178 AVOYAGETOTHE 



^ ^x"^ ^' tions, and promifed to follow them in the. moft punctual 

 V — — ' manner. After remaining on board a few hours, Taaao 

 December, and his unclc left us, highly pleafed with the treatment 

 s«nday3i. they had received. 



1787- The next morning fcarcely any canoes were to be feen, 



MoncJayT. though the weather was very fine : on my afking Abbe- 

 nooe the reafon, he told me they were detained on ac- 

 count of a tabooara being laid on by the king. The 

 tabooara it feems is a kind of tax which the king impofes 

 on the property of thofe fubjedts whofe plantations are. 

 near at hand, and confifts of a certain portion of their 

 various produce. At Abbenooe's requeft, I attended him 

 on fhore to fee the ceremonyj and indeed I could not but 

 admire the order and regularity with which the natives 

 conduced themfelves on this occafion : men, women, 

 and even children, paid their contributions with cheerful- 

 nefs and good-will ; fome brought hogs, others taro, 

 bread-fruit, and indeed every thing the ifland produced 5, 

 all which were placed in feparate heaps. 



Taaao and moft of the principal chiefs attended to fee 

 the tabooara punctually complied with, and when it was 

 finifhed, the whole was divided into two parcels, which 

 the king told me were a prefent for the two fhips, and 

 defired me to fend boats on fhore to carry them off. I was 

 greatly pleafed with the king's generous method of pro^ 

 ceeding, ajid determined he fhould not be a lofer by his 

 liberality, though I happened to have nothing on fhore 

 that I thought a fuitable return for {o noble a prefent^ 

 After taking a very friendly leave of me, the king re- 

 tired to a houfe fituated a little to the Eaftward of the 



river J 



