Page:The Boy Travellers in Australasia.djvu/120

96 with a new bathing-dress and towels, and proceeded to the river close by, where numbers of guests were already enjoying a bath in the clear water. The party straggled back in twos and threes; and as fast as we returned every one of us was crowned with a wreath of flowers after the Tahitian custom. There was a great deal of fun and laughter about this part of the entertainment, but everybody enjoyed it, and entered heartily into the sport of the occasion. The guests included all our party from the yacht, the officers from the ships of war, every stranger of consequence in Papéiti, and pretty nearly every respectable resident.

"By the time everybody had returned from the bath and received his crown the feast was announced, and we went in procession to the dining-hall. This proved to be a temporary building, made of a slight framework of bamboos and banana-trees, covered with a thatch of palm-leaves and decorated with festoons of leaves and vines.

"The building was erected over a fine piece of lawn, and the table was spread on the grass. Instead of a table as we understand it, fresh banana-leaves were spread on the grass, and on these the good things of the feast were laid. On the grass at the edge of this novel table-cloth mats made of cocoa fibre were spread, and on these mats we sat down native fashion. It was rather awkward getting down to the floor, but of course the awkwardness added to the fun of the occasion.

"The substantial part of the feast consisted of turkeys, chickens, and young pigs, roasted and served cold, and then there were all kinds of fin and shell fish, both raw and cooked. All the fruits of the island were there, and all the vegetables, including yams, sweet-potatoes, cucumbers, and the like. European wines took the place of the native drink, kava, which is rapidly going out of use.

"Instead of plates, each of us had a pile of bread-fruit leaves which served as plates, and in front of each guest there were four half cocoanut-shells. One was full of drinking-water, the second full of milk, the third contained chopped cocoanut, and the fourth sea-water. The sea-water was emptied into the chopped cocoanut to form a sauce like the Chinese soy, into which the various articles of food were dipped before being conveyed to the mouth, and then the shell was filled with fresh water, and used as a finger-glass.

"We enjoyed the feast very much, though all of us confessed after-wards to a back-ache, from the novelty of our positions. After the feast there was dancing in the spacious parlor of our host, and the festivities were kept up until late in the evening."