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fcribed already, (Vol. II, p.420.) in the account of an entertainment prepared for us by Tupia. Hogs, and large fish, are extremely well dreffed in the same manner; and, in our opinion, were more juicy and more equally done than by any art of cookery now practised in Europe. Bread-fruit is alfo cooked in an oven of the fame kind, which renders it foft, and fomething like a boiled potatoe; not quite fo farinaceous as a good one, but more fo than those of the middling fort.

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

The mahie, which has been mentioned as a fuccedaneum for ripe bread-fruit, before the feafon 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 clofely covered with leaves; in this state it undergoes a fermentation, and becomes difagreeably sweet: the core is then taken out entire, which is done by gently pulling the ftalk, 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 fides with grafs; the whole

is then covered with leaves, and heavy stones laid upon them in this ftate it undergoes a fecond fermentation, and becomes four, after which it will fuffer 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 dreffed, it will keep five or fix weeks. It is eaten both cold and hot, and the natives feldom make a meal without it, though to us the taste was as difagreeable as that of a pickled olive generally is the first time it is

eaten.

As the making of this mahie depends, like brewing, upon fermentation, fo, like brewing, it fometimes fails, without their being able to ascertain the caufe; it is very natural, therefore, that the making it fhould be connected with fuperftitious notions and ceremonies. It generally falls to the lot of the old women, who will fuffer no creature to touch any thing belonging to it, but those whom they employ as affiftants, 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 prefided over these mysteries, told him, that the process would fail; and immediately uncovered the hole in a fit of vexation and defpair. Mr. Banks regretted the mischief he had done, but was fomewhat confol

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ed by the opportunity which it gave him of exa mining the preparation, which perhaps, but for fuch an accident, would never have offered.

Such is their food, to which falt water is the univerfal fauce, no meal being eaten without it; those who live near the fea have it fetched as it is wanted; thofe who live at fome distance keep it in large bamboos, which are set up in their houses for ufe. Salt-water, however, is not their only fauce; they make another of the kernels of cocoa-nuts, which being fermented till they diffolve into a paste fomewhat refembling butter, are beaten up with falt-water. The flavour of this is very strong, and was, when we firft taftedit, exceedingly naufeous; a little ufe, however, reconciled fome of our people to it fo much, that they preferred it to our own fauces, especially with fish. The natives feemed to confider it as a dainty, and do not use it at their common meals; poffibly, because they think it ill management to use cocoa-nuts fo lavishly, or perhaps, when we were at the island, they were fcarcely 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 fome other countries do opium, beetle-root, and tobacco. Some of them drank

freely of our liquors, and in a few inftances became
very drunk; but the perfons to whom this hap-
pened were fo far from defiring to repeat the
debauch, that they would never touch any of our
liquors afterwards. We were, however, inform-
ed, that they became drunk by drinking a juice
that is expreffed from the leaves of a plant which
they call Ava Ava. This plant was not in fea-
fon when we were there, fo that we faw no in-
ftances of its effects; and as they confidered
drunkenness as a difgrace, they probably would
have concealed from us any inftances which
might have happened during our stay. This
vice is almost peculiar to the Chiefs, and confi-
derable perfons, who vie with each other in
drinking the greatest number of draughts, each
draught being about a pint.
intoxicating juice with great

women.

They keep this
care from their

Table they have none; but their apparatus for eating is fet out with great neatness, though the articles are too fimple and too few to allow any thing for fhow: and they commonly eat alone; but when a ftranger happens to vifit them, he fometimes makes a fecond in their mefs. Of the meal of one of their principal people I fhall give a particular defcription.

He fits down under the shade of the next tree, or on the fhady fide of his house, and a large quantity of leaves, either of the bread-fruit or

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banana, are neatly spread before him upon the ground as a table-cloth; a basket is then fet by him that contains his provifion, which, if fish or flesh, is ready dreffed, and wrapped up in leaves, and two cocoa-nut fhells, one full of falt water, and the other of fresh: his attendants, which are not few, feat 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 almoft continually throughout the whole meal; he then takes part of his provifion out of the basket, which generally consists of a fmall fish or two, two or three bread-fruits, fourteen or fifteen ripe bananas, or fix 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 falt water, placing the other, and what remains of the bread fruit, upon the leaves that have been fpread before him. When this is done, he takes up a small piece of the fish that has been broken into the falt-water, with all the fingers of one hand, and fucks it into his mouth, fo as to get with it as much of the falt water as poffible: in the fame manner he takes the rest by different morfels, and between each, at leaft very frequently, takes a fmall fup of the falt-water, either out of the cocoa-nut fhell, or the palm of his hand: