But his business that morning in Anaho is what concerns us here.
The devil-fish,it seems,were growing scarce upon the reef;it was judged fit to interpose what we should call a close season;for that end,in Polynesia,a tapu (vulgarly spelt 'taboo')has to be declared,and who was to declare it?Taipi might;he ought;it was a chief part of his duty;but would any one regard the inhibition of a Beggar on Horse-back?He might plant palm branches:it did not in the least follow that the spot was sacred.He might recite the spell:it was shrewdly supposed the spirits would not hearken.