The walls are of stone up to three feet high; on this are strong squared posts supporting the roof, everywhere except in the verandah filled in with the leaf-stems of the sago-palm, fitted neatly in wooden owing.

The floor is of stucco, and the ceilings are like the walls.

The house is forty feet square, consists of four rooms, a hall, and two verandahs, and is surrounded by a wilderness of fruit trees.

A deep well supplied me with pure cold water, a great luxury in this climate.

Five minutes' walk down the road brought me to the market and the beach, while in the opposite direction there were no more European houses between me and the mountain.