the dirks are but butchers knives, and the display, on closer acquaintance, is first cousin to Christmas pantomime. On they come, with forward rush and a back ward rush, and a series of cries and a series of capers, their shred ba- nana-leaf wreaths and tow -colored wigs giving them a demon-like appear ance. l have a personal acquaintance with those wigs, and their high-mir- rored adornment, sticking up like Prince of Wales feathers! I saw one of them the other day ignominiously hung out to dry in our garden plot-a series of strung pieces of human hair WdSnlnR-UDe. now the wigs wear their official man. ners, and they are whirling, skirmish- ing. advancing, retreating, pursuing, performing their part in mimic fight One wig-Wearer throws away the knife and falls in a mock swoon, only to re- vtve suddenly and join in the melee On 1t comes, steadily on with an ebb and flow like that of the sea waves ana the advancing, sesticulating threatening figures exercise a strange | fascination, 1t is the fascination of the l pythoness, the dancing dervish. the | Shaker and Salvationist; a panic seizes | me lest l, too, should be smitten with | the frenzy and drawn into that caper- | Ing mass. And as some outrunners | come leaping and bounding toward me. | hourishing clubs, I meekly and hastily | retreat to the side.
 on they come, one In advance. others | III not pursuit, others again playing the | part or franc-tireurs to scare the spec | tators- But where" I ask in blank | pos?"
 In front, of course,'' is the answer and then it dawns upon me that two or the Wlg-Wearers are women. play Ing the role of pursued maidens. Never sureiy was maiden more willingly pur- sued; the first, plump little damsel. | somewhat heavily built, takes flight | with comfortable jogtrot, a smile on her nps-her immediate pursuer limos | so as not to overtake her too readily. | She 1t Is, indeed who acted the swoon and came round so readily. Strictly | speaking l suppose the young lady's | dress could scarcely be termed modest. seeing that it is well nigh conspicuous by it's absence, though to be sure her head Is sufficiently disguised to make up for the rest and looks like a guards mans bearskin dyed yellow; her bust and ankles are carefully wreathed. but her leaf girdle floats loosely over the merest apology for a black lava-Iava Yet, as a matter of fact, her attire only strikes me in the light of a very lib. eral display of tights at an open-air performance. This coy but willing maiden coquettes and ambles to and fro in exasperating fashion tiIl at length her adoring pursuer loses pa- tience and a mimic struggle ensIies Then she gives in, with Womanly nro- test, her pursuers supporters rush for ward in glee, and the next bewigged lass comes on, tripping through the same performance. Last of all comes the real Taupo, our Lymph of the Prov, who has adhered to her Greek fllet and who is draped in long. light lava-lava. Her tall figure is of a diff ferent mold, her delicate Roman nrofiIa