" EUMPBACKINQ" AT VAU VAU. 245 



me that the ladies' reluctance to favour us with their 

 society was owing to their being in native dress, which 

 it is punishable to appear in among white men, the 

 punishment consisting of a rather heavy fine. Even 

 the men and boys, I noticed, before they ventured to 

 climb on board, stayed a while to put on trousers, or 

 what did duty for those useful articles of dress. At any 

 rate, they were all clothed, not merely enwrapped with 

 a fold or two of '* tapa," the native bark-cloth, but made 

 awkward and ugly by dilapidated shirts and pants. 



She was a busy ship for the rest of that day. The 

 anchor down, sails furled and decks swept, the rest of 

 the time was our own, and high jinks were the result. 

 The islanders were amiability personified, merry as 

 children, nor did I see or hear one quarrelsome in- 

 dividual among them. While we were greedily devour- 

 ing the delicious fruit, which was piled on deck in 

 mountainous quantities, they encouraged us, telling us 

 that the trees ashore were breaking down under their 

 loads, and what a pity it was that there were so few to 

 eat such bountiful supplies. 



We were, it appeared, the first whale-ship that had 

 anchored there that year, and, in that particular bay 

 where we lay, no vessel had moored for over two years. 

 An occasional schooner from Sydney called at the 

 "town" about ten miles away, where the viceroy's 

 house was, and at the present time of speaking one of 

 Godefi'roi's Hamburg ships was at anchor there, taking 

 in an accumulation of copra from her agent's store. 

 But the natives all spoke of her with a shrug — *' No 

 like Tashman. Tashman no good." Why, I could not 

 ascertain. 



Our Kanakas had promised to remain with us till 

 our departure for the south, so, hard as it seemed to 



