XIX

Rarahu was possessed of a cat of a hideous kind, in whom all her affections were centred till my arrival. Cats are an object of luxury in Oceania, and yet the breed there is utterly degenerate. Imported cats introduce new blood, and a cat of good strain is highly prized. Rarahu's cat was a great lean beast, very long in the shanks, which spent all its time asleep warming itself in the sun, or eating blue land-crabs. It was called Turiri. Its erect ears were pierced at the tips, and ornamented with little silk tassels after the fashion of cats in Tahiti. This headgear gave the finishing-touch of comicality to the cat's face, which was strange enough in itself. Turiri even dared to follow its mistress to the bathing-place, and would spend hours with us, sprawling in luxurious attitudes. Rarahu would lavish the fondest names on this creature, such as: “my darling little thing,” or “my little heart,” (ta ú mea iti here rahi) and (ta ú mafatu iti).