Willis the Pilot : A Sequel to the Swiss Family Robinson

  CHAPTER XX.

  JUPITER TONANS--THE THUNDERS OF THE PILOT--WORSHIPPERS OF THEFAR WEST--A LATE BREAKFAST--RONO THE GREAT--A POLYNESIANLEGEND--MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF OCEANIA--MR. AND MRS. TAMAIDI--REGALPOMP--ELBOW ROOM--KATZENMUSIK--QUEEN TONICO AND THE SHAVINGGLASS--CONSEQUENCES OF A PINCH OF SNUFF--DISGRACE OF THE GREATRONO--MARIUS--CORIOLANUS--HANNIBAL--ALCIBIADES--CIMON--ARISTIDES--ASOP FOR THE THIRSTY--AIR SOMETHING ELSE BESIDES OXYGEN ANDHYDROGEN--MARYLAND AND WHITECHAPEL--HALF-WAY UP THE CORDILLERAS--HUMANMACHINES--STAR OF THE SEA, PRAY FOR US!

  Was he on his way to the Capitol or to the Gemoniae? The solution ofthis question became, for the moment, of greater importance to Willisthan the "to be or not to be" of Hamlet to the State of Denmark. Thisincertitude was all the more painful, that it was accompanied bymyriads of insects, created by the recent rains; these swarmed in theair to such an extent, that it was utterly impossible to inhale theone without swallowing the other. The sailor, notwithstanding hiselevated and somewhat perilous position, true to his instincts andtormented by the flies, took out his pipe, filled it, and struck alight. As soon as the first column of smoke issued from his mouth, thecavalcade halted spontaneously, the natives fell on their faces, theirnoses touching the ground, and in an attitude of the profoundest fearand apprehension. Jupiter thundering never created such a sensation asWillis smoking. The savages seemed glued to the earth with terror. Ifthe Pilot had thought it advisable to escape, he might have walkedover the prostrate bodies of his captors, not one of whom would havebeen bold enough to follow what appeared to be a human volcano,vomiting fire and smoke,--the fire of course being understood.

  Willis, however, now saw that he possessed in his pipe a ready meansof awing them. Besides, it was clear that, through some fortunatecoincidence, the natives had mistaken him for a divinity. There was,consequently, no immediate danger to be apprehended; he thereforebecame himself again, and began to enjoy the novelty of his newdignity.

  It was certainly a curious contrast. Willis, seated on a sort ofthrone, crowned with a waving plume of feathers, shrouded in a fierymantle, and surrounded by a crowd of prostrate figures, was quietlypuffing ribbons of smoke from the tips of his lips. There he sat, forall the world like a crane in a duck-pond. From time to time the moredaring of the worshippers slightly raised their heads to see whetherJupiter was still thundering; but when their eye caught a whiff ofsmoke, they speedily resumed their former posture. Some of them eventhrust their heads into holes, or behind stones, as if moreeffectually to shelter themselves from the fury of the fiery furnace.At last the eruption ceased, Willis knocked the ashes out of his pipe,replaced it in his pocket, and the convoy resumed its route. Afterhalf an hour's march, the procession halted near a clump of plantains,in front of a structure more ambitious than any of those in theneighborhood. A female, laden with rude ornaments, was standing at thedoor. This lady, who rivalled the celebrated Daniel Lambert indimensions, would have created quite a _furore_ at Bartholomew Fair;according to Jack, she was so amazingly fat, that it would have takenfull five minutes to walk round her. She took the Pilot respectfullyby the hand, and led him into the interior of the building, which wascrowded with images of various forms, and was evidently a temple.Willis, at a sign from his conductress, seated himself in a chair,raised on a dais, and surmounted by a terrific figure similar to theone already described, but draped in white feathers instead of red.

  The fat lady, or rather the high priestess--for she was the reigningpotentate in this magazine of idols--took a sucking pig that was heldby one of the priests. After muttering a prayer or homily of somesort, she strangled the poor animal, and returned it to the priest. Byand by, the pig was brought in again cooked, and presented with greatceremony to Willis. There were likewise sundry dishes of fruit, nuts,and several small cups containing some kind of liquid. One of thepriests cut up the pig, and lifted pieces of it to Willis's mouth;these, however, he refused to eat. The fat priestess, observing this,chewed one or two mouthfuls, which she afterwards handed to the Pilot.This was putting the sailor's gallantry to rather a rude test. He wasequal to the emergency, and did not refuse the offering. But he musthave felt at the time, that being a divinity was not entirely withoutits attendant inconveniences.

