IbelieveitwillbetenchaptersofTHEEBBTIDEthatgotoyou；thewholethingshouldbecompletedinIfancytwelve；
andtheendwillfollowpunctuallynextmail。ItismygreatwishthatthismightgetintoTHEILLUSTRATEDLONDONNEWSforGordonBrownetoillustrate。Forwhom，incaseheshouldgetthejob，Igiveyouafewnotes。Apuraoisatreegivingsomethinglikeafigwithflowers。Hewillfindsomephotographsofanoldmarinecuriosityshopinmycollection，whichmayhelphim。Attwater’ssettlementistobeentirelyovershadowedeverywherebytallpalms；seephotographsofFakarava:theverandahsofthehouseare12ft。wide。Don’tlethimforgettheFigureHead，forwhichIhaveagreatuseinthelastchapter。Itstandsjustclearofthepalmsonthecrestofthebeachattheheadofthepier；theflag-
staffnotfaroff；thepierhewillunderstandisperhapsthreefeetabovehighwater，notmoreatanyprice。ThesailorsoftheFARALLONEaretobedressedlikewhitesailorsofcourse。Forotherthings，Iremitthisexcellentartisttomyphotographs。
Ican’tthinkwhattosayaboutthetale，butitseemstometogooffwithaconsiderablebang；infact，tobeanextraordinarywork:butwhetherpopular！Attwaterisanoendofacourageousattempt，Ithinkyouwilladmit；howfarsuccessfulisanotheraffair。Ifmyislandain’tathingofbeauty，I’llbedamned。PleaseobserveWisemanandWishart；
forincidentalgrimness，theystrikemeasinit。Also，kindlyobservetheCaptainandADAR；Ithinkthatknocksspots。Inshort，asyousee，I’matriflevainglorious。ButO，ithasbeensuchagrind！Thedevilhimselfwouldallowamantobragalittleaftersuchacrucifixion！AndindeedI’monlybraggingforachangebeforeIreturntothedarnedthinglyingwaitingformeonp。88，whereIlastbrokedown。
Ibreakdownateveryparagraph，Imayobserve；andliehereandsweat，tillIcangetonesentencewrungoutafteranother。Strangedoom；afterhavingworkedsoeasilyforsolong！Dideveranybodyseesuchastoryoffourcharacters？
LATER，2。30。
ItmayinterestyoutoknowthatIamentirelyTAPU，andliveapartinmychamberslikeacagedbeast。Lloydhasabadcold，andGrahamandBellearegettingit。Accordingly，I
dwellherewithoutthelightofanyhumancountenanceorvoice，andstrapawayatTHEEBBTIDEuntil(asnow)Icannomore。Fannycanstillcome，butisgonetoglorynow，ortohergarden。Page88isdone，andmustbedoneoveragainto-
morrow，andIconfessmyselfexhausted。Pityamanwhocan’tworkonalongwhenhehasnothingelseonearthtodo！ButI
haveorderedJack，andamgoingforarideinthebushpresentlytorefreshthemachine；thenbacktoalonelydinneranddurancevile。Iacquiesceinthishandoffate；
forIthinkanothercoldjustnowwouldjustaboutdoforme。
Ihavescarceyetrecoveredthetwolast。
MAY18TH。
Myprogressiscrabwise，andIfearonlyIX。chapterswillbereadyforthemail。Iamonp。88again，andwithhalfanideaofgoingbackagainto85。Weshallseewhenwecometoread:Iusedtoregardreadingasapleasureinmyoldlightdays。Allthehousearedownwiththeinfluenzainabody，exceptFannyandme。Theinfluenzaappearstobecomeendemichere，butithasalwaysbeenascourgeintheislands。
WitnessthebeginningofTHEEBBTIDE，whichwasobservedlongbeforetheIfflehaddistinguishedhimselfathomebysuchNapoleonicconquests。Iamnowofcourse’quitearecluse，’anditisverystale，andthereisnoamanuensistocarrymeovermymail，towhichIshallhavetodevotemanyhoursthatwouldhavebeenmoreusefullydevotedtoTHEEBB
TIDE。Foryouknowyoucandictateatallhoursofthedayandatanyoddmoment；buttositdownandwritewithyourredrighthandisaverydifferentmatter。
MAY20TH。
