ABSTRACT
On board, when I was alone, I sadly went on deck. The frigate, in the morning so full of life, was silent and deserted; the masts and yards projected their rigid outline against the dark sky, the stars were dimmed, the air was thick and heavy, the sea dull and still. The bluffs of Moorea cast their black shadows upside down on the water; in the distance gleamed the bonfires, lighting up the savage dance; hoarse sounds of foul songs floated off in a confused murmur to the accompaniment of tom-toms beaten out of time.
