Glimmered the pure gardenia. All the braves

Wished her for wife, but old Akau the chief,

Knowing Uhila's prowess and the blood

Left by an English forbear in his veins,

Knowing that Taka too could boast, or mourn,

A foreign ancestry, had lately pledged

His daughter to this brave, and now the village

Made preparations for the marriage. There

By the warm sea the maidens paid their court

To Taka, who so soon would leave their gay

Indifferent frolic lives to wed the grave

Stern chief. She did not falter at the choice.

Love which the maidens sang was but a word;

She wished no better fate than to be mated

To a strong warrior whom her heart held dear

13

As friend to kind Akau. So she waited.

In her slim hands she held a polished cup,

The shell of cocoanut, which caught the light

Like a brown pool. The toil of many days

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