  Nor was this the only infliction of the kind he was doomed towithstand. One of the priests took up a piece of kava-root, put itinto his mouth, chewed it, and then dropped a bit into each of thecups already noticed. One of these, containing this nectar, waspresented to Willis by the fat Hebe who presided at the feast, and hehad the fortitude to taste it. Another of the cups was handed to Jack.

  "No, I thank you," said he, shaking his head; "I breakfasted ratherlate this morning."

  Meantime, another personage had entered upon the scene. After havingperformed an obeisance to Willis like the rest, this individual backedhimself to where Jack was standing, by this means adroitly avoidingboth the kava and the nose-rubbings. He was distinguished from theother natives by an ornament round his waist, which fell to his knees.His skin seemed a trifle less dark, his features less marked; but hisbody was tattooed and stained after the common fashion.

  The new comer turned out to be a Portuguese deserter, who hadabandoned his ship twenty years before, and had married the daughterof a chief of the island on which he now was. At the present moment,he filled the part of prime minister to the king, an office be couldnot have held in his own ungrateful country, since he could neitherread nor write. These accomplishments, it appeared, were not,however, absolutely indispensable in Polynesia. It has been found thatwhen a savage is transferred to Europe, he readily acquires the habitsof civilized life. By a similar adaptation of things to circumstances,this European had identified himself with the savages. He had adoptedtheir manners, their customs, and their costume. When he thought ofhis own country, it was only to wonder why he ever submitted to theconstraint of a coat, or put himself to the trouble of handling a forkand spoon. He had not, however, entirely forgotten his mother tongue,and, moreover, still retained in his memory a few English words. Hewas likewise very communicative, and told Jack that they were in theIsland of Hawai; that the name of the king was Toubowrai Tamaidi, who,he added, intended visiting the pinnace with the queen next day, topay his respects in person to the great Rono. "His Majesty," said thePortuguese, "would have been amongst the first to throw himself at hisfeet, but unfortunately the royal residence is a good way off; andthough both the king and the queen are on the way, running as fast asthey can, it may take them some time yet to reach the shore."

  "But who is the great Rono?" inquired Jack.

  "Well," replied the prime minister, "you ought to know best, since youarrived with him."

  Jack felt that he was touching on delicate ground, and saw that it wasnecessary to diplomatise a little.

  "True," said he; "but I am not acquainted with the position thatillustrious person holds in relation to Hawai." The Portuguese thenmade a very long, rambling, and not very lucid statement, from whichJack gleaned the following details. About a hundred years before,during the reign of one of the first kings, there lived a greatwarrior, whose name was Rono. This chief was very popular, but he wasvery jealous. In a moment of anger he killed his wife, of whom he waspassionately fond. The regret and grief that resulted from this actdrove him out of his senses; he wandered disconsolately about theisland, fought and quarrelled with every one that came near him. Atlast, in a fit of despair, he embarked in a large canoe, and, afterpromising to return at the expiration of twelve hundred moons, with awhite face and on a floating island, he put out to sea, and was neverheard of more.

  This tradition, it appears, had been piously handed down from familyto family. The natives of Hawai--who are not more extravagant in thematter of idols than some nations who boast a larger amount ofcivilization, but who do not destroy them so often--enrolled Ronoamongst the list of their divinities. An image of him was set up,sacrifices were instituted in his honor. Every year the day of hisdeparture was kept sacred, and devoted to religious ceremonies. Thetwe
lfth hundred moon had just set, when a large boat appeared in thebay, and a man came ashore. The high priest of the temple, Raou, andhis daughter, On La, priestess of Rono, solemnly declared that the manin question was Rono himself, who had returned at the precise timenamed, and in the manner he promised.

  It was, therefore, clear from this statement that Willis was to behenceforward Rono the Great.

