From The Colvins and Their Friends, by E. V. lucasWOULD YOU COULD
"Would you could see the flag I designed (made on board an American man of war) for our admirable King Tembinok'. It has three crosswise stripes, orange, red and green: (he is king of three islands) across these is an immense black shark (the royal family claim to be descended from a shark) with open mouth, white teeth, and a white eye with a black pupil. I mean to make him also a palace flag, and a coat of arms with the motto 'I bite triply.' Of all the kings I have met, and funny as it sounds I have met a great many, he is the most kingly... "
From a letter to Sydney Colvin, from Fanny, Mrs. R. L. Stevenson
What an amazing photograph! I think that I would have liked to have known this woman. Where are the Fannys now?
ReplyDeleteJan