His Father
Was Evidently A "Much Married Man" Since Ratu Lala Himself Told Me
That He Had Had "Exactly Three
Hundred wives." But in spite of this
he had been a man of prowess, as the Fijians count it, and
I received
as a present from Ratu Lala a very heavy hardwood war-club that had
once belonged to his father, and which, he assured me, had killed a
great many people. Ratu Lala also told me that he himself had offered
to furnish one hundred warriors to help the British during the last
Egyptian war, but that the government had declined his offer. One of
the late Governors of Fiji, Sir John Thurston, was once his guardian
and, godfather. He was educated for two years in Sydney, Australia,
and spoke English well, though in a very thick voice. Not only does
he hold sway over the island of Taviuni, but also over some smaller
islands and part of the large island of Vanua Levu. He also holds
the rank of "Roko" from the government, for which he is well paid.
After reading my letter of introduction he asked me to stay as long
as I liked, and he called his head servant and told him to find me
a room. This servant's name was Tolu, and as he spoke English fairly
well, I soon learned a great deal about Ratu Lala and his people.
Ratu Lala was married to a very high-caste lady who was closely related
to the King of Tonga, and several of whose relatives accompanied us
on our expeditions. By her he had two small children named Tersi (boy)
and Moe (girl), both of whom, during my stay (as will hereafter appear)
were sent to school at Suva, amid great lamentations on the part of
the women of Ratu Lala's household. Two months before my visit Ratu
Lala had lost his eldest daughter (by his Tongan wife). She was twelve
years old, and a favourite of his, and her grave was on a bluff below
the house, under a kind of tent, hung round with fluttering pieces
of "tapa" cloth. Spread over it was a kind of gravel of bright green
Stones which he had had brought from a long distance. Little Moe and
Tersi were always very interested in watching me skin my birds, and
their exclamation of what sounded like "Esa!" ("Oh look!") showed their
enjoyment. They were two of the prettiest little children I think I
have ever seen, but they did not know a word of English, and called me
"Misi Walk." They and their mother always took their meals sitting on
mats in the verandah. Ratu Lala had two grown-up daughters by other
wives, but they never came to the house, living in an adjoining hut
where I often joined them at a game of cards. They were both very
stately and beautiful young women, with a haughty bearing which made
me imagine that they were filled with a sense of their own importance.
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