  Jack was rather pleased than otherwise to learn that he was thecompanion of a real live divinity. It assured him, in the first place,that the danger of his being converted into a stew or a fricassee wasnot imminent. He did not forget, however, that the consequences mightbe perilous if, by any chance, the illusion ceased; for he knew thatthe greater the height from which a man falls, the less the mercyshown to him when he is down. As soon, therefore, as the ceremonieshad a little relaxed, and Willis was left some freedom of action, Jackwent forward, and knelt before him in his turn.

  "O sublime Rono," said he, "I know now why your nose has escaped allthe rubbings that mine has had to undergo."

  "Do you?" said Willis; "glad to hear it, for I am as much in the darkas ever."

  Jack then related to him the fabulous legend he had just heard.

  After a while, Willis shook off his _entourage_ as gently as possible,and succeeded in getting out of the temple. Accompanied by Jack, heproceeded towards the shore, receiving, as he went, the adoration ofthe people. The route was strewn with fruit, cocoa-nuts, and pigs, andthe natives were highly delighted when any of their offerings wereaccepted by the deified Rono.

  The islanders appeared mild, docile, and intelligent, notwithstandingthe singular delusion that possessed them. Living from day to day,they were, doubtless, ignorant of those continual cares andcalculations for the future that in the old world pursue us even intothe hours of sleep. Were they happier in consequence? Yes, if thechild is happier than the man, and if we admit that we often loose intranquillity and happiness what we gain in knowledge and perfection:yes, if happiness is not exclusively attached to certain peoples andcertain climates; yes, if it is true that, with contentment, happinessis everywhere to be found.

  The houses of the Hawaians are singular structures, and scarcely canbe called dwellings. They consist of three rows of posts, two on eachside and one in the middle, the whole covered with a slanting roof,but without any kind of wall whatever.

  They do not bury their dead, but swing them up in a sort of hammock,abundantly supplied with provisions. It is supposed that this is donewith a view to enable the souls of the departed to take their flightmore readily to heaven. The practice, consequently, seems to indicatethat the natives possess a confused idea of a future state. When achild dies, flowers are placed in the hammock along with theprovisions--a touch of the nature common to us all. They express deepgrief by inflicting wounds upon their faces with a shark's tooth; and,when they feel themselves in danger of dying, they cut off a joint ofthe little finger to appease the anger of the Divinity. There wasscarcely one of the adult islanders who was not mutilated in this way.

  Though the worshippers of the great Rono appeared gentle and peaceableenough, there were to be seen here and there a human jaw-bone,seemingly fresh, with the teeth entire, suspended over the entrancesto the huts. These ghastly objects sent a shudder quivering throughJack's frame, and made Willis aware that it would not be advisablerashly to throw off his sacred character.

  As it was now late, and as they knew that Fritz would be uneasy aboutthem, they put off laying in their stock of water till next day. Jacktold the prime minister that the great Rono would be prepared toreceive their majesties whenever they chose to visit him. This done,Willis and his companion seated themselves in the canoe, and rowed outto the pinnace.

  "God be thanked, you have returned in safety!" cried Fritz; "I neverwas so uneasy in the whole course of my life."

  "Well, brother, we have not been without our anxieties as well, andhad we not happened to have had a divinity amongst us, we might nothave come off scathless."

  Jack then related their adventures, which gradually brought a smile tothe pale lips of Fritz.

  "But the water?" inquired Fritz, after he had heard the story.

  "Oh, water; they offered us something to drink on shore that willprevent us being thirsty for a month to come, but we shall see to thatto-morrow."

  Towards dark, some fireworks were discharged on board the pinnace, byway of demonstrating that Willis's pipe was not the only fiery terrorthe great Rono had at his command.

  Early next morning a flotilla of canoes were observed rounding one ofthe points that formed the bay. The one in advance was larger than theothers, and was evidently the trunk of a large tree hollowed out.Jack's new friend, the Portuguese, hailed the pinnace, and announcedthe King and Queen of Hawai, who thereupon scrambled into the pinnace.His majesty King Toubowrai had probably felt it incumbent upon himselfto do honor to the illustrious Rono, for he wore an old uniform coat,very likely the produce of a wreck, through the sleeves of which theangular knobs of his copper-colored elbows projected. He did not seemvery much at his ease in this garment, which contrasted oddly with thetight-fitting tattooed skin that served him for pantaloons.

