In Stevenson's Samoa
Marie Fraser
Paperback
(RareBooksClub.com, May 11, 2012)
This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1895 Excerpt: ... fascinating hostess, and always made her friends heartily welcome to the use of her bathinghouse and the great pool in the river at the foot of her garden. This lady had spent five years in different parts of the United States and Canada with her husband, who was immensely proud of his wife's cleverness, popularity, and good-looks. She spoke English well, and had written a very creditable little history of her native islands. Her part of the river was certainly an ideal spot for a swim, as the great trees sheltered the water in many places from the sun's scorching rays. Strict privacy is never encouraged while bathing in Samoa, and this Christmas morning proved no exception to the rule. As soon as we arrived all Lau Lii's cousins and nieces, who happened to be visiting her, came rushing down from the house, and in a minute had H shaken off their pretty holiday dresses, and wound bright-coloured lava-lavas round their bodies with such cunning and art that, no matter how strongly the river might be running, or in what vicissitudes they might find themselves, the utmost decorum and propriety were maintained. Soon the fun began, the pretty, bright-eyed, brown-skinned girls climbing up on the branch of a huge tree, and turning somersaults, one after another, into the deep, rushing water below. They precipitated themselves into the water every way, except head foremost; with which method they were enchanted, and asked us again and again to repeat our diving. And they worked hard trying to do likewise, but always turned a somersault or made some gyration infinitely more difficult in their efforts to take an ordinary dive. There was great laughter and merrymaking at these water-parties: sometimes one would catch a large prawn, and pursue another in the water, hold...