Here, We Disposed Them About Quite
Tastefully; And Made Such A Figure That, In The Eyes Of Old Bob And
His Friends, The Calabooza Beretanee Was By Far The Most Sumptuously
Furnished Saloon In Tahiti.
Indeed, so long as it remained thus furnished, the native courts of
the district were held there; the judge,
Mahinee, and his associates,
sitting upon one of the chests, and the culprits and spectators
thrown at full length upon the ground, both inside of the building
and under the shade of the trees without; while, leaning over the
stocks as from a gallery, the worshipful crew of the Julia looked on,
and canvassed the proceedings.
I should have mentioned before that, previous to the vessel's
departure, the men had bartered away all the clothing they could
possibly spare; but now, it was resolved to be more provident.
The contents of the chests were of the most miscellaneous
description: - sewing utensils, marling-spikes, strips of calico, bits
of rope, jack-knives; nearly everything, in short, that a seaman
could think of. But of wearing apparel, there was little but old
frocks, remnants of jackets, and legs of trousers, with now and then
the foot of a stocking.
These, however, were far from being valueless; for, among the poorer
Tahitians, everything European is highly esteemed. They come from
"Beretanee, Fenooa Pararee" (Britain, Land of Wonders), and that is
enough.
The chests themselves were deemed exceedingly precious, especially
those with unfractured looks, which would absolutely click, and
enable the owner to walk off with the key.
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