"
MR. BARRAUD. "They are a most interesting people; and, to prove to
you how they have advanced in civilization, I will give you two
instances of their mode of living and taking their meals. Forty
years ago, the Rev. Mr. Stewart, being then on a mission, visited a
chief, and, when he entered the apartment, one of his queens was
seated on the ground _a la Turc_, with a large wooden tray in her
lap. Upon this a monstrous cuttle-fish had just been placed, fresh
from the sea, and in all its life and vigor. The queen had taken it
up with both hands, and brought its body to her mouth, and, by a
single application of her teeth, the black blood with which it was
filled gushed over her face and neck, while the long sucking arms of
the fish, in the convulsive paroxysm of the operation, were twisting
and writhing about her head, like the snaky hairs of a Medusa.
Occupied as both hands were, she could only give her visitor a nod.
Mr. Stewart remarks, 'It was the first time I had seen her Majesty,
and I soon took my departure, leaving her, as I found her, in the
full enjoyment of her luxurious luncheon.' Now,--observe the
contrast. In 1841, Sir George Simpson and friends visited a chief.
They were received in an immense apartment: several white persons
were there to meet them: all the rules of etiquette were observed on
going to table. The chiefs were all handsomely attired, their
clothes fitting to a hair's breadth, for they had imported a tailor
from England to make them.
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