kind of a petulant letter from Tahiti to America from Henry Adams the author, (education of), in the Times online's Daily Life feature.
his wife killed herself, he took refuge in his work, a history of the Jefferson and Madison presidencies. but then what? the South Seas. in 1890 Tahiti was not what it is now. he went there with John La Farge, a semi-neglected painter of some skill, and wit.