Of the food eaten here the greater part is vegetable. Here are no tame animals except hogs, dogs, and poultry, as I have observed before, and these are by no means plenty. When a chief kills a hog, it is almost equally divided among his dependants; and as they are very numerous, the share of each individual at these feasts, which are not frequent, must necessarily be small. Dogs and fowls fall somewhat more frequently to the share of the common people. I cannot much commend the flavour of their fowls; but we all agreed, that a South Sea dog was little inferior to an English lamb; their excellence is probably owing to their being kept up, and fed wholly upon vegetables. The sea affords them a great variety of fish. The smaller fish, when they catch any, are generally eaten raw, as we eat oysters; and nothing that the sea produces comes amiss to them: They are fond of lobsters, crabs, and other shell-fish, which are found upon the coast; and they will eat not only seainsects, but what the seamen call blubbers, though some of them are so tough, that they are obliged to suffer them to become putrid before they can be chewed. Of the many vegetables that have been mentioned already as serving them for food, the principal is the bread-fruit, to procure which costs them no trouble or labour but climbing a tree: The tree which produces it, does not indeed shoot up spontaneously; but if a man plants ten of them in his lifetime, which he may do in about an hour, he will as completely fulfil his duty to his own and future generations, as the natives of our less temperate climate can do by ploughing in the cold of winter, and reaping in the summer's heat, as often as these seasons return; even if, after he has procured bread

for

charms of nails and hatchets and beads. Whereas, it is probable, that had even similar solicitations been attempted in any instances unknown to each other, they would perhaps have been resisted. But vice once known to be established in society, becomes daily more prolific of its kind, and, like the Fama of Virgil, vires acquirit eundo. It is but fair to give these islanders the full benefit of this principle, when we sit in assize on them. Pray who can tell what would be the consequence of a visit from some of the inhabitants of Saturn, or the Georgium Sidus, should they open up their ultramundane treasures in sight of the British court? Is it conceivable, that the lovers of embroidery and lace and diamonds would resist the witcheries of the strangers?-or that the marvellous effects of their liberality in distribution, should be confined within the walls of St James's? He that can wisely answer these questions, is at liberty to return a verdict in the trial of the Otaheitans.-E.

for his present household, he should convert a surplus into money, and lay it up for his children.

It is true, indeed, that the bread-fruit is not always in season; but cocoa-nuts, bananas, plantains, and a great va riety of other fruits, supply the deficiency.

It may well be supposed, that cookery is but little studied by these people as an art; and, indeed, they have but two ways of applying fire to dress their food, broiling and baking; the operation of broiling is so simple that it requires no description, and their baking has been described already, in the account of an entertainment prepared for us by Tu pia. Hogs and large fish are extremely well dressed in the same manner; and, in our opinion, were more juicy, and more equally done, than by any art of cookery now prac tised in Europe. Bread-fruit is also cooked in an oven of the same kind, which renders it soft, and something like a boiled potatoe; not quite so farinaceous as a good one, but more so than those of the middling sort.

Of the bread-fruit they also make three dishes, by putting either water or the milk of the cocoa-nut to it, then beating it to a paste with a stone pestle, and afterwards mixing it with ripe plantains, bananas, or the sour paste which they call mahie.

The mahie, which has been mentioned as a succedaneum for ripe bread-fruit, before the season for gathering a fresh crop comes on, is thus made:

The fruit is gathered just before it is perfectly ripe, and being laid in heaps, is closely covered with leaves; in this state it undergoes a fermentation, and becomes disagreeably sweet: The core is then taken out entire, which is done by gently pulling the stalk, and the rest of the fruit is thrown into a hole which is dug for that purpose, generally in the houses, and neatly lined in the bottom and sides with grass; the whole is then covered with leaves, and heavy stones laid upon them: In this state it undergoes a second fermentation, and becomes sour, after which it will suffer no change for many months: It is taken out of the hole as it is wanted for use, and being made into balls, it is wrapped up in leaves and baked; after it is dressed, it will keep five or six weeks. It is eaten both cold and hot, and the natives seldom make a meal without it, though to us the taste was as disagreeable as that of a pickled olive generally is the first time it is eaten.

7

As

As the making of this mahie depends, like brewing, upon fermentation, so, like brewing, it sometimes fails, without their being able to ascertain the cause; it is very natural, therefore, that the making it should be connected with superstitious notions and ceremonies. It generally falls to the lot of the old women, who will suffer no creature to touch any thing belonging to it, but those whom they employ as assistants, nor even to go into that part of the house where the operation is carrying on. Mr Banks happened to spoil a large quantity of it only by inadvertently touching a leaf which lay upon it. The old woman, who then presided over these mysteries, told him, that the process would fail; and immediately uncovered the hole in a fit of vexation and despair. Mr Banks regretted the mischief he had done, but was somewhat consoled by the opportunity which it gave him of examining the preparation, which perhaps, but for such an accident, would never have offered."

Such is their food, to which salt-water is the universal sauce, no meal being eaten without it: Those who live near the sea have it fetched as it is wanted; those who live at some distance keep it in large bamboos, which are set up in their houses for use. Salt-water, however, is not their only sauce; they make another of the kernels of cocoa-nuts, which being fermented till they dissolve into a paste somewhat resembling butter, are beaten up with salt-water. The flavour of this is very strong, and was, when we first tasted it, exceedingly nauseous; a little use, however, reconciled some of our people to it so much, that they preferred it to our own sauces, especially with fish. The natives seemed to consider it as a dainty, and do not use it at their common meals;

VOL. XIII.

