I.
At[2] daylight Tahiti, an island which must for ever remain[3] classical to the voyager in the South Sea, was in view. At a distance the appearance[4] was not attractive. The[5] luxuriant vegetation of the lower[6] part could not yet be seen; and as the clouds rolled[7] past, only the wildest[8] and most precipitous peaks showed themselves[9] towards[10] the centre of the island. As soon as we anchored in[11] Matavai Bay we[12] were surrounded by canoes. After dinner we landed and enjoyed the delights[13] always[14] produced by the first impressions of a fine country. A crowd _of_ men, women, and children was collected on the shore, _ready_ to (S. 19, N. 7) receive us with laughing, merry faces. They[15] marshalled us towards the house of (S. 10, N. 2) Mr. Wilson, the[16] missionary of the district, who met[17] us on the road, and gave[18] us a very fine reception. After sitting[19] a short time in his house, we separated from our host to[20] walk about, and[21] returned in the evening.
The[22] land capable of cultivation is[23] scarcely in any part more than a fringe of low alluvial soil, accumulated round[24] the base of the mountains, and[25] protected from the waves of the sea by a coral reef, which encircles the entire line of coast. Within the reef there[26] is an expanse of smooth water, like that of a lake, where[27] the canoes of the natives can ply with safety, and where[28] ships anchor. The low land, which[29] comes down to the beach of coral sand, is covered[30] by the most beautiful productions of[31] the intertropical regions. In the midst of bananas[32], orange, cocoa-nut, and bread-fruit trees, spots[33] are cleared where yams[34], potatoes, the sugar-cane, and pine-apples are cultivated[35].
[1] +~Tahiti~ ist die größte der Gesellschaftsinseln+ (Society Islands) +im stillen Meere oder der Südsee+ (Pacific Ocean) +und besitzt ungefähr 9200 Einwohner, welche seit 1813 durch englische Missionäre zum Christentum bekehrt sind. Die Bibel ist in die Sprache der Eingebornen übersetzt, und auch in den Kirchen und Schulen wird in der Landessprache gepredigt und gelehrt.+
[2] = At the break of day (+Beim Tagesanbruch+) we saw Tahiti.
[3] = appear, +erscheinen+. The words ‘to — Sea’ must be placed after the rel. pron., and are followed by ‘for ever’ (+stets+).
[4] = view.
[5] Use the active Voice of the verb with ‘+man+’, which should commence the clause.
[6] ‘lower’, here +niedriger belegen+.
[7] rolled past, +an uns vorüberzogen+.
[8] +wüst.+
[9] Supply ‘to us’ after ‘themselves’.
[10] = in the middle.
[11] +in der Bucht von Matavai.+
[12] = we found ourselves surrounded by (+von+) canoes (+Baumkahn+, m.).
[13] +Freuden.+
[14] Say ‘which the first sight of a fine country always produces (+hervor´rufen+) within us’.
[15] = These conducted us.
[16] +des Bezirksmissionärs.+
[17] He will meet me on the road, +er wird mir halbwegs entge´genkommen+.
[18] to give a person a very fine reception, +einen höchst freundlich bewillkommnen+.
[19] +verweilen+; construe this clause accord. to S. 55, N. 1.
[20] Inf. +einen Spaziergang machen+.
[21] = from which we returned in the evening (+abends+).
[22] +Der kulturfähige Teil der Insel.+
[23] is — soil = consists nearly everywhere only of (+aus+) a narrow strip of low (+niedrig belegen+) alluvial land (use the Gen. without the art.).
[24] round the base, +rings herum am Fuße+.
[25] Say ‘and is protected’; from, +vor+.
[26] there is = finds itself (+sich befinden+); an expanse of water, +eine ausgedehnte Wasserfläche+; ‘smooth’, here +fast spiegelglatt+.
[27] The literal rendering of this passage would not read well, say ‘which (to agree with +Wasserfläche+) affords (App. § 5) perfect (+völlig+) safety to the canoes of the natives’.
[28] = in which.
[29] = which reaches down (+hinun´terreichen+) to (+bis zu+) the beach consisting of coral-sand.—Use the attributive const., S. 48, N. 6.
[30] ‘covered’, here +bewachsen+; by, +mit+.
[31] +der zwischen den Tropen belegenen Gegenden.+
[32] See S. 71, N. 2.
[33] to clear a spot (of trees, etc.), +eine Stelle urbar machen+.
[34] +Yamswurzeln.+
[35] +bauen.+
_Section 170._
TAHITI.