194 CHARACTER OF TAMEAMEA. 



self, for his usual attire, wore only a shirt, trow- 

 sers, and red waistcoat, without a coat ; he pos- 

 sessed, however, many richly embroidered uni- 

 forms, but kept them for grand occasions. 



These islanders had made great progress in 

 the English language : many of them could 

 speak it very tolerably. Taraeamea understood, 

 but did not speak it. If any of my readers 

 should wish for a farther acquaintance with the 

 character of this distinguished sovereign, I must 

 refer them to Vancouver, and to my former voy- 

 age ; but for the benefit of those who may not 

 be disposed to take this trouble, I cannot forbear 

 repeating from the latter some of his remarks to 

 myself. He presented me with a collar most 

 ingeniously worked with coloured feathers, 

 which he had sometimes worn in war, and on so- 

 lemn occasions, saying, " I have heard that your 

 monarch is a great warrior, and I love him, 

 because I am a warrior myself; bear to him this 

 collar, which I send as a token of my regard." 

 Once as he embraced an image in his Marai, he 

 said, " These are our Gods whom I adore ; whe- 

 ther in so doing I am right or wrong, 1 know 

 not, but I follow the religion of my country, 