  His wife, Queen Tonico, princess-like was half stifled in a thickblanket or mat of cocoa-nut fibre. Her ears were heavily laden withteeth and ornaments of various kinds, made out of bone, mother ofpearl, and tortoise-shell. Her nails were two or three inches long;and, to judge by the number of finger-joints that were wanting, shewas either troubled with delicate nerves, or was slightlyhypochondriac.

  The royal pair were accompanied by a band of music: fortunately, thisremained in the regal barge. It consisted of a flute with four holes,a nondescript instrument, seemingly made of stones; a drum made out ofthe hollow trunk of a tree, covered at each end with skin, of whatkind it is needless to inquire. The sounds emitted by this orchestrawere of an ear-rending nature, and of a kind graphically termed by theGermans Katzenmusik.

  "Illustrious Rono," cried Jack, "for goodness sake, tell thesegentlemen you are not a lover of sweet sounds."

  "Belay there!" roared Willis.

  This command, however, had no effect; the artists continued thumpingand blowing away as before. Willis, thinking to make himself betterheard, placed his hands on his mouth, and roared the same orderthrough them. This action seemed to be received as a mark ofapprobation, for the noise became absolutely terrific.

  "No use," said Willis: "I can make nothing of them. You try what youcan do."

  "Very good," said Jack, lighting what is technically termed an_artichoke_, but better known as a zig-zag cracker; "if they do notunderstand English, perhaps they may comprehend pyrotechnics."

  The artichoke was thrown into the royal barge. At first there was onlya slight whiz, finally it gave an angry bound and leaped into themidst of the musicians. Startled, they tried to get out of its way;but they were no sooner at what they thought to be a safe distance,than the thing was amongst them again. Their majesties, who were justthen engaged in kissing the Rono's feet, started up in alarm; but whenthey saw the danger did not menace themselves, they burst into ahearty laugh at the antics of their suite.

  This episode over, and the orchestra silenced, the Sovereign of Hawaiproceeded to inspect the pinnace. He expressed his delight every nowand then by uttering the syllables "_ta-ta_." Fritz handed one ofthose shaving glasses to the Queen that lengthen the objects theyreflect. This astonished her Majesty vastly, and caused her to _ta-ta_at a great rate. She looked behind the mirror, turned it upside down,and at last, when she felt assured that it was the royal person itcaricatured, she commenced measuring her cheeks to account for theextraordinary disproportion.

  They next all sat down to a repast that was spread on deck. TheirMajesties observing Rono use a fork, did so likewise; but though theystuck a piece of meat on the end of it, and held it in one hand, theycontinued carrying the viands to their mouths with the other. At theconclusion of the feast, Willis took a pinch of snuff out of acanister. Their Majesties insi
sted upon doing so likewise. Willishanded them the canister, and they filled their noses with thetreacherous powder. Then followed a duet of sneezing, accompanied withfacial contortions. The royal personages thinking, probably, that theywere poisoned, leaped into the sea like a couple of frogs, and swam tothe royal barge.

  "Holloa, sire," cried Jack, "where are you off to?"

  This was answered by the barge paddling away rapidly towards land.Hitherto, the whole affair had been a farce; but now the natives, whohad collected in great numbers along the shore, seeing their king andqueen leap into the water with a terrified air, supposed that anattempt had been made to cut short their royal lives, and, under thisimpression, discharged a cloud of arrows at the pinnace, and mattersbegan to assume a serious aspect.

  "What!" exclaimed Jack, "shooting at the great Rono!"

  "That," said Fritz, "only proves they are men like ourselves. He whois covered with incense one day, is very often immolated the next."

  "And that simply because Rono treated Mr. and Mrs. What's-their-namesto a pinch of snuff. Serve them right to discharge the contents of thefour-pounder amongst them."

  "No, no," cried Willis; "the worthy people are, perhaps, fond of theirking and queen."

