I understand to signify interdicted, and that none
of them might approach it till the taboo was taken off, which could only
be done by Tinah. To take anything away from a Morai is regarded as a
kind of sacrilege and, they believe, gives great offence to the Eatua. At
my request Tinah took off the taboo, but not before the afternoon. This
was performed by an offering of a plantain leaf at the Morai, and a
prayer made to the Eatua. After this ceremony the house was resorted to
by the natives as usual.

I had not yet given up the hope of obtaining the bull from Itteah, though
I had hitherto received no satisfactory answer to the messages which
Tinah had sent at my desire: I therefore spoke to Poeeno who undertook to
negotiate this business, and I commissioned him to make very liberal
offers. He left me after dinner to return to Matavai. In the evening a
messenger arrived from him to acquaint me that, in his absence, the sheep
which I had trusted to his care had been killed by a dog; and that he had
sent the culprit, hoping that I would kill him for the offence he had
committed. This poor sheep had been so much diseased that I could not
help suspecting he died without the dog's assistance, and that the story
of the dog was invented to prevent my attributing it to want of care.
This doubt did not appear in my answer; as for the dog I told the
messenger to do with him what he pleased.

Tuesday 13.

This morning, the weather being more moderate than it had been for some
days past, Oreepyah sailed with two canoes for Tethuroa.

Wednesday 14.

Some business prevented Moannah from accompanying him but he followed the
next day with two other canoes. The wood that we had got at Matavai being
expended I applied to Tinah, who sent three trees down to the waterside
before night, which when cut up made a good launch load.

I saw two instances of jealousy today one of which had nearly produced
fatal consequences. A man was detected with a married woman by the
husband, who stabbed him in the belly with a knife: fortunately the
intestines escaped and the wound did not prove dangerous. The other
instance was a girl, who had constantly lived with my coxswain, beating
another girl that she discovered to have been too intimate with him.

Friday 16.

In walking today with Tinah near a tupapow I was surprised by a sudden
outcry of grief. As I expressed a desire to see the distressed person
Tinah took me to the place where we found a nu