{"id":"01KG8AJTRA2GWSC9053YZG6W2E","cid":"bafkreia7vymv3vqzjec2ezyzn5ez7csf6wdqnx3ompxiv36sllzziidaqu","type":"chapter","properties":{"description":"# CHAPTER LXII.\nTaji Retires From The World\n## Overview\nThis is a chapter from the novel [Mardi: And a Voyage Thither](arke:01KG8AJA6157W2830190N652KA) by Herman Melville. The chapter, titled \"CHAPTER LXII. Taji Retires From The World,\" describes Taji's decision to leave his assigned dwelling in Odo and build a secluded arbor on a nearby islet. It was extracted from the file [mardi_vol1.txt](arke:01KG89J1HYC04JWXEK48P07WPK) and is part of the [Melville Complete Works](arke:01KG89HMDZKNY753EZE1CJ8HZW) collection.\n\n## Context\nThe chapter follows [CHAPTER LXI. An Incognito](arke:01KG8AJTRAMFTZKGTN8G0VXVJF), in which Taji and his companions receive numerous visitors from neighboring islands. This chapter sets the stage for Taji's desire for seclusion. It precedes [CHAPTER LXIII. Odo And Its Lord](arke:01KG8AJTRAYP4T7KHPC7NGJ455).\n\n## Contents\nIn this chapter, Taji decides to move to a small, green islet near Odo, seeking a more agreeable abode. With Media's permission, he constructs a thatched arbor using local materials like pandannus leaves and palm trunks. Jarl, another character, settles nearby, while Samoa remains in Odo. Taji's seclusion is mostly undisturbed, though he notices occasional canoes passing by and senses a lurking presence, which unsettles Yillah.\n","description_generated_at":"2026-01-30T20:49:11.164Z","description_model":"gemini-2.5-flash-lite","description_title":"CHAPTER LXII.","end_line":6773,"extracted_at":"2026-01-30T20:47:39.468Z","extracted_by":"structure-extraction-lambda","label":"CHAPTER LXII.\nTaji Retires From The World","source_file":"01KG89J1HYC04JWXEK48P07WPK","start_line":6706,"text":"CHAPTER LXII.\r\nTaji Retires From The World\r\n\r\n\r\nAfter a while, when the strangers came not in shoals as before, I\r\nproposed to our host, a stroll over his dominions; desirous of\r\nbeholding the same, and secretly induced by the hope of selecting an\r\nabode, more agreeable to my fastidious taste, than the one already\r\nassigned me.\r\n\r\nThe ramble over—a pleasant one it was—it resulted in a determination on\r\nmy part to quit Odo. Yet not to go very far; only ten or twelve yards,\r\nto a little green tuft of an islet; one of many, which here and there,\r\nall round the island, nestled like birds’ nests in the branching boughs\r\nof the coral grove, whose roots laid hold of the foundations of the\r\ndeep. Between these islets and the shore, extended shelving ledges,\r\nwith shallows above, just sufficient to float a canoe. One of these\r\nislets was wooded and wined; an arbor in the sea. And here, Media\r\npermitting, I decided to dwell.\r\n\r\nNot long was Media in complying; nor long, ere my retreat was in\r\nreadiness. Laced together, the twisting boughs were closely thatched.\r\nAnd thatched were the sides also, with deep crimson pandannus leaves;\r\nwhose long, forked spears, lifted by the breeze, caused the whole place\r\nto blaze, as with flames. Canes, laid on palm trunks, formed the floor.\r\nHow elastic! In vogue all over Odo, among the chiefs, it imparted such\r\na buoyancy to the person, that to this special cause may be imputed in\r\ngood part the famous fine spirits of the nobles.\r\n\r\nHypochondriac! essay the elastic flooring! It shall so pleasantly and\r\ngently jolt thee, as to shake up, and pack off the stagnant humors\r\nmantling thy pool-like soul.\r\n\r\nSuch was my dwelling. But I make no mention of sundry little\r\nappurtenances of tropical housekeeping: calabashes, cocoanut shells,\r\nand rolls of fine tappa; till with Yillah seated at last in my arbor, I\r\nlooked round, and wanted for naught.\r\n\r\nBut what of Jarl and Samoa? Why Jarl must needs be fanciful, as well as\r\nmyself. Like a bachelor in chambers, he settled down right opposite to\r\nme, on the main land, in a little wigwam in the grove.\r\n\r\nBut Samoa, following not his comrade’s example, still tarried in the\r\ncamp of the Hittites and Jebusites of Odo. Beguiling men of their\r\nleisure by his marvelous stories: and maidens of their hearts by his\r\nmarvelous wiles.\r\n\r\nWhen I chose, I was completely undisturbed in my arbor; an ukase of\r\nMedia’s forbidding indiscriminate intrusion. But thrice in the day came\r\na garrulous old man with my viands.\r\n\r\nThus sequestered, however, I could not entirely elude the pryings of\r\nthe people of the neighboring islands; who often passed by, slowly\r\npaddling, and earnestly regarding my retreat. But gliding along at a\r\ndistance, and never essaying a landing, their occasional vicinity\r\ntroubled me but little. But now and then of an evening, when thick and\r\nfleet the shadows were falling, dim glimpses of a canoe would be spied;\r\nhovering about the place like a ghost. And once, in the stillness of\r\nthe night, hearing the near ripple of a prow, I sallied forth, but the\r\nphantom quickly departed.\r\n\r\nThat night, Yillah shuddered as she slept. “The whirl-pool,” she\r\nmurmured, “sweet mosses.” Next day she was lost in reveries, plucking\r\npensive hyacinths, or gazing intently into the lagoon.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r","title":"CHAPTER LXII.\nTaji Retires From The World"},"relationships":[{"peer":"01KG8AJA6157W2830190N652KA","peer_type":"novel","predicate":"in"},{"peer":"01KG89J1HYC04JWXEK48P07WPK","peer_type":"file","predicate":"extractedFrom"},{"peer":"01KG89HMDZKNY753EZE1CJ8HZW","peer_type":"collection","predicate":"collection"},{"peer":"01KG8AJTRAMFTZKGTN8G0VXVJF","peer_type":"chapter","predicate":"prev"},{"peer":"01KG8AJTRAYP4T7KHPC7NGJ455","peer_type":"chapter","predicate":"next"}],"ver":3,"created_at":"2026-01-30T20:47:44.394Z","ts":"2026-01-30T20:49:12.464Z","edited_by":{"method":"manual","user_id":"01KFF5C36SQEVDHC9CBNZZJH9K"}}