  "Worthy people or not," said Fritz, drawing out an arrow that had sunkinto the capstan, "it is very likely that if this dart had hit one ofus, there would only have been two instead of three in the crew of thepinnace."

  "Well," said Willis, "Master Jack thought the voyage rather dull; nowsomething has turned up to relieve the monotony of his log."

  "We are still without fresh water though, Willis; I wish you could saythat had turned up as well."

  "It will be prudent to go in search of that somewhere else now," saidWillis, unfurling the sails. "Fortunately the wind is fresh, and wecan make considerable headway before night."

  As they steered gently out of the bay a second cloud of arrows wassent after them, but this time they fell short.

  "The belief in Rono is about to be seriously compromised," remarkedFritz; "I should advise the priestess to retire into private life."

  "Impossible."

  "Why?"

  "Because she is too fat to live in an ordinary house, she could onlybreathe in a temple. But, O human vicissitudes!" added Jack, rollinghimself up in a sail after the manner of the Roman senators; "beholdRono the Great banished from his country, and compelled to go andpillow his head on a foreign sail, like Marius at Minturnus--likeCoriolanus amongst the Volcians--like Hannibal at the house ofAntiochus--like Alcibiades at the castle of Grunium in Phrygia, givento him out of charity by the benevolent Pharnabazus, and in which hewas burnt alive by his countrymen--like Cimon, voted into exile byballot and universal suffrage--like Aristides, whom the people gottired of hearing called the Just, and many others."

  "Who are all these personages?" inquired Willis.

  "They were worthies of another age," replied Fritz; "very excellentmen in their way, and you are in no way dishonored by being numberedamongst them."

  "Yesterday," continued Jack, "an entire people were upon their kneesbefore you; they offered up sacrifices, and poured out incense ontheir altars for you; fruit and pigs were scattered in heaps, likeflowers, upon your path; the crowd were prostrated by the fumes ofyour pipe. To-day--alas, the change!--a cloud of arrows, and not asingle glass of cold water!"

  "That gives you an opportunity of quenching your thirst with thenectar offered to you yesterday," said Fritz; "as for myself, I haveno such resource."

  "Yes, that was a posset to quench one's thirst withal; I only wish Ihad a cupful to give you. I do not regret having had an opportunity ofbecoming acquainted with the people though. They have enabled me torectify some erroneous notions I formerly entertained. If, forexample, I were to ask you what air consists of? you would, no doubt,reply that is a compound body made of oxygen and hydrogen or azote, inthe proportion of twenty-one of the one to seventy-nine of the other."

  "Yes, most undoubtedly."

  "Well, such is not the case; there are other elements in the airbesides these."

  "If you mean that the air accidentally, or even permanently, holds insolution a certain quantity of water, or a portion of carbonic acidgas, and possibly some particles of dust arising from terrestrialbodies, then I grant your premises."

  "No; what I mean is, that the air of Hawai is composed of threedistinct elements."

  "Possibly; but if so, the air in question is not known to chemists."

  "These three elements are oxygen, hydrogen, and insects."

  "Ah, insects! I might have fancied you were driving at some hypothesisof that sort."

  "I intend to communicate this discovery to the first learned societywe fall in with."

  "In the Pacific Ocean?"

  "Yes: there or elsewhere."

  "I always understood," observed Willis, "that air was a sort of cloud,one and indivisible."

  "A cloud if you like, Willis; but do you know the weight of it youcarry on your shoulders?"

  "Well, it cannot be very great, otherwise I should feel it."

  "What do you say to a ton or so, old fellow?"

  "If you wish me to believe that, you will have to explain how, where,when, why, and wherefore."

  "Very good. Willis; you have bathed sometimes?"

  "Yes, certainly."

  "In the sea?"

  "Yes."

  "Do you know what water weighs?"

  "No, but I know that it is heavy."

  "Well, a square yard of air weighs two pounds and a half, but a squareyard of water weighs two thousand pounds. Now, can you calculate theweight of the water that is on your back and pressing on your sideswhen you swim?"

  "No, I cannot."

  "You are not sufficiently up in arithmetic to do that, Willis?"

  "No."

  "Nor am I either, Willis; but let me ask you how it is that the wavesdo not carry you along with them?"

  "Because one wave neutralises the effect of another."