Well，IbelieveI’veaboutfinishedthething，Imeanasfarasthemailistotakeit。ChapterX。isnowinLloyd’shandsforremarks，andextendsinitspresentformtop。93
incl。Onthe12thofMay，Iseebylookingback，Iwasonp。
82，notforthefirsttime；sothatIhavemade11pagesinninelivelongdays。Well！upahighhillheheavedahugeroundstone。ButthisFlaubertbusinessmustberesistedinthepremises。Orisittheresultofinfluenza？Godforbid。
Fannyisdownnow，andthelastlinkthatboundmetomyfellowmenissevered。Isituphere，andwrite，andreadRenan’sORIGINES，whichiscertainlydevilishinteresting；I
readhisNeroyesterday，itisverygood，O，verygood！ButheisquiteaMichelet；thegeneralviews，andsuchapieceofcharacterpainting，excellent；buthismethodsheerlunacy。Youcanseehimtakeuptheblockwhichhehadjustrejected，andmakeofitthecorner-stone:amaddeningwaytodealwithauthorities；andtheresultsolittlelikehistorythatonealmostblamesoneselfforwastingtime。Butthetimeisnotwasted；theconspectusisalwaysgood，andtheblurthatremainsonthemindisprobablyjustenough。I
havebeenenchantedwiththeunveilingofRevelations。AndhowpicturesquethatreturnofthefalseNero！TheApostleJohnisratherdiscredited。Andtothinkhowonehadreadthethingsooften，andneverunderstoodtheattacksuponSt。
Paul！IrememberwhenIwasachild，andwecametotheFourBeaststhatwereallovereyes，thesickeningterrorwithwhichIwasfilled。IfthatwasHeaven，what，inthenameofDavyJonesandtheaboriginalnight-mare，couldHellbe？
Takeitforallinall，L’ANTECHRISTisworthreading。TheHISTOIRED’ISRAELdidnotsurprisememuch；IhadreadthoseHebrewsourceswithmoreintelligencethantheNewTestament，andwasquitepreparedtoadmireAhabandJezebel，etc。
Indeed，Ahabhasalwaysbeenratheraheroofmine；Imeansincetheyearsofdiscretion。
MAY21ST。
AndhereIambackagainonp。85！thelastchapterdemandinganentirerevision，whichaccordinglyitistoget。Andwheremymailistocomein，Godknows！Thisforced，violent，alembicatedstyleismostabhorrenttome；itcan’tbehelped；thenotewasstruckyearsagoontheJANETNICOLL，andhastobemaintainedsomehow；andIcanonlyhopetheintrinsichorrorandpathos，andakindoffierceglowofcolourthereistoit，andthesurelyremarkablewealthofstrikingincident，mayguideourlittleshallopintoport。
IfGordonBrowneistogetit，heshouldseetheBrasseyphotographsofPapeete。Butmind，thethreewaifswereneverinthetown；onlyonthebeachandinthecalaboose。ByGeorge，butit’sagoodthingtoillustrateforamanlikethat！Fannyisallrightagain。Falsealarm！IwasdownyesterdayafternoonatPaupata，andheardmuchgrowlingofwar，andthedelightfulnewsthattheC。J。andthePresidentaregoingtorunawayfromMulinuuandtakerefugeintheTivolihotel。
23RD。MAILDAY。
Andlotsofpleasuresbeforeme，nodoubt！Amongotherstheattempttoextractananswerfrom-beforemailtime，whichmaysucceedormaynot。
THEEBBTIDE，allbut(Itakeit)fifteenpages，isnowinyourhands-possiblyonlyaboutelevenpp。Itishardtosay。Butthereitis，andyoucandoyourbestwithit。
Personally，IbelieveIwouldinthiscasemakeevenasacrificetogetGordonBrowneandcopiousillustration。I
guessintendaysIshallhavefinishedwithit；thenIgonexttoD。BALFOUR，andgettheproofsready:anastyjobforme，asyouknow。Andthen？Well，perhapsI’lltakeagoatthefamilyhistory。Ithinkthatwillbewise，asIamsomuchoffwork。Andthen，Isuppose，WEIROFHERMISTON，butitmaybeanything。IamdiscontentedwithTHEEBBTIDE，naturally；thereseemssuchaveilofwordsoverit；andI
likemoreandmorenakedwriting；andyetsometimesonehasalongingforfullcolourandtherecomestheveilagain。THE
