She says when I go away now I am to marry a rich
wife with plenty of money, and if she dies on me I am to come back
here and marry herself for my second wife.
I have never heard talk so simple and so attractive as the talk of
these people. This evening they began disputing about their wives,
and it appeared that the greatest merit they see in a woman is that
she should be fruitful and bring them many children. As no money can
be earned by children on the island this one attitude shows the
immense difference between these people and the people of Paris.
The direct sexual instincts are not weak on the island, but they are
so subordinated to the instincts of the family that they rarely lead
to irregularity. The life here is still at an almost patriarchal
stage, and the people are nearly as far from the romantic moods of
love as they are from the impulsive life of the savage.
The wind was so high this morning that there was some doubt whether
the steamer would arrive, and I spent half the day wandering about
with Michael watching the horizon.
At last, when we had given her up, she came in sight far away to the
north, where she had gone to have the wind with her where the sea
was at its highest.
I got my baggage from the cottage and set off for the slip with
Michael and the old man, turning into a cottage here and there to
say good-bye.
Pages:
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153