Reports are coming in to-day that Joel Barlow told people he was a Tahitian prince. Ah, memories. Nothing quite like them at my age!
I thought back to Peter Yeldham's mini-series "Captain James Cook". A lot of the story occurred in Tahiti where Cook - with my ancestor John Gore on board, one of a number of his voyages with Cook - went to study the Transit of Venus.
Embedded in my memory is Queen Oberea surrounded by young bucks feeding her. Polyandry was the way in Otaheite. I have always said, jokingly, in these days of free sexual choice and talk of polygamy that I relish the idea of polyandry. Would Joel Barlow have qualified for one of Queen Oberea's young bucks? I don't know. Were there auditions?
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