YOUNGCHEVALIERisinveryfullcolour，andIfearitforthatreason-
Ever，R。LS。
MYDEARCOLVIN，-StillgrindingatChap。XI。Ibeganmanydaysagoonp。93，andamstillonp。93，whichisexhilarating，butthethingtakesshapeallthesameandshouldmakeaprettylivelychapterforanendofit。ForXII。isonlyafootnoteADEXPLICANDUM。
JUNETHE1ST。
Backonp。93。Iwason100yesterday，butreaditoverandcondemnedit。
10A。M。
Ihaveworkedupagainto97，buthow？Thedeuceflyawaywithliterature，forthebasestsportincreation。Butit’sgottocomestraight！andifpossible，sothatImayfinishD。BALFOURintimeforthesamemail。Whatagettingupstairs！ThisisFlaubertoutdone。Belle，Graham，andLloydleaveto-dayonamalagadownthecoast；tobeabsentaweekorso:thisleavesFanny，me，and-，whoseemsanice，kindlyfellow。
JUNE2ND。
Iamnearlydeadwithdyspepsia，over-smoking，andunremunerativeoverwork。Lastnight，Iwenttobedbyseven；
wokeupagainabouttenforaminutetofindmyselflight-
headedandaltogetheroffmylegs；wenttosleepagain，andwokethismorningfairlyfit。Ihavecrippledontop。101，butIhaven’treadityet，sodonotboast。Whatkillsmeistheframeofmindofoneofthecharacters；Icannotgetitthrough。Ofcoursethatdoesnotinterferewithmytotalinabilitytowrite；sothatyesterdayIwasalivinghalf-
houruponasingleclauseandhaveagalleryofvariantsthatwouldsurpriseyou。Andthissortoftrouble(whichIcannotavoid)unfortunatelyproducesnothingwhendonebutalembicationandthefar-fetched。Well，readitwithmercy！
Goingtobed。Havereadit，andbelievethechapterpracticallydoneatlast。Butlord！ithasbeenabusiness。
JULY3RD，8。15。
Thedraftisfinished，theendofChapterII。andthetale，andIhaveonlyeightpagesWIEDERZUARBEITEN。Thisisjustacryofjoyinpassing。
10。30。
Knockedoutoftime。Did101and102。Alas，nomoreto-day，asIhavetogodowntowntoameeting。Justaswellthough，asmythumbisaboutdoneup。
SUNDAY，JUNE4TH。
Nowforalittlesnippetofmylife。Yesterday，12。30，inaheavenlydayofsunandtrade，Imountedmyhorseandsetoff。Aboyopensmygateforme。’Sleepandlonglife！A
blessingonyourjourney，’sayshe。AndIreply’Sleep，longlife！Ablessingonthehouse！’Thenon，downthelimelane，arugged，narrow，windingway，thatseemsalmostasifitwasleadingyouintoLyonesse，andyoumightseetheheadandshouldersofagiantlookingin。AtthecorneroftheroadImeettheinspectoroftaxes，andholdadiplomaticinterviewwithhim；hewantsmetopaytaxesonthenewhouse；IaminformedIshouldnottillnextyear；andwepart，REINFECTA，hepromisingtobringmedecisions，I
assuringhimthat，ifIfindanyfavouritism，hewillfindmethemostrecalcitranttax-payerontheisland。ThenIhaveatalkwithanoldservantbythewayside。AlittlefurtherI
passtwochildrencomingup。’Love！’sayI；’areyoutwochiefly-proceedinginland？’andtheysay，’Love！yes！’andtheinterestingceremonyisfinished。Downtothepostoffice，whereIfindVitrollesand(Heavenrewardyou！)theWhiteBook，justarrivedperUPOLU，havinggonethewrongwayround，byAustralia；alsosixcopiesofISLANDNIGHTS’
ENTERTAINMENTS。SomeofWeatherall’sillustrationsareveryclever；butOLord！thelagoon！Ididsayitwas’shallow，’
but，Odear，notsoshallowasthatamancouldstandupinit！Ihadstillanhourtowaitformymeeting，soPostmasterDavisletmesitdowninhisroomandIhadabottleofbeerin，andreadAGENTLEMANOFFRANCE。HaveyouseenitcomingoutinLONGMAN’S？MydearColvin！’tisthemostexquisitepleasure；arealchivalrousyarn，liketheDumas’andyetunlike。Thereaftertothemeetingofthefivenewspaperproprietors。Businesstransacted，Ihavetogallophomeandfindtheboyswaitingtobepaidatthedoorstep。
