as also a narrative of Scripture history, adapted to stimulate the dulness of their youthful comprehension.

Justly to appreciate the devotedness of these good men, it is well to remember that they were uncheered by any expressions of the sympathy of their friends or the approbation of their own countrymen. Though ships frequently anchored in Matavai Bay, not a single communication from England reached the missionaries from July 1801 to the end of November 1806. The London Missionary Society, indeed, had by no means forgotten their zealous. representatives during their perilous sojourn among the heathen, but had sent letters and supplies by every opportunity to Port Jackson, whence, it was supposed, they could easily be forwarded to Tahiti. They had also authorised their agent in New South Wales to expend £200 a year in aid of the South Sea Mission, and thus at last it came to pass that a small sloop of twenty tons burden was chartered to convey to Tahiti the accumulated stores.

For some time previously, tea, sugar, and other luxuries, which have become almost necessaries to Europeans, had been quite exhausted, the clothing brought from England had been worn out, and on their preaching circuits the missionaries had been compelled to go barefoot. At last they were gladdened by tidings from the dear ones at home; but the supplies had lain so long at Port Jackson, and had been forwarded in such an unseaworthy vessel, that they were utterly spoiled, and for the most part unfit for use. This disappointment, however, was borne with cheerful resignation, and the missionaries rather rejoiced that they were counted worthy to suffer in the service of the Founder of their faith.

In June 1807, the island again became the scene of murderous civil war. The king, apparently without provocation, suddenly made an inroad into the district of Atehuru, and, taking the people unawares, slew upwards of one hundred, among whom were some men of note. The country was laid waste, the dwellings of the natives plundered and burnt, the survivors driven to their mountain fastnesses, and the bodies of the slain carried off to Tautira and offered as sacrifices to Oro. This barbarous expedition remained for a time unavenged, but in the ensuing year the people generally began to weary of the burdens imposed upon them for the maintenance of royalty, and to regret the old patriarchal form of government, when each district, and it might almost be said each village, was administered by its own chief. The preparations for the coming strife not only suspended the usefulness of the missionaries, but filled them with natural anxiety for the safety of their wives and little

ones.

At the very moment when a collision seemed inevitable, a vessel from Port Jackson anchored in the bay, and by the king's advice the women and children were at once carried on board. On the following day Messrs Nott and Scott repaired to the rebel camp, and urged the leaders to come to terms with Pomare. This they absolutely refused to do, but expressed friendly feelings towards the missionaries, whom they promised to protect to the best of their ability. This assurance, however, afforded little hope of safety, and the king himself counselled the departure of the married couples. It was therefore unanimously resolved that the mission should be broken up until happier times might dawn, except that four of the

Flight of the Missionaries.

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unmarried missionaries volunteered to remain with the king and watch the progress of events. The rest were safely conveyed to the neighbouring island of Huahine, where they received a kindly welcome at the hands of the chief and the inhabitants generally.

The rebels now took up a strong position over against the royal encampment at Matavai, but abstained from all aggressive action. On the 22d of December, however, they were furiously attacked by the king, misled by the promises of a soothsayer. The royal troops were completely routed and fled from the field, throwing away even their muskets, and leaving their dead, including several of their chiefs, at the mercy of the enemy. The missionaries attached to the king also found it necessary to abandon their home and escape to Aimeo, whence three of the party shortly afterwards removed to Huahine. Following up their success, the insurgents ravaged the districts of Matavai and Pare, sacked the mission-house, and burned it to the ground. The books were either thrown into the flames or used for cartridges; the type was melted down and cast into musket-balls, and every scrap of iron was converted to some homicidal purpose. Before they sought safety in flight, Mr Nott had several times stood in the very shadow of death. Once a native had poised his spear, and was on the point of transfixing him, when his arm was arrested by a friend of the missionary. At another time a musketball entered the room where he was sitting, and on yet another occasion he was hurried into a canoe barely in time to save him from a party of rebels bent upon slaying the king's friend.

It was, nevertheless, with sore reluctance and many a bitter pang of disappointment that these earnest

men yielded to the "inexorable logic of facts," and relinquished the enterprise which they had so steadfastly pursued for wellnigh a dozen years, in spite of ridicule, threats, violence, and, worst of all, the apparent forgetfulness of their friends in their far-away native land. So far as human eye could see, the South Sea Mission had entirely failed, and the grateful task of converting the heathen was reserved for other agents and other times. The main body of the missionaries, therefore, resolved to proceed to Port Jackson, only Mr Hayward continuing in Huahine, while Mr Nott attached himself to the fortunes of King Pomare, hoping against hope, and placing his trust in the all-wise Disposer of events.

CHAPTER V.

Glimmerings of hope-Domestic trials-Pomare in search of truth-First two converts-Many are added to the Church -Destruction of idols-Progress of inquiry-First and last martyr-Conspiracy to massacre the Christians in TahitiBattle of Narii—Defeat of the idolaters-Extirpation of idolatrous worship.

AFFAIRS remained in this unpromising condition until the autumn of 1811, when several of the married missionaries took heart of grace and left Port Jackson for Aimeo, where they were joyfully received by the king. The lessons of adversity had not been lost upon Pomare. During his enforced residence in that little island, he had communed much with himself, and had listened with eager interest to Mr Nott's instructions. The first arrivals, Mr and Mrs Bicknell, were taken into his own. house, and he would pass hours together in conversing with them, and in reading and writing. A few of his attendants seemed also to be well disposed towards the new religion; and for the first time since the departure of the Duff from Portsmouth, a ray of hope glimmered on the horizon. Other trials, however, awaited the missionaries, and of a peculiarly distressing character. Three of them were bereaved of their wives within a few months of each other, and the mission was enveloped in gloom and sadness. Thrown so exclusively into each other's society, working in a common cause, and bound together by