After the black desolation of Kilauea, I realized more fully the
beauty of Hilo, as it appeared in the gloaming. The rain had
ceased, cool breezes rustled through the palm-groves and sighed
through the funereal foliage of the pandanus. Under thick canopies
of the glossy breadfruit and banana, groups of natives were twining
garlands of roses and ohia blossoms. The lights of happy foreign
homes flashed from under verandahs festooned with passion-flowers,
and the low chant, to me nearly intolerable, but which the natives
love, mingled with the ceaseless moaning of the surf and the sighing
of the breeze through the trees, and a heavy fragrance, unlike the
faint sweet odours of the north, filled the evening air. It was
delicious.
I suffered intensely from pain and stiffness, and was induced to try
a true Hawaiian remedy, which is not only regarded as a cure for all
physical ills, but as the greatest of physical luxuries; i.e. lomi-
lomi. This is a compound of pinching, pounding, and squeezing, and
Moi Moi, the fine old Hawaiian nurse in this family, is an adept in
the art. She found out by instinct which were the most painful
muscles, and subjected them to a doubly severe pounding, laughing
heartily at my groans.
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