150 MYSTIC ISLES 



have no festal spirit. There were a dozen of these 

 Moorea girls and visitors from Tahiti, one or two from 

 the Tiare Hotel, whose homes were perhaps on this 

 island. 



The dinner being finished, the bandsmen laid down 

 their instruments and the girls were invited to drink. 

 Tahitian females have no thirst for alcohol. They, as 

 most of their men, prefer fruit juices or cool water ex- 

 cept at times of feasting. They had no intoxicants 

 when the whites came, not in all Potynesia. It was the 

 humor of the explorers, the first adventurers, and all 

 succeeding ones, to teach them to like alcohol, and to hold 

 their liquor like Englishmen or Americans. Kings and 

 queens, chiefs and chiefesses, priests and warriors, were 

 sent ashore crapulous in many a jolly-boat, or paddled 

 their own canoes, after areareas on war-ships and mer- 

 chantmen. Some learned to like liquor, and French 

 saloons in Papeete and throughout Tahiti and Moorea 

 encouraged the taste. Profits, as ever under the busi- 

 ness rule of the world overweighed morals or health. 



These girls in our bower drank sparingly of wine, 

 but needed no artificial spirits to spur their own. Music 

 runs like fire through their veins. 



Iromea of the Tiare Hotel — perhaps some of Lo- 

 vaina's maidens knew our plans and came over on the 

 packet — took the accordion from Kelly. She began to 

 play, and two of the Moorea men joined her, one with 

 a pair of tablespoons and the other with an empty gaso- 

 lene-can. The holder of the spoons jingled them in per- 

 fect harmony with the accordion, and the can-operator 

 tapped and thumped the tin, so that the three made a 

 singular and tinghng music. It had a timbre that got 