  "Very good; but how is it that these ponderous waves, coming down uponyou, do not crush you to atoms by their mere weight?"

  "Well, I suppose that liquids do not operate in the same way assolids: perhaps there is something in our bodies that counterbalancesthe effect of the water."

  "Very likely; and if such be the case as regards water, may it not beso also as regards air?"

  "But I do not feel air; whereas, if I go into water, I not only feelit, but taste it sometimes, and I cannot force my way through itwithout considerable exertion."

  "That is because you are organized to live in air and not in water.You ask the smallest sprat or sticklebake if it does not, in the sameway feel the air obstruct its progress."

  "But would the stickleback answer me, Master Fritz?"

  "Why not, if it is polite and well bred?"

  "By the way, Willis," inquired Jack, "do you ever recollect havinglived without breathing?"

  "Can't say I do."

  "Very well, then; had you felt the weight of the air at any givenmoment, it must have produced an impression you never felt before, butyou have not, because circumstances have never varied. A sensationsupposes a contrast, whilst, ever since you existed, you have alwaysbeen subject to atmospheric pressure."

  "Ah, now I begin to get at the gist of your argument. You mean, forexample, that I would never have appreciated the delicate flavor ofMaryland or Havanna, had I not been accustomed to smoke thecabbage-leaf manufactured in Whitechapel."

  "Precisely so; and take for another example the farm of Antisana,which is situated about midway up the Cordilleras, mountains of SouthAmerica. When travellers, arriving there from the summits which arecovered with perpetual snow, meet others arriving from the plain wherethe heat is intense, those that descend are invariably bathed inperspiration, whilst those that have come up are shivering with coldand covered with furs. The reason of this is, that we cannot feel warmtill we have been cold, and _vice versa_."

  "Our bodies," resumed Fritz, "howe
ver much the thermometer descends,never mark less than thirty-five degrees above zero. In winter theskin shrinks, and becomes a bad conductor of heat from without; but,at the same time, does not allow so much gas and vapor to escape fromwithin. In summer, on the contrary, the skin dilates and allowsperspiration to form, a process that consumes a considerable amount oflatent heat. Starting from this principle, it has been calculated thata man, breathing twenty times in a minute, generates as much heat intwenty-four hours as would boil a bucket of water taken at zero."

  "If means could be found," remarked Jack, "to furnish him with aboiler, by fixing a piston here and a pipe there man might beconverted into one of the machines we were talking about the otherday."

  "Were I disposed to philosophize," added Fritz, "I might prove to youthat for a long time men have been little else than mere machines."

  Before night they had run about thirty miles further to thenorth-east, without seeing any thing beyond a formidable bluff,guarded by a fringe of breakers, that would soon have swallowed up the_Mary_ had she ventured to reach the land. It was necessary however toobtain fresh water at any price before they resumed their voyage.

  It was to be feared that all the islanders of the Pacific were not inexpectation of a great Rono, consequently Willis suggested that itwould be as well to search for an uninhabited spot. The only questionwas, how long they might have to search before they succeeded; forthey knew that there were plenty of small islands in these latitudesunencumbered by savages, and furnished with pools and springs ofwater.

  Night at length closed in upon them, and with it came a dense mist,that enveloped the _Mary_ as if in a triple veil of muslin.

  "Willis," inquired Jack, "what difference is there between a mist anda cloud?"

  "None that I know of," replied the Pilot, "except that a cloud whichwe are in is mist, and mist that we are not in is a cloud. And now, mylads," he added, "you may turn in, for I intend to take the firstwatch."

  Before turning in, however, all three joined in a short prayer. Theyoung men had not yet forgotten the pious precepts of their father.Prayer is beautiful everywhere, but nowhere is it so beautiful as onthe open sea, with infinity above and an abyss beneath. Then, when allis silent save the roar of the waves and the howling of the winds, itis sublime to hear the humble voice of the sailor murmuring, "Star ofthe night, pray for us!"

  That night the star of the night did pray for the three voyagers, forthe rays of the moon burst through the darkness and the mist, and fellupon a long line of reefs under the lee of the pinnace. Had they heldon their course a few minutes longer, our story would have been ended.