"This paste," we are told in the missionary account," makes a most nutritious and sweet pudding, and all the children of the family and their relation's feast on it eagerly. During this festive season they seldom quit the house, and continue wrapped up in cloth: And it is surprising to see them in a month become so fair and fat, that they can scarcely breathe: The children afterwards grow amazingly. The baked bread-fruit in this state very much in taste resembles gingerbread." This delicate and wholesome provision, it is said, is not confined to the chiefs and wealthier people, as all who will be at the pains to provide an oven, may readily be supplied with bread-fruit from their neighbours. Such is the generosity of these interesting people, that all of a man's own rank are at all times ready to contribute largely to his support, on his making known his need. In how many respects are these islanders worthy of being held up as examples for us!-E.

meals; possibly because they think it ill management to use cocoa-nuts so lavishly, or perhaps when we were at the island, they were scarcely ripe enough for the purpose.

For drink, they have in general nothing but water, or the juice of the cocoa-nut; the art of producing liquors that intoxicate, by fermentation, being happily unknown among them; neither have they any narcotic which they chew, as the natives of some other countries do opium, beetle-root, and tobacco. Some of them drank freely of our liquors, and in a few instances became very drunk; but the persons to whom this happened were so far from desiring to repeat the debauch, that they would never touch any of our liquors afterwards. We were, however, informed, that they became drunk by drinking a juice that is expressed from the leaves of a plant which they call ava ava. This plant was not in season when we were there, so that we saw no instances of its effects; and as they considered drunkenness as a disgrace, they probably would have concealed from us any instances which might have happened during our stay. This vice is almost peculiar to the chiefs, and considerable persons, who vie with each other in drinking the greatest number of draughts, each draught being about a pint. They keep this intoxicating juice with great care from their wo

men.'

Table

Turnbull speaks of intoxication being quite common and excessive at the feasts of the Otaheitans. And the reader will often hear of the intemperate use and bad effects of the ava or yava. The love of this liquor, or its effects rather, must indeed be strong, to reconcile them to the disgusting manner in which it is prepared. Several women," says the missionary account, "have each a portion given them to chew of the stem and root (of the yava shrub) together, which, when masticated, they spit into a bowl into which some of the leaves of the plant are finely broken; they add water, or cocoa-nut liquor: The whole is then well stirred, and begins quickly to ferment; when it is strained or wrung out in the moo gross, or cocoa-nut fibres, and drank in cups of folded leaves. It is highly intoxicating, and seems for a while to deprive them of the use of their limbs: They lie down and sleep till the effects are passed, and during the time have their limbs chafed with their women's hands. A gill of the yava is a sufficient dose for a man. When they drink it, they always eat something afterwards; and frequently fall asleep with the provisions in their mouths: When drank after a hearty meal, it produces but little effect." The writer forgets his authority, but he remembers to have read of a practice somewhat more economical, though not more delicate, than what is adopted at Otaheite. The people are all passionately fond of the intoxicating beverage prepared from mushrooms; as the common sort can not procure it at first hand, owing to its price, they are in the habit of at

Table they have none; but their apparatus for eating is set out with great neatness, though the articles are too simple and too few to allow any thing for show: And they commonly eat alone; but when a stranger happens to visit them, he sometimes makes a second in their mess. Of the meal of one of their principal people I shall give a particuJar description.

He sits down under the shade of the next tree, or on the shady side of his house, and a large quantity of leaves, either of the bread-fruit or banana, is neatly spread before him upon the ground as a tabie-cloth; a basket is then set by him that contains his provision, which, if fish or flesh, is ready dressed, and wrapped up in leaves, and two cocoa-nut shells, one full of salt water, and the other of fresh: His attendants, which are not few, seat themselves round him, and when all is ready, he begins by washing his hands and his mouth thoroughly with the fresh water, and this he repeats almost continually throughout the whole meal; he then takes part of his provision out of the basket, which ge nerally consists of a small fish or two, two or three breadfruits, fourteen or fifteen ripe bananas, or six or seven apples: He first takes half a bread-fruit, peels off the rind, and takes out the core with his nails; of this he puts as much into his mouth as it can hold, and while he chews it, takes the fish out of the leaves, and breaks one of them into the salt water, placing the other, and what remains of the bread-fruit, upon the leaves that have been spread before him. When this is done, he takes up a small piece of the fish that has been broken into the salt water, with all the fingers of one hand, and sucks it into his mouth, so as to get with it as much of the salt water as possible: In the

same

tending at the houses of the grandees, where entertainments are going on, provided with vessels for the purpose of collecting the urine of the favoured few who have drunk of it, which they eagerly swallow. The peculiar smell and flavour, it seems, are preserved notwithstanding this percolation, and are considered amply remunerative of the pains and importunity used to obtain it. Such things are strikingly expressive of that worse than bru→ tish perversity which actuates man, when once his lusts have acquired the dominion. It is lamentable to think, that after that conquest over his reason and interest, his degradation in sensuality is in proportion to his ingenuity of invention; and that no dignity of situation, or splendour of office, or brilliancy of talent, can possibly redeem him from the contempt and detestation of those whose good opinion it ought to be his ambition to Covet.-E.