SOLITARY MEALS. 383 



Captain Wallis* tells us that, during his visit, one of the 

 natives who "tried to feed himself with that instrument, 

 could not guide it, but by the mere force of habit his hand 

 came to his mouth and the victuals at the end of the fork 

 went away to his ear." Nor do they use plates. Poulaho, 

 Chief of the Friendly Islands, dining one day on board the 

 ship, was so much struck by the pewter plates, that Captain 

 Cook gave him one. He did not, however, intend to employ 

 it in the usual manner, but said that "whenever he should 

 have occasion to visit any of the other islands, he would 

 leave this plate behind him at Tongataboo, as a sort of 

 representative in his absence."! 



Captain Cook was much surprised to find that a people 

 who were so sociable, and who enjoyed so much the society 

 of women, never made their meals together. Even brothers 

 and sisters had each their own basket, and when they wished 

 to eat would go out, " sit down upon the ground, at two or 

 three yards distance from each other, and turning their faces 

 different ways, take their repast without interchanging a 

 single word." They ate alone, they said, "because it was 

 right," but why it was right they were unable to explain. 

 We must, however, remember that these islanders were 

 together much more than we are. We enjoy a sociable 

 meal, because our numerous avocations keep us apart so 

 much at other times ; but among a people whose wants 

 were supplied with so little exertion on their part, who were 

 all day long together, and had no rooms into which they 

 could retire and be alone, it must have been a great thing to 

 have some way of escaping from their friends and being 

 quiet, without giving offence. As there were no stated times 

 for meals, a man who wished to be alone need only to take 

 out his basket of provisions, and he might be sure that he 



* Voyage Round the World, p. 482. f Third Voyage, vol. i., p. 326. 



