By half-past ten we had reached the ‘Half-way House,’ where we were not expected so early, and where we had ample opportunity to observe the native ways of living, while waiting for our midday meal—­an uninteresting mess of stewed fowl and taro, washed down with weak tea.  After it was over I made an unsuccessful attempt to induce the woman of the house to part with her orange-coloured lei.  I bought some tappa and mallets, however, with some of the markers used in colouring the cloth, and a few gourds and calabashes, forming part of the household furniture.  While the horses were being saddled preparatory to our departure, Mabelle and I went to another cottage close by, to see the mother of the baby that had been born while we were here on Saturday.  She was not at home; but we afterwards found her playing cards with some of her friends in a neighbouring hut.  Quite a large party of many natives were gathered together, not the least cheerful of whom was the young mother whose case had interested me so much.

The rest of the ride down to Hilo was as dull and monotonous as our upward journey had been, although, in order to enable us to get over it as quickly as possible, fresh horses had been sent to meet us.  At last we reached the pier, where we found the usual little crowd waiting to see us off.  The girls who had followed us when we first landed came forward shyly when they thought they were unobserved, and again encircled me with leis of gay and fragrant flowers.  The custom of decorating themselves with wreaths on every possible occasion is in my eyes a charming one, and I like the inhabitants of Polynesia for their love of flowers.  They are as necessary to them as the air they breathe, and I think the missionaries make a mistake in endeavouring to repress so innocent and natural a taste.

The whole town was en fete to-day.  Natives were riding about in pairs, in the cleanest of bright cotton dresses and the freshest of leis and garlands.  Our own men from the yacht contributed not a little to the gaiety of the scene.  They were all on shore, and the greater part of them were galloping about on horseback, tumbling off, scrambling on again, laughing, flirting, joking, and enjoying themselves generally after a fashion peculiar to English sailors.  As far as we know the only evil result of all this merriment was that the doctor received a good many applications for diachylon plaster in the course of the evening, to repair various ‘abrasions of the cuticle,’ as he expressed it.

I think at least half the population of Hilo had been on board the yacht in the course of the day, as a Christmas treat.  At last we took a boat and went off too, accompanied by Mr. Lyman.  The appearance of the ‘Sunbeam’ from the shore was very gay, and as we approached it became more festive still.  All her masts were tipped with sugar-canes in bloom.  Her stern was adorned with flowers, and in the arms