The sprightly airs
with which these poor creatures welcomed the arrival of the party,
sounded strangely incongruous and out of place, and grated harshly
upon our feelings. And then as we proceeded up the beach, and the
crowd gathered about us, eager and anxious for a recognition or a
kind word of greeting--oh, the repulsive and sickening libels and
distorted caricatures of the human face divine upon which we looked!
And as they evidently read the ill-concealed aversion in our
countenances, they withdrew the half-proffered hand, and slunk back
with hanging heads. They felt again that they were lepers, the
outcasts of society, and must not contaminate us with their touch.
A few cheerful words of inquiry from the physician, Dr. Trousseau,
addressed to individuals as to their particular cases, broke the
embarrassment of this first meeting, and soon the crowd were
chatting and laughing just like any other crowd of thoughtless
Hawaiians, and with but few exceptions, these unfortunate exiles
showed no signs of the settled melancholy that would naturally be
looked for from people so hopelessly situated. Very happy were they
when spoken to, and quite ready to answer any questions. We saw
numbers whom we had known in years past, and who, having
disappeared, we had thought dead.
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