observe the country.

About mid-day, the chief arrived with several followers, one of
whom carried a baked pig on a wooden platter, with yams and
potatoes on several plantain leaves, which he presented to the men,
who sat down under the shade of a tree to dine. The chief sat down
to dine also; but, to my surprise, instead of feeding himself, one
of his wives performed that office for him! I was seated beside
Bill, and asked him the reason of this.

"It is beneath his dignity, I believe, to feed himself," answered
Bill; "but I daresay he's not particular, except on great
occasions. They've a strange custom among them, Ralph, which is
called TABU, and they carry it to great lengths. If a man chooses
a particular tree for his god, the fruit o' that tree is tabued to
him; and if he eats it, he is sure to be killed by his people, and
eaten, of course, for killing means eating hereaway. Then, you see
that great mop o' hair on the chief's head? Well, he has a lot o'
barbers to keep it in order; and it's a law that whoever touches
the head of a living chief or the body of a dead one, his hands are
tabued; so, in that way, the barbers' hands are always tabued, and
they daren't use them for their lives, but have to be fed like big
babies, as they are, sure enough!"

"That's odd, Bill. But look there," said I, pointing to a man
whose skin was of a much lighter colour than the generality of the
natives. "I've seen a few of these light-skinned fellows among the
Fejeeans. They seem to me to be of quite a different race."

"So they are," answered Bill. "These fellows come from the Tongan