There is a wonderful moment in this chapter when Twain steps out on deck of the schooner at night in the moonlight. The description of his vista is almost transcendent.
I've recently been responding to various requests to sign petitions related to Obama's environmental treachery, the latest being the Keystone pipeline project and canceling of EPA standards. One response I got on a Facebook post was what looked to be a rather cynical request to explain why humans were to blame for the "Little Ice Age" (LIA).
Earlier today I had the desire to play some old Donovan music. I have an lp of his. I looked up some of the tunes on Wikipedia and found that the tune Lalena was actually named for Lotte Lenya, the singer/actress famous for her role in Kurt Weill's The Three Penny Opera, among other roles. I wonder how many of you out there have heard of it or him. Once upon a time Bobby Darin had a hit with a tune from The Three Penny Opera, Mack the Knife. But then who now remembers Bobby Darin.
This is a rather tedious chapter but may be of interest to those interested in traditional funeral practices of native Hawaiians. This is a good example of Twain padding his chapters (my opinion).
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