With a second peculiar flourish he prevented the poee-poee from dropping to the ground as he raised it to his mouth, into which the finger was inserted and drawn forth perfectly free from any adhesive matter.
This performance was evidently intended for our instruction; so I again essayed the feat on the principles inculcated, but with very ill success.
A starving man, however, little heeds conventional proprieties, especially on a South-Sea Island, and accordingly Toby and I partook of the dish after our own clumsy fashion, beplastering our faces all over with the glutinous compound, and daubing our hands nearly to the wrist.

This kind of food is by no means disagreeable to the palate of a European, though at first the mode of eating it may be.

For my own part, after the lapse of a few days I became accustomed to its singular flavour, and grew remarkably fond of it.
So much for the first course; several other dishes followed it, some of which were positively delicious.

We concluded our banquet by tossing off the contents of two more young cocoanuts, after which we regaled ourselves with the soothing fumes of tobacco, inhaled from a quaintly carved pipe which passed round the circle.
During the repast, the natives eyed us with intense curiosity, observing our minutest motions, and appearing to discover abundant matter for comment in the most trifling occurrence.

Their surprise mounted the highest, when we began to remove our uncomfortable garments, which were saturated with rain.