The daily morning journal and courier., 1900-01-30

of the paperljke bark cloth, others Wo- ven of the native grass, were en-
 wrapped that her aspect, instead of inn
 pressing us, as it doubtless did the na-
 tives, with respect for her fealth, mere
 ly made comic suggestion that the poor
 child was parading inside a barrel! Her
 pretty head, running over with close
 rings of tan-tipped hair, was uncovered; 1; and her neck and limbs glistened with oil
 Words fail to tell of the dignity and
 importance of the bridegroom's ap-
 pearance. He wore a vivid crimson silk
 shirt, while the magnitude of his stock
 of mats not only muffled the contours
 of his fine figure till it resembled a shapeless bundle, but, reaching to his
 feet in front, extended in a magnificent
 trail behind.
 Following in close attendance upon
 the twain came three elderly female rel
 atives, matrons of large and comedy exterior, attred in all the splendor of
 flowing court trains of tapa. Behind
 walked hands of young men bearing the
 plaited baskets of palm leaf containing
 the ready cooked materials for the we'd
 ding breakfast. Slowly the procession neared the seat of honor under the can- opy, just in front of us. To our amaze ment, it was the three stout females
 who seated themselves on the slippery
 bales of mating. Then the bride, turn ing slowly round in front of one of the
 dames-her unwleldy bulk of clothing making movement difficult-was drawn on to that ladys lap and there support ed in a half standing, half sitting pos | ture The bridegroom in the meantime
 rested his grth gingerly on the knees of the two other relatives, and there re- mained, uneasily poised Thus propped 'up, the happy couple stayed silent while the food bearing procession slow
 ly marched past, depositing the enor- nous number of pigs, roasted whole, and baked yams arranged in a line in open palm leaf kits along the middle of the lawn. Then the brides dover was brought and laid on the grass close by the enthroned quintette, who, while ob- | servant enough, yet preserved the eX- | treme nonchalance deemed proper in | their position. There was goodly pile of tapa, and many grass mats, Fijian and Samoan as we'll as Tongan, some | having especially elaborate designs and scalloped edges. Two of the distinctive | Tongan pillows were there also, stools of dark polished wood. with curiously | carved feet branching from either end. A pillow Is the one article of actual fur niture indispensable in the starting of South Sea Island home. The superflne gifts, ranking much as diamonds do at displaysof wedding presents at home. ] were contained in three quaintly shaped black baskets, and comprised marvel ous collection of odd colored glass bot ties filled with the favorlte cosmetic, CO., coanut oil-bottles blue green, pink and yellow in tone, which had evidently be- gun existence as the perfume fiasks of some cheap toilet set. One supreme treasure was displayed, in the shape of large, round, crystal receptacle, whose form, though vaguely familiar, haunt ed us as unclassable, until the scales fell from our eyes and we recognized in it the lower globe of a gasogene!
 While the wedding party sat motion less the troupe of maidens entertained them with song, humorous in character to judge by the laughter of the audi ence; and the little dancing mink had darted out and performed a bewitching udIlCC-pOlll OL LHSSS dllclHplH lO dllluoS being received by the couple and their attendants with perfect immovabllity. Throughout the ceremony Taimi sat by our side and piled her fan for our bene- fit, anxiously watching to see how the proceedings impressed us. It delighted her when, at some fresh turn of the ka- leidoscope, we would show appreciation by clapping our hands and crying 'li le'
 The musical and terpsichorean per- formance ended, the lady supporting the bride slowly hoisted her to her feet, and. rising with difficulty from her own cramped position, led her away the ma irons holding the bridegroom also es- corting him from the scene. We were lamenting the. disappearance of the bride, when a noise in the barnlike depths behind us make us glance round, to see the bride being assisted over the threshold. A bevy of the veriest hags attended her, and, babbling and chat tering they began at once to unwind her countless wrappings. It is shame ful to be forced to confess it, but curios- ity overcame propriety and turning round, we stared frankly over the high DdCkJOI Ille pew. All lIe CTO1leS III V IL vau, looking the more hideous for their close cropped heads, toothless mouths and babyish muslin frocks reaching only to the knee, seemed to have re- served their energies for that moment Cbattering and gabbling, they sur- rounded the girl, who stood silent. re- signed to their treatment as to an or deal that must be endured. The little loose jacket of scarlet which, in &C., cordance with the native fashion, did not reach to the waist. was first re- moved That it was the property of our hostess, and had merely been lent for the occasion, was evident, for Taimi was at hand to receive it, and lost no time in carrying it away to stow 1t in the Tongan equivalent for a wardrobe. The scarlet bodice was replaced with one of white muslin. Then, as we re- joiced prematurely in that the bride had been relieved of some of her burden of clothes, the hags brought in fresh sup ply of tapa, and, the girl retaining the perpendicular by resting, her hands on the shoulders of two stalwart matrons, wound the clumsy stuff round and round her graceful form Entering with obvious zest into their task, they bound the harsh tapa tightly about her