When the inhabitants of some sequestered island first descry the "big canoe" of the European rolling through the blue waters towards their shores, they rush down to the beach in crowds, and with open arms stand ready to embrace the strangers. Fatal embrace! They fold to their bosoms the viper whose sting is destined to poison all their joys.
Typee: A Peep at Polynesian Life
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Original Citation
Melville, Herman. Typee: A Peep at Polynesian Life. New York: Wiley and Putnam/London: John Murray, 1846, ch. 4.
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Current Citation
Melville, Herman. Typee: A Peep at Polynesian Life. Dover Publications, 2019, ch. 4.
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