[Note: this transcription was produced by an automatic OCR engine]

AOBA 2 4 5

him. These things are largely a matter of taste;
and those who prefer grotesque attire to beautiful
nakedness will be happy to know that their wishes
will soon be fulfilled. I liked the old heathen, and
spent a good deal of time with him. A sketch of his
home life may not come amiss, just because these
primitive ways are dying out so fast.

As I near the house, some dogs rush out at me,
and a woman’s voice calls them back; Agelan roars
a welcome—he always shouts, and likes to put on
masterful airs; for in years gone by he was a very
unpleasant customer, until the man—of-war—but that
is all ancient history, and now his bark is much worse
than his bite. I have the honour of being in his good
books, thanks to certain medical services I was able
to render him; he has an ugly cough, for which
we have tried in turn: iodine, Peruvian balsam,
eucalyptus oil, quinine, and other medicines; nothing
helps, but he seems to enjoy swallowing the drugs.

The floor of the house is hard clay ; there are two
fireplaces at one end, and at the other some large
drums serve as seats. Everywhere in the roofing
hang bows, arrows, bones, plummets, ropes, and clubs.
Agelan has been toasting himself at a little fire of his
own ; now he rises, coughing, and shakes hands. He
is a very tall, strongly-made man of about sixty, with
a high forehead, long, hooked nose, wide mouth, thin
lips and white beard. His dress is the old-fashioned
loin-mat, and around his wrists he wears heavy
strands of shell money. His wife, too, is very tall
and strong, with quiet, dignified movements; she may